Dire poverty, great generosity, heart-rending plights and smiling faces are among the contrasting memories brought home by Montrose couple Edith and Alan Fraser after visiting HIV and AIDS relief schemes in Malawi.

They were part of a team of 16 on a study tour organised by Christian relief and development agency Tearfund that took them into the heart of the problem areas in the north and the south, to see HIV/AIDS related projects operated by a variety of communities working with Tearfund’s Malawian partners.

They found that, with endemic poverty, the constant threat of hunger and the extensive HIV/AIDS epidemic, life for the ordinary Malawians is very tough.

AIDS, in particular, is devastating the country.

Alan said, “A young pastor summed up the situation by saying, if your family has not been infected by AIDS, it has been affected; 15% of the adult population is HIV positive and the percentage of orphans is 10% overall, 25% in the north.”

Edith and Alan have returned home with admiration for the workers’ commitment to turn the situations around.

There was a big emphasis on education, particularly to young people, about the disease and how to prevent its spread, and there was strong encouragement for everyone to go for testing for the virus. For those who had developed AIDS, hospitals provided free drug treatment if the sufferers could get there. There was also an emphasis on improving farming methods to provide the good diet necessary for healthy living and to resist the disease.

Orphans and other children were priorities for care. Each community ran child care and in the cities, the team saw work with street children carried out by the Chisomo Children’s Club, one of the projects which receives support from Tearfund and the Scottish Executive.

They met five-year-old Frank, found at the railway station after being abandoned on a train. The workers had befriended him and were caring for him while trying to find him a home.

“Nothing had prepared me for what I found in Malawi,” said Edith.

“Meeting families devastated by AIDS, with grandparents and children trying to survive after the death of the parents, was very upsetting...

“Yet I came home amazed at the resilience and happiness of the people I met and humbled by their faith and trust in God.”

Alan said that with so much potential for despair, it was great to see so many people really committed to improving things and winning.

He added, “The communities wanted to tackle the problems themselves, and churches and villagers were working together to do this. They needed help to get started and that’s where Tearfund’s partners came in. They provided start-up help—training, expertise, materials—and then kept in touch with the work. It was really encouraging to see so many Malawians making such effective use of the funds we raise here.”

Following their experience, the Frasers are now working on their follow-up tasks and are busy sorting out their photo, video and audio material in preparation for talking to anyone who wants to find out more about the work in Malawi and the difference the support is making.

They can be contacted on Montrose 671879.