Livingstonia or Kondowe is a town located in the Northern Region

district A district is a type of administrative division that, in some countries, is managed by the local government. Across the world, areas known as "districts" vary greatly in size, spanning regions or counties, several municipalities, subdivisions o ...

Rumphi Rumphi is the capital of the Rumphi District (Rumphi Boma) in the Northern Region of Malawi. It is a lively town with a market which serves the widespread farming community. Rumphi is noted for the kindness of the people (it is even rude to pa ...

in Malawi. It is north of the capital,

Lilongwe Lilongwe (, , ) is the capital and most populated city of the African country of Malawi. It has a population of 989,318 as of the 2018 Census, up from a population of 674,448 in 2008. In 2020 that figure was 1,122,000. The city is located in th ...

, and connected by road to Chitimba on the shore Lake Malawi.

History

Livingstonia was founded in 1894 by missionaries from the

Free Church of Scotland Free Church of Scotland may refer to: * Free Church of Scotland (1843–1900), seceded in 1843 from the Church of Scotland. The majority merged in 1900 into the United Free Church of Scotland; historical * Free Church of Scotland (since 1900), rema ...

. The missionaries had first established a mission in 1875 at

Cape Maclear Cape Maclear or Chembe is a town in the Mangochi District of Malawi's 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 is close to the island ...

, which they named Livingstonia after

David Livingstone David Livingstone (; 19 March 1813 – 1 May 1873) was a Scottish physician, Congregationalist, and pioneer Christian missionary with the London Missionary Society, an explorer in Africa, and one of the most popular British heroes of t ...

, whose death in 1873 had rekindled British support for missions in Eastern Africa. The mission was linked with the

Livingstonia Central Africa Company The African Lakes Corporation plc was a British company originally set-up in 1877 by Scottish businessmen to co-operate with Presbyterian missions in what is now Malawi. Despite its original connections with the Free Church of Scotland, it operated ...

, set up as a commercial business in 1877. By 1881 Cape Maclear had proved extremely

malarial Malaria is a mosquito-borne infectious disease that affects humans and other animals. Malaria causes symptoms that typically include fever, tiredness, vomiting, and headaches. In severe cases, it can cause jaundice, seizures, coma, or dea ...

and the mission moved north to

Bandawe Bandawe is a community in Malawi on the west shore of Lake Malawi. 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 missi ...

. This site also proved unhealthy and the Livingstonia Mission moved once again to the higher grounds between

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

and

Nyika Plateau The Nyika Plateau lies in northern Malawi, with a small portion in north eastern Zambia. Most of it lies at elevations of between , the highest point being at Nganda Peak. It is roughly a diamond in shape, with a long north–south axis of about ...

. This new site proved highly successful because Livingstonia is located in the mountains and therefore not prone to mosquitoes carrying malaria. The mission station gradually developed into a small town. The leading missionary for 52 years was

Robert Laws Robert Laws FRGS FRSGS (1851–1934) was a Scottish missionary who headed the Livingstonia mission in the Nyasaland Protectorate (now Malawi) for more than 50 years. The mission played a crucial role in educating Africans during the colonial er ...

. He established the best school in the region at the time in Livingstonia, and its graduates became influential in several neighbouring countries, including South Africa. Among the alumni of the school was writer

Legson Kayira Legson Didimu Kayira (Neither the year nor the date of Kayira's birth were recorded with precision. He himself chose to celebrate 10 May 1942 as his birthday. – 14 October 2012) was a Malawian novelist. An ethnic Tumbuka, he received an educatio ...

, who graduated in 1958. The title of his autobiographical work ''I Will Try'' was taken from the school motto. Livingstonia Mission Church

Laws wanted Livingstonia to develop into a University, but his successors did not pursue the dream. In 2003 the Livingstonia Synod of the Church of Central Africa, Presbyterian (CCAP) renewed the vision and started Livingstonia University.

Facilities

The houses in Livingstonia are mostly constructed with red bricks. The Stone House, the original house of Robert Laws, is now a hotel. It also has a small museum about the history of Livingstonia.

Demographics

In 2008, the population of Livingstonia was 6,690.

Transportation

The roads to Livingstonia do not have any tarmac. The town is connected to Chitimba on Lake Malawi by the S103 (T305), a steep hillside road with multiple hairpin bends, while the T306 and T305 run to the south. Both roads are in poor condition.

Hospital

David Gordon Memorial Hospital had its foundation stone laid in 1910 and was opened in 1911. David Gondwe was Livingstonia's first formally trained hospital assistant. He was sacked as the mission administration discovered his

polygamous Crimes Polygamy (from Late Greek (') "state of marriage to many spouses") is the practice of marriage, marrying multiple spouses. When a man is married to more than one wife at the same time, sociologists call this polygyny. When a woman is ...

marriage, and thought that rendered him "unstable". However, he was soon employed by the governmental Colonial Medical Services. The hospital currently serves a catchment area with a population of approximately 60,000. Livingstonia Hospital Partnership
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References

External links

{{coord, 10, 36, S, 34, 07, E, region:MW_type:city, display=title Populated places in Northern Region, Malawi Populated places established in 1894 David Livingstone