The Hearts of the Malawian Young People

I had the privilege of attending a youth event at a local church this weekend, called ‘The Gathering’.  It began like a normal church service, with worship and a sermon.  But it was extremely interactive – the preacher spoke on the country of Malawi, which has now been independent for 50 years, the upcoming elections, and the need to return to the original vision for the country and determine what Malawian’s want their country to be today.  He and a colleague then listed a bunch of sectors and asked the attendees to brainstorm short lists of what they did not like and what they wanted to see in each of the areas.  It was really interesting for me as a fellow Christian who loves the country, a young person, and a development student, to hear the ideas and dreams that a group of teenagers and young adults had for their country.  So I thought I’d share the resulting brainstorm chart with you!

“The Malawi We Want”

Kingdom Business & Spirituality:
What to Uproot:
-          Spiritual numbness and indifference
-          Compromise
-          Unhealthy competition
-          False prophets
-          Proud leaders
-          Divided body of Christ
-          Spiritual dilapidation and stagnation, complacency

Families:
What to Uproot:
-          Absent parents
-          Divorce
-          Same-sex marriages


Economy:
What to Uproot:
-          Cashgate
-          Landgate
-          Stagnant economy

Education:
What to Uproot:
-          Dropouts
-          Irrelevancy of the education system
-          Favouritism


Health:
What to Uproot:
-          Shortage of resources
-          Corruption
-          Shortage of medicines



Infrastructure:
What to Uproot:
-          Potholes
-          Poor structures
-          Corrupt services



Love & Unity:
What to Uproot:
-          Discrimination
-          Favouritism
-          Tribalism
-          Intolerance
-          Unjust policies and laws

Governance:
What to Uproot:
-          Corruption
-          Nepotism
-          Political interference

Kingdom Business & Spirituality:
What We Want:
-          Fruitfulness
-          Spiritual hunger
-          Good stewardship
-          Servant churches
-          God-fearing people



Families:
What We Want:
-          Christ-centred marriages
-          Loving marriages
-          Exemplary marriages that show youth a proper picture of a good relationship

Economy:
What We Want:
-          Financial transparency
-          Economic freedom
-          Generosity

Education:
What We Want:
-          Good primary education
-          Better and challenging syllabi
-          Relevant curriculum
-          Universal quality education

Health:
What We Want:
-          Well paid and motivated human resources
-          Fair service to all
-          More mortuary
-          Effective system
-          Quality services

Infrastructure:
What We Want:
-          Government standardizations
-          Creativity
-          Better housing
-          A better sewage system
-          Good planning

Love & Unity:
What We Want:
-          Humility
-          Justice
-          Rule of law
-          Equality


Governance:
What We Want:
-          God-fearing and wise leaders
-          Patriotism
-          Servant leaders