Written by Lucy Chihana, CorpsAfrica Volunteer in Malawi
Reposted from lucykondwani

I have always been slim and tiny. I don’t remember at any point in my life weighing much or being tall. Am just me.  I am not exactly picky when it comes to food. I can have 2 bananas and a bottle of water for lunch. I have my weird cycles and food alternatives that makes my neighbour uncomfortable as she emphasizes the importance of “nsima” but I never miss breakfast no matter how early I am suppose to leave home.  I make sure I take something “warm.” However, this not how most people live in Malawi, life is actually a lot harder. Breakfast is a luxury for the majority. It's usually 2 meals a day,lunch and dinner, for those with enough to eat.

I got here during the harvesting season. Almost everyone had food (i.e. “maize”).  It might have not been much but they had something and there was no hunger talk, no food distribution, no skipping meals due to lack of food.  Some women kept asking me why I take sweet potatoes, Irish potatoes, etc.... for lunch when there's plenty of cheap maize to make my “ufa”  for nsima.  My neighbour thought I don’t know how to do the whole “ufa” process hence offered to do it for me as long as I buy my maize. I tried my best to talk and explain to the women that its not all about nsima.  Well, that didn’t go well.  They told me nsima is life and nothing can substitute it. One important lesson I got from all this is that its actually very difficult to change peoples mindsets.  Just telling people how to do certain things when all their lives they have done things in a particular way and they survived, won't work. Things got to a point where my neighbour used to Ccok her food and bring it to my house so we can eat together just so that I shouldn’t starve because she never saw me cook nsima.  In her words she was scared I might be “malnutritioned” because am not eating nsima.  That’s just how deep some people value Nsima, “Malawis staple food.”

My neighbour always talked about how she was sure I didn't know how to cook nsima I never answered her claims, but she was in for a surprise.

I cooked nsima!!!!

One Saturday, I decided to go to her house and cook them Nsima just to prove a point. When she heard that I was planning on cooking for them she laughed it off and said if indeed I did and succeeded she was going to clean my house. Well, now she knows that I know how to cook Nsima.  It's just that am lazy about it or maybe I just prefer other alternatives when it comes to food rather than Nsima.

It is baffling how deeply rooted people are to eating nsima and its so hard to fight this status quo. The thing is you can’t tell people to change the way things are done because that’s how their parents did it and survived. But, I'm not saying its impossible.  The “nsima mindset" is one of the major things worsening the hunger crisis currently underway in Malawi. A country blessed with abundant water sources, rich fertile soil toiling with hunger year after year.

Written by Emas Potolani, CorpsAfrica Volunteer in Malawi
Reposted from eMas' Korner

When I was signing up to volunteer with CorpsAfrica, I had some worries and fears. I was worried about the things I normally used to do and run, whether I’m gonna have the time to run them the way I used to before my commitment. Worries about cutting some friendship ties or becoming disconnected to my friends and family especially that time I didn't know where I was to be posted. I had lots of questions.

As I embarked on this journey in February this year, I carried along these questions with me to an “unknown” destination, a place I now call my home, my second home. As I established myself among the people in my community, I began to love what I do even more, not that I loved it not, but the magnitude itself grew and broadened significantly, especially after bonding with my students at Chitete Primary School. Life became less about me and what I might be missing; it became more centered on the people around me.

One special thing that I have come to agree with about volunteering, is that the service itself end up challenging the being in you, the self becomes transformed and the conception about this life is totally transformed. I can boldly say that I have seen this happening to me and it continues to happen. I have grown up wanting to pursue life and achieve more, pushing and working hard to achieve my career dreams, I might have tried to serve others before now but not to this extent; giving myself and laying myself, sacrificing myself to better the lives of the people around me. My experience with CorpsAfrica has overwhelmingly transformed me and helped me to discover my very being and the reason why I exist; to serve, to be part of the transformation for my own nation, to be an active player in helping the disadvantaged and rediscover their hidden potential to develop themselves.

Although my service with CorpsAfrica has made me to be able to discover myself in the way I just shared, it has also helped me to develop myself even much better. I have been able to do and run the things I used to before becoming part of this wonderful family, and this is very rewarding to me personally. Allow me to share with you a few instances of my personal errands that I have been doing over the years and some that I have been able to do while I volunteer. I will briefly share with you about Worship-Quake, Citizen’s Climate Lobby (CCL) and other things.

