Wow, so I just realized that I can update my blog from my phone. I live without electricity or running water, my bathroom is a large hole in the ground, and I bathe outside in a small hut while trying to fight off lizards and the occasional scorpion. But yet I can check my email and facebook, browse the web, even do some online shopping (even though it will take months for anything to get to me), and now write on my blog from the comfort of my hammock in a remote village in sub Saharan Africa. Crazy isn't it?
Crazy and yet awesome and not so awesome all at the same time. Up until about a month ago I could easily go two or three weeks without checking my email, sometimes longer. While I was training last year it was 2 months without touching a computer or internet phone. To think of having to do that now seems frightening. I love having access to the outside world, and I'm slowly reverting back to the addicted blackberry user that I am back in the States.
One of the reasons that I love living here is the slow, simple pace of life. I've come to see that living without electricity and running water is a blessing, I spend more time at the bore hole chatting with the women while we all draw water and I'm outside on my bike or working on my garden rather than being glued to a computer. It's great. I've read more books in 19 months than I've read in probably the last 5 years
However the downside of that was always the feeling like I was out of touch with my family, friends, world events, everything. It was definitely one of the causes of my frequent mood swings. I could go from over-the-top happy to sad and miserable at any time. And I think that had to do with not knowing what's going on outside of my village. But now I feel much more happy knowing what's going on in the world and with those that I care about, it helps me to live mine more freely.
I still haven't decided whether I'm better off with or without my blackberry, but for now I'm just trying to enjoy my simple and strange life here as well as trying to stay connected to home...
Saturday, September 24, 2011
Thursday, September 15, 2011
busy as a bee
The problem with being a volunteer for only two years is that once you truly begin to feel integrated into your community, when you have a strong idea of what you want to accomplish, when projects finally start getting off the ground, when you feel comfortable being “the black sheep” 24 hours a day 7 days a week, when you get to know the local language well enough that you can make sarcastic jokes (even though they have no idea what sarcasm is), that’s when you find you only have a short time left in your service.
Now don’t get me wrong, 2 years is a long time. And I still have 7 left which is also a good chunk of time. When I first got to country it seemed like it would last a lifetime. A lot can certainly happen in that time, but in the world of development it’s like the blink of an eye. When it comes to real change and to sustainable projects it’s extremely difficult. And that’s one of the problems we face as volunteers.
My projects are starting to move along, things that I’ve been waiting months for have now thankfully come. As great as that is I find myself slowly losing momentum and motivation as I think more and more about home, grad school, family, a job, and everything that I’ll get to enjoy in America that I don’t get to here. Even though I'm looking more and more forward to finishing out my service I am thankful especially for the friends and family that I've made while here, they definitely help me to stay happy and sane!
PROJECTS AND LIFE UPDATE:
KAMP KWACHA – I spent a week at the Lake helping out with Kamp Kwacha, a business camp for 20 kids who are in secondary school. It was the first time we had the camp and I think it went really, really well. Myself and 5 other volunteers spent the week teaching kids about marketing, accounting, risk management, networking, etc. Basic business practices are rarely taught in school or practiced in daily life here, so we taught a lot of stuff that was completely new to them and I was surprised at how much information they were able to retain. We put the kids in 5 groups and at the end of the week they presented a business plan for the company that they wanted to start. From canned fish to mobile clinics they came up with some great ideas. Overall it was a fun week and the fact that it was held at Senga Bay in Lake Malawi made it even better!
KAMERA CLINIC – the roof is built, the walls have been plastered, and now we are in the painting phase. Next week will include laying cement on the floor and starting the toilets. Got some more donations, whether it be money or seeds for a future medicinal/nutritional garden, and we are super happy and thankful about that!
WOMEN’S GROUP – finally got the oil press and so the women have started making cooking oil and making sweets and peanut flour from the groundnut press cake. Next week they will start selling the oil and the sweets and flour. They are also preparing their nursery beds to start growing paprika and chillies . This will be their first time to grow the plant and although they are a bit hesitant I am hoping that they will make a large profit come harvesting in May.
