Written by Deborah Kamanga, CorpsAfrica Volunteer in Malawi

​Prior to joining CorpsAfrica, I always had several questions in my mind about the prevalence of poverty in Malawi. I still do. Having gone through the pre-service training and getting a broader view of what CorpsAfrica does, I was thrilled for two reasons:
(1) I would get to have a first-hand information on why my country, particularly the community I would be working in, is so much entrenched in poverty, despite many other previous development efforts.
(2) I would get to be an active citizen in providing possible solutions facing some of the marginalized people in my country.
Ten months down my year of service, I have been able to undertake a funded project within my community which is aimed at providing school desks for students at the local primary school in my site. The first phase of the project commenced in October and was completed on the 4th of November, 2016, with 20 desks being completed and delivered to Nansato Primary school. Completion of these desks means 40 students taken off uncomfortable floors and provided with a better learning environment. I know some of you must be asking; “providing desks to primary school students, what’s so great about that”? Now those of you who have had to go through the “agony” of learning on the floor, especially in public primary schools, like I have, know exactly how uncomfortable they can be. Experience and research have shown me that;
(1) Comfort is very important for students of all ages, as deep learning requires concentration and attention. Therefore it is very important to create a learning environment that keeps students focused and comfortable.
(2) Uncomfortable sitting can make students restless which can affect their abilities to concentrate and absorb vital information, which in turn reduces their level of performance.

​The success of this project depended largely on the 90% funding by CorpsAfrica, however I cannot downplay on the level of cooperation which the community members displayed in raising the remaining 10% financial contribution towards the project and other investments and commitments in-kind, channeled towards the project.
Working with the people in my community and successfully completing this project has given me some level of gratification. The commitment that the people displayed throughout the project has made me re-think some of the theories I had about marginalized poor people. I realized that there is so much potential and capability residing in these people if only they are given the right platform. I must confess that the first few months at my site I used to tell myself in the back of my mind and sometimes in the front of my mouth that, “there must be something a little wrong with these people.” Sometimes I could tell myself that, “these folks are lazy freeloaders who would cheat and lie to get out of an honest day's work,” and other times I could say, “these people are helpless and probably had neglectful parents that didn't read to them enough, and if they were just told what to do and shown the right path, they could make it.”
I'm not saying that some of the negative stories aren't true, but those stories allowed me to not really see who people really are, because they didn’t paint a full picture. The quarter-truths and limited plot lines had me convinced that poor people are a problem that needs fixing. What if I recognized that what's working is the people and what's broken is my approach? What if I realized that the experts I was looking for, the experts I needed to follow, are poor people themselves? What if, instead of imposing solutions, I just added fire to the already-burning flame that they have? Not directing -- not even empowering -- but just fueling their initiative and this is what CorpsAfrica is all about.
So, consider this an invitation to rethink a flawed strategy. Join me in grasping this opportunity to let go of a tired, faulty narrative and listen and look for true stories, more beautifully complex stories, about who marginalized people and families and communities are.

Cheers!!

Written by Deborah Kamanga, CorpsAfrica Volunteer in Malawi

Samuel Johnson once said, "Life is not long, and too much of it must not pass in idle deliberation how it shall be spent."

For the past two weeks I have been working on a certain project in my community (details of which i shall share with you in another post), but basically this particular project does not require very much of my involvement.  I have therefore found myself being in an idle state one too many times for this entire period. The realization that time was passing by and I needed to occupy myself with something more productive hit me. Just like Gustav Mahler wrote, "Fortunately, something always remains to be harvested, so let us not be idle." I told myself that I was going to find any activity, however exceptionally small it may be, to fill up my hours of idleness.
 
I started a netball and football (soccer) team with some of the youth in my community.  The football team trains almost everyday since most of the guys in the team are school dropouts. When they approached me with the whole idea of starting a football team with them I was so excited because I knew that my days of boredom were going to be reduced. Thus far, the team has a total number of 20 players and they have played 3 matches with 1 win and 2 loses. With intensified training, the performance of the team is picking up.

The netball team is also an exciting endeavor with more than 20 players (and many new ones showing up each training session). Some of the girls in the team are from the girls' club while others are non-members. The training days are Wednesdays and Saturdays only, due to the fact that most of the girls knock off late during school days. I help in coaching the team and thus far we have played one game, which I was part of, and we won.
 
In a nutshell, this is how I have been spending my free time here in Mbewa village. Below are some of the pictures I took from both teams.

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!).
​
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!!

​

Written by Deborah Kamanga, CorpsAfrica Volunteer in Malawi
​
The week starting on the 25th of July marked another exciting week in my CorpsAfrica journey. This was the week where our Mid-service training was scheduled for and I was thrilled to take a one week break from site, plus I was looking forward to meeting the entire CorpsAfrica Malawi team.

