Written by CorpsAfrica/Malawi Volunteer Ms. Caroline Luka

Malawi being an agriculture-based country relies on agriculture for its economy, as well as household consumption. Every farming season, community members work from as early as 4:00am in their fields just so they have bumper yields at the end of the season. Growing season starts in November and goes through April. I was deployed to my site as a CorpsAfrica Volunteer in November 2017 and have had the privilege to be part of this entire experience in my community. Harvesting normally starts in April and goes through June depending on when the crops were planted. It is during this time where “waulesi amaonekera” (the lazy man’s work is revealed). The ones that invested their time, money, and energy on their farms have smirks on their faces as they collect their yields for consumption as well as surplus for sale.
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The most common crops grown in my community are maize, soybeans, groundnuts, and sweet potatoes. Most people in my community start harvesting soybeans first in their fields. They bring the harvests to their homes using an ox-cart or carry bags full on their heads and then start threshing. Once the threshing is done, they separate it from the pods and put them in bags. Normally this is not a one-man job. Luckily in my community, we have the youth club members who are willing to provide labour for a little something in return. 

After they have put the soybeans in the bags to store them, they then go back to their fields and harvest groundnuts. Since groundnuts are an underground crop, they first must uproot them from the ground. They use hoes to dig up the groundnuts and put them in piles in the fields. Once the digging is complete, they then have to start plucking the groundnuts one by one until they finish the entire field. The plucking takes a couple of days as it takes a lot of time. After completing plucking, they bag the groundnuts and store them for food or for sale. Some sell fresh groundnuts while others wait until they are dry to sell. Selling also differs in terms of shelled and unshelled. Unshelled groundnuts are cheaper than shelled. 

Maize is harvested last for those who planted more than one crop. During harvesting of maize, they first pile the maize stalks together and start removing the cobs. Once all the cobs have been removed, they put them in an ox-cart to carry home, or for those with fields near their homes they carry the maize on their heads in sacks. In my community, when the maize is transported home, they put them in a nkhokwe (granary) for storage. The nkhokwe can store the maize for months until the owner is ready to shell and put them in bags. ​

Written by CorpsAfrica/Malawi Volunteer Mr. Silvester Kunkeyani
 
The Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), otherwise known as the Global Goals, are a universal call of action to end poverty, protect the planet and ensure that all people enjoy peace and prosperity. Human-Centered Design (HCD), on the other hand considers human factors—taking into account human needs, capacity, perception, and culture to design solutions in partnership with the communities that designers serve.
 
Over the years, most of Malawi’s development projects to date have too often overemphasized top-down approaches that ignore local conditions leading to an abundance of misplaced projects. As a result, abandoned schools, half-built wells, and empty health clinics are scattered across the developing world. 
 
Human-Centered Design does not make assumptions about the needs and capacities of developing communities. Instead HCD stresses the need to empathize and listen, understand experiences through research, observe people and their behavior, ask communities and people the right questions, ideate on how to effectively consider these human factors when designing a solution, prototype proposed solutions, repeatedly test the effectiveness, and finally implement the solution. 
 
This approach enables agencies to address complex human problems and visualize solutions in a way that most effectively addresses human needs. This stems from the recognition of local populations as being more active in the development process, rather than simply passive recipients of benefits. 

An HCD approach also helps agencies become more accountable and credible to the communities by incorporating a participatory, bottom-up process that gives community members a central voice and role in how they achieve their own growth. In my opinion, this is the basis for successful and sustainable development. Without such approaches, the world may never achieve the SDGs, let alone partial progress within the next 15 years. These attempts are not always successful, but they do indicate the increasing recognition of the important role of local populations in rural development and poverty alleviation.
 
Participatory approaches can directly address marginalization and powerlessness that underpin development and are more effective than professional-led services. All communities have assets that can contribute to the positive development and wellbeing of its members, including the skills, knowledge, social competence and commitment of individual community members’ friendships, inter-generational solidarity, community cohesion, and neighborliness. 
 