WORSHIP-QUAKE (www.worshipquake.org, https://web.facebook.com/worshipQuakeMalawi/)
I was privileged to found a movement of students who would pursue a common goal in using religion as a vehicle to unite people and different communities. In 2012 while I was in University, the Worship-Quake started and over the past years it has grown to levels I never thought. That’s where I spend much of my personal time. Through Worship-Quake, I have made many friends in other Colleges and Universities in Malawi as well as from other various denominations across Malawi. I personally believe that having different religious views shouldn't be a reason to be intolerant and hostile to each other, rather be a factor to appreciate each other and be able to tolerate each other as we appreciate everyone for who they are, what they believe in or what they don’t believe in. Since this post is not about the Worship-Quake I will pause here and direct you to our page on Facebook and our website for more. But the beautiful thing is that as I continue to serve under the CorpsAfrica family, I have been able to attend all of our 3 worship sessions this year, at Chancellor College in Zomba in April, at the Polytechnic in Blantyre on 27th May, and very recently and for the first time at the Malawi University of Science and Technology (MUST) in Thyolo this month on 17thSeptember. As you can see, my service has actually endowed me with much growth in my personal development and errands proving all my fears to be wrong after all. I am so glad that I am still able to offer transformative platforms together with my team at the Worship-Quake although I am living here in my community.

​CCL (http://citizensclimatelobby.org, https://web.facebook.com/groups/1181008555273377/)
The Citizen’s Climate Lobby is a group of volunteers who work for the lobbying of climate change policies in many other countries. I got linked up with CCL when I started doing one of my projects to curb climate change in my community. The CCL family has been so supportive to me especially technically in helping out to roll out the project which I am working with the Women in Chitete, the Integrated Women Empowerment Through Improved-Stove Production. You will recall from my previous posts about updates on our Cook-Stoves production with the women in my village. This project is currently going on well and progressing to the very implementation phase. Now here’s the thing, I managed to establish a group of few people to form up what is now the CCL Malawi chapter. The CCL Malawi chapter is a network where we are now able to share issues to deal with climate change in Malawi and create some projects that we can voluntarily work on in some other communities in here. With a purely voluntary membership, we have some student members and some who are working elsewhere.

So, I have discovered that during my service with CorpsAfrica as a volunteer, I am also able to make many more relationships, networks while I stick to my work in my community. My service has developed me personally and I am glad I chose to volunteer, I am glad to be where I am. I am glad I am contributing towards making a positive change in my community and also in my country.  Today, I am no longer concerned about the things that worried me before I joined my community. I am actually more delighted that I am where I am today; knowing the ties I am making today will forever be part of my life.

As I finish, I would like to agree with Einstein that our devotion and love to serve others and better their lives consists wholly of our selfless desire to see the people around us attain a better life, than our sense of obligation and duty towards the same. We should all strive to do good not because we are obligated to do, but because we are selfless in serving others and making this world a better place for everyone. As we serve humanity, we are also creating a better world for ourselves, our children, our grandchildren and everyone. This is the reason why I do what I do. Let me leave you with this powerful quote: 

“Life is full of beauty. Notice it. Notice the bubble bee, the small child, and smiling faces. Smell the rain, feel the wind. Live your life to the fullest potential…”
Ashley Smith ​

Written by Limbani Kamanga, CorpsAfrica Volunteer in Malawi
​Reposted from Tobiyasi in Chiradzulu

"We are not here to take part. We are here to take over"
-Conor McGregor

​I am writing this piece while seated on the veranda of my tiny house, having returned from Kanje market where I, together with three senior members of the Village X committee, had gone to purchase mphasa (a traditional mat made from reeds). Unimpressed with the quality of mphasathat we had found, we got back empty handed and we have resolved to return to the market on Thursday - another market day at Kanje. Hopefully, we will be able to find top quality mphasathen.

The September equinox, which falls on September 22, is the day when the sun crosses the equator heading toward the South. In the Southern hemisphere, this marks the official beginning of "summer" season. But, see, here in Malawi, which is roughly located midway between the equator and the Tropic of Capricorn, we don't necessarily use the Summer, Fall, Winter, and Spring terminology when describing annual general weather patterns. Rather, the seasons that we have are: cool dry season (May - July), hot dry season (Aug - Nov), and hot wet season (Dec - April). This being mid September, it means we are deep in the hot dry season and, as expected, the days have been getting hotter and drier as we transition toward the end of the year. Generally, daily average temperatures have been hovering around 29°C, which is not that bad but is way different from the average temperatures that we were accustomed to during the cool dry season.

Characterized by scorched vegetation following successive days of zero precipitation, the dry season is a difficult period for small-scale dairy farmers in Chiradzulu and surrounding districts - where most farmers, for various reasons, are not that good when it comes to stocking feeds for periods of scarcity. To find succulent green vegetation for their animals, farmers travel long distances on bikes in search of rivers and streams where they collect various species of vegetation, including immature reeds! This is where the connection between our inability to findmphasa at Kanje market and the hot dry season rests.

