Ekwendeni is a town in the Northern Region

Northern Region, Malawi

The Northern Region of Malawi, population 1,698,502, covers an area of 26,931 km². Its capital city is Mzuzu. The Northern Region borders Zambia to the west, Tanzania to the north, Lake Malawi to the east, and Malawi's Central Region to its south....

  of Malawi

Malawi

The Republic of Malawi is a landlocked country in southeast Africa that was formerly known as Nyasaland. It is bordered by Zambia to the northwest, Tanzania to the northeast, and Mozambique on the east, south and west. The country is separated from Tanzania and Mozambique by Lake Malawi. Its size...

. It lies about 20 kilometres (12.4 mi) from Mzuzu

Mzuzu

Mzuzu is the capital of Malawi's Northern Region and is the third largest city, by population, in Malawi. The City has 128,432 residents plus 20,000 commuters with about 1.7 million people living around the outskirts of the city...

, in the Mzimba

Mzimba

Mzimba is a town in the Mzimba District of Malawi. The district comprises descendants of Tumbuka and Ngoni peoples.The district of Mzimba comprises a number of Traditional Authorities from the Ngoni people. The head of these Traditional Authorities, or Paramount Chief , is M'Mbelwa IV.-Demographics:...

 district.

Ekwendeni was started by Scottish missionaries. It has one of the oldest churches in Malawi belonging to the Malawi equivalent of the Church of Scotland

Church of Scotland

The Church of Scotland, known informally by its Scots language name, the Kirk, is a Presbyterian church, decisively shaped by the Scottish Reformation....

. The hospital began in the 1890s as a ministry of the Free Church of Scotland

Free Church of Scotland (1843-1900)

The Free Church of Scotland is a Scottish denomination which was formed in 1843 by a large withdrawal from the established Church of Scotland in a schism known as the "Disruption of 1843"...

. It is operated by the Church of Central Africa, Presbyterian

Church of Central Africa, Presbyterian

The Church of Central Africa, Presbyterian is a Presbyterian denomination. It consists of five synods: one in Zambia , one in Zimbabwe and three in Malawi - Livingstonia Synod in the north of the country, Nkhoma Synod in the centre, and Blantyre Synod in the south.The CCAP is the largest...

 (CCAP) - Synod of Livingstonia, in partnership with PC(USA), the Church of Scotland

Church of Scotland

The Church of Scotland, known informally by its Scots language name, the Kirk, is a Presbyterian church, decisively shaped by the Scottish Reformation....

 and the Presbyterian Church of Ireland.http://www.pcusa.org/health/international/profiles/ekwenden.htm

The people of Ekwendeni have Tumbuka

Tumbuka language

The Tumbuka language is a Bantu language which is spoken in parts of Malawi, Zambia, and Tanzania.The language of the Tumbuka people is called chiTumbuka — the chi- marker in front of Tumbuka means “thing”, “concept”, and is understood in this case “the language of ”...

 as the dominant language but other languages are spoken due to the high numbers of people from other parts of Malawi settling there. Ekwendeni has a college of nursing, college of commerce and technical training school.

The people settled at Ekwendeni come from different districts and from different countries. They normally come because of the hospital and to teach at the theological college.

Ekwendeni is largely surrounded by tobacco

Tobacco

Tobacco is an agricultural product processed from the leaves of plants in the genus Nicotiana. It can be consumed, used as a pesticide and, in the form of nicotine tartrate, used in some medicines...

 growing farms. It has a high HIV/AIDS prevalence rates mainly because it is a favourite resting place for truck drivers travelling between Malawi and its northern neighbour, Tanzania

Tanzania

The United Republic of Tanzania is a country in East Africa bordered by Kenya and Uganda to the north, Rwanda, Burundi, and the Democratic Republic of the Congo to the west, and Zambia, Malawi, and Mozambique to the south. The country's eastern borders lie on the Indian Ocean.Tanzania is a state...

, Kenya

Kenya

Kenya , officially known as the Republic of Kenya, is a country in East Africa that lies on the equator, with the Indian Ocean to its south-east...

and beyond.

Ekwendeni is also booming with small businesses. Donors are also helping a lot in the development of this area. Ekwendeni has beautiful surroundings which make the area a good destination for tourists.

Soon Ekwendeni will have a community radio, funded by donors.