LINA CHIHANA’S STORY
My name is Linah Chihana, I was born at Mlare village in Karonga district. I am the 4th born child in the family of 8 children. Three females and five males.
I was married in 1959 to my late husband at Chauteka village and in 1979 we moved together to Kajalajata village where I live up to now. My husband died in 1992. I am a widow who keeps 4 orphans, the children of my two sons.
Life has been hard as a widow in terms of raising these children. I have been struggling especially in providing for them their school items such as uniforms, books. Feeding them has not been easy either. Since I am old now, it has been hard to find food for my grandchildren and myself. Sometimes, we have been forced to sleep on empty stomachs. The gardens have not been producing enough to sustain us all the year round due to poor soils. Because of lack of fertilizers, we have been producing very low yields from my small gardens.
I was brought up by my father because my mother died when I was only four years old. This made my relationship with my father to be very strong. He was both my mother and father. He made sure I am happy. But when he died, all my happiness was gone. I had no one to take care of me and pay for my school fees. This is the reason I got married at a very young age. I felt by so doing, I might be able to find happiness again. My husband was very wonderful, loving and caring husband. He respected me and taught me a lot of things. He made me find a father in him. But that happiness came to an end in 1992 when he died. Since that time, I have been living alone as a widow and now I am keeping my orphaned grandchildren.
I have lived a life as a nominal Christian. I did not have any relationship with Christ or God. I went to church as a routine. I never knew that God desires be closer to us and I never knew that I can make Him my Lord and Savior until 2020 on 25th November when Andy Nyirenda helped me to understand what was missing in my life all this time and how God loves me and His plan for my life. He witnessed to me about the unconditional love of God that He would like to forgive me all my sins and make me His child. I felt this is my opportunity to begin a new life. I confessed my sins and I prayed a prayer of commitment inviting Christ to be the Lord of my life. I am now happy and thankful to God for such an opportunity. My desire now is to grow in my relationship with God so that I can help others know Him intimately.
Since Bishop Gondwe and Andy Nyirenda have been coming to our village, I have seen the love of God in them and my life has been challenged. I thank God for giving us such opportunity. Our village is being transformed because of the skills that we are being exposed to and the word of God that is challenging our life. I am now able to feed my children because I am able to take care of the little food I find. Before that, I was unable to plan properly. I was very careless with the little farm produces I had. This made us to starve. That is the past! I am now very hopeful that my life is in the right track.
To the people reading my story I say; Thank you very much for helping my family and I. Your love for us even though we have not met face to face, portrays the unconditional love of God. Thank you for being part of our lives. Your help to us is a testimony that God values us despite our conditions. You have enabled us to be empowered with skills. You have helped us with the water filters, food stuff during the hard months when we needed food, you have provided us with resources to be able to cultivate rice, you have provided goats and chicken and now my family and I will have a decent eco-san toilet which will help us to have manure for our gardens. God bless you all.
