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

​My Second First Day

11/28/2021

5 Comments

 
Written by CorpsAfrica/Malawi Volunteer Ms. Grace Sichinga

“If life were predictable it would cease to be life, and be without flavor.”  – Eleanor Roosevelt

“Expect the unexpected.” I am sure that many of us have heard this phrase, if not used it a couple of times. My experience getting to my site two weeks ago truly gave this phrase its meaning.

I was in the first phase of deployment. Deployment day couldn't have come any quicker. That day, I woke up nervous and expected that I would be spending my first night with my host family. Prior to that day, I had already started picturing my site and forming expectations. My host family consisted of a teacher (host Mother), and my host Father is ‘a mfumu’ (chief). I later learnt that he is not a chief in the typical sense. 
 
The plan was to drop two Volunteers in Machinga and Zomba. I was going to be the last to be dropped off. Before leaving and during the trip we were trying to get in contact with our host families. However, my host family could not be reached all day, so we left Lilongwe with the hope that by the time we were in Zomba, we would have been in contact with them. 

It was around 7pm, when we had just made it to Zomba and we gave up calling my host family. I couldn’t make it to my site. I thought to myself ‘what if they have changed their minds, what did this mean for me? Would I have to go back home until they found me a new host family?’ 

Luckily, since there was another Volunteer in Zomba, I spent the night with her and her host family. Her host family was amazing. They received me with kindness, although I was not in their plans. After meeting them, I started to wonder if my family will be as welcoming.

Spending my night with her helped me to relax. The next day, my apprehension was back. Early that morning, my host family contacted us. So we started off at 06:30am and arrived there around 07:45am. I was nervous the whole way. When we arrived, I was welcomed by the host father and his sister-in-law.

I spent the day with his sister-in-law who is only a couple of years younger than myself. We bonded easily. We went to the borehole (well) to get water, then the market and we cooked. It was a great day and all my nerves were gone by the time it was midday. In the evening, it was a full house. The parents were back from work and children were back from school. The house was filled with warm welcomes and happy chatter. 

The family did not match my expectations, they surpassed them. I learnt that evening that the ‘a mfumu’ was just a title given to the host father because of how he relates and makes people feel in the community. He is actually a truck driver.

My first day in my community was nothing like I could have imagined, I even got the day wrong. This just reminded me that my service will be filled with so many unexpected events. These are the things we need to embrace, life is boring when we know what is to come. Embracing uncertainty will always leave you better off. 
Picture
My fellow Volunteers and me on our way to our sites
Picture
Arrival at my site with my host family
5 Comments
Joe
11/28/2021 12:12:22 pm

Wow, quite the experience.

Reply
Opher
11/29/2021 12:07:01 pm

Dope

Reply
Kaitano Maison
11/28/2021 12:19:11 pm

This blog is dope

Reply
Jolex
11/29/2021 12:58:52 pm

Nice read Grace

Reply
Emas Potolani
12/6/2021 03:39:18 am

sounds like its gonna be a fun ride, Grace-on and enjoy the ride :)

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