The Midpoint

I have nearly reached the midpoint of my stay here. Before I left, I was convinced that this would be my last trip to Africa and I told several people this. The travel is just so long and I was by myself. After being in Malawi a month, I know this is no longer the case, and I realize that I have been picking up and moving to unfamiliar places all my life. So as Johnny Lang would say, I’m meant to “Wander this world.” I have adapted and though I have often traveled and moved on my own, I have met many great friends in those places and the same is true for Malawi. And if I can do this, then I can certainly withstand the travel and initial loneliness to come back to Africa again.

At the same time, I’m also finding that there is nothing wrong with wanting to stay home and serve there. There is poverty and issues with health care in Africa as well as the states. Many people I have talked to believe there is something glamorous about going to a completely foreign and poverty-ridden area to serve. And I admit, that Africa has a pull on my heart. But I’m not in this public service stuff for the glamour. Serving in Ohio or Arkansas can be just as fulfilling as serving in rural Malawi or Uganda or Rwanda. Mother Teresa said “You do the thing that is in front of you.” And maybe for some it takes more courage to stay at home than to go to the remote places. Clearly we need people who are willing to do both. And for me, it is the work, and not the place that brings the fulfillment. And if I must wander this world, then I will or if must stop my wandering then I will do that is well. And if it is the thing that is in front of me that I must do, then I will.

Off Roading to Neno Part 2

Nearly 50 million Americans without health insurance. Nearly 0 Africans with health insurance. For all its faults and headaches, the American health system functions pretty efficiently when compared to the health system of Africa. While in Neno and later Mwanza, I visited several health centers to observe the malnutrition program run by the government of Malawi that the Clinton Foundation supports. Each village has a health post which is staffed by a Health Surveillance Assistant. He basically provides simple medications. The HSA is not a doctor. Then there is a community health center that can be compared to an urgent care center in the states. Many are staffed by nurses and a clinical officer and conduct testing for HIV. Finally, there is a district hospital. Malawi, like many African countries, is facing a shortage of nurses and doctors as many leave the country for employment. The pay is far too little to make a living here.

While the malnutrition program is locate in the communities, many have to walk very far, some as 6 hours! I also noticed that there were kids as young as 5 or 6 bringing a very young brother or sister to the clinic. Many of the kids are very sick and it was difficult to sit at the clinics all day. Everything is out in the open-there are no private rooms and often times I feel like I’m in a zoo watching people.

The malnutrition program is known as Community-based Therapeutic Care (CTC) and provides children with a substance known as Chiponde. Chiponde is fortified peanut butter that tastes like sugary sandpaper. However, it has a 90% cure rate for malnutrition and kids like the taste because it is so sweet. Most of the government run health centers provide the Chiponde for free and some private health centers are also providing Chiponde at no cost. Volunteers search for children in the village and because there are no computer records or comprehensive medical files, the volunteers also have to track children. Despite the lack of transport and infrastructure, the CTC program is saving many children’s lives.

Off Roading to Neno, Part 1

“In this undiscovered moment lift your head up above the ground.”

This past week I found myself tucked between the mountains in the districts of Neno and Mwanza. It was an off road paradise-bumpy dirt roads taking us from village to village. I swear the mantra for Neno is eat a light breakfast because you might throw it up from the jostling the body endures as you travel the roads. It was great fun though.

But as I walked along these dirt roads through the villages and pass the orange groves, I found myself staring at the ground instead of taking in the environment around me. I found myself feeling uncomfortable. Normally, that kind of feeling would be natural. As a white person, I don’t exactly fit in. But there was something that caused me to keep looking at the ground at avoiding the stares of the villagers. But Malawi’s hospitality broke my trance. See, even if I wanted to hide, the Malawians wouldn’t let me. As I passed them on the road, they would say hi and practice all the English they knew and give me a chance to practice my limited Chichewa. These people by far are the friendliest I have ever encountered and it is a genuine friendliness. In my experience in Africa, there are some who only want to befriend you because you are a wealthy American. Not so here. The kids would come running after me waving and yelling “Mzungu, how are you?” And I would answer them in English, and then say mazuka bwanji (good morning) and they would just laugh. It is amazing how the Malawians light up when they hear an American speaking in their native tongue. And because the Malawians took this moment to discover more about me, it made me comfortable enough to discover more about them. And in that moment, Neno became more than a village surrounded by mountains, but it came to life. I would have missed this if I kept staring at the ground. And for this I was glad to get out of Lilongwe for a bit and integrate with the culture.

