Malawi Volunteer Blog: January 14 – 22

Entry 4: Liwonde National Park

This weekend, Arichie, Mike and I made a trip to Liwonde National Park, which is about 4 hours away from Lilongwe. We had a great time. The drive down was just spectacular; the countryside of Malawi is so beautiful. At one point, we were driving on one road where one side was Malawi and the other side was Mozambique. On the way back, we ended up getting gas at Mozambique, since the gas crisis has been really tough, especially these last few weeks. Because we were on the Mozambique side, we couldn’t get in trouble by the police, and that was also why people could sell the gas directly on the road; it was a pretty interesting loophole!

Anyways, the park itself was so beautiful; and my dream came true, we saw elephants! Loads of elephants; we first saw one on its own, which means something was wrong with him because they always travel in herds; he actually tried to chase us! We then saw a big herd during the drive, and later we saw four while we were on the Shire River canoeing; it was so peaceful to watch them walk along. We also saw a bunch of hippos, impalas, waterbuck, warthogs, baboons, vervets, and interesting birds. The lodge we stayed at was fun; we slept in tents, and the hippos came up to the lodge at night; we could hear them grunting! The food was also delicious, a nice break from my normal diet at the backpacker’s lodge! I really enjoyed myself this weekend; it was wonderful spending more time with Mike and Arichie and to see some incredible animals…yay! Looking forward to what comes our way this week!

Entry 5: Wow.

Wow. I can’t even put into words how this week has been going so far. It’s been incredible, crazy, confusing, educational, stressful, rewarding, delicious, wonderful. It has been wonderful having Ken here (yay!) and I have already learned so much listening in on how the projects are going and the process on how things get done. Malawi itself is also going through some crazy times; the gas crisis is worse than ever, making it harder and harder for people to get around, and with the foreign currency problem not improving, I’m not sure when the crisis will end (the normal exchange rate is about 165 Kwacha to the USD, except on the black market, where most people exchange money, it could be up to 250 Kwacha to the USD). The vendors in Malawi are also getting in trouble by the police for selling on the streets instead of the markets; and the vendors are very unhappy about this; so they are rebelling by attacking women who are wearing pants, approaching them and tearing them off, saying that is culturally unacceptable (as someone who is very much pro-gender equality, this does NOT make me happy). At first it seemed to just be the Malawian women, who were targeted, but apparently people made comments at me today for my pants; I guess I have to whip out the one skirt I brought! Work has been a challenge but also rewarding. We’ve been interviewing the Youth Group members to get their basic information but to also see how the Youth Group plays a role in the community. Chadika has such a strong base, and they are so enthusiastic and have a great sense of community; when I asked to go to see the Youth Group’s garden, I thought that maybe one or two of the members would take us. Instead, everyone who was present at the community center, probably about 50 people total, came too. Today I told them how this is such a big learning experience for me; sometimes I feel like they think I know what I’m doing and that I have the power to change the community forever; and that is sort of scary, I’m the same age or younger than half of the Youth Group! I really love what I’m doing though, every minute; and it gets better everyday. And the people who work with Face-to-Face make it even more worthwhile; Ken, Mike, Arichie, Aubrey and all of F2F’s friends, just wow, I can’t say enough good things!

Entry 6: Week 2 of Malawi

I can’t believe I’ve already been here for two weeks. I have learned so much it is ridiculous; I’ve learned about a completely different culture, how wonderful it can be to live in a rural community, especially one that is self-reliant, enthusiastic and happy. I’ve learned about the hardships of living in a developing country; dealing with government corruption, a poor education system, lack foreign currency, gas shortages, human rights violations, pollution, HIV/AIDS, malaria and poverty. I’ve learned about the importance of good agricultural skills, I’ve learned a bit about how non-profits work and how hard the work is, but also how rewarding it is; especially when you are working with such great people! I’ve learned how essential the youth of a community can be, how they can really made a difference. I’ve learned how to be patient, and to be prepared for the unexpected. Being here in Malawi, interning with Face-to-Face and talking with fellow travelers and friends really has broadened my worldview and made me ask so many questions about our world, globalization, development, westernization, and education—and I’m really just intrigued by it all. Anyways, my time in both Chadika and Kan’goma this week has been wonderful; full of celebration and hope for 2012, and I’m so excited to see their project proposals implemented!