Dear friends and readers,

finally the Malawian borders opened again and we (Rüdiger Schütz, my husband and I) were able to fly to Malawi at the beginning of November 2021 after a 2 year break. In our village Senga Bay - far away from any tourism - Corona did not seem to be an issue at all. In the big cities, on the other hand, the situation looked a bit different. There had been some dramatic hotspots in this areas last year as well. About 6 % of the Malawian population are now fully vaccinated, but a surprisingly large number refuse to be vaccinated.

Our stay in Kunyumba turned out to be somehow less pleasant this time. Due to our long absence, the work on the interior of the children's house and the construction of the wall could not be sufficiently controlled. Hence our arrival was already overshadowed by many disappointments. There was hardly enough time to take care of everything that had to be done, organised and decided. Furthermore, there was a change in management. Kettie Banda, one of our long-time staff members, is now Kunyumba's new manager.

One of the really nice moments was the new admission of 2 brothers, Luka (4) and Stanley (9). The father - a widower since one year - is not able to feed his 4 sons with his small income. Moments like these, when we see the beaming faces of these children, for example when they sit in front of a filled plate of food or play with Lego Duplo bricks for the first time in their lives, always give us the necessary confirmation to do the right thing in this country.

On behalf of Kunyumba I would like to thank all donors and wish all readers a blessed, healthy and happy New Year.

Vera Kleinstoll

Kunyumba e.V.
Am Beethovenpark 40
D-50935 Köln