Bandawe is a community in

Malawi Malawi, officially the Republic of Malawi, is a landlocked country in Southeastern Africa. It is bordered by Zambia to the west, Tanzania to the north and northeast, and Mozambique to the east, south, and southwest. Malawi spans over and ...

on the west shore of

Lake Malawi Lake Malawi, also known as Lake Nyasa in Tanzania and Lago Niassa in Mozambique, () is an African Great Lakes, African Great Lake and the southernmost lake in the East African Rift system, located between Malawi, Mozambique and Tanzania. It is ...

. It is the site of one of the first Christian missions in Malawi, Bandawe Mission. This became the second location for Livingstonia Mission.

Bandawe Mission

The Livingstonia mission established a small station at Bandawe in

Tonga Tonga, officially the Kingdom of Tonga, is an island country in Polynesia, part of Oceania. The country has 171 islands, of which 45 are inhabited. Its total surface area is about , scattered over in the southern Pacific Ocean. accordin ...

country in 1878 (location approx -11.921583, 34.175229). In 1881 the mission moved to Bandawe to escape the bad climate of

Cape Maclear Cape Maclear or Chembe is a town in the Mangochi District of Malawi's Southern Region, Malawi, Southern Region. The town, on the Nankumba Peninsula, is on the southern shore of Lake Malawi and is the busiest resort on Lake Malawi. Cape Maclear ...

and bouts of

malaria Malaria is a Mosquito-borne disease, mosquito-borne infectious disease that affects vertebrates and ''Anopheles'' mosquitoes. Human malaria causes Signs and symptoms, symptoms that typically include fever, Fatigue (medical), fatigue, vomitin ...

that struck the mission. The photo of the graves is at the first Livingstonia near Cape Maclear and are still visible at approx -14.037001, 34.830356. In 1894 the mission moved once again from Bandawe to Kondowe, again for health reasons. The former mission is a historical site, the ruins include a cemetery. Reverend AG MacAlpine was based in Bandawe with his wife Annie MacAlpine. He retired from Bandawe in 1914 having completed 21 years missionary service in Livingstonia. In that year the first world war started but before that the first three Africans were ordained in Bandawe on 18 May. They were Hezekiah Mavuvu Tweya, Jonathan Chirwa and Yesaya Zerenji Mwasi and no other Africans had been ordained in Livingstonia. This was a long awaited milestone as some felt that Africans should never be ministers however

Alexander Hetherwick Alexander Hetherwick CBE (1860–1939) was a Scottish minister remembered as a missionary in Africa. Based in Blantyre, Nyasaland he wrote extensively on local languages and also was a competent map-maker. W. P. Livingstone described him as a "Pri ...

was in charge and he wanted to demonstrate his confidence. MacAlpine returned to Scotland where he was a minister until the mission fell short of volunteers and he again returned to Malawi. In the 1920s, Jack and

Mamie Martin Mamie or Maimie is a feminine given name and nickname (often of Mary) which may refer to: Given name * Mamie Claflin (1867–1929), American temperance and suffrage leader * Mamie Clark (1917–1983), African-American psychologist * Mamie Eisenho ...

were missionaries to Bandawe and

Ekwendeni Ekwendeni is a town in the Northern Region of Malawi. It lies about from Mzuzu, in the Mzimba District. History Ekwendeni was started by Scottish missionaries; in 1889 Walter Angus Elmslie opened a mission station at Ekwendeni. It has one of ...

. Mamie created classes for girls to be educated when parents were known for preferring to educate their sons. Mamie died in 1928, but her family later created the Scottish charity called the

Mamie Martin Fund Mamie or Maimie is a feminine given name and nickname (often of Mary) which may refer to: Given name * Mamie Claflin (1867–1929), American temperance and suffrage leader * Mamie Clark (1917–1983), African-American psychologist * Mamie Eisenho ...

which subsidises the education of girls in northern Malawi.

Education

Bandawe Girls Secondary School is a boarding school for about 500 girls is located here. Girls receive scholarships from the KIND charity and the Mamie Martin Fund.

References

{{reflist Populated places in Central Region, Malawi