mwayi vs. the chimbudzi

I don’t have many rules at my house but I think from now on I will always live by at least one… ALWAYS cover your chimbudzi properly. My “chim” is a pit latrine that acts as my trash pit and toilet. It is about 8 feet deep and all waste that can’t be composted goes there. It’s good to cover it because of flies and any unpleasant smells, but as I've learned it's also good so that one of your beloved kittens doesn’t fall in.

Two weeks ago I was returning to my house from a meeting and I could hear some faint cries coming from the chim and to my horror I realized that it was one of my 4 week old kittens who fell in and was crying for help. Unfortunately the hole to the chim is only about 10 inches in diameter so it made it nearly impossible to see him. That made recovery efforts quite difficult, but thankfully after about 2 hours and many failed attempts by myself and my neighbor kids, we were able to rescue the little guy.

The kitten was miraculously not hurt, although very dirty and smelly, but I think he was just happy to be alive. After the incident I gave him the name “Mwayi” which means lucky in Chichewa. The other two kittens do not have names yet, I think I am just waiting for the time when they get to earn their name like Mwayi did. And “mwayi” he is indeed!

witchcraft

In my first month at site I attended a witchcraft trial right in my village. One lady in her 60’s was being accused of practicing “juju” and therefore a trial was held to decide whether or not she was guilty. At first I was shocked to even hear that the trial was being held, in training we were taught that witchcraft is practiced in Malawi but it’s not the sort of thing you expect to possibly happen in your very own community. The trial was held at the GVH’s (Group Village Headman) house which is less than 50 meters from my house, and this man oversees many villages in the area as well as the chiefs in charge of those villages. I went with my neighbor and as soon as I sat on the ground with all the women and children (men of course sit separate from the women), a man came up to me and directed me to some chairs in front of all 100+ people who were attending. I soon realized that I was sitting on a jury of ten people which included the GVH, some of the area chiefs, and…me. I have no idea why I was included in the group, maybe because I was still new to the community, maybe to make the trial more interesting, but most likely because I am the only white person around.
The trial began with someone stating the charges and then there was the testimonies which came from 3 girls who claimed she was teaching them at night, from the chief of the woman’s village, from the parents of the girls, and from several other witnesses. After they explained their stories they called forth the woman to defend herself. She denied all of the allegations and said that it was unfair that she was being accused in the first place. She was being accused of teaching children to use a “witch plane” to fly to Lilongwe and Johannesburg during the night. Throughout the entire hearing the jurors, particularly the GVH, were asking her questions. I of course did not ask any questions since I was struggling enough just to understand what everyone was saying. And since the meeting lasted several hours and still no decision was reached, the GVH decided to postpone the rest of the trial until the following week.

To make matters worse, two days before the second hearing a young girl who claimed she was being taught by the woman suddenly died. The gossip in my village of course ran rampant, and people were saying that this woman killed her through witchcraft. And what’s more is that they said her brother, who was suffering from some physical and mental problems, became that way after falling out of a witch plane that was flying at night. Now the truth of the matter is that the girl died of cerebral malaria and that her brother was suffering from tuberculosis. The real tragedy in this situation is not that people were gossiping about the use of witchcraft on her but that her family refused to take her to the hospital when she first started to shows signs of having malaria. Because the closest hospital to Kakunga is private and therefore you must pay money to go, the family decided that since they didn’t have enough money that they would just wait. It wasn’t until the malaria had gone to her brain that they decided to take her to get help, but unfortunately it was too late.

The funeral was held the day before the trial and to my surprise the hearing was not postponed out of respect to the girl’s family. After further testimony from several people the woman was again called before the jury to defend herself. When she finished the jury met to discuss the hearing and to make a decision. After that the GVH made his decision and declared the woman guilty of practicing witchcraft and also of teaching it to children. Her sentence was simply to stop practicing and teaching. This was very unexpected since it is custom for the accused to be exiled from the village. But, that was it, and everyone went on their way and the gossip slowly died down after a few weeks.



Almost every time that I read the Malawian papers I find at a story about witchcraft. One that struck me came not too long ago in the southern region in Blantyre. Here is an excerpt from the news article published in The Nation on September 10:
“Confessions by child-witches in Blantyre North have led to two months of captivity for nine people at the home of a witch-doctor who is administering herbs on the group to exorcise the suspects of witchcraft. [The Village Headwoman] said that the process is commendable, acceptable and necessary to get rid of witches and wizards whom she claimed are ‘terrorizing’ her village…The nine people are under the surveillance of witch-doctor Yakobo who claimed they were referred to her by traditional leaders following some children’s confessions that they are students at witchcraft ‘academies’ run by the suspects. The nine comprise of three old women… four boys aged between 10 and 12 and two men aged 25 and 27...The three old women told The Nation that they were being held against their will and that they have denied the allegations several times…At the witch-doctor’s compound, the nine are allocated ‘admission rooms’ where they take a herbal concoction three times a day and bathe in waters treated with herbs twice a day, in the morning and evening…Witchcraft confessions by children have dominated media reports in recent times and have invariably led to the arrest and conviction of suspects in the country although the Witchcraft Act of 1911, as revised in 1926 and 1946, rejects the notion that witchcraft exists”.