At the market, a friend of the only mphasa seller that we found uttered a powerful remark that got me thinking. He said: "Mphasa zikusowa chifukwa cha zitsiru zomwe zikuweta ng'ombezi. Mabango onse adyetsa ng'ombe. Zikapitilira zimenezi, mphasa zizasiya kupezeka. Ndichitukuko cha mtundu wanji chimenechi? [It is extremely difficult to find mphasa these days because of the imbecile that are stocking dairy cattle. If this trend remains unchecked, the mphasa industry will cease to exist. What kind of development is this?]". To add context to the translated quote, I should mention that most dairy farmers in the region, most who are based in Thyolo but collect green feeds in Chiradzulu rivers and streams, are beneficiaries of several development initiatives from the government and NGOs that distribute livestock to diversify household income generation.

Do I think that development initiatives that involve the distribution of cows to rural farmers are borne out of imbecility? Hell no! However, I think the quote above triggers an important conversation that stakeholders in the development sector need to be mindful of: environmental & social impacts, among others, of development projects. What we have here is a classic scenario where the thriving of a particular development project complicates other sectors of life within a confined economy. The government and NGOs distributed dairy cattle to farmers to boost their household economic activities, which is a noble cause in itself. I am unsure whether these farmers were equipped with means of ensuring the availability of feeds during the dry season, but what we have here is that, by cutting immature reeds, dairy farmers are destroying the prospects of the mphasa industry - a mainstay industry in the region.

Since most people can't afford a bed or chairs, mphasa is a very important household commodity here. Therefore, the unvailability of reeds along river banks is an issue of considerable concern. At the very least, the dearth of reeds translates to the scarcity of raw materials for making mphasa, which makes mphasa an exorbitant commodity on the market. Where will people sleep if they can't have a mphasa? Without the availability [or unaffordability] of mphasa, it is highly probable that some people may resort to sleeping on a bare floor. This would not be a nice outcome.

Did dairy farming come to take over from the mphasa industry? I hope not. But how do we ensure that dairy farming thrives without compromising the mphasa industry in the region? Of course, a quick response would be training local dairy farmers how to preserve enough fodder for the dry season, which, based on recent rainfall patterns, ends around mid December. But who is responsible for the training? And what if these farmers were already trained how to preserve feeds for periods of chronic scarcity? What does one do in this case? If you can, feel free to leave comments on this post on what you think should be the way forward.

Anyway, the three committee members and I went to look for mphasa for the community nursery school, which I talked about in a couple of my initial entries such as this one. After several frustrating delays, the school got inagurated today and it is my sincere hope that the school, despite the current unavailability of numerous basic necessities, will help to transform education prospects in Likoswe village. At the moment, kids sit on a bare cement floor, which seems to be okay with most local parents. Some of us, though, are not contend with this. Nevertheless, in my opinion, Likoswe, my community, is in dire need of the many potential outcomes that this nursery school is here to accomplish. Let me stop here.

Morocco, are you ready for the crew? Chill out though, 'cause we not coming to take over.

Written by Vanessa Chimuto, CorpsAfrica Volunteer in Malawi
Reposted from veezinsight

I can’t say am overwhelmed but am I am definitely proud of my community.  When I first had the idea about doing a training in my community it was because of the little frustrations I was facing due to the lack of understanding and communication break down between them and I.  Of course I can say, little by little, they  started understanding and getting the whole reason as to why I was here.  But, I still felt the need to do a training on Leadership and Human Centered Design (HCD) for them to get a little more perspective.  I must say,  for me,  that seemed as though it was a far fetched idea, but as of the 25th of August 2016, this idea became a reality.

The training  involved the members of the Village Development  Committee (the committee which I work most closely with aside from others) and also included Mr. Emas Potolani and Ms. Sarah Kazira who assisted in the facilitation process. The training started around 9am in the morning and ended at 4pm in the afternoon and was held at Nsala community day secondary school.

I would lie if I said I was not nervous, because I was.  This was my first time hosting and also facilitating a training.  The first session was basically on some of the tools in Human Centered Design facilitated by Emas.  Here, we focused on the most prominent  tool, the Innovators Compass.  I must say, he did a pretty good job in translating it into Chichewa (our national local language).  This part of the training took me back to Chongoni Dedza where I first was introduced to HCD by Garrett Mason.  It was a very interactive session.  We talked about  how the Innovators Compass guides us into development that not only centers on people but also shows people how to realize and bring this development forward.  I remember the most exciting part was when certain community members talked about how it is so true that as people we do not see clearly, and pointed out that discovering observations and seeing with a third eye helps us Innovators to understand why certain things are happening and the reason behind this.  They finally understood  the concepts of a community empowering it’s self and finding solutions to their problems.  It was quite interesting to see how the community members were excited about the concept of Human Centered Design.  

