ST. BEATRICE CHURCH & COMMUNITY CENTER
With a donation from a woman named Beatrice, Youth of Malawi was able to construct a remarkable House of Worship like no other in sub-Saharan Africa. Chimphamba had a church which was crumbling. Youth of Malawi worked with community leaders to develop a plan whereby we would rehab the existing church structure and retrofit it into 4 retail stalls for micro-loan funded businesses run by villagers. We’d also construct a church which could hold much larger numbers of villagers.
We commissioned the design, and then started a competition in a South African Arts University to come up with a stained glass panel design to depict the life and journey of Legson Kayira. A winner was chosen and awarded a trip to Malawi to supervise the installation of the glass. We then engaged a renowned stained glass artist in South Africa, to work with the student to bring the design to fruition in glass.
The church was constructed in the round, with cinder blocks cut to allow sunlight to come through in spectacular color and is equipped with a podium, an organ, and a watchtower and bell, providing the most expansive vista in Mchinji district.