Witchcraft has been very detrimental to the development of Malawi because of several reasons. First, it usually involves jealousy on the part of the one who accuses someone of practicing. Often times when someone makes a little bit of money, has a nicer house, does well in business, etc. , then other people in the community assume that they used witchcraft to help them to improve their status. Secondly, there is no proof to judge whether or not someone is actually a witch, it is completely based on suspicion. Witchcraft is supposedly practiced at night, and in the case of the girl who died there was no physical evidence to prove that the woman killed her. So, the village headman must often make a decision largely based on what he hears from other people. Another reason is that the traditional leaders often go beyond their powers and the laws of the government. Just like the case in Blantyre, there was no jurisdiction for the village headwoman to allow them to be taken captive. Lastly, there is no clear consensus as to how to deal with this issue. Witchcraft has been around for a long time and even though the country continues to develop, it seems like this problem is not going away anytime soon.

People here all the time ask me if witchcraft exists in America. I usually say no although I am sure it does to some extent. Even still it is a strange and uncomfortable thing to encounter and I struggle greatly in finding ways to deal with it. I want to tell people that it’s ridiculous and that they shouldn’t be afraid of it, but I know it is deeply ingrained into their culture. And whether or not people choose to believe that it’s real, we should understand that it exists and that it can be a huge obstacle to progress in developing countries. The next step is to find ways to fight against it and to preserve people's basic human rights.

i can start a fire like a malawian woman...

...yep, that's right. Last week I received that compliment from a friend and for me this was just about the greatest thing a Malawian could have said to me, especially since I spent my first three days at site eating peanut butter and banana sandwiches because I was unable to start a fire. As I thought about what he said, I realized that in the 7 months of being here I have learned an incredible amount of things, whether it be about how to make compost, how to speak Chichewa, to look right and not left first when crossing the road, how to process honey, how to draw my own blood to test if I have malaria, and the list goes on. But, I know that there is still so much to learn, some days I feel like the most unqualified person ever to do my job. I mean honestly, what in the world can I do to help these people in the two short years that I am here? However, I just keep praying that God will use me in whatever capacity He wants and I try to be open to learn and experience new things. I guess that's all I can do!

kakunga women's netball team

This is a very special post about a very special team... Anyone that knows me at all knows that I love sports, particularly soccer and volleyball. And thankfully for me Malawians play both of these sports. But unfortunately soccer is strictly played by the boys whereas the women only play netball. Both sports are referred to as "mpila" in Chichewa, but the meaning changes as to which gender you are talking about. So to say that a girl playing mpila is actually playing soccer is very taboo. As unfair as that may seem to me, it makes me even more excited about encouraging the youth and adults to play volleyball since it is played by both males and females (but I'll dedicate more to volleyball in a future post).

What makes the netball teams in my area unique is the fact that the women play and not just the girls. Here in Malawi women do not share the same social or economic status as the men, and on top of that they carry the overall burden of taking care of their families. They do the cooking, cleaning, taking care of the kids, drawing water, searching for and cutting the firewood, and even for the most part the farming. Now I don't want to put down the men, but they don't do nearly as much work as the women. Most of them are unemployed and when they don't feel the need to work in the fields, they mostly sit around being idle. This is not true for the azamayi, who usually wake up before the sun rises and are the last to go to sleep. Simply put, they work extremely hard, so that's why I love seeing them take some time for themselves to have fun and let loose.

One of the reasons this team has become so significant to me is because of the way netball has helped me to integrate into my community. Since speaking Chichewa has proven to be quite difficult and since sports is a universal language, netball has been a great way for me to get to know the ladies in Kakunga. It's also especially important since the majority of women don't speak any English because they are less likely than the men to attend secondary school. Playing netball is also a great way to remove stress whether it be from the goats eating my vegetables a second or third or fourth time in a month, feeling homesick, getting sick once again after eating okra (I never learn), and the list goes on.

So after receiving birthday money from my mom I had the idea to use the money to buy jerseys for them. I figured that since the men's soccer team has jerseys, why can't the ladies as well? They were very excited to receive them and now they are the best looking netball team in all of Mchinji! Thanks Mom!

