Everyone is enjoying books at the new library
New and used books were given to Kanyenyeva Ministries to start a library at the orphan project.
A mission team from Ohio presented the books to the leadership of the orphan project. 
The mission team stated, “The focus of this mission was on literacy. High School students in Malawi must take national exams in English, but their native tongue is Chichewa. They literally have almost no books to read in order to increase their fluency. We were thrilled to start a library in Kanyenyeva with 230 books and more to come!”
Books were read to the children and they were able to look at them independently, also.
Everyone enjoyed the books, even the adults!
Skills Center to be built
The women of Kanyenyeva will have a dedicated space to make reusable sanitary pads in the new skills center.
A new building will be constructed at the orphan project this summer. This new building will house a skills center for the community of Kanyenyeva. When completed, the building will be equipped with solar lighting, running water, and indoor plumbing for restrooms.
Kanyenyeva Ministries has been approved by Days for Girls International to begin an enterprise where women in the community will make and sell reusable sanitary products in their community and throughout their country. The building will provide a sheltered space for work and secure storage for their equipment and inventory.
A separate room will be utilized as a study space for high school students. Additional space will also be available for men in the community to learn new skills and start businesses. Kanyenyeva Ministries is researching the feasibility of teaching sandal making so that the men can start a sandal making business.
The construction of this skills center will enable the women and men of Kanyenyeva to produce marketable products and the high schoolers to have a place to study in the evening. Having a business producing and selling reusable sanitary pads will provide a source of income for women in the community and allow girls and women throughout Malawi to have an affordable and viable solution for menstrual hygiene in a country where the girls and women typically miss school and work since their alternatives are primitive and sometimes nonexistent. These businesses will enable the people in the community to expand their repertoire of skills and options for income beyond sustainable farming.
The construction of the hall is the first phase of the project and is possible thanks to a generous grant from the Christmas offerings of Westwood Community Church in the Minneapolis, MN area.
The second phase of the project will include the addition of solar and generator power and plumbing for indoor restrooms. The second phase is projected to cost $15,000 – $20,000 and will begin after the money is raised. If you would like to donate to this project, please click here.
Retreat for High School Aged Orphans
These are some of the teenagers who will be going on a one day retreat in June, 2017. The retreat will focus on how to have healthy, Christian relationships with friends, future spouses, and family. There will be four days where twenty-five different students attend each day long retreat at Lake Malawi for a total of 100 teenagers attending.
These teenagers live about 40 kilometers from Lake Malawi and have never been there. This will be an amazing time in a beautiful area in their country where they will learn about faith and daily life, self-image, setting goals, overcoming obstacles, dating and choosing a life partner, and more. These sessions are based on My Zoe Journal written by Pastor Amy and sold through Sola Publishing.
The team includes Pastor Andy, Susan, Pastor Amy, Anna, Gary and Lorie from First English Lutheran Church, Mansfield, Ohio and Trinity Lutheran, Monroeville, Ohio. Shadreck and Yami Chikoti from Malawi will also lead some of the sessions.
Please pray for the presenters that they share what God intends and that the students learn what God has for them to learn.
