The shoreline at Kande.
When I first came to Malawi in 1999, I was introduced to an exciting project that Scripture Union was embarking on. Situated 312km from Lilongwe, on a white-sand strip along the shore line of Lake Malawi sits a piece of land that takes its name from the trading centre on the tar road, 2km from the lake. This place is called Kande. If you look up Kande in travel books or do a web search you will see that Kande is all about backpackers and is a key stop-over destination for overland trippers.
Back in 1998 Scripture Union purchased some land on the lake shore for the purpose of building a youth skills training centre. Over the years the vision for the site has changed and grown to meet the needs of the current ministry strategy of SU.
An aerial view of the Scripture Union site at Kande.
Currently the site has three thatched chalets and a multi-purpose community hall. The site has served SU well over the years in hosting youth camps and christian conferences. In 2004 it was realised that the site could offer so much more. More land was purchased and a vision grew for a 90 bed camping and conference centre. Work started in 2008 and we are still building at the main structure, which will accommodate the conference hall, dining room and kitchen. The next phase will be to complete two dormitory wings. There is a great need for a facility in this part of the country that can offer affordable accommodation for groups on the lake shore. SU not only sees this as a base for its own ministry programmes, but also a venue for other groups to hire and provide some income for the organisation.
The shell of the new conference hall, dining rooms and kitchen at Kande (2010).
Once the conference and camping centre is completed we will move on to phase two of the project, which is to build classrooms and training rooms for life skills. The life skills project is about equipping young people who have not been able to go to secondary school with skills that can be used in their villages as a way of supporting themselves and their families. Along with training in the skill, the young person will be trained in financial management and Biblical leadership, so that they can return to their villages and be christian leaders in their churches and communities. While attending the courses the participates will be accommodated in the building that is currently being constructed.
The existing chalet accommodation at SU Kande.
Part of the original agreement on the purchase of the land was to build a facility that the local community could use. The multi-purpose community hall was built in 2007 and serves as not only a venue for SU ministry activities, but also for functions and activities of the local community.
Having a strong interest in this project over the years, Scripture Union have tasked the national director and myself with an overseeing role in the continuing development of the project. We will be travelling to Kande to see work that has been recently undertaken and to write a report on the next steps for the site
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Campers at a youth camp at the SU Kande Camp.
