On a Mission!

1) Please give a summary of your Ministry: There is Hope is a recently established ministry to the 11,000 refugees living in Malawi. Men, women and children from Rwanda, Burundi, Congo, Somalia & Ethiopia. Some have been refugees all their lives and spent years moving from one camp to another, from nation to nation, looking for peace and prosperity.

2) How does your ministry impact your life and the life of the people around you on a daily basis? I wake every morning delighted to do what I love! I feel like I have the best job in the world. We have impacted lives of a young refugee man (Moses) who was dying of diabetes without adequate medical care, and a young refugee woman and mother (Zaituna), now studying for a nursing diploma and looking forward to dignity & employment.

3) What are the main differences between U.K. and your mission field living?

* here I drive everywhere, African style, instead of using London transport; also my work & private life are kind of meshed into one

* here I organise my own work and hours are a lot more flexible; I often work Sundays, or evenings, it’s not quite the 9-5.

* I get to speak Swahili and Chichewa and French a lot more here, and my English is definitely acquiring a certain “Malawian je ne sais quoi”…

4) Why do you like working in your location in the world? I love Malawi; I live in the Capital so there are lots of professionals, but people have not been caught up in the rat race, there is still a lot of time for personal interaction.

5) What line of scripture/verse from the bible is your favourite/keeps you inspired? A different one every week! But one bible-based reflection that really inspired me recently was: “Although the victory was certain for Joshua, he still had to fight against the enemies living in Canaan”

6) What would you say to inspire would-be missionaries to the field? There’s nothing better than trying missions out short-term to begin with. I had been to Malawi 3 times by the time I committed to long-term mission (first time as a “secular” volunteer, and twice doing “vision trips”) It helped me like nothing else could have in order for me to be effective now.

7) What are the future plans for the ministry, God willing? We aim to help refugees attain a better standard of living: materially, emotionally, socially & spiritually. We want to open an online learning centre at the refugee camp, start a women’s crafts group, find scholarships for more refugees to study at university level, conduct seminars for church leaders and run a children’s music competition, and much more!

8) Why do you like being part of ITeams? I am not saying this to win brownie points, but ITeams is the best thing since sliced bread! A collection of inspiring, humble and caring individuals.

9) Favourite moment on the mission field so far? Getting engaged on a plane between Malawi and Kenya. To read more: