All Other Places Are Tame

Africa

The fascination Africa has always held for those who have visited her shores has hitherto been the fascination of Mistress, never of the wife.

She held out no lure, for she was no courtesan. A man came to her in his eager youth, asking, praying that she would give him that which should make life good, and she trusted and opened her arms.

What she had to give she gave freely, generously, and there was no stint, no lack. And he took. Her charm he counted on as a matter of course, her tenderness was hid due, her passion his pleasure, but the fascination he barely admitted could not keep him.

Though she had given all, she had no rights and, when other desires called he left her, left her with words of pity that were an injury, of regret that were an insult.

But all this is changing.

Africa holds. The man who has known Africa longs for her.

In the sordid city street she remembers the might and loneliness of her forests, by the rippling brook he remembers the wide rivers rushing tumultuous from the lakes, in the night when on the roof the rain's splashing drearily he remembers the mellow tropical nights, the sky of velvet far away, the stars like points of gold, the warm moonlight that with its deeper shadows made a fairer world.

Even the languor and the heat he longs for, the white surf on yellow sand of the beaches, the thick jungle growth gently matted, rankly luxuriant, pulsating with the irrepressible life of the tropics.

All other places.... are tame.

- Mary Gaunt 1910

The joy of books!

Well, I’m sure many of you are wondering if I’ve actually done any work while I’ve been here in Malawi. To be honest, other than editing a few documents and a research report, things have been off to a very slow start. This is largely due to the fact that my placement seems to have created a great deal of confusion at MIE, my place of employment – and I think I’m the most confused of all! I’m trying to remain hopeful and waiting patiently for it to get sorted out…but in the meantime, here is some information about the project I came to work on…

The Read Malawi project was created in response to a need in Malawi. The need is for quality learning materials for primary school students. Read Malawi is based on the belief that if learners are to become literate readers and writers, they must have:
- quality materials to read
- an adequate quantity of materials that ensure frequent opportunities for individual and group engagement
- guidance and support in how to become successful in reading
- opportunities to make connection to literacy in their communities
- the chance to envision themselves becoming the authors of future books and texts.

Some quick info about Read Malawi:
- a unique book development program
- USAID sponsored
- Partnerships include Ministry Of Education Science and Technology, Malawi Institute of Education, University of Texas San Antonio, University of Texas, IED, Intel, RealeStudios, and UCB
- distribution of a minimum of 2,500,000 books

The phases of project implementation and roll out include:
- pilot study in Zomba schools (base line data collection)
- workshop for teachers, head teachers and primary education advisors (PEA’s) on Read Aloud
- practice of Read Aloud in schools
- follow up support visits from head teachers, PEA’s and MIE
- full teacher training in the Read Malawi model
- follow up support visits from head teachers, PEA’s and MIE
- full implementation of the model
- more follow up support visits from head teachers, PEA’s and MIE
- pilot study in Zomba school (post data collection)
- revision of model based on feedback
- national role out of program in over 1000 schools
- evaluation study

(I took all of these photos at the primary school on campus for the children of MIE staff.)

Snaps - Senga Bay & Kande

This past week I attended two conferences - first, the VSO Peer Conference at Senga Bay, Lake Malawi. This conference was aimed at bringing volunteers working in the education programme area together to share learnings, challenges and successes. The second conference, the VSO National Conference, was held at Kande Beach, Lake Malawi and was for volunteers in all of the 4 programme areas - education, HIV/AIDS, health, and secure livelihoods. Some photos from the week of conferencing...

Birds at Murande Cottages, venue of the VSO Peer Support Conference. Love the one on the right. Crazy bird.

I love these massive, colourful trees. Not sure what they're called, but the burst of bright orange always takes my breath away. This one is near the bus station in Balaka.

The blooms up close.

Senga Bay fishing boats, early morning.

Sunrise at Senga Bay. It was well worth getting up at 5 am to see this.

Calm waters at Senga Bay.

Bobbles takes in gorgeous sunrise at Senga Bay.

Kande Beach, VSO National Conference. This is the dorm room building.