BEEEEEES – one of the things I have wanted to do my entire service is beekeeping. I’m not quite sure why (maybe it has to do with my Dad and his love for it), I even started a beekeeping group in my community (it pretty much failed). I think it was a classic case of an outsider trying to enforce one’s own ideals before really assessing and seeing that beekeeping is probably not what people want or even need. However, my luck has changed and this time people have first approached me and asked for help with apiculture. The request came from a primary school and I was a bit hesitant since the last project I did with a primary school (it was a tree nursery) completely failed. However, when I visited the school I was really impressed with the staff as well as the kids. For the last eight years they have been planting trees every single year and for here in Malawi that’s a really big thing since not many people bother to plant trees. About a third of the classes are taught outside and there is no housing for the teachers even though the school is in a very remote area. Therefore a lot of the teachers have to walk or bike a far distance to school every day. Instead of just requesting money to build classrooms or teachers’ housing, they found a creative solution in beekeeping as an income generator to help them accomplish those projects. No one in their area is doing it and it’s a great way to give the kids a hands-on educational experience since all of them have agriculture classes and some are members of the school’s wildlife club. So, I have a good feeling that this project will be my last that deals with writing a proposal and funding and I can’t wait to start it.
MEDICINAL GARDENS – myself and the chairperson of the HIV/AIDS Support Group wrote an application for a training at ANAMED (Action for Natural Medicine) and were thankfully one of the few chosen so in October we will spend a week learning more about herbal medicine. My counterpart is especially excited for this training and I am as well since we both have a basic understanding of most medicinal plants, but we really need to know more about how to care for the plants, what the right dosages are for making medicine, how to propagate them, and stuff like that. So hopefully we’ll be able to take the knowledge gained and apply it to the group and teach neighboring support groups as well as to start a medicinal garden at Kamera.
LIFE etc. – I’ve been more and more neglecting my house and it’s starting to show especially since the 5 puppies in my compound have basically destroyed my door. It’s my fault since I fed them a few times and now they think they own my house and backyard, so I’m trying a new technique by avoiding them and not feeding or petting them which is difficult but is best for my sanity since they constantly want to be around me.
My mom was supposed to come and visit me next month and as excited as I was about it, my friends here were even more so. The whole trip was planned out but unfortunately she broke her ankle and just this week had to get surgery. She will not be able to walk for three months and won’t be able to walk without crutches for six months. It was a serious injury and so needless to say she won’t be able to make the trip. We are hoping that she can make it in December! Prayers would be greatly appreciated for my mom that she makes a speedy recovery.
HARD TIMES – tough times just seem to get worse. Skyrocketing prices on everything, no fuel, constant blackouts for those who have electricity, no foreign exchange, and A LOT of political tension. Because of that people are once again preparing to demonstrate this month against the government. It’s hard not to take a stand on this issue especially since I am also affected by what’s currently happening. The protests planned for last month were rescheduled for the 21st and many people are wondering if it’s even going to happen. I also do not know, but looking back at July and the 20 people who died during the protests, I am hoping that this will one will at least be peaceful on the side of the government and those demonstrating.
CHICKEN!!! - yesterday I went to visit the parents of one of my best friends here at Kapiri. I had a really fun day hanging out with her two kids and her parents and sister. Most of the times when I visit people they give me groundnuts, mangoes, papaya, maize, beans, even fried mice. But Lois' family definitely topped the list when they not only killed one of their chickens for our lunch, but they also gave me one to take home. I wanted to say no at first but to refuse a gift is not very polite here so I just smiled and said that I was thankful for the gift. But the longer I thought about it the more flattered I was, for a person to give a chicken is basically like handing them money, animals here are an important source of income so for them to freely give it to me means a lot. Anyway, now I'm stuck trying to figure out what to do with it. I'd love to keep it and build it a nice home but I'm sure something will happen to it so I might just eat it. But I'm open to advice so if you have any feel free to let me know!
