Lusubilo Orphan Care was founded by Sister Beatrice Chipeta (in blue) to help children and their caregivers. Photo by Karen Kasmauski for CRS

Catholic Relief Services’ partner Sister Beatrice Chipeta of the Lusubilo Orphan Care project was recently recognized as an Unsung Hero by the Opus Prize an annual Faith-based humanitarian award. Jim Lund, CRS vice president for Charitable Giving, attended the ceremony at Fordham University and wrote about the experience.

It was a surreal juxtaposition to see Sister Beatrice addressing the Opus Prize audience at Fordham University. This is a woman who walked from village-to-village convincing people to band together to assist the children orphaned by the AIDS epidemic. Most of those meetings were held outside under a tree, and yet here she was in a plush New York City auditorium speaking in front of several hundred people. Humble as always she was dressed in her traditional blue habit and a pair of sandals. Even in that tremendous setting so far from her home she was able to convey the same wisdom and depth that she had when we first met in Karonga so many years ago.
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Children attend an outdoor school in Malawi. A CRS sponsored Malawi Education Symposium brought together government officials, the church, NGOs and civil society to discuss the changes needed in Malawi’s current education system. Photo by CRS staff

As I lifted the last box of poster board and markers into the truck, it suddenly occurred to me that it was over. The two day education symposium titled “Solidarity in Action to Improve Education” I had helped organize as part of a CRS Malawi taskforce was now in the past. Upon my arrival in Malawi to begin my assignment as an International Development Fellow, I was immediately assigned to assist with the organization of a symposium focused on pre-university education.

Since 1990 Malawi has witnessed a 136 percent increase in primary school enrollment. While this increase is encouraging, student-teacher ratios have exploded as a result. Currently there are 80 students to every 1 teacher, which means a decrease in the quality of education and subsequent learning achievement. Actual learning time is low. Each year 20 percent of Malawian students repeat a grade. That’s the highest among the countries monitored by the Southern African Development Community. School attendance expectancy in Malawi is only 7 years. It is not uncommon to find a group of 100 or more children competing for shade in their outdoor classroom, with their teacher sparingly distributing what few books they have.
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Members of a farming co-operative in the Mchinji District of Malawi are now able to irrigate their land with help from a CRS program. Irrigation during the dry winter months allows these farmers to vastly increase the amount and diversity of crops they are able to grow, which allows them to earn money selling their surplus food on the local markets.

CRS works through local partner agencies to implement agricultureand environment programs for the poorest farm families and rural communities worldwide. Given certain climatic conditions, proper irrigation is key to making the projects sustainable.

Photo by David Snyder for CRS