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It began 20 years ago with a dusty, old donated Bible, and mushroomed into a project to help starving families in drought-ravaged Africa. Irvin Kunzman ’57 successfully raised funds last fall to provide seeds, fertilizer, and food aid to 100 African families to support them through a desperate food shortage.
The story starts in 1984 when Kunzman, an electrical engineering graduate, was working for Honeywell in Ft. Washington, Pa. and joined a lunchtime prayer group. A co-worker was collecting Bibles for a Billy Graham crusade in Amsterdam, so Kunzman donated some old King James edition Bibles that were collecting dust on his shelves at home. The Bibles were given to pastors in Africa. A recipient found Kunzman’s name in the Bible and wrote a letter thanking him, beginning a correspondence that has lasted for 20 years.
After retiring in 1995 from a career in software engineering, Kunzman was invited to visit his long-time correspondent in Malawi, Africa. The landlocked country of 10 million is located in southeastern Africa, bordered by Zambia, Mozambique, and Tanzania. Kunzman offered to give a series of talks he had developed for his church on discovering and unleashing spiritual gifts to pastors in Malawi, along with seminars on management techniques for pastors, using his teaching experience as an adjunct professor at Villanova University.
Visiting Malawi with his wife, Kunzman was touched by the warm hospitality of the people and the beauty of the country, and surprised by the third world conditions of limited electricity, few telephones, and poor roads. He and his wife have returned twice to the country. Ginny Kunzman teaches pastors’ wives, and Irv Kunzman started a group, Church Management Consultants International, that supports spreading information to pastors who can’t attend the seminars.
Last year he began hearing reports of growing fears of a famine from his contacts in Malawi.
“There was a terrible drought in Malawi for two years, leading to poor harvests and food shortages,” says Kunzman. “Three million people were at risk of dying from starvation. I felt called to do something to help. So last fall I convinced my church to help and also raised funds from my family, friends, and strangers to support Malawian families who were starving. It only takes about $10 a month to feed a family of five. The money provided maize seeds and fertilizer for new crops and direct food aid to starving families. Through a team of African pastors we are able to distribute aid in Malawi without any overhead.”
Among those supporting Kunzman’s work were classmates Richard Morgan ’57 and Ray Milhous ’57.
“The good news is that our prayers have been answered,” Kunzman continues. “The rains have come and it looks like the harvest in May will be good. The famine is over. The seed and fertilizer bought with the donations led to a good crop. It’s a warm feeling to know that 500 to 600 people made it who might not have survived without our help.”
Kunzman plans to return to Malawi in May to start a business to support his ministry, Church Management Consultants International.