Inside the dorm room- can you sense the excitement?

Somewhere along the way.

Fishermen setting out for the day, Senga Bay.

Some shops along the way.

The bar at Kande Beach, a good venue for learning. We all got a good laugh when the dog joined us, front and centre.

Fish anyone? At a stop, men try to sell us very fresh fish through the car window.

Bigger Is Not Better

They say everything is bigger in Texas. Well, whoever said that has obviously never been to Malawi. At least when it comes to bugs.

Even though I grew up on a farm and am used to spiders, ants, weevils, and other creepy-crawlies, the bugs of Malawi have united and instilled a fear of epic proportions in me. I’m afraid. Very, very afraid.

It all culminated with The Great Flying Ant Infestation of 2010. Participation (of ants) was high, and the frenzy (of ants and myself) was tangible. This past weekend, I returned from a week away, having attended the VSO Peer Support Conference and the VSO National Conference. After a great week of learning and sharing at Lake Malawi, I was welcomed home by about a million (no exaggeration) massive flying ants that seemed to have had their own conference in my bathroom. A lovely carpet of dead (sleeping? hibernating?) ants covered the entire floor of the bathroom. But not all of them were dead. Some where in mid-flight when I opened the door, and others, sensing an intruder, seemed to immediately take flight and aim directly for me. This infestation was like a plague of biblical proportions. I fled the scene.

After regaining my composure (which I lost during my yelping, flailing retreat) and mustering up some confidence, I returned armed with a can of DOOM. Ah, DOOM insect spray – the savior and trusty companion of many a volunteer. The name says it all. I trusted what I read on the can – “Deadly Killing Action” – and sprayed practically the entire contents of this lethal stuff into my bathroom. It seems that DOOM is highly toxic and somewhat effective. The next morning, when I dared to peek into ant central, I discovered mostly dead ants (a few seemed just disoriented), a dead baby gecko who was an unfortunate casualty, a smattering of some dead bugs that looked like wasps, and some twitching Mother-of-All-Ants. These ones were HUGE. Black, shiny, invincible, and five times the size of the others. They gave DOOM a good run for its money.

James (the housekeeper) arrived soon after and swept up the ant carcasses. Thank god for James. The poor man not only has to come and clean up heaps of dead insects every day, but he also has to contend with me, cowering behind his back, whimpering and pointing to my newest insect discovery.

So, all this makes me wonder – will I eventually overcome my fear after repeated and continuous exposure to insects? Normally, I wouldn’t be so scared – but it’s the sheer size of the bugs that is most unsettling. They all seem monstrous here. I’ve seen spiders that are the size of my hand and look like they’re wearing fur coats. I found a grass-hoppery-thing on my laundry yesterday and I swear it was the length of my hand and looked like it was made of plastic.

Speaking of laundry – that’s the source of another fear. I’ve been ironing all of my laundry. Every article of clothing, every bed sheet, every towel. Yes, I iron my towels. Trust me, when the temperature is a sweltering 36C, ironing is the last thing you want to be doing. But my ironing is a carefully planned pre-emptive attack on the tumbu fly. I fear the little tumbu fly. I hope we never meet, and just to be cautious, I’ve gone on the defensive. The tumbu fly is also called “putsi” and it happily lays its eggs on laundry drying on a line outside or on soil. When the eggs come into contact with human flesh (when you put our clothes on or you lie on your bed sheets), they hatch and the larvae bury themselves under your skin. But wait, it gets better. The larvae under your skin form a crop of ‘boils’ with live maggots inside. So, you have live maggots living in boils in your skin. That’s all. No biggie. Given the alternative, ironing doesn’t seem so bad after all. So, those are my sources of comfort these days – a can of DOOM and an iron.

Thoughts? Questions? Concerns? Please leave a comment below! I love comments.

Weekend Getaway

I had an interesting weekend, with a visit to both Zomba and Liwonde National Park.