Here are some pictures of the team...enjoy!

meeting bingu and a quick update

Yesterday the president of Malawi, His Excellency Ngwazi Professor Bingu wa Mutharika, hosted a special luncheon for all Peace Corps volunteers serving in Malawi at his residence in Lilongwe.
Here is a few thoughts that I wrote down during the ceremony…

- I saw a zebra!
- Real silver utensils
- Swan shaped napkin for Bingu
- Lots and lots of booze
- Being served 3 kinds of meat and no nsima
- “Real development occurs at the grassroots, in the rural communities” (the Pres)
- Feeling so proud to serve in Malawi on behalf of the US government
- Bingu has really soft hands
- Dancing!


All in all, it was an amazing ceremony and I was very impressed with the President. He seemed genuinely thankful for the work that Peace Corps volunteers have been doing in Malawi since 1963 and said that PC Malawi is just one piece in the jigsaw puzzle of world peace and economic development. This is a very true statement and a good reminder to me that even the smallest accomplishments are still helping to move this country forward. It was quite a special event, and since it’s not every day that one meets a leader of an entire country, I think I will remember yesterday for a very long time!



Work has been going slow and often I find myself frustrated by that and also with some difficulties I am having with a couple of my counterparts. Each PCV is issued an official counterpart who works for the government and mine works for the District Forestry Office. However, we can have many counterparts who are people in the community that we work with. One of them is extremely unreliable, he tells me to show up at his house and he’s not there, or that he will call me and he doesn’t, or that he will attend a certain meeting and of course doesn’t. He’s a nice enough guy, but just doesn’t seem to care much about working with me. Another is constantly asking me for things, whether it be for money to fix his roof, to pay school fees for one of his kids, to help him in building a fish pond at his house, and the list goes on. And what’s more, I just found out that he has two wives. Polygamy is certainly not uncommon here, but it doesn’t encourage me to want to work with him. But if this is the worst of my troubles so far I consider myself very blessed. And despite those two people, I have been fortunate to meet some other people and groups that I am very inspired and motivated by. Here are a few examples…

Mary: She is a good friend of mine even though communication is very limited for the both of us. She is 28 and has 4 kids and is one of the hardest workers I have ever met in my life. Rarely do I ever see her sit down to relax and yet somehow finds the energy to play netball with the other women in my village. She is very entrepreneurial and always looking for ways to make money to support her family.

Stella: She works for an company that buys seeds yet is also very involved in community development . She is an agriculturist who believes that development should be more business-oriented instead of just pumping aid and money into the hands of the people, which is a serious problem here. She has been a good example to me of how a woman can effect change in a man’s world, particularly when it comes to agriculture. She is incredibly smart yet very humble and is very passionate about development in a holistic manner.

Tilimbike CBO: This is a community based organization that has several groups such as orphan care, HIV/AIDS support, elderly care, and a nursery school. Instead of just waiting around for help from donors or the government, as many CBOs do, they took action by molding enough bricks to build two school blocks and are continuing to build more. Also, as a way to make money, they have planted trees and sold the seedlings to help support their projects.


Until next time!

happy fourth

While all of you in America are preparing your grills and fireworks, I am in Lilongwe for the 4th which will be held at the US Ambassador’s house. All 130 volunteers as well as all expats living in Malawi are invited to the event. The Ambassador has an amazing house which includes a swimming pool and tennis court, so I am glad for the opportunity to escape village life for a few days. I am very excited for the event since there are many volunteers I have yet to meet as well as I get to chance to reconnect with the other 20 volunteers in my group, I haven’t seen most of them for two months and I miss them greatly! Also, Malawi’s Independence Day is on the 6th so I am interested in seeing how they celebrate here. Either way, this will be a fun and interesting first 4th of July away from home!

I’ve been living at my site for two months and I am still keeping myself busy with meeting new people and getting to know the area a bit better. I’ve still been doing a lot of work to my house, I had my fence fixed and extended it so that I could include more area for my garden. I am excited because I finally have gotten rid of the goats who have been terrorizing my garden and eating everything that I’ve planted. I had a new pit latrine built and also painted the inside and outside of my house with lime. My next projects on the list is to replace the roof on my outdoor kitchen before the rainy season comes as well as to replace the wooden beams on the inside of my house, unfortunately termites are a major problem here and they have done a lot of damage to my house.

Although I am still not technically supposed to start projects for another month or so, I have been planning on several small-scale projects to do in the community. This includes several tree nurseries, business training for women, home gardens, building mudstoves, and some beekeeping. Also, the volunteer before me worked with some fish ponds as well as a primary school so I am trying to continue in helping with both. I am so thankful that I have the opportunity to do such a variety of projects as well as to work with different groups and individuals. It sometimes feels overwhelming to see all the needs of the people here, but I know that as long as I am living and working here I will never be bored!

a traditional Chewa dancer, pretty scary

some of the iwes in my village

HAPPY FOURTH OF JULY!

life and lessons from malawi

These past three months I have learned more than I could ever have imagined. I have been fortunate to grasp a better understanding of this beautiful and interesting country. Therefore, I have decided to make a light-hearted list of some of the things I have learned along the way. I hope you enjoy!