Neno is also home to Partners in Health and the Clinton-Hunter Development Initiative. There are lots of farming plots in Neno, growing everything from citrus fruits to maize and indigenous plants that I can’t even begin to pronounce. We stopped at one of these farms to pick some oranges. Or I should say we didn’t pick them but had to use a big wooden stick to knock them to the ground.

The farming also extends to livestock and there are more animals that use the road than vehicles. At one point, we came around a corner and were greeted by a herd of cattle. It is not uncommon for chickens and goats to be hit by a car. I think I would much rather have to worry about deer than all the animals here.

Along the road are also “mud dancers”. These men wear masks made of mud and straw beards. They cover themselves with ash and carry around large sticks. They primarily dance at funerals but on the day we encountered them, they were jumping out of the weeds at passersby looking for money.

Finally, the road to Neno offers the opportunity to try bush meat. All African countries have their own version of bush meat. In Malawi, it is mice on a stick. A mouse kebab usually comes with 5 mice that have been smoked. Some are fresh and others are a few days old. I did not try one on this journey but I may bring myself to taste this delicatessen later on.

I will post again tomorrow about my visits to the health clinics and district hospitals.

Malawi’s east side is bordered by a large lake and this weekend, myself and a few friends I have met here traveled to Senga Bay. Senga Bay is a small fishing village. Wooden boats and canoes drop fishing nets and these are brought in by hand later in the day. This is tough work. We helped pull a net in. There were about 10 of us pulling the net in and it took a good 20 minutes. All for a few small fish. There is a problem of overfishing. Many people use the green mosquitoes nets that have been passed out by various organizations as fishing nets. The fish are taken into the village and spread out on a large table and a fire is started underneath the table the smoke the fish. The fish are then sold by the boatful to buyers in Lilongwe.

After our fishing experience, we took up a game of Frisbee with some Malawians who absolutely loved this. A beach barbeque followed, which was fish and local dancing and drumming. The kids got a kick out of trying to teach us Chichewa and then watching us attempt to dance with them. White men can’t jump and they sure cant dance! Prior to the BBQ, a local asked us if we would like some “chasing winter” for the BBQ. “Chasing winter” or “Bob Marley cigarettes” are the local terms for weed. Chasing the winter comes from the cool sensation smokers experience. We declined his offer. There is a Jamaican influence in Senga Bay as many of the “tour guides” wore beanies, dreadlocks, listened to Bob Marley and smoked. Little Rastafarian getaway. Perhaps my favorite tour guide was the one by the name of Easy Tiger. We also met Dr. Dre and Public Enemy on the beach.

Lake Malawi is by far the roughest lake I have seen. The boat ride we went on felt like a water roller coaster. Dug out canoes often paddle the 4-5 hours to Mozambique and I cannot understand how they can make the trip without capsizing or having the canoes fill with water. The boats in Malawi are all wooden. Usually, 1 or 2 people in the village own a motor and they allow the boats to borrow it for trips to the neighboring islands. The motor usually does not want to cooperate, but luckily for us, it did on this day.

The best part of the trip included a true African experience. Pickup trucks in Africa are not used to haul stone and wood, etc. like they are in America. Here, they are used to haul people. To get from Senga Bay to the taxi station in Salima, 14 crammed into the back of a pickup truck. In Africa, this is quite common. Drivers will wait by the side of the road and when they get a full load of people, will serve as an ad hoc taxi service. It is usually pretty cheap. We shared our truck bed with 4 Brits, a woman from Venezuela, and a few Malawians. I was hanging on for dear life and the roads in Malawi aren’t great so you learn to balance yourself to keep from falling out. It was great fun (except when we went over the railroad tracks).

