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Meeting Katalina Julia Shortt had few expectations about meeting Katalina, the girl she sponsors in Mikolongwe. Which is fortunate, says Julia, as they did not come close to what she experienced.
“It probably sounds like a cliché, but the people’s gratefulness and generosity was the thing that surprised me most,” says Julia, giving as an example the large bag of oranges one of the sponsored girls shyly offered her. “I knew that my visit would be a big event in their villages, but when I was presented with gifts of produce that were part of their own livelihood I was really blown away.” The third and final village Julia visited that day was where she met Katalina and another sponsored girl named Malita. A crowd had assembled, seated on the ground. When ADP staff asked for all those who look after Katalina and Malita to stand up, Julia did not expect to see several people get to their feet. “It was explained to me that, unlike the NZ model of a mum and dad, in Malawi several people take responsibility for raising the children,” says Julia, adding that this attitude of shared responsibility was one she repeatedly encountered. “In the Western culture we seem to isolate ourselves and stay within our families and friends, but in Malawi the whole community works together to get the job done.” says Julia. During lunch with the girls and their families, Julia noted that Katalina, whom the ADP Manager described as “very sharp and good at schoolwork”, had one of her exercise books with her. Julia was touched to see that the book was adorned with stickers she had sent. “She had even kept the sticker backing sheet,” says Julia. “When asked why, she said it was ‘to remind me of my sponsor’.” Julia has her own keepsakes - the photos and experiences of a trip that has deepened her understanding of the sponsorship experience and of the Malawian people. “Meeting Katalina reinforced for me that sponsorship is more than just a monthly payment; there is an actual person, an actual family on the other side. Malawi is known and promoted as the ‘warm heart of Africa’. In each of the three places I visited, the villagers were so joyous. They said they were blessed to have me come and visit them, but they were such a blessing to me. I just felt there was so much I could learn from them.” |
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MIKOLONGWE STORY ARCHIVE 2008 Trying it out Dairy delight Snippets HopeChild 2007 Snippets Dreams come true! 2006 The visit of a lifetime Snippets 2005 With the support of others Snippets 2004 Meeting Katalina World famous in Chiradzulu AIDS project completed Growing concern Boring solution 2003 A touch of class Standing on their own Snippets Pistol-toting robbers steel ADP vehicle New AIDS project 2002 Spreading the word, not disease Too little, too much Chicken in every pot?
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