MALAWI, NDIRANDE: THE PATRIARCH CELEBRATED WITH THE “GARBAGE CHILDREN”

Patriarchate of Alexandria & all Africa
In the Orthodox Vineyard of Africa (photo)

On 17th February, the Feast of the Great Martyr Theodore of Tyre, Patriarch of Alexandria and All Africa Theodoros II, celebrates his Name Day, and from the first year of his ascension to the Throne of the Church of the Apostle and Evangelist Mark, to this day, he always celebrates with his spiritual children, the African Orthodox Christians.

So this year too, His Beatitude the Patriarch who is in the Republic of Malawi, arrived at the Holy Church of St Catherine in the Ndirande district of Blantyre, accompanied by His Eminence Daniel Metropolitan of Aksum and the local Bishop His Grace Fotios Bishop of Malawi, fort he consecration of the above Church.

The Ndirande area is one of the most degraded areas of the city, as garbage accumulates there from throughout the Blantyre region, causing residents of the area, especially young children, to suffer from serious diseases such as cholera, because of the contaminated water and the fumes from burning garbage.

In this area, the imposing Holy Church of the Great Martyr St Catherine was erected, donated by businessman Dimitrios Buckle, to whom the Patriarch expressed the gratitude and thanks of the Alexandrian Church.

His Beatitude was welcomed with shouts of joy and gratitude for the building of an Orthodox Church in their degraded district. Then, in a climate of devotion and reverence, the Patriarch and the concelebrating Hierarchs performed the service of Consecration and then the first Patriarchal Divine Liturgy, on the occasion of his Name Day.

Ndirande. Blantyre, Malawi.
 
Ndirande.com

No one knows exactly how large the Malawian slum of Ndirande is. The number of inhabitants should be well above 200 thousand people. Ndirande is located three kilometres from the centre of Blantyre, the second city of Malawi. Ndirande crawls up from Makata Road to the slopes of the 1,800 meter high Mount Ndirande. Halfway you cross Ndirande Ringroad, the commercial and manufacturing centre of Ndirande. On both sides you will find timber sellers, minibus repairers, pubs, take-away’s and producers of burglar bars, cooking stoves and comfortable couches. Between Makata Road and Ndirande Ringroad, Ndirande has a reasonably ordered street pattern. But anyone who leaves the Ringroad and walks up towards Ndirande Mountain, ends up in a myriad of backstreets and alleys. Some are not wider than trenches where the water flushes through in the rainy season.

At the centre of the Ringroad you’ll find a huge market where an estimated 30 thousand people earn their living. On Ndirande Market you can get everything. From coffins to second hand clothes, from fruit to cheap sex, from live chickens to fried fish, from cars and car parts to hand-crafted residential furniture. Across Ndirande runs the Nasolo River. In the dry season the river is a sluggish meandering sewer in which malaria mosquitos incubate, children play and women do their laundry. In the rainy season the Nasolo changes into a dangerous current, sweeping away chickens and children, bridges and houses. The transformation of the friendly Nasolo in such a devastating flood is partly due to the almost complete deforestation of Mount Ndirande. Searching for cheap firewood, residents of Ndirande have cut away the immense forest that once covered the mountain.

The official unemployment rate in Ndirande is over 90 percent. That doesn’t alter the fact that most slum dwellers are hardworking people. The majority of the work they do, is simply not recorded or taxed. An important part of the work is carried out outside the slum. Every morning, there is a huge exodus of men and women, most of them by foot, some in minibuses, who leave for low-paid jobs in the richer neighbourhoods like Namiwawa, Nyambadwe or Sunny Side. They work as Garden Boys, Safe Guards, Cooks, Home Boys or Nannies. They are accompanied by mechanics, carpenters, plumbers and electricians, carrying their tools under their arms, offering their services to the wealthy minority of Blantyre.

 
© Ralf Bodelier, Overview Ndirande, Malawi. 2008
 
The money the residents of Ndirande earn, is spent on food and clothing, on bit-for-bit expanding and refurbishing homes, on school fees and on transport by minibus. On Sun-day mornings, part of the earnings are offered in the numerous churches within the town-ship. On Sunday night, the leftovers are spend in the pubs of the Chinseu entertainment dis-trict. On Monday morning, the exodus starts over again.

Those who visit Ndirande for the first time, will be shocked by the miserable conditions in which many residents live. The funeral procession, the coffins for sale on Ndirande Ringroad and the sick, sometimes emaciated on a mat in front of their house. The visitor will notice children with ripped clothes, barbed wire on walls and the omnipotence of burglar bars. He or she will see the crippled scurrying in the dirt.
But those who visit Ndirande time after time, will observe much more. They will become aware of the normality of Ndirande. People in Ndirande are more than slum dwellers. They are individuals, human beings, people you can agree or disagree with. They are people with whom you can raise a glass, have a chat, or argue with. They are people that can be your friends or foes. But, and most of all, they are people who, like everyone else, want to make the best of their lives. This is what we tried to portray in the web-documentary 'Ndirande. Its Strength, Its People.'

"Ρatriarch Theodoros in Blantyre to inaugurate the Church of St. Catherine" 

In the Orthodox Vineyard of Africa  
Greek Orthodox Church Of Alexandria and Africa In Australia

"The third day of Pope Theodoros in Malawi, 17 February 2020
On February 17th, on the occasion of the anniversary of St. Theodore the Great, His Excellency Pope Theodoros II, Pope and Patriarch of Alexandria and the rest of Africa celebrated his patronage with his Greek Orthodox spiritual sons in the Republic of Malawi.
Accompanied by Metropolitan Daniel Bishop Axum (Abyssinia) and Bishop Of Malawi Mr. Fotos, Thepatriarch of Theodoros, Theodoros, the Pope arrived in the Durante area of Blantyre to inaugurate the Church of St. Catherine.
Durante is one of the poorest areas in the city that accumulates garbage all over the city. This has led to serious diseases such as cholera from the local population, especially young children, due to contaminated groundwater and fumes from burning garbage.
In this environment, the majestic Church of St. Catherine was erected, donated by businessman Dimitriou Bucky, to which Pope Theodoros expressed his gratitude and thanks to the Church of Alexandria.
After the arrival of Theodoros, the pope's glee entered the church and before the start of the Mass, he held the inauguration service of the Church with the help of his companions. This was followed by the Mass, presided over by His Holiness.
The believers there expressed their joy and gratitude to his excellency for the establishment of this Orthodox Church in their deteriorating area.."

See also

Malawi (in our blog)

Orthodox Malawi 

The Orthodox Church in Zambia & Malawi  
Malawi - The sick woman who was healed, a neighbour, who had no knowledge of Orthodoxy, & a "strange, crazy native" who went in the center of the Church and began to shout...
  
Orthodox Mission in Tropical Africa (& the Decolonization of Africa)
African Initiated Churches in Search of Orthodoxy...
"THE WAY" - An Introduction to the Orthodox Faith
Theosis (deification): The True Purpose of Human Life
 

How “White” is the Orthodox Church?  

The Kingdom of Heaven, where racial discrimination has no place   

The Sins of a Nation

«African needs to be helped, to find his divine roots, for his soul to be at peace, to become united with God...»