I thought it was time to try a solo trip into Zomba using the public transportation system. I made plans with Anna to meet in Zomba Town for lunch on Saturday. From my home on the MIE campus, it’s a 30-minute walk to the main road, where public transport runs. I left home later than expected, so by the time I reached the main road, the sun was already high overhead, and I was covered in a film of sweat and a layer of dust. A minibus (a minivan) quickly pulled up to the side of the road and I yelled out “Zomba?” to the driver’s assistant (the guy who scuttles people into the van and collects their money), to which his reply was an enthusiastic “Yes!”

I climbed on board. A word about these minibuses – they are in a state of utter disrepair to say the least. Usually basic things like seatbelts, windows, instrument panel, fuel gage, etc. do not work. Often, widows are missing, and assortments of seats taken from other vehicles are installed. There’s usually 1.5-2 bodies squeezed onto a seat meant for one person, so in the end, roughly 15-20 people are packed in very snuggly. Add in the sacks of flour, suitcases, baskets of vegetables and cages of chickens and you have an authentic Malawian experience.

The 15 km journey on the main road took 30 minutes when I was travelling to Zomba, and more than an hour when I came back home. Why? Well, there’s a fuel crisis in Malawi, so there never seems to be enough fuel in any vehicle. At one point, we ran out of gas, so the driver grabbed what looked to be a one-liter bottle from under his seat and added it to the vehicle. The vehicle then refused to start, so a few of the passengers got out to do a push-start. We were back on the road, but only briefly. We then stopped at a gas station to get more fuel, but they didn’t have any fuel at all, so had to go to a second gas station. And then the driver decided to have one of the tires changed. On the way back home, it was an equally slow trip – with many stops along the way to wait for more passengers to fill up seats. I was shuffled from one vehicle to another twice during the trip, so that vehicles were at full capacity. With the stifling heat, pressing bodies and constant delays, it was a tiring 15 km drive. When I got dropped off in Domasi, it was another 30 minute walk along dusty paths back to the house, and this left me questioning how often I really want to travel into Zomba – though it was lovely to see Anna and I really enjoyed hearing about how she is settling into her placement at Zomba Mental Hospital. She reported that for over 350 patients, there are 2 night nurses and for the 97 patients in the acute ward, there is only one nurse! The understaffing and lack of resources is astounding. I’m very curious to see how her (and Nick’s) work will unfold in the coming months.

I was planning to stay home, relax and read on Sunday, but was unexpectedly invited by the American Read Malawi staff to join them on an excursion to Liwonde National Park. I’ve been very eager to visit one of Malawi’s national parks or wildlife reserves, so I jumped at the opportunity!

Some quick info about Liwonde National Park:
- it’s 548 sq kilometers
- the park has python vines, mopane trees, countless baobab trees, reeds swamp, floodplain grasslands, tall grass savanna and wild flowers, including lilies and orchids
- the most prominent large mammals in the park are elephant (more than 900) and hippo (2000)
- the 2000 hippos live along 40km of the Shire River that cuts through the park and this is one of the densest hippo populations on the African continent
- crocodiles, impala, waterbuck, bushbuck, warthog, vervet monkeys and yellow baboons are very common
- there are some hyenas, leopards, and jackals
- African wild dog and lions have been hunted out but some from Mozambique do pass through the park
- there are 11 black rhinos in a guarded and fenced sanctuary in the park
- there are more than 400 bird species! It’s a birding paradise!

I have a feeling that the visit to this park will be one of the highlights of my time here in Malawi. It was an incredible experience, to see these animals in the wild –and so many of them as well!

The setting is absolutely spectacular – the massive, strangely-shaped baobas, the scorched earth with vein-like cracks, the cartoonish warthogs scurrying around with their tails in the air like antennas, the hippos peeking out of the water, the awe-inspiring stately elephants, the graceful impala bounding through the tall grass, the shockingly bright green, orange and blue birds flitting between leafless trees, the fish eagle diving into the water, and the 10-feet-high termite hills. It was amazing to be surrounded by so much life.

Some photos from Liwonde National Park…

Sign at entrance to Liwonde National Park, Malawi.

Warthog mother with her babies.

From a distance, animals along the bank of the Shire River.