With the session done, we went for a lunch break which was an hour and afterwards, we went into the second session which was about leadership.  This session was facilitated by myself.  I remember telling my community members about a certain time where I went to an interview and the strangest thing happened… instead of being asked questions, they made us play a game were we had to make a 3 dimensional feature of a dog using only one hand.  This really surprised them as the essence of this was to teach us how to work together as a group.  We discussed about how each member of the village development committee was chosen into being a member of the committee, each member talked about the qualities that they have which are seen from the people in the village and hence why they were put in the village development team.  We further went on to discuss about the leadership shield.  This is a shield that every leader has to have as it helps to direct you towards your success and the success of your community.  We divided our shield into four parts, two of your leadership skills, the part of your current work that you like best, two values that influence how you work with others,  and a recent  success or accomplishment.  The essence of doing this activity was for the group to see their potential and strengths as well as share those with the rest of the group as they are very important for good group dynamics on community leaders.  We closed the session on leadership with an evaluation form on how one ranks themselves with qualities of being a community  leaders.

Following this session was the last session facilitated by Sarah,  on a section know as dimensions of community empowerment. The aim of the section was to give the Village Development Committee tools on how they can work more efficiently and effectively with members of the community.  They were shown how they could do this if they could rate themselves and their community in terms of Confidence,  Inclusiveness,  Organization,  Co-operative, and Influence. They discussed what happens when these dimensions are ignored as well as the benefits of addressing the dimensions.  It was quite an interactive session and before we knew it time was against us. 

Throughout the time I started planning my training until the day it was finally done, I can say I have learnt so much about my Community, my fellow Volunteers, as well as myself.  I have learnt the importance of collaborating with my fellow Volunteers as it brings more effectiveness to the project and also helps gets things done at the right time.   I have also learnt that this training has also helped my community members to understand more about the projects we are doing.  I can confidentiality say that the training has helped to have our projects move quickly.  Lastly, I have learnt that I am a person who doesn’t give up quickly, despite all the uncertainties at the beginning of my service and to see where I am now.  I am happy being a member of this community.

Written by Sarah Kazira, CorpsAfrica Volunteer in Malawi
Reposted from SarahAyanda

During Pre-service training, we had a permaculture expert come and talk to us about perma-gardening and with the way he talked,  I saw myself starting a garden when I got to my community. 

After some months in my community, I excitedly told my neighbours and my friends I wanted to start a garden at my backyard and they all laughed and said I couldn't do it.  Only one person believed I could manage it, a 15 year old boy named Innocent (and he has helped every step of the way).  I quickly got discouraged and shoved the idea at the back of my brain. Until one day, I woke up and decided I was gonna do it despite what people said. So I woke up early, went to my neighbour, borrowed a hoe and started tilling the place. My neighbours kept coming by and asking what I was doing. I told them starting myself a vegetable garden. “Are you serious?” they asked over and over again. 

IThe next thing was to make a small fence for the garden. Once I said this people finally realized I was serious and were more than happy to help out. All materials needed for the fence were offered to me for free, some brought me manure, some gave me seeds, and some helped with the labour.  So on 08 August 2016, I started my vegetable garden journey. 

Its been exactly a month now and the vegetables are growing healthy and right on time. We planted tomatoes, Chinese cabbage, rape (also known as Brassica rapa), beans, and we recently added pumpkin leaves and maize. And this week I was able to get some bean leaves for lunch from the garden.  It has been an exciting and educative journey for me. I have never done gardening before so I am learning as I go. Some things I have to be taught, other things I am figuring out myself. I have learnt transplanting, experimenting with different types of manure, and generally how to take care of my little plants as I watch them grow. The watering has been the hardest part. Sometimes I don't have the energy for it but I know I still have to do it. 

​One thing I like about my garden is that it has given me something to keep me busy on the days that I am not so busy, sort of like a hobby. If I ever get bored, I just go there and find something to do. It has also been a good conversation starter; people are coming everyday and giving me tips on what I should and should not be doing. What I am most excited about are the tomatoes.  I can't wait until they are all grown and I can start harvesting them.