HCD problem-solving that addresses the actual needs of communities may seem intuitive, but they are often not included in international development efforts. Across the developing world, beneficiaries are often the last people to be consulted about efforts that are meant to affect their lives. As nations work to eliminate extreme poverty and increase prosperity, they should rely on an HCD approach as the key to achieving the SDGs.

Written by CorpsAfrica/Malawi Volunteer Ms. Mildred Chirwa
 
The 28th May of every year is World Menstrual Hygiene Day. The aim of this day is to encourage people around the world to promote activities that ensure menstruation is met with hygienic conditions to avoid diseases, but also to normalize and spread a positive message about menstruation.
 
Researchers have found that menstruation it is one of the contributing factors to low school enrollment, high rates of absenteeism from school, and school drop-out rates among girls and young women in low income areas. As such, it is of great importance that we sensitize communities to observe menstrual hygiene by making sure that sanitary menstrual materials are accessible to girls and young women.
 
In some cultures, girls are sexually exploited due to the lack of information on menstruation. For instance, the myth that menstrual pains can be cured by having unprotected sex with a man, demonstrates the lack of information that I am stressing on. This practice can lead to unplanned pregnancies, early marriages and eventually, dropping out of school. I believe that when issues of menstruation are freely talked about, in our families and communities, inaccurate information on menstruation can be avoided, leading to one more girl realizing her full potential, and one more dream coming true.
 
However, due to the nature of our culture and religion in Malawi, menstrual matters are not well discussed, and girls and young women do not have enough information concerning this subject. In many places in Malawi, menstruation is taken as a taboo and people live throughout their lives pretending that it does not exist. This is the reason why I organized a meeting with my GLOW (Girls Leading Our World) Club members where we discussed how to stay hygienic during menstruation. We also had an information session where we played informative games with the idea of clearing out some taboos around menstruation. For one of the games we did ‘truth or dare’, and ‘I wish’. At the end of it all, GLOW members discussed questions raised on some topics concerning menstruation in general.

​“Menstrual hygiene matters and we need to work together to end the taboos surrounding menstruation in Malawi. Girls and women should be able to live with a positive attitude around their menses.”

Written by CorpsAfrica/Malawi Volunteer Ms. Ruth Chamangwana 
 
Six months at my site has been a rollercoaster; thrilling, stressful, but overall enlightening. I love moving around in my community, visiting community members, going to the lake, going to church, and going to the market. In all these trips, there are five things that I carry with me. These things go everywhere I go; they are my little best friends. 
 
1) Mobile phone. My cell phone is my ultimate best friend. Apart from using it as a communication tool, it is my source of entertainment using the social media apps that I have. My community has awesome network reception, and this makes it easy to communicate with friends and receive communication from CorpsAfrica staff. Happiness! 

​2) Umbrella. My community is literally the warm heart of Malawi. My community members are funny, but the temperatures are ridiculously high most times. Because of the scorching heat, an umbrella is always important to block the sun and make my walk through the community bearable and fun.
 
3) Chitenje (a Malawi wrap). Now that I am part of my community, it is paramount that I dress modestly and in line with the Malawian culture. A chitenje shows that a traditional woman has self-respect and dignity. If I am not wearing my chitenje, I always remember to pack it in my bag and take it on my trip.
 
4) Bottle of water. Unless you want to get a headache from dehydration caused by the scorching heat, travelling with a bottle of water is a necessity. I try my best to be as hydrated as possible which helps me prevent unnecessary health issues.

​5) Smile. My community is arguably the warm heart of Malawi because of the high temperatures and the warm greetings that my community members give each other. It is no surprise that I move everywhere with my smile. Nothing beats a beautiful smile and a warm greeting as one walks around with beads of sweat on the forehead in my beautiful community. 