A female impala.

A male sable antelope.

A herd of impala.

Not sure what this is - maybe a waterbuck or kudu? 

These photos were taken with a zoom lens, so we were not as close to the elephants as it appears.

Elephant.

African openbill.

A terrapin.

Malawi has somewhere between 650 to 750 species of birds.  I'm not sure what these ones are!

African fish eagle.

A male greater kudu.

Impala grazing along the river.

Peeking hippos.

Hippos with giant termite hill in the background.

Arithmetic, Punishment and Salad.

Here’s a bit of a random posting…

Things I like about Malawi...names. I love the names Malawian people use. One of the other volunteers, Mark (from Australia) and I were talking about names recently. He said that while he was in Zimbabwe, he met local children named Arithmetic, Punishment and Salad. He said that the parents were very poor and illiterate and used the only English word they knew. In Malawi, many of the people have Christian names, like Matthews, Marks, and Samson. There are other, more Malawian names like Mphatso, Rhodia, and Chimwemwe ( I love that one!). And then there are some interesting names such as Loveness, Promise, and Bright. The people I meet are surprised and amused by my name. In Chichewa, the main local language, 'Moni' means 'hi' or 'hello.' I've never seen my name in so much print! Of course, this is amusing to me because I never see it in print other than on personal documents back home. As a child, I remember my friends having stickers, pencils and other trinkets with their names printed on them - 'Colleen' 'Lisa' and 'Sandra' - and I felt slightly envious and a bit embarrassed by my strange name. I think the closest I came was when one Christmas, a friend gave me a key chain with the "ca" blacked out on a keychain that said 'Monica.' Well, I guess Malawi has made up for that!

Another thing I like about Malawi...the people. Everyone I've met has been warm, friendly and kind. And I've met a lot of people, not only at work, but also in my wanderings around Domasi. Each time I venture out, I run into someone who looks at me curiously, breaks into a huge smile, and greets me warmly. This is usually followed by profuse handshaking, how-are-you’s, and a lot of thanking each other. It sure helps to feel welcomed into the community! The children are great too! They start off shy but their curiosity quickly takes over and then they scamper after me, usually trying to talk to me in Chichewa, to which I reply in English after exhausting the few Chichewa words I know. So, we continue on, smiling and giggling at each other. I’ve had a few of the braver ones yell at me as I’m walking away, “Give me my money!” or “Give me my watch!” Clearly, grammar and syntax are very different in Chichewa. It’s all very entertaining.

Work is starting to take off, if somewhat slowly. I’ve been tasked with editing a research study investigating factors that contribute to the low participation of women in leadership positions in education in Malawi, South Africa and Zambia. I’m learning a lot while I work through this document.

I’ve also had my first glimpse of the work Read Malawi is doing. For the past two days, MIE has been hosting a workshop introducing primary teachers, head teachers and primary education advisers to the phases of project implementation and roll out. There are over 100 participants, and the aim is to engage these educators in creating a culture of readers in Malawi. Read Malawi is a book development program sponsored by USAID targeting the development and distribution of a minimum of 2.5 million books.

Currently, the classrooms in Malawi are in an appalling state. Many classrooms have 150 students and only one teacher. Most classrooms are without basic furniture, chalkboards and books. That’s why this project is so important – in order for learners to become literate, they must have quality materials to read and quantities that ensure frequent opportunities for individual and group engagement. The project also aims to provide guidance to teachers so that their students are successful in reading these materials, as well as to set expectations for making connections to literacy in their communities – and hopefully, this will lead them on the path to envisioning themselves as authors of future texts. All of the materials are authored and developed in Malawi for Malawian children! This is an important element in building local capacity. Read Malawi believes in good stories, skilled teachers, enjoying and learning go hand in hand, and promoting literate lives inside and outside of schools.

That’s all for now! More to come soon…

My Cooking Buddy

Bobbles sitting in the front doorway leading into the kitchen.

The local kids at play in Domasi!

Beautiful children in my neighbourhood.

A visit to the village of Malosa, a 15 minute drive north of Domasi. Those are some big trees.

