On every trip I always have one or two profound moments. They invariably last just a few seconds but, in those times, I’m reminded that God made us all equal and we have a simple responsibility to love and respect our neighbours – rich or poor. Mary Mtambo is 40 years old, married and a mother of 6 children.
Mary has built a maize and cassava flour business in the main Mzuzu market. “People always need to eat” is her thinking. A small loan from Opportunity International has enabled her to scale the business up and generate more turnover and improved profit margins. The long and the short of it is that she can care for her 6 children. She’s even managing to save £15 a month for a rainy day – she saves, of course, with the local Opportunity International bank.
AIDS looms large like a Harry Potter story book character who should not be named. But it's tragically all too real here. Mary's business success enables her to also care for 4 orphans and her sister.
After the discussion Mary and I said good bye. It was only a split second but the language barrier was breached by our eye contact. In that moment we were both parents doing the best for our families; we were both appreciative of each other’s kindness; and both equals because of that connection. I held back an unexpected tear.
I’ll probably never meet Mary again.
Thank you to all the donors who have made this possible for Mary and the countless others who have similar stories.
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