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Billy's Malawi Project bringing hope to Africa

The newly-built medical clinic in Cape McClear, Malawi, Africa.Reminder Publications submitted photo
By Katelyn Gendron

Reminder Assistant Editor



WEST SPRINGFIELD In 1999, Margaret Riordan of Dingle, Ireland, received word that her 25-year-old son, Billy, had died suddenly while backpacking in Africa.

Billy drowned in Lake Malawi, Africa, and one year later, Riordan went to the lake to place a sculpted stone in his memory. It was then that she realized the true meaning of her son's words when he called this land "paradise," just 48 hours before his death.

However, Riordan said she was astounded by the immense poverty and lack of both adequate medical care and education in this "paradise," in Cape McClear, Malawi.

Since then she has established Billy's Malawi Project in honor of her son and has dedicated her life to raising funds for the 15,000 people of Cape McClear.

In a reception last week at Elms College, Riordan shared her experiences of living in this southeast African country and celebrated the establishment of the extension of Billy's Malawi Project in West Springfield.

It has only been a few weeks since the organization received tax-exempt status in the United States, according to Suzanne Meserve, board vice president and treasurer of Billy's Malawi Project.

"I just find it unacceptable that on one side of the world you have all of this excess and on the other children are dying from something like an infection from a bad fall," Riordan said.

According to the World Health Organization, Malawi has a population of almost 13 million people; the average life expectancy rate is 47 years old among men and 46 for women; the child mortality rate before the age of five is 125 per 1,000 live births.

Astounded by the lack of medical professionals in the country 120 qualified Malawian doctors and one nurse per every 300 patients Riordan worked diligently to raise funds for the construction of a medical clinic.

She said it was imperative that this facility was built because the closest medical treatment for the people of Cape McClear was hours away.

"The presence of the clinic means everything to them now," she said. "For the first time they are not dying because they have access to antibiotics and the infant mortality rate has virtually gone down to nothing now."

Currently the clinic provides medical treatment, antibiotics and other medications for a fee of 20 cents per visit, Riordan said. She added that the clinic will also begin providing HIV/AIDS treatment in the coming months through antiretroviral medications.

She noted that the fee includes the visit as well as all medications given to the patient.

"I have seen too much of handouts in Africa," Riordan said. "Africa doesn't need charity, it needs management."

With the completion of the medical clinic, Riordan said she is focusing her energies on building a primary school in Cape McClear.

There are currently 1,750 children attending the school, without desks, chairs, books or other materials, she explained. In first grade alone there are 350 students and one teacher.

"They sit on the floor and wait to be taught," she said.

Riordan spent several years after her son's death teaching in Ireland and at the primary school in Cape McClear. She received her undergraduate degree in English and her master's degree in guidance counseling.

However, after juggling the two lives for several years, Riordan said she "left into the unknown," without her income or pension and decided to "take a chance."

She lives in Cape McClear eight months out of the year and spends the rest of the time traveling to raise funds for Billy's Malawi Project.

Meserve said Riordan "runs the charity from her laptop," which allows 97 percent of funds raised to go to the people of Cape McClear. Meserve added that she hopes to raise $50,000 per year for the organization in West Springfield.

Riordan said that without the volunteers and generosity and of those individuals in Europe and the United States, Billy's Malawi Project would not exist.

"I don't do this alone," she said. "I'm doing what I can to change our little cabbage patch and I think if everybody did their little bit things would start to improve."

Billy's Malawi Project is currently accepting volunteers for 2009. Volunteers must be 25 years old and make a minimum commitment of three months. Riordan said the organization is looking for medical professionals and people with administrative skills.

Donations to the organization can be mailed to: Billy's Malawi Project, 152 Piper Rd., West Springfield, MA, 01089.

For more information on the organization visit www.billysmalawiproject.org.