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

The Kelo Tour, Day 1

5/4/2016

0 Comments

 
Written by Lusekelo Simwela, CorpsAfrica Volunteer in Malawi

My site is called Makanani, it consists of 6 villages which are under Group Village headman, A Mr. Jumpha. Makanani is big, it is found 2 km from the Malawian border on a 5 km stretch of road that goes all the way to the Mozambican border in a “no man’s land”. This means for the remaining 3 kms, around 2 to 4 kms each side is Makanani. It is also hilly which makes getting to the different villages difficult. This makes community meetings at a central location for the whole area hard as most people will have to travel long distances to make it to the meeting.

I found out that even though the areas are far from the road, when you travel from one village to the next, it is relatively near. So I said why not spend one day and night in one village and then move to the next and repeat. I told my fellow volunteers and staff. Adam, our start up director dubbed it the Kelo Tour. This is part one.

The day started with a bike ride to Makanani 2, it is located near the road. Here I met Simon Denivala a member of the VDC (village development committee) . We walked for an hour to Makanani 3. Well walking is a misnomer, is it truly walking if 70 percent of the road is uphill? Hiking is more like it. So we hiked to Makanani 3. As we approached, the small foot paths we used grew into a relatively big road. (For cars perhaps?). There were tangerine trees on either side of the road which got me excited (quick question is there such a thing as tangerine poisoning? Asking for a friend). In no time we were at the chief's house. She came out and greeted us. She was warm and welcoming. Gave us chairs to sit on, one of which was interesting. Check it out below.
Picture
After the pleasantries I went around the village talking to some people. After a couple of people, my attention was drawn to this amazing thing.
It looks big here but I was a lot closer at the time and it just looked like a big Rock. My ego and playful side decided that it was a good idea to try and climb the hill. I foolishly agreed. So I asked one of the villagers to take me up and we started off. Worst idea ever!! It was excruciating, it was steep from the very start. It did not help that it was mostly rock either as I climbed with the fear of falling and hurting myself on the rocks. But it's my ego that had brought me there so I faked not being in pain and climbed on.
Picture
Picture
We climbed till the top (well one of the peaks). The view was amazing; we saw the whole village in and its neighbours too. I could see the two nearest schools; I could see the only borehole in the village. I could see the paths children took to school; I could see the places that flooded when it rained. I could also see the many fields of pigeon peas, an important cash crop in the village. I also pulled out my notebook and gave him a personal interview. It was perfect.
Picture
Picture
Picture
Picture
We made it down slowly as we continued to talk and laugh. But what we didn't realize was that people from the village could see us which proved to be an effective advertising tool. When people asked where the Volunteer that was said to be coming to the village, people simply pointed to the hill. It however turned on me when the chief’s daughter asked me if I was going to the hill to pray, I think I will never hear the end of that one.

I went back to the village had lunch and had held a successful community meeting in the afternoon. I heard people’s views on how living in their community was. They told me what made them happy about their community and the different problems they met. I am glad I did this. It was a great experience I got see and experience what many had told me in person. I shall do it again soon. Apart from all this I had fun. I think enjoying all what your community can offer, enjoying the company of the people is a very import part of my service. It helps me care about the community more and miss home lesser and lesser every day. It was a good first day on the Kelo tour.
0 Comments



Leave a Reply.

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

    Archives

    March 2023
    February 2023
    January 2023
    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