Written by CorpsAfrica/ Malawi Volunteer Ms. Margaret Chavula
 
Before being sworn in as a CorpsAfrica Volunteer, together with my fellow trainees, we went through a 1-month training formally known as Pre-Service Training (PST) where we were equipped with knowledge and skills on how we can work together with people in rural communities to develop their communities and ensure sustainability. We were told we were going to be catalysts of change in our communities. For me, a month of PST only meant preparing me to serve the community I was going to be sent to because the skills and knowledge were for community development. It's now been almost 4 months since I started this journey as a volunteer in my community, as much as I am living to make a difference in my community and catalyze development, I can confidently say that so far life as a CorpsAfrica Volunteer has been of a great service to me as an individual.

As part of our service, we are required to send in weekly reports to our coordinators and weekly fill-in forms for evaluation. This has been a life changing experience because I have learnt to be accountable and transparent in my endeavors as I engage with the community. Engaging with people in the community both during meetings and individual conversations has changed how I viewed and imagined life in the rural communities; I have become more empathetic by getting out of my own experiences and seeing the community through other people's lens. Now I know people in the rural communities have assets such as skills, ideas and the ability to enhance their livelihoods, they only lack support. Sending in weekly reports and engaging in community meetings has influenced me to learn and embrace time management because as a volunteer no one tells you what to do and at what time, but work has to be done or submitted in time. Engaging with the community through community meetings has greatly improved my facilitation skills and boosted my confidence levels.
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I have also come to realize that the knowledge and skills on community development I learnt during PST can also be applied to one's life and develop and benefit the individual. My favourite approach to development is Asset-Based Community Development, which "catalyzes change and development using the existing gifts and capacities of people and their communities." Applying the ABCD approach in my life is helping me to discover, nurture and develop the assets that already exist within and around me to attain personal and professional development. As a volunteer, I have also realized that learning is a continuous process, by learning through my experiences and readjusting to get better results. I am confident that by the end of my service as a CorpsAfrica Volunteer, there will be more professional and personal development in me.

Written  by CorpsAfrica/Malawi Volunteer Ms. Eliza Chanika
 
Am a kind of my generation
Many call me young lady, some prefer girl
But I have a name
Am a sister to some one
A daughter to someone 
An aunt to few children
A nephew to my mother's brother 
And a potential wife to someone so they say
 
Am I safe, are my kind safe ?
I pause deep in my thoughts
At night, I have scary dreams  a man Chases me in my dreams
And I cry my eyes out sometimes 
Again and again I ask my self questions
"Will I make it back to school after this corona virus pandemic or will I be sold like my sister in 
chinua achebe's novel "looking for a rain god?"
Questions without answers 
Thoughts without ending
Am I safe? 

I saw a car outside  our house yesterday
I heard voices, yes Voices! Three deep voices having a conversation backing up were two sweet 
voices,
Entering into the house, slowly parting the ragged curtain that separates the sitting room 
from our room, there I saw my mother, father and two strangers
"Tawina come meet your husband to be" 
Mother said as she saw me through the wholes of the curtain
Tears all over me I ran, ran, ran as fast as my legs would carry me
What do I do? where should I go?
A cry of a broken girl 
Is she safe?
 
I feel empty inside
I see myself inside a little  bottle 
Will my voice matter?
Will my decision be respected?
Will it not be seen as disobedience? 
Will I not be scorned for denying fathers words?
But I don't want to be married off
Am not yet done with school
A cry of an average girl 
Is she safe, are her kind safe?
 
Am I safe, is my kind safe
A thought of million thoughts 
Cry of thousands of girls
An emotional torture to hundreds of girls
I worry many of us will not make it back to school
I fear many will be pregnant and married off
I cry for my kind
Are we safe, are they safe?
 
Many women tell me l am of age
Many say school will not benefit me
My uncle says he needs goats and cattles 
"You need to find yourself a man that can provide for you and your siblings, we are tired of 
feeding you"
Often i hear this phrase
What should i do?
Am just a fifteen  years old orphan with six siblings to look after
who will i run to, Should i listen, should i get married?
A cry of a broken orphan,
Is she safe, are others safe
 
I am an intelligent girl
I dream of becoming a pilot, a doctor, an accountant perhaps an engineer some day
So stop forcing me into relationships and early marriages
I want to save lives, design tallest buildings, invent new technologies 
So support me during this pandemic 
Protect me, cover me, look after me
I want to feel safe again.
A plea of a girl child.

Written by CorpsAfrica/Malawi Volunteer Mieke Mmeya

"Unless someone like you cares a whole awful lot, nothing is going to get better. It's not." 
                                                                                                        -- The Once-lor, Dr Seuss' The Lorax 

Dear Reader,  

Before I started my service, I never really understood why it was necessary for an organisation to put individuals through the tedious process of applying, interviews and then going through an intensive training just so they can become volunteers, after all I was dedicating my time and skills to work for free. Part of the pre-service training required trainee Volunteers to commute from a rural host community to a formal training venue for the duration of the training. I assumed that this was also unnecessary because I have lived my whole life in Malawi and I have spent holidays at my village as such, I did not need to be trained on how to live in a rural community. I am not too proud to admit that I was wrong.

Volunteering is indeed about caring enough to offer your time and skills to help others. However, that is only the first step. CorpsAfrica has taught me that not all help is necessary. There have been countless cases where individuals or organizations successfully implement projects whose impact diminish once the implementer leaves the project site. Studies have shown that this failure is largely influenced by communities not taking ownership of the projects mainly because they are alienated from the project planning and design. In the end, the projects are not tailor-made solutions for the communities. 

