Back Again

In This Issue
- From the Editor
- Making Things Happen or An Update From Site or So, Matthew, What Did You Do In The Peace Corps?
- Lakeshore Hike or Is this Malawi?
- Newbies
- Trainings and Bday
- Revolution!


From The Editor
I have a tendency to forget where I last left on in the ongoing saga of My Zany Adventures in Africa. With no email – or electricity, for that matter – rereading my previous tale can be troublesome. Still I trust that my memory serves me well enough to fill in most gaps as well as recounting the more extraordinary (and just plain ordinary) tales on this continent. Also, I usually compose my stories all at once. This means some items on which I report actually happened a couple months ago. Details may be fuzzy, but I hope the story is better this way.

As I recall, the last mass email I sent was mid-march when I went to Dedza to teach soap-making to the new environment trainees. It is from that point we set off on a three-month literary journey…

Making Things Happen
Last time we chatted I mentioned how I’d been discouraged by the lack of action. The stretch from the end of January through the beginning of March was so slow I almost would have rather watched a century of a losing baseball team than put up with that much longer. When I returned to site after Easter I decided the only way I could get things accomplished would be to take initiative and create action. In order to understand this thought, let me offer some context.

Peace Corps Malawi assigns volunteers to a site. In the Environment Sector we are then assigned to work with our local district Forestry or Parks and Wildlife office. That entity, in turn, has identified an individual extension worker leaving in the field near where our home is. This person will become our “counterpart” – ideally the person in our community with whom we work closely in order to have our projects carried on after we COS. To make a long story short, I don’t work closely with my counterpart.

Most villages throughout the country have a Village Development Committee (VDC). This group is within the area governed by our Group Village Headman (GVH – in my case, this consists of nine individual villages). I should’ve have attended their meeting a long time ago. In April, I finally did. Before I went to the meeting I hand-wrote several copies of a letter/list of most of the programs, projects and trainings I can facilitate, coordinate or do myself. This was quite well received at the meeting. A couple days letter I left for three weeks. (More on that later.)

When I again returned to site after my birthday, I began to get marginally busy, which made me very happy. Now, don’t imagine I’m putting in 80-hour weeks like, say, a County Farm Bureau manager or anything. But compared to my previous year, it’s quite something.

First, I’d begun working, separately from my counterpart/middleman, with a local group of beekeepers. These few men and woman have been farming bees for several years but never received any formal training. Honey production is one of the best, most viable and fastest growing Income Generating Activities (IGAs) in the country. In fact, you look up the Web site for the Small Beekeeper’s Development and Research Association (SBDARA) based in Nkhata Bay. Also, in fact, Peace Corps’ southern Africa subregion has expressed interest in having a beekeeping seminar in Malawi for representatives from local countries. USAID worked with Malawi to create a training manual that includes seven DVDs which we are using to educate local beekeepers and improve their practices. My friend Elihu, who visited during Christmas, plans to come up sometime and work on some practical training also.

Second, I coordinated a training with my friend Yulanda to teach natural medicine at the end of May. Anamed (Action for Natural Medicine) promotes using local plants to improve health and nutrition. For practical purposes, Anamed is an organization which individuals can join and attend trainings. But really, the people who volunteer for this group are trying to promote natural medicine as an area of knowledge that all villagers should be attuned to. I believe you can also look up this online, as Anamed is in several African countries. The national coordinator, Mr. Nelson Moyo, came to my village for three days and met with several groups. The primary, organized program was for all villagers but targeted at women and mothers. He spoke about nutrition, diarrhea and skin problems. (Don’t laugh; diarrhea is a big problem that is especially serious in infants. Hygiene and clean water aren’t as prevalent here as in your American homes.) The Standard 8 class at my primary school welcomed him one evening for an hour-long session. Liz, my PCV sitemate who teaches at the local secondary school brought about 20 Form 3 and 4 students another afternoon.

This program was probably my biggest success to date. I think those who attended learned a lot, and some expressed interest in having Nelson return to teach more. I also learned a lot and I hope to help my neighbors experiment and exploit local plants as much as possible.

Third, a couple days after I left in April, Tony from the U.S. Embassy came to visit my village to discuss our library proposal. Tony is the guy who is in charge of the Ambassador’s Special Self-Help Fund (the grant for which we applied). The update from my committee sounded like they had a very positive, productive meeting. We’re still waiting, but hopefully should know more by mid-July. At that point, we’ll have to find funding for and a carpenter to build all the furniture (bookshelves, tables, etc.) and we’ll start looking for BOOKS! I expect acquiring books will not be difficult, but I may still rely on some of my wonderful friends, family and acquaintances (that’s you!) to help. When we reach that point, I’ll send more info.