Two Weeks In

The in-country training for new volunteers is over and I'm in Domasi now. During the last day of training, we were sent out on our own to learn how to use the transport system and fend for ourselves in the market. I think we did fairly well considering all of us made it back to the meeting point without any major mishaps. The market was unlike anything I've seen in the past and definitely different than the markets of South-East Asia. For a capital city, it was surprisingly small, and other than the veggies and limited fruits, the majority of goods were used - everything from soccer balls to transistor radios.

The following morning, my employer (Malawi Institute of Education) sent a vehicle and driver to pick me up and transport me to Domasi. My fellow VSO volunteer and MIE coworker, Caleb, was also in Lilongwe, so he rode back to Domasi with me. Caleb is from Kenya and works in the media section of MIE. He also happens to be my new neighbour. After a week in Lilongwe, it was nice to finally see some of the countryside. The drive from Lilongwe to Domasi is roughly 3.5 hours (depending on road conditions, weather, and the driver). Before leaving Lilongwe, we did a bit of shopping in Lilongwe to buy some food supplies. I was thankful that we found an Indian grocery store! I stocked up on turmeric, cumin seeds, ghee and lentils - and even a thuva! I'm trying to stick to the local Malawian foods, but being vegetarian, it's a bit challenging at times, so my Indian foods and spices will serve as a useful backup.

From Lilongwe, we headed south through Balaka, and then west. It's the hot and dry season right now, so the terrain was brown, dusty, and fairly barren with scrubby brushes. We could see mountains in the distance, often with small villages scattered around them. The farmland was often blackened and sooty, as the last crops have been harvested and the remnants burned in order to prepare the soil for the next seeding. The most striking thing for me is the amount of people that are walking along the roadside. Everywhere you look, no matter how remote or how far between villages, you will see people walking. Everywhere, there are men, women, and children walking. It is rare to see bicycles and even more rare to see motorcycles, but you will see people walking everywhere you go.

We made a pit-stop along the way at a town called Lizulu to buy fresh fruits and vegetables. As soon as our vehicle stopped, we were swarmed with vendors eager to unload their products on us. We stocked up on tomatoes, cabbage, onions, and carrots. The fruits and veggies are very seasonal here, and there are no preservation methods, so you have to eat whatever is available, and eat it quickly! [Mariette - I wish you were here with your newly acquired canning skills!] The drive continued and I had my first glimpse of the great Shire River, which looked wide, flat and calm. I look forward to seeing the changes the wet season brings to the landscape.

We arrived in Domasi at around 5:30 pm, so I had a chance to look at the grounds around my new home before the sun fell. Darkness falls quickly here - there seems to a lovely soft light at sunset and a slight cooling in the air. You barely get to enjoy it when suddenly, you're enveloped in complete darkness. MIE has given me temporary housing (the director's house) until my permanent housing (the guesthouse) is sorted out. Almost all MIE staff live on campus. The director's house that I'm staying in is huge. It's meant for a family but sits vacant as the director has chosen to live in the nearby city of Zomba. I'm so thankful that it has running water (hot and cold!), electricity, and a real stove! The water seems to be consistent (though I'm boiling and then filtering it for drinking), but the electricity is erratic. It seems to vanish each day, sometimes for 30 minutes and sometimes for up to 8 hours. These power-outages have given me the chance to learn to bathe in the dark, prepare meals in the dark, and get ready for bed in the dark. [Mezaun - don't' read the rest of this paragraph, and skip the next one as well, as I fear you will never come and visit me!] Bathing in the dark was a bit traumatic as I've been having visitors in my bathtub. I'm had huge beetles, massive spiders, and each morning, I seem to find something bigger and more legged than the day before. After only a week, I'm not even surprised anymore - I open the bathroom door and say "Good morning. Who are you?" as I peer into the bathtub. Despite their daunting size, all the critters seem to be fairly passive and not that interested in me. And that's a good thing.

