Written By CorpsAfrica/Malawi Volunteer Ms. Margaret Magombo 

The emergence of the Covid-19 pandemic into Malawi has unsettled the already troubled life of the citizens of the landlocked nation. Malawi is predominantly made up of citizens whose daily sustenance is hand to mouth. The vulnerable of its society have had their worries doubled with the pandemic. Girls from rural vicinity, specifically from Nsondole community, have had a great share of challenges during this period of the global crisis. 

Intensified by culture, girls from the area are often pressured into marriage institutions with different forms of coercion. Many tend to find solace and shield from early marriages at school. Presently, with the closure of schools, girls in the area are more than vulnerable. The story of Mercy (not her real name) a form four girl at Nsondole CDSS is a good example of the struggle girls are facing in the area. Mercy has been forced to get married after discovering that she is pregnant. Apparently, her single mother who relies on farming cannot provide for her and her yet to be born baby. Meeting Mercy, her frustrations, hopelessness and helplessness are very evident. She hardly wants to meet her teachers and her friends from Nsondole CDSS out of shame. I made an extra effort to meet and have a chat with her. Through our little chat, Mercy was at pains from the beginning to the end as her reality is too bitter to be swallowed by herself. However, I encouraged her not to lose hope as she can still go back to school after delivery to realise her dreams of becoming a nurse.

Silence of different organizations that spearhead girls education in rural communities during this time of the pandemic is too loud. One can only ascertain that perhaps this should have been the time different stakeholders claiming to have a softer spot for girls education and that of the marginalized child should have been vocal. With the dates for the re-opening of schools unknown, the uncertainty that vulnerable ambitious girl faces is just too unbearable. The temptation of succumbing to pressure from marriage suitors seems to be under sieging many of the girls. 

The introduced online platform supported by the government of Malawi is indeed a commendable effort, however it is a fact that cannot be disputed that only few learners from rural areas can have access to the same. Most guardians of the learners from these rural schools can hardly afford mobile gargets with features to access online reading materials, let alone afford the same to their children. Broadcast of lessons through radios as an initiative cannot go without being mentioned, but the household chores that burden girls alienates the girl child from benefiting the way she should have. 

The school environment experience is an advantage that is more than needed to the girl. The self-esteem, confidence and determination that comes through different forms of interactions positions learning within the walls of the school a bonus.

The CorpsAfrica Volunteer being aware of the struggle the girl child faces during this troubling time has been trying to be conducting guidance and counselling sessions with some girl learners from Nsondole Community Secondary School to equip them with skills to survive pressures in this time. Additionally, preoccupying the girl learners in the area with the opening of kitchen gardens has been another effort taken by the volunteer to rescue girls from taking the wrong path. In the face of all the girl learner is facing, it should be the responsibility of everyone in different capacities to give the girl child a hand. It is us who shall be held responsible by the end of it all if we fail to do the needful.

Written by CorpsAfrica/Malawi Volunteer Ms. Eliza Chanika

There she goes, A woman of  purpose
Early as a bird, she rises to till the ground
Her fields smile with different crops she grows
Soybeans, maize, rice, cabbages, sweet potatoes, tomatoes sometimes
She produces enough to feed, and even more to spare
Her family swims in the lake of nutritious food
The smooth, shiny, eye catching bodies of her family agrees
Like a fish in water, her family takes pride in her
A woman of purpose
 
There she goes, a woman of vision
A lioness she is an eagle, she aims
Like a spider, she enlarges her income sources
She sold her ears to knowledge and gave her eyes to entrepreneurship
farm production, clothes, shoes and cosmetics selling she schedules
A little sleep, a little slumber so will poverty sit with her she knows
She invests her money in Village savings and loan
She built her house, she motivates her children and sends them to school
Wise like an ant she is,
a woman of vision
 
Her heart is golden
Like a dove, she is gentle
She relates, she understands and she gives hope
She lends her arms to the needy
Her beautiful scent hovers in the community
She is a woman, she has a name
blessed is her family and community
Meet Mrs Madeya!

The " Golden woman " is a poem written out of observation of a hard-working woman in the community, Mrs. Madeya. I met this woman at the local women's group and what she does caught my attention and inspired this poem. Mrs. Madeya is a woman distinct from her peers in the community. Her family never lacks, she is involved in farming different types of crops and businesses. She is also in several women groups where they sharpen women's lives by sharing different tips on entrepreneurship, home and food management, health and hygiene among others. She also indulges in village savings bank where she invests her money for future use. This poem illustrates her life style and hardworking spirit in summary.

Written by CorpsAfrica/Malawi Volunteer Ms. Mieke Mmeya

Dear Reader,

Some time ago I received a visit from Grace and Mercy (not their real names), two of my friends from my community. Grace is a cousin to my host sisters and was the one who introduced me to all the interesting spots in the community, while I got know Mercy through Grace. Grace is in Standard 8 (Grade 8) while Mercy is in Form 3 (Grade 9). I like hanging out with Grace because she always has funny yet insightful stories that are helpful whenever I am feeling stressed. However, on this particular visit, she was beside her usual cheerful self and I assumed it was because she felt awkward since this was her first time visiting my house.

The three of us engaged in polite conversation to cover up the awkwardness we were now all feeling due to the silence. However, things got interesting when I asked the girls how they were coping with their schoolwork, to which Grace gravely replied: "Sindikufuna kumamvaso chilichonse chokhuzana ndi za sukulu panopa" (I do not want to hear anything concerning school right now). Mercy and I laughed a little at this but something in Grace's face and tone told me that she was serious. When I asked her why she said: "Mmene zililimu nthawi ikupita ndipo munthune ndikukula. Akatsegula ma sukulu sindikalemba nawo mayeso" (As it is now time is passing and I am growing older. When they open schools, I will not sit for the primary school-leaving certificate examinations (PSLCE)).