I believe every city has it's own little corner that is a bit, well, odd and eclectic. In Lilongwe, which as I have learned is more of an expat town than a real part of Malawi, this little slice of odditiy can be found in the Pacific Shopping Mall. It houses book stores, Indian cafes, Malawian ethnic foods, a small vegtable market, a woman's clothing shop and even a karate studio-all run by people of various nationalities. And the cornerstone of this little electic haven is the Pace Supermarket, run by a group of Indians who could provide meat, Oreos, Coke, and MiracleWhip if you needed it. They also offered the best exchange rate in town. That was all until it burned down this morning as the bakers were preparing to make bread. Fortunately, no one was hurt.

Without a store nearby, I went into town and Edison, the driver, took us to the most amazing market I have ever seen. Every type of fruit, including coconut, and vegatable could be found and would have made the food pyramid proud. If we had markets like this back home we wouldn't have to worry about organic labeling and such. Every color of the rainbow was there and then some. Crayola could add a few new colors to that Big Box of 96 or whatever it is now if they stopped by.

I am amazed that this produce coud be grown in such large quantities that I wondered why this couldn't be exported or more crops grown in this way but that is another discussion. It was a good thing that Edison was with us because a group of white females would have been attacked by every shop keeper there and would have charged us double. I would have taken pictures but if they had seen I had a camera, I'm sure the shop hawks would have descended on me and urged me to buy more. They are even courteous enough to offer you a bag. However, accepting it will cost you 20 kwacha, something they will not tell you. But you do what you have to to make money. The women, who mainly run the shops in the middle of the market, must sit back and watch this all in amusement. They are wise becase they catch the customers who are trying to escape the heckling at the front of the market. They are the ones to buy from.
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I left work last night early enough to take a walk. Beside the school that is adjacent to where I'm staying, there was a soccer game going on. I stood at a distance and was taking a few pictures and looked down to check my camera settings. When I looked up, there was a group of boys who came spriniting toward me wanting to get their picture taken. In typical American fashion, or pre-pubescent fashion (not sure which, maybe both) they made goofy faces and threw up peace signs and other various hand gestures. Unfortunately, the little photo shoot did not turn out so well. I had to use the flash because it was dark and they didn't understand that they had to stay still untill the camera finished flashing. They kept moving before hand, so the pictures did not turn out. But for them I'm sure they enjoyed having their picture taken anyway, regardless of whether they turned out or not.

The weather has been beautiful here. There is not a cloud in the sky until late afternoon. Reminds me of the summer days when I was little where I would look at the blue sky and slowly by late afternoon, a few clouds would pop up. It’s the same here. So I took advantage of the weather (and the daylight) and went for a walk to become more familiar with the unfamiliar. I think Steinbeck says it best in Travels With Charley when he writes: “For how can one know color in perpetual green and what good is warmth without cold to give it sweetness?” It’s always nice to break free of the familiar, because it does give us a new perspective, and as Steinbeck says, makes it sweeter.

My walk also gave me an excuse to try out my limited Chichewa. I’m trying to build my vocabulary. There’s the usual greeting of “Moni. Muli bwanji?” (Hello. How are you?) The Malawians, a bit surprised and amused to here a white person speaking their language, then rattle off a response which I don’t understand and then I smile and nod and they laugh. I took it a step further today by trying to ask people their name (Dzina lanu ndani?)Again, more laughs but despite the language barrier, there was an understanding that I was trying to learn. Moses, and Benjamin, who I met, corrected me on my pronunciation so next time I can get it right.

This greeting is the usual ritual. However in town, that can change a bit. In my experience in Africa, Africans come to assume 2 things of all mzungus (white people)

1) They are a doctor
2) They are extremely wealthy.