Speaking of critters, the grounds around the house, and the campus as a whole, are absolutely lovely! Huge trees that sway and rustle each morning when I wake up, and then become absolutely silent during the heat of mid-day. It's stifling, mind-numbing hot around mid-day and everything comes to a standstill in the 35 C temperature. There are monkeys that come out and climb the trees in the front yard. I've seen the most beautiful birds outside my kitchen window in the early mornings - bright red-headed woodpeckers, tiny weavers that make nests as if they were artists, and numerous others that I can't name. I wish I had a bird-book! Apparently, there are over 700 species of birds in Malawi. Each morning, I'm awakened by the neighbour's chickens who seem to like to hang out beneath my bedroom window at 4 a.m., the scratching of Caleb's turkeys, or a flying insect that seems to pass by my window at 4:30 a.m. I have never seen it, but it sounds like a helicopter. It's that loud. I'm not sure I actually want to see it. There are geckos, lizards, and lots and lots of insects - mostly large ones that look a bit frightening and seem to fly directly towards my head. I'm trying to take it all in stride. I'm trying not to panic. Taking lots of deep, long breaths. I'm convinced that they sense my fear and are just messing with me.

Last Sunday, Gay (Anna's roommate and VSO volunteer from Philippines) invited us for lunch in Zomba. Caleb, Issa (Caleb's guard) and I walked from the campus to the main road, about 20 minutes of walking along dusty, dirt paths that cut through the campus and then the surrounding farmland. We boarded a minibus (a battered minivan that's barely running, often requires a push-start, and somehow has got seating for 20 squished in it) and headed for Zomba, which is the nearest small city/large town. We had a lovely afternoon - a delicious lunch and great conversation with Gay, Anna, Nick, and some of Gay's friends who are also volunteering in Malawi in HIV/AIDS programs.

I officially started work this Monday. And then I officially took the day off on Tuesday. One of the MIE staff, Ester, took me to the Commons Room (canteen) for lunch and midway through the meal, I ended up breaking a filling on a stone in the rice. On Tuesday, I was taken to Blantyre, the commercial centre about 1.5 hours from Domasi, to see a dentist at the Seventh Day Adventist Hospital. I ended up having the entire filling removed and a new one put in place. I think the jarring, wobbly drive back to Domasi along the pot-holed road was more painful than the time spent in the dentist's chair. When we got back to the house, we found out that a tree had fallen on the power line which meant that there was no electricity for the rest of the day and night. I seem to have run into some bad luck those first few days.

My first week at work has been focused on becoming acquainted with MIE staff and the campus. There are close to 200 staff and I've been taken around to many of the departments by my boss, Max. Max heads up the Materials Production department and is a kind and friendly man, with a great sense of humour. I anticipate that I'm going to enjoy working with him and his team! My office is still begin sorted out with furniture and supplies, but I am enjoying the little monkey that plays outside my window each morning. I think we are equally curious about each other. Once my office is ready, I'm looking forward to diving into work. The READ Malawi project, a joint initiative between University of Texas and MIE, is well underway with several children's books already completed. I'm looking forward to learning about how I can contribute to what looks to be a strong team.

Today is Friday and we have the day off. It's Mother's Day. I've spent the day reading [Carol - thanks for recommending "Don't Let's Go to the Dogs Tonight"!], and I'll eventually make my way to my office (a 3 minute walk from the house) so I can upload this post and check emails. This afternoon, Issa, Caleb and I are planning to go for a walk and explore the neighbourhood. I went for a walk yesterday in the late afternoon to explore on my own and found a maize mill, a prison, a group of men digging sand from the river (to be mixed with cement for construction), and a tailor all within 10 minutes of my house. I wandered off the main dirt path, down smaller pathways that led to clusters of small huts and shacks and introduced myself to some of the locals. They seem to be very friendly and curious, and I look forward to getting to know them better once my language skills improve as most of they do not speak English. I'm also hoping to build a relationship with the guards that are stationed at the house, and learn more through them. And the milk-lady! There is a lovely elderly woman that comes to the house a few times a week to deliver unpasteurized milk. She doesn't speak English, so we're having fun trying to communicate through charades and sign-language.

More photos to come soon...