My Deployment: Positive Start
Written by CorpsAfrica/Malawi Volunteer Ms. Hope Ngondo The stress of deployment started when the staff gathered in the conference room to announce where we were going. My mind was swimming in thoughts, but I was staying positive hoping to be deployed close to home. When my name popped up, I was placed in Mulanje. At […]
Strangers That Become Family
Written by CorpsAfrica/Malawi Volunteer Mr. Washington Chifunda The Chinese philosopher Lao Tzu once said; “The journey of a thousand miles begins with one step”. I agree with him because no one in this life has ever got anywhere without starting the journey. My CorpsAfrica journey started when I had to travel from Blantyre to Lilongwe […]
Let Our Words Be Kind
Written by CorpsAfrica/Malawi Volunteer Ms. Umusa Ng’oma In my time with my host mother, I came to know a girl. Let’s call her Yankho. Yankho is about 12 years old. She was working as a maid at a nearby house. When the schools opened, I had hoped that she would start school. A couple of […]
“Am I The Faint-Hearted?” There is Only One Way to Find Out.
Written by CorpsAfrica/Malawi Volunteer Ms. Natasha Lughano Chagunda As I packed my bags for the site in Ligowe, Neno district, I had all of these preconceived thoughts and feelings about where I was going. Most of these thoughts were driven by emotions I had no control over such as fear and anxiety. Normal for anyone […]
Beauty of CorpsAfrica
Written by CorpsAfrica/Malawi Volunteer Mr. Wonderful Mudolo “Instead of putting others in their place, put yourself in their place.” – Anonymous The day of departure to my site had arrived. All sorts of iterations of what my site would be like ran through my mind. I was very excited and anxious simultaneously, wondering where I […]
Take It One Step At A Time
Written by CorpsAfrica/Malawi Volunteer Ms. Joana Msukwa “Do what you can, with what you have, where you are.”- Theodore Roosevelt I must say the idea of moving to the outskirts of the city was not as easy to digest but after going through six weeks of PST, I convinced myself that living in a different […]
How I Became A Northerner
Written by CorpsAfrica/Malawi Volunteer Mr. Frazer Kum’bweza Banda It all started in Mulanje at Likhubula C.C.A.P house, just hours before completing the Pre-Service Training (PST). It was an overwhelming moment when I saw my face projected on a wall accompanied by “Karonga” as my site. Believe me, I was in disbelief. Never did I imagine […]
Expectations vs. Reality
Written by CorpsAfrica/Malawi Volunteer Ms. Stella Kumphika “Do not count your eggs before they hatch.” As CorpsAfrica trainees, we were taught to manage our expectations by lowering them down. But how do you do that when there are more stories supporting your higher expectations? I was anxious and eager to hear where I would spend […]
Integration Life In My Community
Written by CorpsAfrica/Malawi Volunteer Ms. Prisca Kadawati Every new place is very difficult to live in at first, and being in a rural community makes it even harder. Meeting people you have never seen before and somehow you have to make yourself known to them, whether they like it or not because that is what […]
Spend the Day with Me
Written by CorpsAfrica/Malawi Volunteer Ms. Grace Sichinga ‘Gile! Mwadzuka?’ (Grace! Are you awake/ Good morning?) This is the voice of my landlady that shakes me awake usually around 5 am. I answer back and continue to sleep till 7 a.m., then I officially start my day. My morning consists of getting ready and planning that […]