Now don’t get me wrong, 2 years is a long time. And I still have 7 left which is also a good chunk of time. When I first got to country it seemed like it would last a lifetime. A lot can certainly happen in that time, but in the world of development it’s like the blink of an eye. When it comes to real change and to sustainable projects it’s extremely difficult. And that’s one of the problems we face as volunteers.
My projects are starting to move along, things that I’ve been waiting months for have now thankfully come. As great as that is I find myself slowly losing momentum and motivation as I think more and more about home, grad school, family, a job, and everything that I’ll get to enjoy in America that I don’t get to here. Even though I'm looking more and more forward to finishing out my service I am thankful especially for the friends and family that I've made while here, they definitely help me to stay happy and sane!
PROJECTS AND LIFE UPDATE:
KAMP KWACHA – I spent a week at the Lake helping out with Kamp Kwacha, a business camp for 20 kids who are in secondary school. It was the first time we had the camp and I think it went really, really well. Myself and 5 other volunteers spent the week teaching kids about marketing, accounting, risk management, networking, etc. Basic business practices are rarely taught in school or practiced in daily life here, so we taught a lot of stuff that was completely new to them and I was surprised at how much information they were able to retain. We put the kids in 5 groups and at the end of the week they presented a business plan for the company that they wanted to start. From canned fish to mobile clinics they came up with some great ideas. Overall it was a fun week and the fact that it was held at Senga Bay in Lake Malawi made it even better!
KAMERA CLINIC – the roof is built, the walls have been plastered, and now we are in the painting phase. Next week will include laying cement on the floor and starting the toilets. Got some more donations, whether it be money or seeds for a future medicinal/nutritional garden, and we are super happy and thankful about that!
WOMEN’S GROUP – finally got the oil press and so the women have started making cooking oil and making sweets and peanut flour from the groundnut press cake. Next week they will start selling the oil and the sweets and flour. They are also preparing their nursery beds to start growing paprika and chillies . This will be their first time to grow the plant and although they are a bit hesitant I am hoping that they will make a large profit come harvesting in May.
BEEEEEES – one of the things I have wanted to do my entire service is beekeeping. I’m not quite sure why (maybe it has to do with my Dad and his love for it), I even started a beekeeping group in my community (it pretty much failed). I think it was a classic case of an outsider trying to enforce one’s own ideals before really assessing and seeing that beekeeping is probably not what people want or even need. However, my luck has changed and this time people have first approached me and asked for help with apiculture. The request came from a primary school and I was a bit hesitant since the last project I did with a primary school (it was a tree nursery) completely failed. However, when I visited the school I was really impressed with the staff as well as the kids. For the last eight years they have been planting trees every single year and for here in Malawi that’s a really big thing since not many people bother to plant trees. About a third of the classes are taught outside and there is no housing for the teachers even though the school is in a very remote area. Therefore a lot of the teachers have to walk or bike a far distance to school every day. Instead of just requesting money to build classrooms or teachers’ housing, they found a creative solution in beekeeping as an income generator to help them accomplish those projects. No one in their area is doing it and it’s a great way to give the kids a hands-on educational experience since all of them have agriculture classes and some are members of the school’s wildlife club. So, I have a good feeling that this project will be my last that deals with writing a proposal and funding and I can’t wait to start it.
MEDICINAL GARDENS – myself and the chairperson of the HIV/AIDS Support Group wrote an application for a training at ANAMED (Action for Natural Medicine) and were thankfully one of the few chosen so in October we will spend a week learning more about herbal medicine. My counterpart is especially excited for this training and I am as well since we both have a basic understanding of most medicinal plants, but we really need to know more about how to care for the plants, what the right dosages are for making medicine, how to propagate them, and stuff like that. So hopefully we’ll be able to take the knowledge gained and apply it to the group and teach neighboring support groups as well as to start a medicinal garden at Kamera.
LIFE etc. – I’ve been more and more neglecting my house and it’s starting to show especially since the 5 puppies in my compound have basically destroyed my door. It’s my fault since I fed them a few times and now they think they own my house and backyard, so I’m trying a new technique by avoiding them and not feeding or petting them which is difficult but is best for my sanity since they constantly want to be around me.
