CORPSAFRICA
  • Home
  • About
    • About us >
      • The Model
      • Human-Centered Design
      • Impact
      • Development Partners
      • Junior CorpsAfrica
    • Team >
      • Staff
      • Board of Directors
      • Advisory Council
    • Work With Us
    • Press
    • Videos
    • Testimonials
    • Contact us
  • Countries
    • Morocco
    • Senegal
    • Malawi
    • Rwanda
    • Ghana
    • Kenya
  • Volunteers
    • Meet the Volunteers >
      • Morocco Volunteers >
        • Group 1 Morocco
        • Group 2 Morocco
        • Group 3 Morocco
        • Group 4 Morocco
        • Group 5 Morocco
        • Group 6 Morocco
      • Malawi Volunteers >
        • Group 1 Malawi
        • Group 2 Malawi
        • Group 3 Malawi
        • Group 4 Malawi
        • Group 5 Malawi
        • Group 6 Malawi
      • Senegal Volunteers >
        • Group 1 Senegal
        • Group 2 Senegal
        • Group 3 Senegal
        • Group 4 Senegal
        • Group 5 Senegal
        • Group 6 Senegal
      • Rwanda Volunteers >
        • Group 1 Rwanda
        • Group 2 Rwanda
        • Group 3 Rwanda
    • Podcast - "My CorpsAfrica Story"
    • Featured Projects >
      • Dzaleka Basketball Court
      • Kitchen Gardens
      • Coronavirus Response
    • Featured Volunteers
    • Alumni Association
    • Apply
  • Events
    • Events >
      • PROJECTing Resilience
    • All Country Conference
  • Blog
  • Donate
    • Donate to CorpsAfrica
    • Pay It Forward Campaign
    • Holbrooke Campaign
    • Corporate Council for CorpsAfrica
    • Planned Giving
    • Amazon Smile

​Bitter Sweet

12/11/2021

2 Comments

 
Written By CorpsAfrica/Malawi Volunteer Ms. Elvira Mdoka

In an agricultural-dependent country, most communities crave the rains as a recipe for plant growth. Such was the case with cock village, which happens to be my site. As I arrived on a hot sunny day, I could see well-prepared fields. Spending more time, I realized they lacked one thing, the rains. Everyone was looking forward to the rains. I started looking forward to the rains, I was slowly blending in, feeling their pain and fears. Together we hoped.

Several times the sky would look promising. It would clothe itself in dark clouds, looking expectant to deliver rain to the anticipating ground. We waited and waited, the skies would disappear as they came. But we remained hopeful.

Finally, one evening the rains fell, but only for a short while. Everyone whined about the few drops of rain, no one was going to be able to plant with such rains. The ground remained un-soaked. Fortunately, the whining was heard by the Supreme. The clouds reformed, and the rains fell, only that it was escorted by a chariot of a mighty wind. Not only did the ground get soaked, but the houses also fell, people got injured, roofs were reaped off from housetops, people scattered around trying to keep safe, and moving items in the rains. Our house got reaped off and our items got drenched.
​
I could say this surpassed all my fears before I came to my site. At this moment, I was no longer worried about how I am going to cope with the people, or how to get started on my Volunteer journey. A far more important thing were running in my mind; life and the well-being of the people.

​All in all, the people still expressed joy at the rains. Early in the morning, everyone went to their fields to plant their maize in their soaked fields and left their sodden items to be solved later. It was a bittersweet moment and I could say it was a more real integration experience. I was reminded of the goal: ‘to live where they live, eat what they eat, to have the firsthand experience of their life and help…' Now that we are here, perhaps something could be done to help such bittersweet moments become sweet. May we let life unfold…
Picture
Arrival at the site
Picture
Our house was ripped off by the stormy rain.
2 Comments
Jolex Kaundama
12/12/2021 06:15:21 am

This is an experience to start off with. Strength to you. Nice blog

Reply
Joe Katsala
12/13/2021 07:51:54 am

A bit of a rough start there, but I am sure everything will work out just fine

Reply



Leave a Reply.

    Support
    Welcome
    ​to the CorpsAfrica Volunteer Blog! 
    Get an inside look at the experiences of CorpsAfrica Volunteers in the field.

    Archives

    December 2022
    November 2022
    May 2022
    April 2022
    March 2022
    February 2022
    January 2022
    December 2021
    November 2021
    May 2021
    April 2021
    March 2021
    December 2020
    November 2020
    October 2020
    September 2020
    August 2020
    July 2020
    June 2020
    May 2020
    April 2020
    March 2020
    February 2020
    December 2019
    June 2019
    May 2019
    March 2019
    February 2019
    January 2019
    December 2018
    October 2018
    September 2018
    August 2018
    July 2018
    June 2018
    May 2018
    April 2018
    March 2018
    February 2018
    January 2018
    December 2017
    August 2017
    March 2017
    February 2017
    January 2017
    December 2016
    November 2016
    October 2016
    September 2016
    August 2016
    July 2016
    June 2016
    May 2016
    April 2016
    March 2016

    RSS Feed

Picture