Written by CorpsAfrica/Malawi Volunteer Mr. Dingaan Kafundu 
 
Come to my site any day and at first glance it will seem like a deserted little community. You will see houses, little groceries, and shops, but hardly any people in sight. You might see a young shepherd protégé with his sheep passing in the street, a lady with her source of water firmly placed on her head, or a few distant deep voices of men sharing a laugh over a game of Bawo, but that’s about it. You will soon learn that most of the people here spend their times at their Munda and Dambo (out in their field). That is unless, of course, you decide to come on a Friday. 
 
On a Friday, it’s like a whole different place. My small and quiet community suddenly turns into the hustle and bustle of big city-esque community. You are woken up before the first cock's crow, by the sounds of worn out truck engines coming to drop vendors and hopeful salesmen off, voices of women rushing to secure their 'spot' on the vegetable stalls, and little boys and girls choosing to skip school to spend the whole day in makeshift cinemas watching their favorite actors in loosely translated Chichewa versions of their favorite movies. It’s Friday market day. 

​Walking in the street to and from the market, your mind is immediately in awe at all the different colors, people, and items on display. What was a quiet deserted road is suddenly filled and packed to the brim. On your left you have clothes of all sizes and to your right are local hand-woven mats at the most affordable of prices. You walk further into the market and you have butchers taking center stage with pork, beef, and lamb at your mercy. Meat comes once a week, so it is no wonder it pulls the largest crowd. By 12:00pm, the butchers pack their knives up, because they’re sold out of meat. 

​It is a pretty remarkable sight. And as the last truckload of people and unsold goodies depart around 9:00pm, the peaceful calm and quiet makes its way back home to my deserted community. In the morning, it is as though nothing happened the day before, the market is back to a single stall of a few tomatoes and the people go about their business. But inside we are all waiting for Friday to come again.

Written by CorpsAfrica/Malawi Volunteer Ms. Khwima Nyirenda
 
One day, on a regular Tuesday in my community, I stumbled upon perhaps the most valuable economic activity in my community. I was walking to Mavungwe Primary School with my partner to facilitate our girls' club activities. The walk is through a big beautiful natural forest called Thoza. The walk through this forest is as therapeutic as it can be. I walk through it with great chance in seeing a new kind of bird, leverets, orange snakes, and many other small animals. 
 
On this particular Tuesday, I saw a foot path that leads into the other side of the forest and I wondered where it leads to. My partner, who has been in the community longer than myself, casually said " rumor has it that foot path leads to a mine." I was shocked because under normal circumstances if there is a mine in an area it is one of the first things you hear about and I was just finding out after a 6-month stay in the community. 
 
As an economist, it is natural for me to be overly curious about any activity that is crucial to the economy of a community, let alone a whole country. Instantly, I set a time to pay the mine a visit. I needed something interesting to do. It took my partner and I ten minutes to get to the mine and we did not find anyone working on it. The mine is a big hole, deep in the forest, with a lot of beautiful stones and shiny particles all round it (but not diamonds). It is clearly a small scale mine where the community uses shovels and sieves to mine. And the good news is that it is a legal mine.
 
The mine has a mysterious twist to it. It has no name, and when I asked around what exactly is being mined in the forest, nobody seemed to be certain. A reliable source in the community said the precious stone being mined is called “Blue Sky” and the main market is in the neighboring Zambia. I tried to Google what “Blue Sky” is but I could not find the information. Whatever Blue Sky is, it sounds beautiful. I am looking forward to the day I find the miners in action and seeing a Blue Sky. The mine is now my favorite place to visit in my community. 

Written by CorpsAfrica/Malawi Volunteer Ms. Ireen Kanjala
 
A wide variety of crops are grown during the hot and wet seasons in Malawi (November to April) and then harvested as well as stored in the cool dry season (May to July).  The most commonly grown crops in my community include maize, groundnuts, cassava, and sweet potatoes. The uneven distribution of rain earlier in the season caused moisture stress and resulted in crops wilting - in some cases permanently wilting - and lowering crop yield. Rainfall distribution improved later in the season, benefiting the late-planted crops and late maturity crops.

