Emil Hagamu, January-February, 2008.

When I left Dar es Salaam, Tanzania, for Malawi on Wednesday, January 23, the weather was sunny and very hot, but on entering Malawi the weather changed to cool and the land was very green. I could see farms of maize and tobacco everywhere. When my hosts, Fr. Alpheus Zikomankhani and Mr. Harris Kachaso came to pick me up an hour after I landed, I realized just how beautiful this tiny country was and why they call it The Warm Heart of Africa.  The evergreen vegetation is a wonder in and of itself, and as I took in its beauty, I saw hard working Malawians in the fields-cultivating the land and planting seeds.

This was my fourth visit to Malawi in three years. The purpose of this visit was: 1) to introduce HLI to Church leadership, especially the bishop of Lilongwe Diocese; 2) to conduct a four-day leadership training workshop; 3) to present a pro-life/pro-family program to major seminarians and lay groups within and outside Lilongwe; and 4) to visit pro-life activists and encourage them to do more and recruit new ones to the movement.

TEACHING ON THE THREATS TO HUMAN LIFE

Fr. Alpheus drove us directly to his Madisi parish, where we stayed until Friday morning when we left for Lilongwe and Likuni. During our stay at Madisi, I visited some pro-life activists-those I trained at Chipoka three years ago and others I trained at Mangochi two years ago. On Friday, we traveled to Lilongwe, 80 km from Madisi. There were many pro-lifers who were eagerly waiting to meet us.

On Sunday, I met with 56 members from the Lilongwe Diocese's Christian Family Movement.  I gave a talk to them in which I highlighted the many dangers facing the traditional family today, including abortion, contraception, same-sex "marriage," and sex education. On their part, they expressed appreciation for my talk and promised to be on their guard. More importantly, they promised to cooperate with our HLI office in Malawi-which is situated within the same compound-for further information and education whenever our assistance will be needed.

On Monday, our 4-day workshop began. There were a total of 13 participants from various parishes in the Diocese of Lilongwe. The workshop took place at Aonenje Lodge, some 7 miles south of Lilongwe city. Presentations included:

• What is HLI, its Vision, and Mission
• The Miracle of Human Life
• Christian Marriage
• The Christian Family
• Threats to Human Life, Marriage, and Family
• Abortion and its Consequences
• A video presentation called The Silent Scream
• Contraception and its Consequences and Church Teachings
• NFP: The Billings Ovulation Method
• The Maputo Protocol.

WIDESPREAD KING CONDOM PROMOTION

Condom advertising has been entrenched in Malawi, making Malawians believe that, indeed, they are the SAVIOR against HIV infection and a method of family planning. On Saturday evening, as I was watching TV in my hotel room, I saw a condom program. In the program, the condom instruction began by defining what a condom is, and one condom was unrolled and showed to the viewing audience. As there is only one TV (MTV: Malawi Television) station in this country, certainly the program was being watched by many people. The program continued by showing the viewers how the condom should be handled, unrolled, and fitted onto the male reproductive organ. This was a very obscene moment!  Imagine a program of that nature being shown on the TV without regard to the selection of the audience. Children were watching, as well as young adolescents, the married, and the elderly. Population controllers do not take into consideration people's cultures. Perhaps that is their aim: to destroy Malawi culture.

As I was walking along the streets of Lilongwe, I saw many vehicles with full condom advertisements, especially the special condom brand, "MANYUCHI."  If you remember what I reported two years ago, Manyuchi stands for the English word HONEY.  So, by advertising the condom as Manyuchi, and through photographs of beautiful women, Population Services International (PSI) wants to convince Malawi people that condoms are sweet as honey and therefore ideal and appropriate for use.   

PSI and all condom promoters know very well the failure rate of condoms. Yet they continue lying to people by employing the most deceptive language. The failure rate of condoms will always lead to the DEATH of the infected individual. Pro-lifers can only defeat these lies if they gallantly put in place counter programs and if the Catholic Church stands by their side.

SEMINARIAN WORKSHOP POSTPONED

A seminarian program was scheduled to take place after the four-day workshop. We were to travel to Zomba on February 1. There, I was expected to meet and address major seminarians at St. Peter's Major Seminary and Nankunda Minor Seminary. However, due to the illness of Mr. Harris Kachaso, the HLI contact person in Malawi, the program was postponed. Mr. Kachaso's health failed him even before we started the workshop. I had to do most of the work, planning, coordinating, and presenting all the workshop topics. On Friday, Mr. Kachaso became seriously ill, despite his heroic struggle to work with me. On Saturday, he could not walk nor talk, and it was apparent that he was very seriously sick. I took him to the hotel I was staying at and gave him a room where he could sleep and enjoy a peaceful environment. After taking supper and praying together, I escorted him to his room. On Sunday morning, Mr Kachaso could not wake up. I rushed to pick up his wife and a few friends. With the help of these friends and his wife, I took him to a nearby Likuni Mission hospital. He was admitted there for further investigation and treatment. Until Monday, February 4, Mr. Harris Kachaso was receiving intensive care by the medical doctors and nurses at this Catholic Hospital. As I was leaving Likuni for Madisi, his health had slightly improved. He could recognize people who came to see him and could remember the day and date.

[Editor's note: After a brief recovery, Harris became gravely ill again and passed away in August. Please pray for the repose of his soul-he was an heroic pro-lifer!  For more on Mr. Kachaso, please see his obituary in HLI's fall edition of FrontLines.]

BISHOP BLESSES HLI

On Monday, February 4, I had the privilege to meet with the Bishop of Lilongwe, His Lordship Remie Ste Marie. He is Canadian by birth and belongs to White Fathers Missionary Religious Congregation. Since I had previously sent him some pro-life material, he already knew my name and therefore he welcomed me very warmly. I gave him one copy of the books The Facts of Life and The Case Against Condoms, some brochures, and HLI's Pro-life CD Library. I also gave him copies of the four books I have written in Kiswahili. This was a momentous event indeed for the three of us who visited him, Fr. Alpheus Zikomankhani, Lilian, and myself.

In my talk with the Bishop, I made a brief presentation of HLI and its mission around the world, the branches, regional offices, and the many affiliates. I told him about our president, Fr. Tom Euteneuer, and his competent staff at HLI headquarters in Front Royal, Virginia. Then, I told him about the early development of HLI Pro-life Malawi.  I mentioned the three formation workshops we have had and Dr. Brian Clowes' visit in 2006, which was also instrumental in pioneering the formation of HLI Pro-life Malawi.

At the end of my presentation, I made three requests to the Bishop: 1) upon his discretion, to appoint Fr. Alpheus Zikomankani, who has been assisting HLI Malawi over all these years of formation, as advisor; 2) if possible, to provide an office for HLI in one of his diocesan buildings since the current one at Likuni Printing Press is very expensive and we cannot afford to continue using it; 3) to bless and support the work that HLI has started for bringing the Gospel of Life and building a culture of life in Malawi.

In his response, the bishop expressed his appreciation for the great work HLI is doing around the world and the initiative it has taken to start a pro-life movement in Malawi, especially in his diocese Lilongwe. He said he has heard about HLI, and he has always supported the pro-life mission. He fully gave his approval to the requests I made to him and promised to work with HLI Malawi in all matters that will need his support or advice.  Finally, he thanked HLI for giving him the pro-life material.

I would like to sincerely thank HLI-Central for facilitating the success of this missionary trip to Malawi. Indeed, without the financial and material support from HLI-Central, this program would not have taken place.