I got to the training center called Naming’azi in Zomba together with Asyatu my site-mate and we found some of the other Volunteers already at the center. The first day of training was a gender workshop which was meant for the female volunteers only and it was an exciting day to hear from all the girls about their experiences in their respective sites. The following day, the guys joined us and we continued with the gender theme and several other enlightening sessions on different topics throughout the remaining days of the training. The stories I heard from all of my fellow CorpsAfrica Volunteers during the training hours and even afterwards have taught me how much of everyday heroes that all these young people are. The bravery in undertaking tasks and actions in the different communities in which they are placed has inspired me to aspire for more during my year of service. It has made me realize how much of a difference the seemingly little efforts that each and every one of them is making. I have learnt from these guys that to be a Volunteer it takes generosity, a willingness to give your time to others, understanding, because people’s lives might be very different from your own, empathy, an ability to put yourself in someone else's shoes and feel what they must feel, compassion, to truly care about making someone else's life better, patience, because the process doesn't always go as smoothly as it might, dedication, to stick with the project and see it through. You've shown these qualities and so much more and I have emulated them so thank you. Here's to the everyday heroes, the Volunteers who do what they can, to ease the suffering of others, and be of service to their fellow man. May they know the true satisfaction that comes from helping others who are less fortunate than themselves but no less their brothers and sisters, may they feel the gratitude in my heart for all of the good that they've done. The appreciation that I feel for them is truly second to none.

​

Written by Deborah Kamanga, CorpsAfrica Volunteer in Malawi
​
Growing up, I heard the question: “What do you want to be when you grow up?” a million and one times! As a child and through most of my teenage years, my reply was ALWAYS: “I want to be a lawyer.” I didn’t even know much about being a lawyer at that time, but there was something fascinating about the lawyers I saw on TV. I am not sure if it was the way they talked with so much confidence and sounded very intelligent or if it was the black and white uniforms that I found thrilling. Either ways, I made up my mind I was definitely going to be a lawyer. To make matters worse, I have always been very opinionated from childhood, so much so that my parents used to say: “you are very stubborn and you should be a lawyer” and that somewhat gave me a sense of satisfaction that I was on the right track.

To cut straight to the chase, years down the line, I am currently working as a volunteer in a village I never imagined I would ever locate in my wildest imaginations. I started volunteering with International Citizen Service (ICS) after I graduated from the university and that’s where I gained some insight on what volunteering was all about. Having served as a volunteer with ICS for six months I came across CorpsAfrica and I decided to continue serving my country through this program.

In my reflection process, I realized that I always said I wanted a “white collar” job because I never came across a wide range of other things that I could be. No one ever mentioned volunteering to me both in school and outside. I didn’t get to know about the importance of working just for the purpose of helping people and making a difference, because in my head, the idea of “making it in life” meant having a high-paying “white collar” job. While I am not downplaying the importance of accumulating “enough cash,” I have just gained a broader view of the world we live in and a better sense of other equally important things.

I have therefore been working on starting up a girls club in the community where I live and work. The general accepted view of development especially in rural communities is on the quantitative or structural elements of projects- that is: buildings, construction of bridges, health centers, and so forth and so on. There are limited efforts on the qualitative aspect of development, that is: creating and increasing awareness on issues like women/girls empowerment, the importance of early childhood development, leadership, etc. People are more concerned with the former even if it is more costly to implement because its elements are perceived to be measurable, tangible and can be captured in standards and subsequently measured. The latter is less expensive and equally important in the development process, however it’s harder to measure, communicate and influence. It is from this background that I have decided to start up a girls’ club at Nansato primary school and one of the vital things that I want is for a sense of volunteerism to be imbibed in the members of the girls club. Watch this space for more updates about the girls club, I promise you will be thrilled! (lol).

In addition to this, I came across a community nursery school which was constructed by some Scottish volunteers dating back to five years ago. This has motivated me to start up something which I could always look back to and be able to see that I made a difference.
​
The pictures below depict a brief view of what has made my volunteering with CorpsAfrica thus far, memorable. Cheers!!

Written by Deborah Kamanga, CorpsAfrica Volunteer in Malawi
Reposted from ultimate kryptonite

About 3 weeks ago I got a “thrilling” email from Andrew (a CorpsAfrica program coordinator for Malawi). I had been looking forward to the piece of information contained in the email for days. The much awaited email was about the In-Service Training(IST) for the group one of CorpsAfrica Malawi Volunteers. I couldn’t wait for the 12th of April, 2016 to arrive as I was looking forward to seeing my CorpsAfrica family again. Assiatu, Soukaina and I embarked on the journey to the venue for the IST together and we got to Grace Bandawe conference center (the venue) around 4 in the evening. I was so excited to finally meet everyone again and I was so eager to hear about all their experiences and how they were coping at their various sites. I must admit that a part of me was a bit scared of hearing about how everyone was making “giant steps” and highly immersed in their communities, as opposed to how I was somewhat still in the process of getting familiarized in my community. I had a feeling I was going to be the only with very little to talk about. That night we had some chats about our communities and everyone had a lot to talk about.

