For twenty years years, the Innerleithen, Traquair and Walkerburn Parish Church has been twinned with Thondwe Church of Central Africa Presbyterian (CCAP), fostering transformative change for Malawians, and guided by five key principles: alleviating food poverty, fostering economic growth, enhancing healthcare, improving education, and advancing their mission.
Expanding on the inspiration of this twinning relationship, the Thondwe Community Partnership was established in 2016 to encourage shared learning, friendship, and development.
In August 2024, marking the one centesimal anniversary of the Church of Central Africa Presbyterian, Rt Rev Dr Shaw Paterson, Moderator of the General Assembly of the Church of Scotland, visited the Shire Highlands church in Malawi where the Zomba district and community of Thondwe are situated.
He was accompanied on his visit by his wife, Christine, Church of Scotland congregational engagement officer, Carol Finlay, and Innerleithen, Traquair and Walkerburn Parish Church partnership leader, Denis Robson.
Their visit reinforced the mutual advantages of this initiative, including the twinning partnership between St Ronan’s Primary School in Innerleithen and a college in Thondwe, a rural village situated near Zomba in southern Malawi.
Sharing his experience with the Innerleithen congregation, Dr Paterson remarked, “What impressed me essentially the most was he [Denis Robinson] took no credit and he spoke concerning the contribution and support from the congregation and the community.
“He commented concerning the two-way means of a twinning – it’s not nearly giving, it’s about receiving from Thondwe.”
One of essentially the most impactful moments of his visit was witnessing how a £10 solar-powered light enabled children to check at night in a college with no electricity and overcrowded classrooms of as much as 115 pupils.
Driven by this experience, Dr Paterson launched the Moderator’s Challenge to fund solar-powered lights for college kids. Since its launch in December, it has raised £22,019, also assisting PhD students at Zomba Theological University study at night.
Deeply moved by the “easy, but life-changing” solution, he expressed gratitude to the villagers for his or her twinning, which has enabled him to “hear God’s message”.
Quoting his spiritual calling, he said, “I thank the nice people of the village for bringing me down from the lofty heights of being Moderator, bringing me down from the mountain and recognising that God has a job for me to do.
“God was saying to me ‘you have seen how lives may be enriched and opportunities opened up – you’re the Moderator, use your position to make a practical difference in education,’” he added.
He concluded, “Let me assure you, you could have made real not a mountain-top vision but what Jesus said: ‘I used to be hungry and also you fed me, thirsty and also you gave me a drink, I used to be a stranger and also you received me in your homes, naked and also you clothed me, I used to be sick and also you took care of me.'”
Dr Paterson felt honoured when villagers gifted him a live chicken, which was later given to a neighbouring village as a gesture of goodwill.
“Sharing is at the center of the gospel,” he reflected.
Another highlight of his trip was blessing a latest bridge connecting Thondwe to the varsity, replacing one destroyed by Cyclone Freddy in 2023.
Speaking to the congregation, he remarked, “What you could have enabled, what my challenge has raised, cannot really be considered a miracle however the difference it makes to God’s children, our neighbours in Malawi, is miraculous.
“May God bless you as you proceed to grow and develop your twinning.”
Expressing delight for the Dr Paterson’s joint worship along with his congregation on Sunday, Innerleithen minister Rev Fraser Edwards said, “It is a robust partnership between the 2 churches and the 2 village schools have a robust partnership too with life in Malawi being the topic of assemblies in Innerleithen.
“I’m in regular contact with Rev James Chigoli and we share hymns and prayers – our partnership is about learning from one another and we lend support where we are able to.
“It expands our faith since it reminds us that we’re a part of a church that is larger than the Church of Scotland.”
Last yr, the partnership achieved significant milestones, including rebuilding two bridges for safer school access, providing uniforms and desks, and developing a college garden and light-weight library.
It also supported 150 girls with menstrual hygiene kits and health education, while teachers and church members received 20 pairs of spectacles.
The church garden yielded thirty 50kg bags of maize for vulnerable families, together with seeds and fertiliser for the 2025 season.
Additionally, the Scottish church delivered Good News Bibles to Thondwe and funded local purchases of Chichewa Bibles from the Bible Society of Malawi.
This yr, plans include launching a college feeding programme, planting banana and mango trees, supplying 10 corrugated iron roofs, diversifying crops, and repairing the varsity borehole and rainwater drainage system.