Although, there’s been an onset of poor rains, local farmers are harvesting their produce and selling in the local markets. One of the joys of being a Volunteer is eating with the seasons and helping cultivate a more resilient, sustainable food system. When we purchase food that's in season from local farmers, we're supporting both local farmers and the local economy. Buying seasonal food from local sources means that the food has spent less shelf life in traveling and in storage, which can significantly cut back on environmental impacts. 

It is not only about the crops, but insects too. My favourite seasonal protein source has been the flying termites which are locally known as Ngumbi.Ngumbiis from the termite family and the insect makes homes in anthills. These incredibly delicious insects come out during the rainy season but can be stored for consumption during the dry season. Catching Ngumbi is a unique art, especially if you want to catch more than enough for the whole family. One needs to master how to catch these lazy insects, keeping in mind that you only have one season of rain to get these tasty crunchy proteins.
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Flying termite swarms mark the start of termite season. They are mainly attracted to light, which makes catching them in my community even more interesting because of our lack of electricity. Some community members use homemade lamps made from tins, while others trap the flying termites straight on the ant hill.

Written by CorpsAfrica/Malawi Volunteer Ms. Hope Mawerenga
 
Recently there's been discussions on a controversial issue; a church in Malawi spoke strongly against polygamy. This did not sit well with the people in the part of Northern Malawi that I’m staying because it is their tradition to marry more than one wife. Some people agree with the idea of abolishing polygamy, but these are fewer than the people in support of it. A chief in the area even said the church could leave his land if they keep at it. Because most people here really respect what their chiefs say, people supported his proposition. 
 
One day I decided to have a  local chicken meal at a restaurant where I noticed two men inside seated together. I sat in the corner and ordered my food. I badly wanted rice with local chicken, but the two men had just ordered the last rice that was available. So, I settled for nsima. As I waited for my meal, four more men entered the restaurant and sat close to the other men. I can't really recall how it started, but I just heard one man say, "one wife is not enough to satisfy me, she gets tired and I need to relieve all this strength I have". Immediately I was interested, but also very uncomfortable in the restaurant. However, I was also hungry, so I sat and ate my nsima.
 
The friend of the first man who spoke refuted the statement and said, "that's a selfish mentality, do you always have strength for your woman or do you sometimes get tired and she understands?" Very quickly all the men got into a heated debate about whether it is justifiable for a man to have side pieces just because his woman is sometimes tired from all the work she has to do in the home. The first man insisted that sometimes you don't need to marry this second woman, but you can just call her up when you're really pressed. The five men disagreed quickly, and one man even gave an example of men who are rapists. He asked, "would you just have your way with a woman you are walking past just because you have that itch?" To my utter shock, the first man said yes.
 
After hearing that statement, I forgot my food and turned my full attention to these men.
 
His friends were just as shocked as I was and called him weak. One said, "only weak men go out to look for other women, it is only weak men who can't control their need for sex and such men do not deserve a wife to begin with." 
 
I couldn't join in the conversation, but I was so impressed at the five men who felt that it is disrespectful to leave your home and wife and go find another woman. The first man, after their long debate, looked ashamed that he was rebuked by his fellow friends in a restaurant. I can only hope he has a changed mentality due to this conversation. The risk he would put his wife, family, and himself in by having multiple partners is not worth it. 
 
I may never see those men again, but I was happy to be in that restaurant at that time and witness something I feel is so rare. 

Written by CorpsAfrica/Malawi Volunteer Ms. Mildred Chirwa

A lot of young people in Malawi die from malaria and HIV/AIDS every day, despite these diseases being preventable. Although HIV/AIDS cannot be completely cured, there is treatment to help HIV positive individuals. The youth in my community are not an exception to this challenge and this is why we organized a Grassroot Soccer Malaria and Grassroot Soccer HIV/AIDS camp to sensitize young people on prevention and treatment of these diseases.
 
