About
WHO WE ARE AND WHAT WE DO
Who are we? We're Dan and Alise Shulters formerly of Ashland, Oregon. Dan started traveling to Malawi in 2015 and discovered it was where he felt God wanted him to be. In 2017 Alise was exposed to Malawi and immediately knew this was where she also needed to be. At this point, we were casual friends and worked together on assorted ministry projects in Southern Oregon. Dan, leaving his business behind and selling all that he had, permanently moved to Malawi in October of 2018, leaving Alise to own and operate the store. After Dan moved in 2018, we both realized we weren't just casual friends. In January 2019 we married and Alise moved to join the fun in Malawi. In 2020, to clean up ties to Oregon, we gave away our business. We have been assisted with our small nonprofit by our good friends Cari and Patricia. They've been able to take care of the things in America that we are unable to do, and they do it with grace.
Since we've been in Malawi we have endured several cyclones, including the world record setting Cyclone Freddie. Through living in the village we've been able to see firsthand how events like these and just living in one of the poorest countries in the world takes its toll on it's beautiful people. Our primary goal is to fulfill Jesus' life filled teaching: feed the hungry, give water to the thirsty, clothe the naked, and visit the sick and those in prison. And all in the tentative balance of helping people without stifling local economics or local initiatives by coming in with overwhelming free stuff and creating antagonistic or condescending relationships. How do we do this? We're working our way through it.
It's difficult to shake off a middle class American point of view while looking around at severe poverty and wishing everyone could have it. It's not possible to be able to create an American style middle class in a rural Malawian village. But! We do believe that with time and effort, trial and error, and God's help, villagers could become sustainable and have a decent way of life. Even in their lack, most are happy and welcoming. And together we are learning from that.
When we first moved to Malawi, for three years we lived in a rundown "duplex" with our Malawian partner's family, the Khwales. Since, through generous donations, we have been able to get a piece of land and create a micro village within our village. A place where we can provide emergency shelter, teach, encourage, provide emergency assistance, and food when necessary. So we will be providing regenerative farming techniques and medicinal herb and plant training. There's still a lot to do, but for now we are in a good place.
We try to meet the unique needs of each individual or family we ,partner with and build two way respectful relationships.