Fourth, I don’t have much planned for the next few weeks. The VDC chairman came to my house to discuss projects and programs that the villages are interested in pursuing (mushrooms, food security), so I may have some planning meetings first. Once rice harvest is finished, the beekeeping group should be able to watch the rest of the DVDs. This Saturday and again on the 28th I’ll be teaching soap-making to some woman courtesy of my friends and Chaminade Secondary School. At the end of July I’ll head south to Zomba for a couple days to work at Camp GLOW (Girls Leading Our World), a nationwide leadership camp designed by the Health Sector. I’m also working with a couple other volunteers on a smaller environment camp we hope to put on in November. (I’d like to call it Camp BLOW ME – Boys Leading Our World for Malawi’s Environment.) It sounds like a lot when I write it here, but I’ll still have plenty of time to read books. Trust me.

Lakeshore Hike
Five of my good friends (Elihu, Jim, Wiz, Dan, Jon) and I took about six days in mid-April to see some of the most remote areas of the country. A not-so-well-known (but not uncommon) getaway for volunteers is the Lakeshore Hike. Starting at Mlowe in northern Rhumpi district, we followed village footpaths along the lakeshore for four days. We carried rice and soya, camped on beaches, swam the lake and drank the water, marveled at the lake flies and then ate them when they came ashore. We watched an awesomely huge waterspout for probably 20 minutes the second morning. We hiked shirtless and were fed smoked catfish and cassava nsima for lunch one day and usipa for breakfast the next when we were woken up at 4 a.m. by the fishermen whose beach we were using.

The third day we reached Ruarwe, a small village only accessible by boat or foot and home to the Zulunkhuni Lodge – or the Where Are We? Lodge (look it up online). This was a beautifully remote area that made me forget I was in this same country I’d been living in for the past year. The beer wasn’t that cold. The food was good but not outstanding. But that atmosphere was incredible. They have great swimming and snorkeling and an (about) eight-meter-high platform of which to jump into the lake. We took a welcome 24-hour break before moving on.

The fourth day we reached Usisya, small village accessible by boat, foot or one vehicle a day and home to the Usisya Lodge. This village, built mostly on a small peninsula jutting into a cove is nice but more reminiscent of the rest of the country and didn’t seem like as much of a getaway. The beer wasn’t expensive and warm, the food portions were small. The swimming was still good and the atmosphere was not bad. Due to lack of transport on Sunday we were forced to stay two nights. The Ilala (the ferry that runs up and down the lakeshore) comes by heading south to Nkhata Bay on Monday morning. Or you can take the Death Matola, which leaves at about 6 a.m. and proceeds straight to Mzuzu. I chose the latter. It was, by far, the disturbing ride I’ve had in country. The driver was not drunk or reckless. The road was just windy, hilly, and not in good condition. Plus the truck was overloaded – 45 people plus luggage. It was tight.

But we made it safely all the way to Mzuzu. From there we went on the same day to Lilongwe to party with the soon-to-be new environment volunteers.

Newbies
I’ve already given some thoughts on making the transition to second-year volunteer, so I’ll spare you that again. Except to say that I think I’ll enjoy this year more.

The new group swore-in April 23 at the home of the U.S. Ambassador. Much like last year, the ceremony was not particularly enthralling but the free soft drinks and finger food afterward were great. That evening, back at the Lilongwe PC House we held the annual, traditional Environment Sector Beer Olympics. This was another fun, crazy, drunken, rowdy night. You probably don’t want to know more than that.

As I’ve gotten to know the new group I like them more. The five northerners are all really great. What can I say? Environment gets the best volunteers.

Trainings and BDay
After the festivities ended, my group traveled to Dedza for our Mid-Service Conference. Not much to say about this. We didn’t have to cook our own food. The weather was gloriously cold. We watched movies on the wall in our dorm. And sat through some sessions, most of which we didn’t take very seriously. Our “required” trainings – Pre-Service, Mid-Service, COS – become less serious as we go. I mean, come on, what are they gonna do? Kick me out?

After MST, I headed to Mzuzu and then to Nkhata Bay for two nights to celebrate my birthday. Three friends – Elihu, Yulanda and Karen – joined me. I was hoping more people would show up, but a huge party (The Pants-Off Dance Off) in Blantyre kept some away. No biggie, though. Jim bought me dinner when I got back to Mzuzu and Sabrina baked me a cake.

Revolution!
For the past several days I’ve been south to Lilongwe (though I’m in Mzuzu now) to celebrate Fourth of July, which was on the Eighth of June this year. “Matthew, the Eighth of June is a silly time to schedule to Fourth of July. Why on earth would you do that?” you ask. OK, first, it wasn’t my decision, so back off! Actually every year, the American Independence Day celebration is early because most Americans, including Embassy staff, like to travel during the real holiday. The extra-earliness this year was due to the untimely departure of our dear United States Ambassador to Malawi, Mr. Alan Eastman. His term is coming to an end, so they tipped the calendar on end and pounded on the backside until the Fourth of July landed on the Eighth of June.

The party itself was just OK. The food was OK. The entertainment was OK. Fellow PCV Spencer and I won the water balloon toss, albeit amid mild controversy. But the sore second-place finisher made up for it by soaking us with the leftover balloons. That was the highlight.

Final Thought
Go Cubbies!!!