Annie Chikhwaza - Mother of Malawi: The Story of Annie Chikhwaza, Who Created an Oasis of Love in a Country of Orphans

Copyright 2013 Al Gibson and Annie Chikhwaza
This edition copyright 2013 Lion Hudson

The rights of Al Gibson and Annie Chikhwaza to be identified as the authors of this work have been asserted by them in accordance with the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988.

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopy, recording, or any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publisher.

Published by Monarch Books
an imprint of
Lion Hudson plc
Wilkinson House, Jordan Hill Road,
Oxford OX2 8DR, England
E-mail: monarch@lionhudson.com
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ISBN 978 0 85721 375 4
e-ISBN 978 0 85721 465 2

First edition 2013

Acknowledgments

Unless otherwise stated Scripture is taken from the New King James Version. Copyright 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All right reserved. Scripture quotations marked NIV taken from the Holy Bible, New International Version, copyright 1973, 1978, 1984 International Bible Society. Used by permission of Hodder & Stoughton, a member of the Hodder Headline Group. All rights reserved. NIV is a trademark of International Bible Society. UK trademark number 1448790. Scripture quotations marked NLT are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright 1996, 2004, 2007 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.

p. 10: Map adapted with permission of Jean Gibson.

A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library
Cover image: Courtesy of Annie Chikhwaza

Annie Chikhwaza runs a wonderful orphanage called Kondanani she is an inspiration

The Sunday Times

Everywhere across Malawi, children sit by the roadside, waiting for something terrible. Here, they run up to you, each more charming, clever, funny and take-home-able than the last

The Guardian

I cant stop talking about Kondanani. There is no place like it!

Guy Ritchie

Kondanani is a five-star orphanage. What they are doing is extraordinary. Its a centre of excellence. A fantastic level of care is being given to these children

Jacques Peretti, Channel 4

Annie Chikhwaza was brutally attacked and left for dead.

She overcame hatred with love, and the result is Kondanani Childrens Village an oasis of love that she and her late husband, Lewis, founded in Malawi in 1998. Since then, hundreds of lives have been saved in this nation with a million orphans, and Kondanani continues to offer hope to a new generation of African leaders.

Annie has been interviewed by major TV networks and Kondanani has been recognized in the media as an example of good aid to Africa. When American celebrity Madonna went to Malawi to adopt a baby in 2008 the orphanage became a focus of global attention, and a Dutch network produced a documentary on Annie entitled Mother of Malawi .

Kondanani means Love one another, and Annie lives this out daily. Her story is one of victory over defeat and forgiveness over injustice. Suffering has been no stranger to her. She knows the pain of abuse, self-harm, and depression. Her first husband mistreated her and she survived the trauma of divorce. She knows the threat of having children removed and the anguish of dealing with abortion. Lewiss family rejected her, she was falsely accused and attacked, and her life hung in the balance. It took months for her to heal, but she knew the power of forgiveness. Throughout her life Annie has reached out from her own pain to comfort others. Now a widow, she continues to build a brighter future for the children in her care.

www.motherofmalawi.com

Dedication

This book is dedicated to my wonderful late husband, Lewis Chikhwaza, who gave me so much support throughout our marriage in spite of the pain he suffered as a result of the attack on my life; to my dear children Samuel, Rebekah, Paul, and Esther who are so very precious to me; and to each of the children of Kondanani, as together we build a new generation of leaders in Malawi.

Antje Saakje Chikhwaza

About the author

Al Gibson was born in Zimbabwe and graduated with a degree in journalism from Rhodes University in 1984. He attended Rhema Bible Training Centre and spent seventeen years working as a journalist in South Africa. He now lives in the UK, where he has been with GOD TV (www.god.tv) since 2001 as Communications Officer and Editor of the global television networks publications.

In close on thirty years in media, Al has interviewed many inspirational leaders. As an author, his passion is to inspire readers with true-life stories of those who have overcome impossible obstacles. His first book, Life on the Line , focused on Des Sinclair, who was kicked out of his home as a boy and met God on a rubbish dump! This was the start of an amazing journey on which Des was left for dead several times, yet he miraculously survived and now encourages people to become a lifeline to others.

Al met Annie Chikhwaza through GOD TV and travelled to Malawi to visit the Kondanani Orphanage. He was amazed to see all Annie has accomplished and counts it a privilege to share her extraordinary story.

Visit www.kondanani.org to find out more about the orphanage and www.halloffaithbooks.com for the latest news about Als books.

Contents

Foreword

R ORY A LEC

R ELIGION THAT G OD OUR F ATHER ACCEPTS AS PURE AND FAULTLESS IS THIS: TO LOOK AFTER ORPHANS AND WIDOWS IN THEIR DISTRESS

(James 1:27, NIV)

Having a true faith in God includes caring for widows and orphans and helping the helpless. This is the heart of the work of Kondanani and of GOD TV, and were privileged to be a part of what God is doing through the far-reaching ministry of Annie Chikhwaza to help the children of Africa.

Annie has very nearly lost her life on several occasions and its a complete miracle that she is alive today! She is a woman of tremendous faith and an inspiration to people worldwide. Youll be challenged as you read this extraordinary story of Gods faithfulness, protection, and provision.

Its amazing to think that a woman born in the Netherlands went to England, to South Africa, and then to Malawi, where she married a wonderful man, her late husband, Lewis Chikhwaza, and where God used them both to establish a ministry that is touching so many precious young lives today.

I believe that Gods work through Kondanani is something profound and that it will have an impact on the entire continent of Africa. It has been my privilege to visit the Childrens Village several times to film the fruit of this extraordinary ministry and to share this with GOD TVs viewers worldwide.

Kondanani truly is an oasis of tranquillity, education, and equipping. The babies are such bundles of joy and Im sure that among these wonderful young men and women we will find future presidents, doctors, pastors, business people, and so on. I see phenomenal integrity, entrepreneurship, and the favour of God through the work of an amazing woman who has such a mothers heart for Africa.

I have known Annie for over twenty-five years and she has been a great blessing to my wife and me. In fact, she brought Wendy to the church where I was leading worship one Sunday morning, and that is how I got to meet my wife!