I believe that the young people should be strong and healthy if they are to contribute meaningfully to the development of their communities. Again, when young people are sick, some resources of development are diverted to save their lives, hence slowing down community development at different levels. For this same reason I decided to assist the Peace Corps Volunteer in my community in translating the manual content into Chichewa during the Malaria sessions. This training was completed in a day and it imparted young people with skills and knowledge on how malaria can be properly prevented and treated.
 
For the next three days, I worked with my counterpart, teachers, the youth club, and the women from my community to conduct a HIV/ AIDS training for fifty young people in my community. They were trained in how the virus spreads, prevention techniques, and the treatment available to people living with HIV. With so many misconceptions and myths surrounding the contraction and “cure” of HIV/ AIDS, the training helped to minimize incorrect information from the minds of the youth. In this training, the young people were also imparted with invaluable skills and knowledge in how gender-based violence is perpetuating the spread of the virus and how such gender disparities can be corrected by the youth in their communities.
 
“Moyo ndi mpamba (life is precious), usamalireni (take care of it)!!” was the key message for our whole training.

Written by CorpsAfrica/Malawi Volunteer Ms. Twambilire Kalolokesya

I started hearing about gender equality when I was in primary school. I even joined clubs that encouraged girl’s education and gender equality. Since I was in primary school a long time ago, I assumed that nowadays most local communities understood gender equality as well. However, recently, we conducted Grassroot Soccer Camps at my site and Volunteer Caroline’s site. At these camps, I started having individual conversations with people to understand their mindsets on gender. 

At the Grassroot Soccer Camps there was a topic where we had to discuss about gender. People expressing why they love being a male or female, and what they don’t like about their gender. This is where my eyes were opened. I realized that my assumptions that gender bias was no longer an issue in Malawi was wrong. Some of the issues that came up during discussions were men are still the bread winners in the communities while women stay at home, households still prioritize boys to get educated over girls, and that women loved the fact that men provide, and they just receive from them.

After the camps, I started talking to girls individually to learn more about what goes on in their communities. The individual conversations were important because I learned about what happens in different communities, since these girls come from different places. I learned that after writing form four exams, most girls are told by their parents to get married since they can no longer provide for them. I also learned that parents in local communities prefer paying school fees for their boys rather than for their girls. Another thing that I picked up was that girls at my site think they cannot get better grades than the boys in their class.
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After hearing these issues from the camp and having personal conversations, I started understanding why people had acted a certain way in some past situations. So, in other words, it helped me understand my community even better. The good thing is that the girls and boys I have interacted with are willing to do something about the gender bias that still exists in their communities. We have started discussions about how they can bring that change.

Written by CorpsAfrica/Malawi Volunteer Mr. James Matipwiri 
 
From the dawn of my service in Dedza, it’s been an interesting and exhilarating journey so far. Working with community groups and learning the culture of the communities I serve has been the best part of exploration and discovery in my Volunteering experience. 

THE EAST TO WEST VOLUNTEER SHIELD 
Just a few kilometers from the Pre-Service Training (PST) venue is a site of my fellow Volunteer, Dingaan. The undulating mountains separate our mighty sites and create a weather boundary, leaving the down-lands of Dedza East hot and the uplands cold and chilly. A lot of friends who have experienced the chilly weather of Dedza are surprised to hear that the other side is completely the opposite. I like the awe portrayed by the unsuspecting individuals. I think it’s mostly because they do not really know that Dedza stretches down to the “lake of stars” (Lake Malawi). And if you are not aware, the lakeshore regions are associated with hot weather. 

East of my site is Volunteer Shyreen's site. This is where most of our work is done and it’s where The Hunger Project Epicenter is geographically situated. We share a lot of similarities between our sites, ranging from weather, culture, and agricultural activities. There are also a few differences since her site is much closer to the lake, so obviously fishing is an additional activity there.