Written by Tusayiwe Sikwese, CorpsAfrica Volunteer in Malawi

​A few months into my service, I started feeling a bit lonely and I wanted a puppy. So I thought, "hey, I will ask some of the community members to help me find one." One of the community members eventually offered to help and I got very excited. In my head I was going to take care of this puppy so well, probably suffocate it with love and she would be lots of fun, (I really don't know what gave me that impression). I waited for the puppy to come. Days turned into weeks, weeks into another month but she was nowhere to be seen. I kept asking about her but I eventually got tired of asking and just decided to wait.
​
In the process of waiting, I started thinking about just how bad I am at feeding dogs and other things that involve taking care of dogs. I realized that the puppy was probably going to starve to death, considering the fact that I was going to keep her locked up so she doesn't run away. But I didn't want that.
 
Luckily, I think, I saw rabbits! They were so cute. I just had to have one of my own. I went back to the house I saw the rabbits at and asked if I could buy one. The owner thought I wanted to buy one for food, I was shocked. It might come as a shock to some, but I didn't know that people eat rabbits until that day. So I told her I just wanted one to keep as a pet. She was shocked too at that. She couldn't believe that people could just keep rabbits for the sake of it. It didn't make sense to her. This is because a few people in my community raise rabbits and use them as a source of income. It is not that common but it is a business that is slowly blooming. 

​
​Anyway, she agreed to sell the one rabbit I wanted but I ended up buying two. But before she did, she asked me if I had a place for them to sleep, if I knew how to feed them and take care of them. I honestly hadn't thought of any of that. All I thought of was how cute they were and how it would be fun to hold them and play with them. And of course, the names I was going to give them. None of the other things had crossed my mind. I was under the assumption that rabbits were easy to take care of. When I got my rabbits, I put them in box on the first day and let them out the next day. They ran away on the second day. I panicked, (my fear was that they would be eaten by dogs roaming around the community) and so had my neighbours help me with finding them. We found them and I decided to lock them in a spacious room from that day onwards.  Feeding them wasn't easy. I would forget to give them food most of the times. I had to be reminded by my friends here. After a few months I started letting them out again, so they could feed themselves seeing as they were way better at it than I was. I figured they had now gotten used to their new home and would find their way back. Although I have learnt quite a lot on how to take care of rabbits, what kind of locally available plants they eat and things like that, I think I should have just gone for the puppy instead. Rabbits are just as difficult to take care of as any other animals but it takes a lot more commitment to take care of them, especially in a community like mine where they are exposed to a lot of danger like dogs.
 
As I am writing this, one of my two rabbits is missing. I was hoping that it's just the usual stunt that she has been pulling off lately or maybe that she's about to have her young ones (I haven't seen her in month) but I am beginning to think she's been eaten by dogs. I am still hoping that she will come back though.
 
Here's a quick guide to raising rabbits (based on what I have learnt)
 
*Have a good pen before you get your stock of rabbits
*Make sure the pen is spacious enough for your intended stock(the need space to run around)
*Use wire for external walls but wood for internal walls( demarcation is for when the female rabbit wants to breed and rear its young)
*Put dirt (if the pen is made in a cemented area or a cage) in the pen, it helps with urine absorption and makes it  easy to clean
Your pen is ready for your stock
*Feed them plenty of food (they like to eat) and don't forget to give them plenty of clean water too! (I always forgot)
 
 
Oh, they're still so cute!!
 
 Happy rabbit raising!
 
Tusa

Written by Lusekelo Simwela, CorpsAfrica Volunteer in Malawi

​As a volunteer we are ‘armed’ with some tools that help us work and fully integrate into our communities. These tools have been helpful in my service but there is one tool that I used that is not in any Human Centered Design book. This tool is called a Bawo. It is an ancient ‘count and capture’ game that is played in Malawi and a few countries in Africa including Tanzania and Uganda. The name itself is ‘Yawo’ (one of the major languages in Malawi) for board/board game. It is played on four rows of eight holes. It is reminiscent of old days when men of all ages would congregate on large Mango trees that are prevalent in the lake shore of Lake Malawi (where the game was first introduced to Malawi) and play the game which requires skill and strategy to master. It brought people together, which was what gave me the idea to buy one.

​A slightly above average player myself I took it to the community for the first time. I sat outside my host family’s house which by luck has several mango trees. I called for a bench and sat with Rafael, the youngest of his sons and started playing the game. The game is played with marbles, as we played the sound of the marbles hitting the wood board echoed through the village. Little by little men and women came to where we were and sat down waiting for their turn. We played the game for hours, whoever lost would let another come to his/her place to play the winner. I won a few games that day which was great but above all   I learned a lot about the community. I found out that I got a chance to interact with people in a more informal setting, I asked them questions without the pressure that comes in more formal interviews, I made friends that day, friends who have helped me in my service up to date.