1. People will call you Madonna if you have blonde hair and wear sunglasses.

2. If you want to get chores done like sweeping, gardening, drawing water, etc. that you don't feel like doing yourself just ask the kids to do it, they will gladly do just about anything, especially if you reward them with a pencil or "masweetie".

3. The azamayi (Malawian women) are superwomen. Seriously, they can do just about anything.

4. If you want to show people that you are becoming a Malawian, tell them that you love to eat nsima (the staple food here) and that you know how to cook it, even if both of those statements are completely false.

5. If you want to cure a bad mood, go and play netball with the girls and the amayis in the village.
6. Malawians will find a way to put Obama's name or face on just about anything (skirts, bread rolls, bags, buses, tshirts, etc.)

7. There are never too many people to fit inside a car or on the bed of a pickup truck.

8. Just the sight of a white person will make some infants and toddlers either cry or scream with terror.

9. ALWAYS tuck in your mosquito net unless you want to wake up to a cockroach crawling around your face.



life in the village

For those of you who would like an idea of what my day-to-day life looks like in the village, I will give you a snapshot...

I wake up around 5am every day just before the sun rises (which are absolutely amazing here). I then make myself breakfast which is usually coffee, oatmeal, rice porridge, some bananas, or else a peanut butter and jelly sandwich if I am lacking the motivation to start a fire on my mud stove. Then, if my two cats (Chips and Chambo) are begging me, which they almost always are, I give them some small fish. After that I sit outside on my hammock as I do devotions, journal, read, and prepare a list of things I need to do for the day. I am usually interrupted at least a few times by kids on their way to school as they peek through my fence and try to talk to me, or else they just simply stand there and stare at what I am doing. Then I do some chores such as sweeping, drawing water, doing dishes, chasing the goats and chickens from my garden, doing laundry, etc. After that I go out and chat or at least say the traditional morning greetings (it's "madzuka bwanj?" for those of you who are interested in learning some Chichewa). Also, I try every to do at least one thing that is related to my service as a volunteer. This includes visiting local fish ponds or irrigation sites, meeting community groups (ie- HIV/AIDS support groups, orphan care, youth clubs, etc.), chatting with the chief in charge of my village, going to the local primary and secondary schools, meeting with a bunch of ladies in my village who started a Village Savings and Loans group, going to farmers' fields and learning about what they are growing, working on my garden, planning for my demonstration medicinal garden, and much more! Also, I often ride my bike to the local trading center that's only about 3km from where I live and I buy vegetables and fruit that are in season as well as rice, candles, firewood, and the occasional Fanta.

My afternoons and evenings consist mostly of doing home improvements and decorating. I also try to be intentional about simply walking outside of my house and attempting to talk in Chichewa and the phrase "pang'onopang'ono", which means "little by little" has been my slogan here for the pace at which I am learning. It's the most helpful chatting with the kids sine a group of them will just sit with me and when I point at something they will tell me what it is in Chichewa. It's like a game to them and they love it. Sometimes I will play netball or soccer or else I will just chase the kids that are too little to play in the pickup games. After that, just before the sun goes down, I will take a bucket bath and then cook myself dinner. So far I have perfected cooking rice, omelettes, chips, and vegetables. I am trying to branch out but again, "pang'onopang'ono". It gets dark by about 6pm so I head inside my house to escape the mosquitoes and sit in my hammock and read. And in case you were wondering, yes I do have two hammocks, one outside and one inside, and they make life here so much nicer! I will read, sew, do some research on potential projects, write letters, journal, etc. Then by 8pm I am tucked nicely inside my mosquito net!

So that's basically my life here in Malawi so far. It will stay pretty similar to that for the next two months since the Peace Corps requires that we not start any projects during that time. The purpose is for us to focus on integrating into the area and although I know it's extremely important, I sometimes feel like I'm doing nothing here. I know that isn't necessarily the case and that I need to take the time to get to know my community, and to have them get to know me and trust me in return, to learn the language, to try and figure out what the needs of the community are, and finally how I can help to address those needs. And along the way I have met some really great people and been able to experience many things that I would have not been able to in America.

Also, I do have a cell phone and although it is too expensive for me to call America, I can receive calls for free. I suggest using Skype since that seems to be the cheapest option. If you'd like my number feel free to email me at kkutzner@gmail.com or just ask anyone in my family and they will give it to you! I would love to hear from you all!