Her answer threw me off completely but I understood where her frustrations were coming from because she is repeating Standard 8 and she worked very hard this year so that she could proceed to Form 1. The reason her answer threw me off was that I realized that she had taken a life-altering decision and it was my responsibility to convince her not to go through with it. 

Instead of going through the motions and talking about the importance of education, the three of us talked about the stress the girls were going through due to the indefinite closure of schools and Grace opened up to tell us about how insecure she feels whenever she sees classmates from her previous school year (she had to enroll at a school in the  next community because she could not bear to watch them attend secondary school while she was still in primary school).

In the course of the conversation, I asked Grace what she planned on doing after dropping out of school and she laughed nervously. She had clearly not considered the implications of her decision.

One of the reasons she hates the closure of schools is that she is now required to help out at the farm all day long. It finally hit her that dropping out of school means that this will most likely become her routine for the rest of her life since she will greatly lower her prospects to pursue other careers. By the end of the conversation, Grace was back to her usual self and she reiterated the plans she had for her PSLCE holiday.

​As I was escorting the girls home, she was happily talking about how her parents will sell their cows to send her to the university and expressed hope that at this time I would have gotten a job that would allow me to also support her throughout university. This statement makes me very happy because it shows that not only will Grace sit for the PSLCE, but her dream has gotten bigger and she is excited to undertake the journey to make it come true.

Written by CorpsAfrica/Malawi Volunteer Ms. Angella Chizimba

Last month we had an opportunity to explore the beautiful beach of Nkhudzi based in Mangochi for our In-Service Training (IST) for a few days. Well, such a wonderful experience to finally meet up with everyone, get to share experiences, and check how everyone is doing.

Some of the objectives for the training included: Sharing experiences of home stay and project ideas explored by the Volunteers, monitoring and evaluation training, Human-Centered Design refresher, proposal writing and project management training.

Honestly, my own objectives included: reconnecting with my fellow Volunteers and enjoying some luxury life (i.e. good food, some swimming time, and no more fish in my plate).

I left IST feeling very motivated and ready to serve even more. I finally appreciated how much my life is changing and how much my skills are improving. Before CorpsAfrica, I had poor listening skills. Working with my host community, I have to listen to understand how they feel about things. I am very curious to even ask about the most obvious things. I remember one time, I was asking why a lot of people opt for fishing or selling fish as an income generating activity. Though it seems so obvious taking into consideration that we live along the lake, I had to shut up and listen. I was never good at speaking in a big crowd, thanks to my service, through facilitating meetings, hosting meetings, my confidence level has improved and I can gladly stand in front of people with no nerves, whatsoever.

I got to appreciate all the work the Volunteers are doing in different sites. We were all given a chance to leave our sites due to Covid-19 pandemic, but none of us called it quits. This is extremely impressive. All of us are still on site striving to serve our local communities. We have built resilience in times of need. We shared experiences, the good and the bad, we all understood each other, we were empathetic and we wanted to help were we could. By the end of IST we all were closer than before, we created a strong bond that after service, most of us will remain friends.

We are now well trained in project design, management, monitoring and evaluation, and this was my favourite part of the training. Now we are back into our communities working on our project ideas and working for our grant applications. Everything we decide to do lies in our hands, there is no boss to look over our shoulders and making sure we are on task. Though this sounds great, it is a huge responsibility. We are working with minimal resources; we are not giving handouts but rather we have to build capacities in the community members. I can confidently say that our lives will never be the same after our service, we will come out even better that we are now. This is a life changing experience.
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Here are some IST highlights in pictures:

Written by CorpsAfrica/Malawi Volunteer Mr. Chifundo Chibaka 

In my upbringing, my parents strived not to dictate gender roles when it came to household chores. It didn't matter if my female siblings were around, I would still do the dishes, cook and clean the house. As a result I have grown up to enjoy doing these chores myself. I do all these chores perceived to be for women and girls only, and because of this, men and my peers in my community have jokingly referred to me as anyaChibaka (anya=Miss and Chibaka=my surname). I always go to the borehole to draw water, clean the house and cook all by myself. Several times people have tried to convince me to find female house help to do these things for me.

I recall one particular day while doing the dishes, a 16-year-old boy came up to me and we started talking:

Him: banalume bakusuka yai mbale, he declared (men do not do the dishes)
Me: Who told you that? I asked him.
Him: banthu (people)
Me: So banalume ntchito yabo nivichi? (So what do men do?)
Him: bakuluta kumunda, kupenja ndalama olo kukhala waka nthe (they go to the farm, look for money or they stay idle)
Me: Amama bako bakulutanga yai kumunda? (Doesn't your mum go to the farm?)
Him: She does
Me: Kasi amama bako bakugulisya mphangwe? (I thought your mum also sell vegetables)
Him: Enya, na tomatoso (yes, and tomatoes too)
Me: Aren’t you contradicting yourself?
Him: Mbwee nkhani imale (let us just end this issue) he said while laughing.

I went further to explain that men and women can perform similar tasks as long as there aren't any biological limitations:
Him: I can do anything a women can do, and I can do even better, he challenged.
Me: Can you breastfeed?
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He laughed and left. I hope he got it.