​Written by CorpsAfrica/Malawi Volunteer Ms. Funani Matemba 

The first month in my community was full of mixed emotions. It was both tiring and interesting. Most community members came to my house to greet and welcome me in the community. I should confess, I have never been greeted by a lot of people like this in a space of a month. I still can't remember most of their faces, let alone their names.

Among these people was a man whom I still remember because of an interesting conversation we had. As I was learning from him about the community, I asked him about the youths and specifically the girls. To my surprise, he answered, “The youths stopped meeting because of Covid-19 and there are no girls in this community.” I laughed because I thought he was trying to be funny, but he was very serious about it. I asked him how this was so, and he explained that most of the girls in the community are married and some are single teenage mothers. I later found out that this is true. On my first meeting with some of the girls, despite being the oldest in the room I felt so young as they all told me that they have babies. There are a lot of girls in my community who dropped out of school and are raising their kids alone in their parent’s homes. Some got married to their fellow teenagers and they are living independently. Some girls want to go back to school. 

Recently I learnt of the death of a teen mother in the community. A huge rock fell on her while trying to mine sand to sell so she could support herself hand her child. This is one example of the struggles these young mothers are facing. This has made me realize that there is more to being a CorpsAfrica Volunteer than facilitating development projects in my community. I hope my service will help to change the plight of some girls in my community as I work to mentor and inspire them to remain in school and have big dreams for their future.

Written by CorpsAfrica/Malawi Volunteer Ms. Lonney Banda

It is a well-known fact that water plays a major role in our lives and that without it, there are zero chances of our existence. When I was told about my site the immediate thought that came to mind was the Lake Malawi. Being someone from the central region who has visited the lake not more than five times, I knew I was bound to have a great time. It was a surprise to me how the whole time my host mother talked about the lake being useful, she only mentioned fishing and washing. On the contrary, I envisioned it as a place where I could find peace in the steady waters and perhaps have a quiet time. 

My weeks in the community are usually fun as I have made it a point to visit Liuzi beach once or twice a week. Liuzi is not very far from where I stay. It is an environment where I meditate and remind myself of the reasons I embarked on this volunteer journey. I now have a great appreciation of the book ‘Blue Mind’ by Wallace Nicholas. Wallace explains the remarkable benefits of being near water on our health and well-being. He shows how proximity to water can improve performance, increase calm, diminish anxiety, and increase professional success.

I am also lucky to have met a great friend Sibongile, who lives by the lake side. She has helped me understand my community better and she is also a great tutor as I am now able to understand some conversations in Tonga (the local language). Sibongile is a mentor for Tiyanjane club, a club for girls who are below the age of 18. She provides guidance on sexual reproductive health, dangers of teenage pregnancies and early marriages, as these are some of the major challenges that adolescent girls are facing in my community. I am currently working with this lovely lady to mentor the girls in Tiyanjane club.