MY TIME IN KASUNGU
A few weeks ago, I was privileged to visit Volunteer Wezi's site in a remote village of Kasungu. While there, I met and worked with charming group of women. They call themselves Tindandizane ("let's help one another" in Chichewa). I was astonished with the unity and creativity of the group. They sang traditional songs as a sign of welcoming and entertaining alangizi (CorpsAfrica Volunteers) upon our arrival.

The group reminded me of my service at my site back in Dedza. I loved working with them on their project and trainings. Who doesn't like trees? My answer is probably no one! The women want to turn a bare land into a forest. Yes, reforestation and reforestation! Bringing back the forest and fruit trees around our environment.

In one of the sessions we had, I took some time teaching them about nutrition. The group had limited knowledge about the six food groups. The lessons about moringa reminded me of the achievements of a nutrition animators group at my site. I showed them pictures and videos about how their friends back in Dedza are doing and how they can learn from them in the future. 
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Since I still have months left before the conclusion of my service, I strongly feel that there is so much work to do and much impact to witness. My community is eager to see what the CorpsAfrica Volunteer will help them change and achieve next. I can't wait to be there for them.

Written by CorpsAfrica/Malawi Volunteer Ms. Shyreen Kossam
 
Child marriages are not a new phenomenon in Malawi and neither is the issue of HIV/AIDS. Kachindamoto has one of the greatest and highest rates of child marriages, with one or two girls marrying by the age of 18. Young people are always at risk of getting HIV/AIDS due to early sexual activity. In Malawi, urban young people are more likely than rural young people to have knowledge of HIV prevention. Condom use also remains a challenge for most young people. Cultural beliefs are an issue and are putting young people at risk of getting HIV; most traditional beliefs restrict women and youth from discussing issues related to HIV and sex. There is no need to keep issues of sex and HIV away from our children in the name of culture when our people are dying. The main aim of GRS in my community was for youth to be educated of the dangers of the disease. 
 
The Grassroot Soccer program is one of the ways to stop the spread of HIV and really made a great impact in my community. The journey of stopping the spread started on the 3rd of April and finished on the 7th of April. The camp covered two primary schools, Mtakataka and CCAP, with 25 students in each school. Unfortunately, only 43 students managed to finish all 7 sessions and graduated the program. The camp was very successful with the help of my two fellow Volunteers Mustapha and James, and two teachers from both primary schools who were interested with the idea and were willing to continue with it. During the camp we made it possible to build good relationships with the youth in a safe space that they were comfortable to participate in. The camp and GRS made us realize the power of soccer to stop the spread of HIV. 
 
Life can be so amazing to see how much impact can be done with so little. Grassroot Soccer made me realize that I have the power to change someone's future and I'm making a difference every day. 

Written by CorpsAfrica/Malawi Volunteer Mr. Chris Kaudzu
 
With the hype from the Grassroots Soccer (GRS) Camp I held in my community, the youth got together to form a community youth club. The club is something they have wanted to have for a long time. Some of the youth used to walk long distances to other youth clubs, but they now have one within their community. I see great things coming from this club. Some of the things they have planned to do are dramas, sports, and open-air events. They plan to go to other communities and share what they have learnt through GRS. 
 
The GRS Camp has brought a lot of change to my community. Since the camp, the chief has said the program has had a great impact on the youth. They have learnt new things that have challenged them to live positive and productive lives. Some of the knowledge gained is being shared with friends and family through informal interactions. 
 
The reactions from the youth after GRS have been amazing.  One youth said, "I learnt new things about how to make positive life choices and stay safe. I was empowered to make lifestyle changes.” 
 
A member of the community, Selevas, said, “The issues tackled at the camp are things happening in my community and this camp challenged the youth to live different lives than before." 
 
"This weekend we hope to meet and learn more from our coaches and friends too." said Twaibu. 
 
And finally, a student told me, “We meet to have fun and explore the possibilities we have as youth to change this community. We are in the zone to transform our community.”