CorpsAfrica understands that no two communities are the same and that it is only the community that can tell you what it needs. This is why all CorpsAfrica Volunteers are required to first and foremost integrate with their communities to discover which projects the community wants and the kind of assets that the community has in order to fulfil a particular project. The Volunteer acts as a facilitator and a bridge between the community and CorpsAfrica and other organizations that are willing to help, while the community takes an active role in project planning, implementation and evaluation. This approach not only allows the community to take ownership of the project hence ensuring sustainability, but also builds the capacity of the community to initiate community development projects without outside help. 

So, my dear reader, whether you are planning to help an individual or a community, make sure you take your time to listen and familiarise yourself with them because most of the times people already know how they would like to be helped. All you need to do is to support them.

Written by CorpsAfrica/Malawi Volunteer Dorothy Mapira

It was a sunny day, I could hardly sit in my house because it was hot. In search of fresh air, I took a seat under a big mango tree in front of my house. I do not usually sit under the mango tree because it is close to a cow, pig and goat kraal. You can imagine the mixed smell coming from these animals dung. However, I had no option this time, I neglected the smell. All I wanted was just a breather. I had recently finished a malaria dosage and my body was still weak. Work was on standby, I could no longer push myself to work. I took my small chair, commonly known as chibwatiko in my community's local language. I leaned to the mango tree as I watched the kids play soccer. 

Then suddenly, my mind got me thinking of how life would have been without friends. Not just friends by name but those who stand with you even in the toughest times. I imagined how I could have been history today if it was not for friends who came to my rescue. I recalled the words of my father the night I was bidding him farewell as I was getting ready to start my volunteering service. He told me to honour and respect everyone irrespective of who they are. He said, "You are not going with your parents to your site, but you will find your parents there." I keenly listened to him. It was one of those rare moments. We had an interesting father and daughter conversation. I thought to myself that my dad is not just a mere man. He is a man full of wisdom and there is a lot to be desired from him. I will leave his story as he is not the subject of today.

It was a night like any other, going to bed hoping that tomorrow will be work as usual. Next day plans were properly arranged, without knowing what the night would bring. It was not cold that night but I woke up from my sleep around midnight feeling cold and I had a fever that made me shiver. I share the room with my host’s daughter, so I asked her for more beddings. It was as if I had been sick for weeks. I took some painkillers, and then slowly the dreamland stole my mind and I was fast asleep. In the morning, my head was pounding, the fever was not gone, my host’s daughter had gone. I could not manage to get up from my bed, not even call for help. The only thing I remembered doing was calling my supervisor to let him know that I was sick and I needed to get help. I also texted my fellow volunteer who we work in the same district.

After my site mate got the message, he called me, only to be greeted by the sad tone of my voice. He knew things were not fine, so he arranged to see me immediately. It is harvest time in my community, so none of my neighbours were at home, but even if they were, I still could not gather the strength to walk out and tell them about my sickness. Around midday, I heard a knock on my door, I was still on my bed. Unable to wake up and move, not even answering them. The main door was opened, they called my name, but I could not respond. Then my bedroom door was open, it was my site mate and my host father. I do not know how they had met, all I knew was they were in the house. Looking at my condition, they arranged for transport to take me to the hospital. The rest would be better explained by them as I did not know how I got at the hospital. 

I will still borrow my father's words on that night, he told me that whatever happens where you are going, we will be the last ones to know, therefore make sure you stay well with people. When you do good, the news will reach us, but if you do bad, the news will reach us faster than you know. True to his words, they were the last people to know about my sickness after I had gotten all the necessary treatment. During my time in the hospital, none of my relatives showed up, not because they would not come but I already had a big family that took care of me. I have only been in my community for three months, but I feel like I have been here for years. I would not ask for more. I got all the care I needed. My community became my family. As I write today, I am still speechless of how people would be so kind and caring towards others, especially those they do not fully know. I have realised that friendships are treasures to your life, if you nurse them well, they will become your guardian angels. Strive to make peace with people all the time.

Written by CorpsAfrica/Malawi Volunteer Chifundo Chibaka

​This is an ideology that I have come to learn and believe for a while now. It portrays the cost that each of us will have to pay to achieve a desired outcome in life. 

A week after settling at my site, I was introduced to a local vibrant youth club by one of my earliest friends. The group has 13 active members and we meet twice a week to discuss issues of interest to us. I instantly felt a connection with the group of these dedicated and hardworking youth trying to change the narrative and push our dreams forward no matter the cost. I was quickly introduced to the groups' objective and the desire to improve the social economic welfare of the members. We are also involved in community sensitisation and education on various issues that range from girls education to child labor.

I found the club in the early phases of two income-generating programs and these are bee keeping and chicken rearing. The group decided to get a loan of MK30,000.00 ($40) to expand the programs to the level we desired. The money has helped us build a new chicken house large enough to house the expected number of chickens we are in the process of buying, the purchasing of 30 young hens and four young cocks, buying of chicken vaccines and purchase of materials to build four beehives. The group has members with different skills, some whom volunteered to fix the beehives at no fee. Recently a member of the same group offered a dimba land (for off-season agriculture) to the club for free to use and the group plans to plant beans and vegetables for commercial purposes to boost the earnings.

In the past weeks different individuals hired us to work on their farms in this harvesting season and this is expected to add about MK85,000.00 ($115) to the groups' account.

This group of young people has come together and formed a vibrant club with goals to improve the economic status of young people in the area and its being manifested in the actions that they are willing to work for their dreams to come true.