An introduction to the Joseph Project

Julian writes:-

In 2002 we began to help orphans in a village with a distribution of food that we had been able to buy with a gift left by a visitor to our church planting work. From that very small start we have seen a significant programme develop to which Phil Hanson gives testimony in his book, "there is no maize". In 2006 we gave a hot meal to over 5000 starving children and elderly people four times each week over a period of 3 months, until the harvest arrived. Additionally, we were able to employ nearly 600 people who we paid a dollar a day (often seen as the measure of whether a person earns enough to live above the poverty line or not), in the preparation and distribution of the food aid, and in growing food for the then current year's programme. In 2007 we ran a much reduced programme reaching about 2,500 of the neediest people three times a week, working in 6 different centres.

Giving food is by itself not a brilliant or even novel idea. Indeed we had initially resisted getting into this as we were concerned that feeding people might become a distraction to the work that we had come to do in Malawi, namely the raising of new churches and the training of men and women in those churches to be disciples of Jesus. Needless to say others with wiser heads could foresee the difficulty we might have in preaching with a clear conscience to people who had empty stomachs that they are loved by God! We are delighted that we were so persuaded! Living among the poorest people on earth has taught us so much. How can we who have so much, who have never gone without a meal except for the purpose of slimming, not help the helpless who have never known what it is to have enough food. Daily we meet old people and children who do not have shoes, adequate clothing, soap or blankets for the cold nights; people who live in mud huts that are permanently damp (or worse) during the rains that last for 4 months, because they can not afford to cover their roofs with basic plastic sheeting; people who cannot receive medical help because they are considered by their fellow Malawians to be too poor to deserve help, or because medicines are stolen by the people entrusted with caring for the sick; people whose daughters or granddaughters run the greatest risk of any expectant mothers in the world of dying when bringing another life into the world - often dying alone, in a dark, dirty hovel that she is proud to call home. We cannot do otherwise than seek to help in whatever way we can. In so doing we are trying to teach the churches that they too can show love because God first loved them.

We have adopted the name of the Joseph Project for this aspect - not in itself an original name, and one that is surely used by others elsewhere. We felt that this name was helpful in summarising one principle we follow, namely that we do not see ourselves providing help as if we were an aid agency. We want to help the Malawians to learn to help themselves. So we have not limited ourselves to providing food assistance. We have someone working closely with the women of several villages who is training them to better care for their families. For instance, she has taught on personal hygiene, provided the means to assist women to prepare gardens to grow vegetables for their families' use and is currently managing a project whereby a village is breeding rabbits that can be used to supplement their diets.

We are planning to buy a farm upon that we will use to grow food that can be used for the purposes of the Joseph Project.

On principle, we do not give to those who are able to help themselves. We limit our aid to the orphaned, the very young, the sick and the old. Unashamedly we are God's representatives within villages that have not known His love in a practical way before; His ambassadors who are trying to bring a message of hope - both in our words and in our actions. The bible contains a chilling condemnation for those who do not show love for their brothers whom they have seen, but say that they love God, whom they have not seen. It concludes that such people are liars. Thank you for enabling us to show love in action to the poor within Malawi and thereby proclaim our love for God. He recognises those who have helped to make this possible and knows of your love for Him too.