As I walked around the City Center of Lilongwe, a Malawian approached me and I assumed he was under the assumption of number 2 and was going to ask for kwacha. However, Charles handed me a resume and letter of recommendation and asked it I could help him get a job. Apparently, he is a great gardener. I tried to explain that I was a newly arrived student (by the way, trying to explain to Africans that you are a college student with no job and no money is something they cannot comprehend) and couldn’t be of much help. But he persisted and gave me 1 of 2 copies he had of his references. It always fascinates me how the color of my skin can make some feel that I can do anything and maybe because of my background and upbringing that I don’t know any better. But there is a certain level of unease about it. In Zambia there was the same feeling of being “white saviors” when we came to deliver clothing to local villages (never mind that we did not donate the clothing and that fellow Zambians helped sort and distribute it). I know I am more privileged than some but as I walk around Malawi I know that I am no better than anyone else on the face of the earth.

I believe he is taking sugar cane to market. I didn't catch all he said when I asked him about his cargo.

Finally, I have been blessed by the "Dog Choir." Normally the word choir conjures up sounds of beautiul melodies and choruses. However in this context, choir is a misnomer. At around 10pm, every dog in the neighborhood begins to bark and howl, not in unison and not in tune. This countinues for about 2 hours when there is a brief intermission and then solos commence through the rest of the night until 5 am when the roosters take over. I certainly hope they don't think this is a mating call of some sort

It has been a little slow here lately. We've nearly finished our proposal for our project that we will submit to the District Health Officers. They have to be informed of any work that is beng done in their areas. So hopefully next week I can start traveling to clinic sites and break free from the office for a bit. By being in the office, I learn the factors that push and pull against NGOs. The other day there was an issue of paying import taxes on milk powder and vitamins used to make nutritional supplements for kids. Because the foundation has to pay these taxes, about 1000 more children will go hungry. There is a waiver for the taxes but there has been some difficulty in getting that put into place.

I've found that Lilongwe is home to many NGOs and health clinics. In addition to CHAI, the University of Baylor and North Carolina both have clinics here and attract many Malawians in search of a job. Unemployment is 50% and jobs in the Ministry of Health do not pay well but jobs working with NGOs pay better. So there is a twofold benefit for their existence as they employ the people they seek to help. And with the government declaring yesterday that there is a food shortage on the horizon, people are going to need jobs to afford food.

And of course, politics affects everything. However, I'm not taking just local politics, such as the import duties, but international politics as well. News of Obama's nomination has been circulating all over Lilongwe and in terms of the Foundation, I learned it might be in the Foundation's best interest if Hillary is not the president. CHAI receives money for AIDS projects from PEPFAR (The US government's AIDS fund started by Pres. Bush) and it would raise eyebrows if Clinton were directing PEPFAR funds into her husband's foundation. Things like this would be problematic in so many ways and question the bi-partisan nature of the Foundation.

I've been able to venture out a bit and do some exploring, though because it gets dark at 5:30 when I get off work, I have to save my exploring for the weekends. Here are a few pics of the neighborhood.


The flowers here are gorgeous and are everywhere. There are flowers of every color growing in the areas.

A vegtable stand by the entrance to the school. One of these days I will check it out.

For now, it has been mainly my ears exploring Malawi as there is always something to hear. Instead of the cacophony of cars, buses, planes, phones, TVs, etc. that I have been accustomed to in the states, there is the constant sound of birds chirping, kids laughing on their way to school, and Mabel, the assistant here at the Foundation, singing in Chichewa.

If only I had flown in two days later, I could have witnessed Malawi's ex-president being arrested as he returned from the UK. He was placed under house arrest amid coup suspicions while Malawi's current president is in Japan. (There is nothing to worry about). Former President Muluzi was the leader of the United Democratic Front (UDF) and apparently when his supporters, who had gathered at the airport to greet him, heard he was arrest, choas erruped, leading to 3 people being shot. The constitution of Malawi allows a person to serve 2 consecutive terms as president. They can then run for election again following a new President. Muluzi plans to run against current president Mutharika in next May's election. Mutharika had been a member or the UDF party but went on to found his own party, leaving a bit of bad blood between the two. No one wants to let go of power but is interesting how poitical leaders in Africa hold on to power until their knuckles are white. There have been no formal charges filed against Muluzi so it will be interesting to see what happens.