My mom was supposed to come and visit me next month and as excited as I was about it, my friends here were even more so. The whole trip was planned out but unfortunately she broke her ankle and just this week had to get surgery. She will not be able to walk for three months and won’t be able to walk without crutches for six months. It was a serious injury and so needless to say she won’t be able to make the trip. We are hoping that she can make it in December! Prayers would be greatly appreciated for my mom that she makes a speedy recovery.
HARD TIMES – tough times just seem to get worse. Skyrocketing prices on everything, no fuel, constant blackouts for those who have electricity, no foreign exchange, and A LOT of political tension. Because of that people are once again preparing to demonstrate this month against the government. It’s hard not to take a stand on this issue especially since I am also affected by what’s currently happening. The protests planned for last month were rescheduled for the 21st and many people are wondering if it’s even going to happen. I also do not know, but looking back at July and the 20 people who died during the protests, I am hoping that this will one will at least be peaceful on the side of the government and those demonstrating.
CHICKEN!!! - yesterday I went to visit the parents of one of my best friends here at Kapiri. I had a really fun day hanging out with her two kids and her parents and sister. Most of the times when I visit people they give me groundnuts, mangoes, papaya, maize, beans, even fried mice. But Lois' family definitely topped the list when they not only killed one of their chickens for our lunch, but they also gave me one to take home. I wanted to say no at first but to refuse a gift is not very polite here so I just smiled and said that I was thankful for the gift. But the longer I thought about it the more flattered I was, for a person to give a chicken is basically like handing them money, animals here are an important source of income so for them to freely give it to me means a lot. Anyway, now I'm stuck trying to figure out what to do with it. I'd love to keep it and build it a nice home but I'm sure something will happen to it so I might just eat it. But I'm open to advice so if you have any feel free to let me know!
Lois' mom handing me the best gift ever!
Sunday, August 28, 2011
another way to help
Progress on the clinic is continuing to exceed my expectations. I have not been able to visit the shelter for almost two weeks now since I've been away from site helping with a business camp, but when I was last there the builder was putting on the metal sheets for the roof. I believe that now they are finished with the roof and are currently working on putting cement on the floors as well as plastering the walls. Every single day the community is out there doing the labor to get it all done.
One of the challenges we have faced so far is that our budget did not inlude some key items that we need. This is because we were trying to make the budget to be as low as possible and also because we did not anticipate that we would need certain materials. Also, the budget was created last year and due to inflation, the current fuel crisis, and rising prices we have faced a deficit and therefore some of the things we purchased were a bit more than we had budgeted for.
I know I have bugged pretty much everyone I know for money, and yes, I am doing it again (sorry!). So maybe for all of you who wanted to give for the clinic the first time but were not able to, here is another chance. Unfortunately since the grant has closed it is not possible to give through the Peace Corps website anymore. Therefore I think the best way to give is through PayPal. It's quick, easy, and will go right to me. It won't be tax-deductible but I will be able to show you where every dollar will go to. Here's a list of the things we need...
1 table and 1 chair - $2.40
Ant Repellant - $12.10
Door - $12.10
Door Frame - $12.10
Paint (5L) - $21.20
Locks - $9
Water Paint - $21.20
Hand washing facilities (2) - $18.20
Water taps (2) - $7.30
Drug Shelves - $18.20
Curtains - $7.30
Plastic basins (2) - $6.70
TOTAL = $147.80
So there it all is. We underestimated paint, decided to put a door and locks in the front of the building for security purposes, and want to build two handwashing facilities at the toilets to encourage hygiene and sanitation, and a couple other small items. And to do these things we need your help. Yea, the project is going well and we are almost finished, but I know that having these extra materials will help it to be that much better. So, if you want to give you can easily do it by clicking on the PayPal button below. Thank you all!
