Help Lilian to light up lives in Malawi
Poverty-fighter supports rural community
Aberfeldy will see Santa arrive tomorrow for the Christmas lights switch-on and there will be a community market bringing the town alive.
One of the stalls in the square will be accepting donations for a poor community in Malawi, which over the last year has received toys, clothes – and even Breadalbane Strathtay junior FC’s old strips.
Lilian Mackenzie (65), from Tummel Bridge, has been co-ordinating donations which will be sent out to the Wanangua community.
And at the market in Aberfeldy tomorrow she’s hoping people will bring a pair of pants to give to girls in the desperately poor rural settlement.
“They can’t afford underwear, so we are trying to help girls out there. Please help, the pants we send out will make a real difference,” Lilian explained.
She got involved with the crisis in Malawi after working with Romanian charities for several years.
Searching for deserving causes, she found the Raven Trust which from a base in Dunoon sent out books, pencils, toys to Malawi.
“I thought I could manage driving stuff out to Dunoon, so I did.”
Lilian was surprised to be invited by Raven Trust to go out to Africa herself. She took her 20 year-old grandson, Corey.
“It was heart-breaking, the conditions were beyond belief.
“Both of us were very shocked. There’s a famine coming, AIDS is rife, there are children without parents being reared by grandparents who have nothing to give them.
“We gave eight hardboiled eggs we didn’t need for lunch and a wizened old woman was so happy, she had three small children and none of them had eaten for a day.
“Those four eggs meant they had food to last them for two days.
“So last year I started collecting for that specific community, it’s called Wanangua.”
She’s made it her full -time job, involving local people like Aberfeldy and Pitlochry Nurseries.
“Supporters here have donated hundreds of pencils as the government has not supplied any school things for four years and parents cant even afford a pencil.
“Also jotters have been supplied, but never enough.”
Lilian shared pictures of three malnourished children of tobacco workers.
“The parents are treated worse than slaves. As you can see they have malnutrition as well as rags for clothes.
“They have since received clothes and a duvet from the boxes sent out and are receiving food.
“All the other photos are of the people after receiving their gifts from the boxes sent out from our Aberfeldy area.
“Toys, clothes quilts, cups, plates, walking sticks and sports equipment and anything else you can think of.”
Football is a major sport in Malawi, and old strips given by Breadalbane and Strathtay junior teams created particular delight in Wanangua.
Lilian was back in Malawi in September and she and her husband Stuart estimate 400 boxes of donations have gone direct to the community in Wanangua since February.
Her storeroom at Tummel Bridge is full at the moment with 65 boxes to go away to the Raven Trust in Dundee. “I really need financial donations. “It costs the Raven Trust around £11,000 to send out a big container to Malawi, so if you can find me at Aberfeldy Community Market on Saturday, it would be a really good thing to give towards this Christmas.
“Don’t forget, if you have some clean pants to donate or a bar of soap, an unwanted blanket, the people of Wanangua would be overjoyed by your kindness.” Lilian Mackenzie, centre, and husband Stewart with grandchildren and helpers Niamh and Finlay Villagers from Wanangua community wearing Breadalbane Strathtay strips donated by junior football teams