​I write this at 1:00 pm, I have a meeting with the chief but I am taking my treasured Bawo with me, he beat me last time and I need my revenge. Thanks for reading and God bless you.

Written by Mama Diop, CorpsAfrica Volunteer in Senegal 

A locality, whatever its nature, its ground and its resources, needs all its living forces to develop. In other words, the development of localities is a puzzle in which all types of actors have to bring a piece to form an ideal. According to us the more interesting actors of a locality are the youth and women. Theses vectors of development are the right persons to bring answers to several difficulties they face. For that, they should be given the opportunities to join the different structures. Being aware of this fact, the Senegalese government has established gender equality in different level of administration. Thus, we can find the same number of men and women in all municipal and departmental councils. This decision constitutes a great step in the Senegalese decentralization politically but many things have to be done. 
 What about the youth ????

 
It is trivially known that the youth represents an important gearwheel in the machine of development. Thus, their absence can contribute to the stamping down of this machine. That is the reason why they should be given all chances to participate in the identification, the conception, and the implementation of all projects of development. But, before that, the youth should be hearten to love and stay in their own locality. That is not the case in my site.
​
Ndiaganiao is a commune located in the department of Mbour. Its population is estimated to be 50,000 inhabitants in 2016 and youth represent half of this population. However, youth representativeness is not reflected in different decisional structures. In fact, in the municipal council, they only represent 7%. Many young people interviewed about this feeble representativeness almost gave the same answers.
 
Firstly, there are what we call a generation conflict meaning that old persons think they are the only ones who are capable of making the right decisions for the whole community.
Secondly, the growing frustration of the youth disheartens them to commit to the local politics. Finally, they prefer looking forward on their future rather than loosing time with politics without gain.
 
In addition, our stay in this site permits us to see and live several difficulties faced by the youth. In fact, this site has the chance to get an educated youth but it does not exploit this human resource for its own development. The problem is that, during the summer holidays they all leave their locality. The main causes of this exodus is not only the lack of jobs in the village but also the non-existence of spaces for intellectual and cultural development like social clubs and sport grounds.
 
In this site, young persons are almost forgotten in development program and policies. Indeed, we don’t find any partners there working with them like they do with women and others. This is the reason why we have decided to do our best to improve their living conditions.
During our meetings with them, they revealed to us that their wish is to have their social club repaired and equipped. This project would help them to have a space for intellectual and cultural development. Moreover, this project would help them to stay in the locality during summer holidays to organize some activities.  In addition, this club would make a profit that will be used for an additional purpose.

 

Written by Deborah Kamanga, CorpsAfrica Volunteer in Malawi

For the past two weeks, I have been going to bed or waking up to the sound of people singing or chanting. On the first night, I thought maybe there was a funeral; or wedding nearby, because that’s usually about the only time that people sing or chant in this community. Day after day, I kept hearing these “noises” and I was convinced that this was neither a funeral nor wedding because these ceremonies usually do not last for so many days.

One fateful morning, as I was sweeping outside my humble abode, my “closest” neighbor came out of his house (closest in terms of the distance from his house to mine). As we were conversing, I decided to ask him about the music and chanting which had almost become a daily routine. He laughed and told me that this was the season for initiation ceremonies in the community and that’s what people had been celebrating for the past two weeks or there about. I was curious because I had limited knowledge about initiation ceremonies, plus I had never been to one. Furthermore, most of the information I had was on initiation ceremonies amongst my tribal people; the Chewa, and I regarded this as a moment for me to learn something about initiation ceremonies amongst the people in my host community; the Lomwe and this blog post will be highlighting a few things that I have learnt about these ceremonies, from my neighbor and some other members of the community.

In Mbewa village, which is my host community, initiation ceremonies take place most of the times within the month of August and mostly when the local primary school is on holiday. These ceremonies are organized for both male and females starting from 10 years old going upwards. Parents of the prospective “candidates” pay some money to the Group Village Head notifying him/her of the up-coming initiation ceremony for their child. Another stipulated amount is paid to the “Namkungwis”; these are people responsible for training and teaching people at the initiation camps. In addition to this, more money is paid to the church which the family belongs to, this is because the initiation ceremonies in this community are organized by different churches and each church has their own mode of operation. However, some of the things are common to all the initiation ceremonies regardless of the denomination. Parents are expected to buy new clothes for their children which are meant to be worn on the final day of the ceremony. In addition to the new clothes, they are also expected to prepare food like rice, nsima, chicken and thobwa (A local drink brewed from either maize or sorghum), which they serve to the children and other guests.

