Intersection of public health with Christianity in a poor Malawi village: Wellness through taking care of the whole person

Issues: In a poor village in Malawi, Southern Africa, where survival is difficult, people lack clean water, medical facilities, food and education. Joy to the World (JTW) Ministries arose to respond to this need. These public health problems could be resolved by taking care of the whole person, body and spirit. JTW strives to take care of people's spirituality as well as providing public health services.

Description: JTW began in 2006 when a Malawian student studying in the USA pulled together Christians from various churches and sought donations to be used to carry out this humanitarian mission in the village of Dzuwa, Malawi. To accomplish this, JTW endeavored to provide as many services as possible. Services include, growing and preparation of healthy food, developing clinic facilities, providing spiritual services, developing school feeding programs, drilling wells for clean water, establishing microfinance grants, building grinding mills for corn, establishing a modest library and other services. All projects are carried out while preaching the word of God.

Results: Dzuwa village has access to basic public health services and spiritual care. There is a clinic that serves the village and other surrounding villages. A school feeding program has made it possible for an enrollment of 800 children, an increase from 500 children. Women do not have to walk more than ten miles to have corn ground into flour.

Lessons learned and future directions: Communication, faith and financial challenges have arisen. We plan to add a secondary school and also make JTW self-sustaining.