Friday, July 29, 2011
just another update
First of all I need to apologize for my infrequency in posting and lack of creativity with this blog. I read other PCVs’ posts from time to time and it definitely puts me to shame. My only excuse is that I’ve been really busy lately but I promise to try harder. I know that my family and a few friends read this on a regular basis so I’ll try harder for you guys, but for now I’ll just let you know what’s been going on these past couple of months…
The next week the Health Surveillance Assistant and myself went to get all of the building materials and we loaded up a huge flatbed truck with 95 bags of cement, doors, lime, wheelbarrows, and other materials. We didn’t arrive at Kamera until well after midnight but even so we were greeted by everyone coming out of their houses to dance and celebrate and once again I was blown away with the excitement and motivation of the people.
RUARWE
Over 4th of July I went on a vacation with my friends and fellow PCVs Twila, Bri, Sara, Amy, and Twila's friend Donny who is visiting for a few months. They are all in my enviro '10 group and even though we live spread out through the country, I always enjoy the few times when we can all get together.
So we went up to the northern part of Lake Malawi and stayed one night at a PCVs house who lives right on the lake. We then hiked three days/60km south along the lakeshore. It was fun but tiring and I know we were super happy to reach the lodge on the third day. We stayed at Zulunkhuni River Lodge for three days and it was absolutely beautiful. The whole trip was amazing and it was great to spend a carefree week away from cell phone reception, electricity, internet, and running water.
If you want to see some pictures of the trip you can see them on my facebook album http://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.528409657352.2027305.170100061.
A NEW BABY
If you’ve read some of my previous posts you might have heard about my friend Margaderina. She’s the one who is a member of the women’s group that I work with and her husband passed away from meningitis last December. She’s younger than me and already a mother of a 2 year old and so last year when I went home for Christmas I asked everyone that I know to help her out in any way possible. Because of people’s generosity she’s been able to provide for her family through buying maize, fertilizer, soap, medicine, etc.
So, when she told me earlier this year that she was pregnant (her late husband is the father), I knew I had to try to help her again. Because of a certain person who gave $100 to me earlier (I hope you know who you are – THANK YOU), Margaderina was able to buy blankets, buckets, clothes for her and the baby, a suitcase for her hospital stay, and other essentials. And when the call came that she was at the hospital in labor, I knew she was ready and prepared to have the baby. On July 1 a beautiful baby girl was born and Margederina asked me to name her. I felt so honored to name the baby and after over a week of thinking about the right name I decided to name her….JESSICA. I named her after my sister and very best friend and it was supposed to be a secret that I was going to reveal on here but a certain someone spoiled the surprise, thanks a lot Dad. Just kidding.
**Just tried posting a picture of Jessica but after over an hour of waiting I got too frustrated...Sorry, will post pictures of her and the clinic ASAP**
THE CLINIC
As I last wrote, all the money has been raised for the clinic. And as soon as the money came in, I was able to break the news to the community and their reaction was so touching. The women and kids were singing and dancing and all the chiefs kept coming up to tell me how happy they were. This was about 4 years in the making for them and to know that it was finally happening was a big deal.
As I last wrote, all the money has been raised for the clinic. And as soon as the money came in, I was able to break the news to the community and their reaction was so touching. The women and kids were singing and dancing and all the chiefs kept coming up to tell me how happy they were. This was about 4 years in the making for them and to know that it was finally happening was a big deal.
The next week the Health Surveillance Assistant and myself went to get all of the building materials and we loaded up a huge flatbed truck with 95 bags of cement, doors, lime, wheelbarrows, and other materials. We didn’t arrive at Kamera until well after midnight but even so we were greeted by everyone coming out of their houses to dance and celebrate and once again I was blown away with the excitement and motivation of the people.
For the past three weeks the community has been busy chipping in with the building. We hired a guy to be in charge of the building and so the villagers are doing everything from helping pour concrete, collect sand and stones, drawing water, and doing most of the labor. Every day they come out and the progress has been amazing to see. Already the foundation has been laid and the sides are almost completely built. Definitely by the end of August or early September it will all be finished.
