The construction of a small health centre in the Walani women's project of the Moravian Church in Malawi is already in full swing. The 80 young women will be able to use the new facilities to receive medication and treatment in the event of illness, but also to receive counselling in a safe environment in the areas of menstrual problems, family planning, malnutrition and hygiene. This will also eliminate the need for costly visits to a distant infirmary/health centre in the future. As the number of women will continue to rise in the near future, the realisation of such a ward is urgently needed. Herrnhuter Missionshilfe is grateful for the support that has made the start of the project possible.

Maren from Freiburg is a psychologist and has spent the past three months doing an internship with the partner organisation of the Moravian Church in Malawi and Herrnhuter Missionshilfe Movarian Humanitarian and Development Services (MoHDevS). The core topics of the internship were mental health, resilience and communication. After a short but intensive familiarisation phase, she carried out training in these areas in the Walani and Light of Hope projects. For Maren, her time in Malawi was very formative and valuable. She reports: "I got to know Malawi as a wonderful country with very friendly, open people - the description "Warm Heart of Africa" really came true for me. The three months in Malawi have flown by and I'm back home in Germany with lots of new ideas, friendships and a good 30 degree difference in temperature. Tiwonana Malawi - goodbye!"

The workshop at the Moravian Church's Sikonge Mission Hospital in Tanzania (Western Province) has received various tools with the support of the Moravian Church's mission organisation in Denmark (BDM) so that it can now start logging. The number of such orders is increasing. Felling trees seems to be very problematic at first, but in fact it is a sustainable project. In Tanzania, wood is considered a climate-friendly resource compared to steel and concrete, which otherwise dominate construction. The felling of trees is often regulated in Tanzania. It requires a state licence with which only trees of a certain type and size may be felled. The licences are only issued for wild forest areas that are dormant after logging and can regenerate sufficiently. Unfortunately, ordinary people in Tanzania often buy illegal timber, which is cheaper. In addition, there are many monopolists in the timber trade who artificially drive up the price of timber. If the hospital workshop in Sikonge offers people in the region legal wood at a favourable price, this helps the environment. This information was sent by Michael and Mia and Toldam Korsgård (DK), who have been working on behalf of the mission in Sikonge for two years.

The Moravian Church's new women's centre was officially opened in Mzuzu, Malawi, on 3 February 2024. The opening was celebrated together with numerous members of the congregation, local politicians, choirs and church staff. Finally, the ribbon was cut by Rev. Mussa Mwangulukulu. There was also a colourful supporting programme full of music, dance and joy. After the official ceremony there was a barbecue and a meal together. Afterwards there was a guided tour with an insight into the work of the women. The focus was on medicinal plants, composting and sustainability. Kristin Hentschel, who is supporting the project on behalf of Herrnhuter Missionshilfe and Bread for the World, reports on the celebration: "It was a very emotional and beautiful day. We have completed this project together and are looking forward to our time in the new women's centre. Many thanks to everyone who supported the project."

In two posts, the Unity Women's Desk (UWD) recently reported on its global work, which largely consists of promoting the educational, vocational and academic training of girls and women from humble backgrounds. Among other things, the UWD supports young female theology students from the ranks of the Moravian Church in South Africa. See here (on the right: Raylene Williams, who worked for six months at the Herrnhuter Diakonie in 2017). With one photo each – see here (please click left/right) - UWD presents 13 young women who graduated with a UWD scholarship in 2023: The post states, "Here are some of our women graduates from Tanzania to North Carolina, from Honduras to Nepal! Thank you to all of our donors who are investing in the future of our church and our world. Women graduates are a critical voice in our present."

The Unity Women's Desk (UWD), headquartered in Winston-Salem/NC, informs in a post dated 12 February 2024 that a new NGO is being established in South Africa that is dedicated to fighting all forms of gender-based violence. The post states, among other things: "Every province of the worldwide Moravian Church suffers from the phenomenon of violence against women. Such violence happens in our communities and in our congregations. How can we end gender-based violence? The first step is to recognise the phenomenon and talk about it publicly! We need leaders who explain that such violence is unacceptable and who stand up for those who are afraid of being hurt by people they are supposed to trust." Angelene Swart and Lettice Joemath are working for the Moravian Church in South Africa in the new NGO. The UWD will support the new organisation called Real-Anti-GBV - Resource Education Awarenes for Live - NPO-Reg.-No. 272-430. More here.

On 15 February 2024, the Sächsische Zeitung reported in a full-page article by Thomas Ruhland that, with the help of Herrnhut missionaries, at least one human skull came from the South African mission station Shilo via the Genadendal station to Herrnhut for research purposes and was later sold - together with 27 other skulls - to the skull collector Hermann Welcker in Halle/S. See here. A total of 831 human skulls are still stored in the Meckelschen Sammlungen in Halle: the skull of Caffern Mqhayis from Shilo in a display case. The skull bears the inscription Coll. Becker; this refers to Carl Joseph Becker, a doctor in Herrnhut, whose son Woldemar later completed a doctorate on the skulls of indigenous people. In Herrnhut, the journalist was given the desired access to the Unity Archiv and also to private ethnological collections. The Moravian Church is pleased about the ongoing research into the darker chapters of its mission and supports it.

Dr Kenneth Serapio, the first surgeon at the Clinica Evangelica Morava in Ahus, Honduras (founded in 1946), who comes from the Miskito people, is retiring at the end of February 2024 after many years of dedicated work at the remote but eminently important missionary hospital for primary care. He fought passionately for the Miskito people to be able to exercise their right to high-quality medical care, even in the structurally weak Mosquitia region. Because he was able to communicate with his patients in their own language, Kenneth Serapio was always a source of comfort and hope at the clinic. The Moravian Church in Honduras thanks him for his many years of service and for his enthusiasm at work, even when war and discrimination threatened his career on several occasions. A six-minute video with him hier.

There is a new video and two pictures from a men's evening organised by the Moravian Church in Cimza (near Rauna) in Latvia, which was also attended by a pleasing number of younger brothers. See here and here. The Latvian regional newspaper Laikraksts Stars in Madona recently reported on the Christian David School near Barkava, which has developed as a Christian school in the Moravian Church environment - and as the first non-governmental school in the new Latvia. Jutas Strazdiņa, one of the school's founders in 1991, reported on new developments at the remote boarding school, which operates without state funding. Four salaried teachers and eight unpaid teachers currently teach 26 children, mostly across classes, often project-based and often outdoors. The nine-year basic school is known in the country for its good atmosphere and excellent learning results. Around half of the children come from the Madona region, while the other half come from further afield, e.g. from Ventspils. There are currently new criteria from the Ministry of Education to which the school must adapt. The entire newspaper article in Latvian here.