Written by CorpsAfrica/Malawi Volunteer Mr. Endington Wa Kavuli

Building relationships with the community that you have never been with before is quite a challenging and exciting experience at the same time. It is inspiring when you see people start trusting you and also when you start understanding their language as you blend in with their cultural traditions and beliefs.

Three months of integration was exhilarating and the working relationship was wonderful and splendid. Nobody was quizzical anymore; every member of the community knew me and knew the reason I was there and we were ready to learn from each other. This kept me motivated and inspired.

Everything was going well until Cyclone Anna came and separated us. It washed away the trust and the bond that we spent time building, all the plans we had were flooded leaving everyone in desolation.

Anyways, no one can go against the needs of nature, “it is what it is”. Here I am now in the plains of Mulanje, transitioning from the valleys of Shire-starting over again. I swore to this, I swore to work with the vulnerable communities, I swore to volunteer, as Nelson Mandela said, “what counts in life is not the mere fact that we have lived. It is the difference we have made to the lives of others that will determine the significance of the life we lead”. I am the agent of change and I want to make a difference. I am optimistic that integration with this new community will be just as great.