The Flies

Flies are universal pests that can carry over 100 types of diseases, including typhoid, cholera, salmanellosis, and dysentery. So while we may shoo flies, they are dangerous pests. We all know that, but what can we do about them?

That has been a challenge for Chigodi Women’s Center. Behind the hill on which Chigodi sits, Blantyre City has positioned its waste dump. It is uncovered and added to daily. It is a great breeding place for flies and flies know no boundaries. They do not stay at the dump site but come over the hill when anyone is cooking at Chigodi. They invite their fly friends and come in swarms. They swim in open bottles of soda; they dive for open plates; they settle on the covered dishes, just waiting for the tops to be lifted. We have petitioned the City Assembly about the dump and they have assured us they know it is a health hazard and they are addressing the issue, but with no evidence to this point. The trucks continue to come and the flies continue to swarm. The major concern is the disease these pests carry. We don’t want our guests becoming ill because of the flies.

I began to pray about this and God answered. As I was cleaning the window screens in my house one day, it dawned on me that while we can’t eliminate the flies, we can at least keep them out of the kitchen and dining room. We only needed to screen the rooms. This is not something that is commonly done here because of the cost. I inherited the screens for my house. As I was thinking about how to progress with this, given the cost, a church in Pittsburgh sent an undesignated gift to Chigodi, more than enough to screen both rooms, windows and doors. God had provided before I even asked for the money.



Screen protection



The next challenge was to find a carpenter who understood the vision of screened windows. I tried one and we just did not communicate. He didn’t get the concept (not his fault; it was a foreign notion). I found another and when I showed him how mine worked, he knew just what to do. Within a week we had screens in the kitchen and dining room at Chigodi.

What a delight to have a meal and not have flies dive bombing at the food. The staff at Chigodi is delighted and is working to keep the screen doors closed, a new concept, but one that is catching on quickly. We are deeply grateful to our friends in Pittsburgh and to a cleaver carpenter. The pests are barred (or in this case screened) from eating with us. Praise God and pass the nsima.