Last night we had a virtual meeting with the parish in Malawi that we have come to know so well. They all seemed to be well I am pleased to say. But self-distancing or isolating is not something that local people can realistically manage. They cannot stay at home. When it had been suggested their response was, if we do not farm we die, we have to go out into the fields, and it is not tractor farming but together by hand and hoe. Its either starvation or coronavirus, and they simply depend on a good harvest. This year part of the parish had a good harvest, part not so good. Our situation is tragic enough but other countries are far more vulnerable and we have to keep them in our prayers.
Kendal Catholic Priest 