sunday tea and dance parties

It’s been about a month that I’ve been back and I knew that once I returned to my site that I would have to hit the ground running. It hits me almost every day that I will be leaving this place in a little over a year and it pushes me to work hard to complete the projects I have set out to. So here’s an update on my projects….

1. Kamera Under Five Health Clinic - the proposal is written and submitted, now I am just waiting to hear from the PC office as to whether or not it is approved, which will then be sent to Washington so that they can post it on the Peace Corps website for people to donate to. Also, I visited Kamera last week so that we could start outplanting the moringa seedlings as well as to teach them more about the nutritional benefits of the tree. Plus I gave the women’s netball team a netball for them to play and they were so excited about that! Every time I visit this community I just get overwhelmed by their support and enthusiasm.


2. Tree nurseries - the seedlings are finished in the nursery stage and are now ready for outplanting. Between all the nurseries there is over 12,000 trees to plant which will take some work. At least 60% of the trees are moringa so there has been a lot of discussion and sharing of information about the tree. And in the next week I will start demonstrating how to process the moringa into powder so that the families can start using it.

3. Kakunga Village Savings & Loans group - the group has been meeting with a loans officer from OIBM who helps them to understand the basics of loans and savings as well as he determines whether or not the group is fit for a loan. He met with the group three times and now they have gone to apply for a loan. Most of them are requesting about 5,000-10,000 each in Malawi kwacha which is about $35-65 and will be repaid in four months at a reasonably low interest rate. Also, their one acre of groundnuts is doing well and hopefully in early March they will harvest, so soon enough they’ll be starting their group business!

4. Nutrition Project - For a while I have been working with an HIV/AIDS support group on making jam, using natural medicine, composting, doing a tree nursery, etc. Now we are planning on doing a nutrition and wellness project that will consist of 3 things: 1. to develop their medicinal garden; 2. to raise pigs; 3. to get an oil press. Currently we are working on the design to build a shelter for the pigs as well as to finalize the budget.

5. Volleyball club - things are really looking up now that we have plenty of volleyballs, so I think the key is to get the girls involved in playing against other schools. Also, after talking with my “assistant”, Agnes, we decided that March is going to be our “sexual health” month. The more I learn about these girls and some of the challenges and issues they face, I realize now more than ever that we need to talk about abstinence, safe sex, prevention of HIV/AIDS, and all that stuff. However, I am scared out of my mind to deal with this very important issue. So please be praying for the girls as well as myself.


Other than that, things are slowly getting better here. The first couple weeks being back after the holiday were a bit rocky, mostly because of some deaths and sickness in my village as well as having to deal with some tenuous relationships between my neighbors. But life is basically back to normal and I am trying to enjoy the little things about being here. One example is this past Sunday, which is probably my favorite day of the week in the village. In the morning I had a tea party with the neighbor girls (the boys were not invited), did some work around the house and garden, then went to a friend’s house to hang out and cook spaghetti for his family. Sunday afternoons is when I always meet with the women’s group and I love spending time with them because they are always laughing and having fun together. After the meeting we decided to play netball so after slipping and sliding in the mud for two hours we ended by getting into a circle and dancing. Now the women here can really, really dance. They shake their entire bodies in a way that doesn't even seem physically possible. Even the girls and the kids who can barely walk can do this, it's crazy. It’s a lot of fun to watch, but not as much fun when they shove you into the middle of the circle so that you have to dance all by yourself, then they all laugh at the fact that the white girl has no rhythm, what a surprise.

pobwerera ku mudzi

My three week trip to America has come and gone, and although I was very sad to leave my family and friends, I was extremely excited to get back to my house, my friends, my cats, my garden, and the projects I am working on.

bike taxis come in very handy when you have too much luggage to carry yourself

My excitement quickly vanished when I returned to my house to see that my backyard and garden has basically become a jungle. It's quite amazing to see how much things can grow in as little as three weeks, especially during the rainy season. My watermelons and pumpkins have basically overtaken my garden and the passionfruit growing along my fence and kitchen have finally started to bear fruit. I can't wait to be eating all of those very shortly! However, there was grass and weeds up to my waist everywhere and that made me nervous because that often means snakes (which I've already seen twice in my garden), bugs, and mosquitoes will be living there.

 my backyard did NOT look this way when i left

passionfruit

Also, I was not too pleased to walk into my house to find that my cat had been locked into my house for three days (it's a long story). And not only that, ANOTHER part of my fence has fallen over. It's the part of the fence that stops my neighbors from being able to see my pit latrine, so needless to say going to the bathroom was a bit awkward for a few days...

chips was not too happy with me for a few days...

i can see into my neighbor's yard... that might be a problem

I was only at my house for about 5 minutes but I knew I had to leave because I was too frustrated with the state of my house to stay, so I left to go vent to my closest friend in the community, William. I was angry, tired from a stressful few days of traveling, and frustrated. But I walked into his house to see that him and his family had decorated it for me as a homecoming. Wow. That helped me to feel a lot better and to remind me that I shouldn't get all bothered about things since I've got great friends and support here.

 a "welcome back" surprise

 they're the best

 

After only a few days in my village one of the young girls who lives in my compound, Rachel, passed away from malaria. She just started primary school last year and became sick at the beginning of the new year. Her condition worsened to the point where she wasn't eating or drinking and that's when she was taken to the hospital, and by then it was unfortunately too late. So, for two days my neighbors and people from all around the community gathered for her funeral. It was incredibly sad and it's still a bit strange not to see her around my house every day playing with the neighborhood kids. So please keep her family in your prayers, especially for her sister and two brothers.

Rachel (in the back row, second from the left)

After a difficult few days there was some good news, which is that the Kakunga women's group opened their own savings account at Opportunity International Bank of Malawi. We all took a trip to the bank where each member not only opened an account, but was given some money to start their savings (which is in thanks to all those who donated while I was home, so thank you!). It was like going on a field trip for school, you could just feel how excited the women were. For the entire 40 minute ride there and back they were singing and dancing. And later this week they will be opening an account as a group so that they can be applying for loans in the future, especially as they are beginning to prepare for their cooking oil business. Very exciting!

 

the Kakunga VSL ladies on their way to open their bank accounts

The last update I have is about Margaderina. I was so encouraged to find that while I was gone she had been very busy with her own business of selling vegetables. And when told that people from America were not only thinking and praying for her, but that they wanted to help her out financially, she was very surprised and thankful. So currently she has been able to buy fertilizer, enough maize to last through this hunger season, soap, and a few other necessities. And even though she still has a long journey ahead of her, I can tell that she is feeling a bit more hopeful about her life and her family's which is a great thing.