These initiation ceremonies are considered as rites of passage to adulthood and at the camps, the children are equipped with knowledge on adulthood. The girls are taught what women are expected to do in the society and how they are expected to carry themselves in the society. For example, the girls are taught that crying during funerals is their duty, thus they have to master the art of crying. A fake dead body is brought to the camp each and every day, this is done to reinforce the girls’ level of sympathy. In addition to this, the girls are also taught how to “please” their husbands after they get married. Ironically, at the boys’ camp, the boys are taught the process of childbirth and how to know when a woman is pregnant. The significance of this is the fact that the man is the head of the family thus should have extensive knowledge of the woman’s body.

Most members of the community especially women and young men take part in these ceremonies by singing and dancing on the final day of each ceremony. One would be surprised at the level of enthusiasm displayed during these dances especially the famous dance called “Ngole” whereby women and men get to dance together. I was curious to watch this dance as it seemed as if everyone was excited and talking about it, so I went to the nearby church square when I heard the songs on a Saturday morning. It was quite exciting to see how people were dancing together regardless of age, sex and marital status. One woman came up to me and asked me to join in the dance, but I laughed it off and gave a lame excuse about how I was a terrible dancer, when deep down I just couldn’t stand the massive dust that was emanating from the “dance floor”. I asked the woman if she had any children who had ever attended the initiation ceremonies and I was shocked by her answer when she swore she could never let any of her children attend these ceremonies and that if she knew better, she would have never attended one herself. My level of curiosity was once again heightened and I wanted to know more about why she felt that way, so I asked her if she would mind explaining further. She replied with a simple sentence of: “aunt, palibe chabwino chilichonse chimauzidwa anawa, kumangokhala kuwalaula ana, ine sindingabetse ndalama yanga ata!”  (Aunt, there is nothing good taught to the children and they use a lot of obscene and abusive languages, I wouldn’t waste my money for that at all!).
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I wanted to probe further but refrained from it as I didn’t want the woman to think I was prying. I wish I did probe further and I wish I learnt more. However, one day at a time and every day is a learning moment so I believe throughout the remaining time of my service year, I still have a lot more to learn about these initiation ceremonies and I will be sure to write more on this topic. Until then, Adios!!

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Written by Lucy Chihana, CorpsAfrica Volunteer in Malawi
Reposted from Lucykondwani

​This month I decided to take some days off from my site, take that vacation, get some of my personal things done, visit my friends and family.  I went all over: Zomba, Blantyre, Lilongwe, Dedza and finally Dwangwa the place that made me. I couldn’t wait to share my site experiences with my parents,  show them the videos, pictures, my successful stories as well as failed project frustrations.  It sucks to invest so much in a thing and just watch it all crumble anyway that’s something I will probably share next month.

My parents had so many questions with regards to my staying alone and had this crazy idea to actually hire someone to be staying with me.  Well I told them I need no baby sitter, they said I looked “skinny”. They were so inquisitive about everything and we concluded that they are definitely dropping me off at my site so they can see my house, and meet my new family and friends.  On the 21st August, we started off by 4:30 Am and by 10 Am we were at my site.  We went to my host family’s place first and we were there for close to 40 minutes and then drove to my house and our plan was that they will have lunch at my house. Well, despite being at my house for 2 hours things didn’t actually turn out as we planned because we had an influx of people coming in and out to greet them, and I was all caught up in this making introductions and ended up having a failed lunch. One of the things that made me very happy about this day was what my dad said “my place is far much better than how it got started” I was very proud of myself. My mum was busy looking at my so called kitchen and making comments. I know she was impressed with what I did with this bedsitter place.

​Volunteering is about sacrifice. You should be willing to leave your comfy zone and do things as they are expected of you to best suit your environment, trust me its not easy at all but it’s all worth it. Touching other peoples lives, making a difference, and learning how other people live, it does change the way you see the world somehow. Its actually healing to know that there still good people left in the world who go out of their way just to help out without expecting anything in return. I once came across this piece and I thought its lovely and worthy sharing but I don’t know who wrote it. :(

Other than that, the past six months of working as a CorpsAfrica Volunteer has been my time of not just teaching others but also to personally grow in one way or the other.  The skills and knowledge I am getting from this volunteer work will help me to be an expert somewhere when my service is over and for those who follow my blogs and work please continue doing so because I know that you are also learning from my awesome blogs and together we GROW!!!!! Sikomo kwedyinji.  ("Thank you very much" in chiyawo)

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Written by Vanessa Chimutu, CorpsAfrica Volunteer in Malawi
Reposted from veezinsight