The formal training started at about 8:30 in the morning of the following day and the number one item on the agenda was”Introduce us to your community” and each person took turns at giving a brief description of their community and their experience. The first person to present was Tusa and most of her experience sounded familiar to me and I was there thinking,"Oh, at least there is someone who can relate to what I was going to say.” The next person was Assiatu and her experience was even more familiar and I thought, "probably because we are site mates so we are prone to have similar experiences." However, I was really surprised to find out that almost everyone who presented had experiences that I could easily relate to and they were facing similar challenges to the ones I was facing. Big sigh!! I was so relieved to hear from them all. You know that Liverpool feeling of, "You will never walk alone?"...lol.  (a lyric from Liverpool Football Club’s theme song).  Another element of surprise at the IST was the session where everyone was told to write on post-it notes on how integrated into their communities they felt on a scale of one to five, and over half of the people were within the same range- the same as my level of integration. These opening sessions gave me some sort of motivation. The following day was mostly about the M&E tools and project management which were equally enlightening as well as exciting. The part I loved the most was the project brain-storming exercise because I was looking forward to hear from everyone and possibly gain some insight on what projects they could possibly implement and I did just that.

The days went by way too fast and it was time to get back to home-sweet-home, with a refreshed mind and though I was sad to say goodbye to everyone, I was happy to have met them all and I felt even more motivated, plus I was heading back to the awesome view at my site.
​
Being back home, I have been going to the local primary school hoping to introduce myself to the headteacher but unfortunately haven’t gotten the chance to meet him. So I decided to continue going to the Friends of Mulanje Orphans (FOMO) community nursery school. On the first day, the kids saw me coming back and they all rushed to hug me and that feeling just gave me goose bumps. That moment I realized that there are many ways to see the world but few offer the incredible feeling of knowing that your input could make a positive difference in the lives of vulnerable children and their communities. So now every time I look at one of the M&E tools that we use, the guiding questions tool in particular, I make note of this question, "Who do you want to help the most?”  These children and even more of them who don’t attend the nursery school, come as an easy answer. Not that I haven’t tried of thinking about other responses to the question, but these children come to my mind in a heart beat.

At the beginning of the first week, the Village development Committe paid me a visit to welcome me and introduce themselves. We had a little chat and they asked me to schedule a day for my first community meeting. Gosh! How I dreaded facing the crowd, having been diagnosed with chronic stage fright, but oh well, duty calls.  So I set the date for the following Tuesday. I found myself at the proposed meeting site 30 minutes early to articulate my speech and deal with my nervousness, but alas! 2 hours elapsed before anybody showed up. One of the VDC (village development committee) members showed up only to tell me that the meeting had been rescheduled for the following week, and here I was thinking, "why didn’t anybody tell me?”  I swallowed the bitter sweet pill of relief and disappointment with a smile and kept my cool. Another hour elapsed before some other VDC members showed up and they took me for a 2 hours walk around part of the village which I never anticipated to happen at this day. Luckily enough, I had a bottle of water which I kept gulping throughout the journey which brought me back home with sore legs.

The third week, history repeated itself and the community meeting never took place as the Group Village Head had other commitments. I was really getting frustrated at this point and I went back home feeling depressed and thinking I had failed. The next few days though were relieving as I met with a Volunteer woman from the National Initiative For Civic Education who was also waiting for the same community meeting. We talked about our work and we both explained to each other how our organizations will be working in the village. What excited me was the initiative of starting a community library where she asked me to collaborate with her in sourcing books and other reading materials as well as identifying a suitable site together with the VDC for the community library and resource center.
It’s day number 32 and I am yet to have my first community meeting, but, the community library initiative is almost ready to kick-start and I feel very proud to have been part of such a great cause.
So here are my most important lessons from the 32 days on site which I hope to use throughout the remaining 333 days in sight:

•I have learned that you just have to go try something if there is even a remote possibility of something great happening for your work as well as beneficial to the community. You have to learn to convince yourself that the possibility is greater than the inevitability of doing nothing.
•I have learned that failure doesn’t have to be this life-shattering, I’m-never-going-to-do-this-again experience but is in fact an opportunity to gain valuable learning experience and it gives one a chance to see that learning WHAT NOT TO DO is just as valuable as knowing WHAT TO DO.
• Last but not least, the CorpsAfrica journey is a process, but when you can embrace the process of success and failure, you get another step closer to YES!

Thisisdee