So now that Corps Africa mid-service training and Age Africa scholars retreat is over, I sat down and started reflecting on most of the issues and topics that had been discussed throughout my two weeks away from site,  the most recent thought that came to my head was that on the issues of Gender that was facilitated by Katherine during the first two days of Mid Service training,  I don’t clearly remember what we were talking about specifically in our talks but I remember the word EMPOWERED being thrown on the table, and to my surprise a couple of my colleagues were not happy with the word that was used…. “empowered,” this really came to a shock for me because I really didn’t see that coming, now of course they had a logical reasoning for not liking the word, because to them, the word EMPOWERED as though women are weak and don’t have the capability of making it on their own in life therefore they need some boost to get them going, my colleagues argued that it makes it sound like they are not capable of making it on their own.  I was so curious by the debate that went on and I begged to differ because for me, my understanding of the word EMPOWER, means to make someone stronger and confident especially in controlling their life and claiming their rights.  To me being Empowered means realizing you're highest potential that gives you that sheer confidence to forge ahead and achieve your goals and dreams and of course understanding that there may be a number of obstacles along the way but we have to forge through those. But, in the society we live in, especially in the Malawian rural community, realizing your potential is something that not all girls/women get to realize easily.  That’s why when Age Africa invited four girls from my Community, Sarah (fellow CorpsAfrica Volunteer) and I to their 2016 Scholars retreat themed SHE EMPOWERED (which stands for Safety,  Health and Education), I couldn’t be more excited.

For me this was an opportunity for the girls from my village to be inspired in different ways throughout that  week they were going to spend at the training center.  One of my favorite activities that happened during the  week was on a Wednesday, the day that was specifically reserved for motivational and career talks.  I remember when the first young lady went to the front to talk, her name was Sharon, a graduate from Blantyre International  University.  She came to recite  a poem about the importance  of abstaining  from  activities  that may disrupt  their education.  She spoke with such confidence that the whole room was quiet listening to her.  I  also remember her sharing her life story about how she grew up with no father since she was the fruit of a teenage pregnancy and how her peers from school would laugh at her for having no father.  But this did not demotivate her, in fact, it was a motivation for her to exceed in life.  Now she is doing what she loves the most as she is an artist and earning a good living  out of it. You should have seen the look on the girls faces with awe! It was so priceless as they didn’t expect so much achievement from a 22 year old young lady.  Another speaker that caught the girls eye was Dingase Dula, a young research doctor who has also achieved a lot at a very young  age.  I remember her telling the girls about how hard it was for her to complete school with the financial constraints her family was facing, but this did not push her back.  She managed to succeed and now is also able to look after her family.  We had speakers such as Mrs Ngonda who choose to follow her dream of becoming a pharmacist despite her family wanting her to be a accountant.  Other motivational speakers that came through were Mrs Eunice Banda, a Lecturer at African Bible College, Mrs Lucy Gundo, an Electrician, Martha an Architect, and Carol a Plumber.  These women truly transformed the girls, as these women opened their eyes.  It surely made the girls more confident to believe in themselves more as the ladies acted as role models.  I could already see their curiosity through questions they asked the speakers. The main lesson they learned here was that, it is very possible for them to be whatever they choose to be and there is no profession that is strictly for men or women.

The last activities that took place on Friday was more of an artistic nature.  I think this was the most adventurous part of the retreat.  We had the lovely Jee Chang an entrepreneur from the United States who owns a design company, with her colleagues Anna and Amarando leading these activities. The girls were asked to make masks that show off who they are. So the first activity was to make these masks out of newspaper, balloons, flour and paint.  The girls firstly cut newspapers into small pieces and stuck them around a blown balloons and let them dry in the sun.  While the girls waited for masks to dry,  Jee and her team shared with the girls stories of extraordinary young girls around the world who had done something to change their own community.  One example being a Ted talk by Memory Banda,  someone whom they could relate to more as she is also a Malawian. It surely gave the girls confidence to always stand up for what they believe in no matter what other people tell them. They also talked about who they are and their dreams with their fellow girls.  In the end they were asked to paint the masks as a reflection of who they are and their personalities and stage a performance showcasing that. In the end we realized that the activities were based to boost their confidence even more.  I saw a change in these girls at the end of this week and I know that they will definitely be pioneers  of change in their various communities.

Now,  do I think the girls were empowered?  Definitely!  They were beyond empowered! I believe this is the step we need to take in order to change our society for the better.  It starts now with the future generations.  I wish when I was in secondary school I could have had the opportunity they are having,  it was truly a pleasure being a part of this change.  For more about the events that happened during this week Please check out my fellow Volunteers blog at https://sarahkazira.wordpress.com/2016/08/08/s-h-e-empowered/