Also right now I am trying to do my best to have the shelter be a place where people can get HIV testing. Since they are so far away from a hospital many people don’t even bother to get the free testing. Also, we would like to have the clinic be stocked with ARVs (Anti Retroviral Therapy) so those who have HIV/AIDS don’t have to trek the 22km just to get their meds. Additionally I am working with a certain NGO in trying to get bednets, condoms, and safe water treatment.
OTHER PROJECTS
The women’s group just finished paying off their first loan and went back to Opportunity International to get their second loan. It’s a great accomplishment for them that they were able to successfully pay the loan back and that they want to get another. This time most of the women will use the money to buy and sell groundnuts and a few will continue with their other businesses.The volleyball team is on a break and will be resuming in September. Things are still moving along with the other projects and now I am gearing up for a big tree nursery project that will take place in the next few months. Also I’ll be heading back to the lake in August to help out with our first “Kamp Kwacha”, a week-long business camp for high school age kids.
THE PROTESTS
If you've seen my facebook posts last week or maybe saw it on the news, you might have heard about the protests that happened on July 22 and 23 in the capital of Malawi and a few major other cities in the country. The demonstrations happened because people here are tired of the abuse of civil rights, a lack of foreign exchange, the fuel shortages, and some other things. People aren't happy with the President and decided to demonstrate but unfortunately it got a bit violent. 19 people ended up dying and lots of shops and other things were damaged.
Thankfully where I am things were very safe but it was still unsettling to hear about everything going on. If Malawians are proud of anything, it's that they are "the Warm Heart of Africa" in that they are extremely friendly and also that they are a peaceful people. So it's strange to see how things have been changing in the place I have called home for the past year and a half.
There are supposed to be more demonstrations on August 17 and I'm not sure if they will happen. But for now I am trying to stay quiet on all the political issues since one of our jobs as PC volunteers is to not take any sides politically.
EVERYTHING ELSE
On the home front everything is as usual. My cat Chips is extremely pregnant and any day I’m sure she’ll be popping out some kittens. Normally I’d be overjoyed but to be honest am getting tired of kittens, especially since about half of them end up dying tragic deaths before I can even give them away. Also have been making some home renovations like painting and reorganizing, I think I’ve finally been here long enough to get bored with my stuff. Lastly is that I’ve been spending a lot of time studying for the GRE which I’ll be taking in November as well as researching grad schools, however the latter has been really difficult to do here so I’m considering postponing school until ’13. We’ll see…
Thanks for checking in!
Monday, June 6, 2011
development through discos and compost
Since I am in Lilongwe and have some spare time I thought I would just spend some time to update my life since the football tournament at the beginning of May. Speaking of that, if you read my last post it might have come off as very pessimistic and while that it is still true, thankfully some good things have come out of it. The second place team continues to practice three times a week and now we are preparing on starting a team to compete in the premiere women’s league in Malawi. We are looking to recruit players from all over the area to form one team as well as to set them up with the local men’s premiere team as sort of a franchise. It’s still very new and not much has happened yet, but it’s exciting nonetheless as this was my hope from the beginning to form a premiere team in my community. Also, many other teams are starting up and I am being asked every day to give teams footballs so they can play. So although I wasn’t too happy with the outcome of the tournament, I am glad at least to see that some of the girls are continuing to play.
And some big, big news is that WE FINALLY HAVE THE FUNDING TO BUILD THE COMMUNITY HEALTH CLINIC! After a couple months of bugging my family and friends to give up some money, it has all come together and the project is about to begin. Within this week I will have all the money sent to my bank account and then immediately we’ll start buying all the materials (cement, iron sheets, trees, etc.) and hopefully it should take us about 2 months to get the structure built. I get a smile on my face every time I think about this project and I have decided to wait to tell the community until the money has finally reached into my account that the project is ready to go. I know they will be even more ecstatic than I am. Definitely stay tuned for more news and pictures on that front, and for the 1000th and not the last time I will say thank you to everyone who donated money. People’s lives will be changed and it’s because of you.
The HIV/AIDS group I am working with is still waiting to start the nutrition and income generating project, so while we are waiting this past week we made some really awesome compost to help with the medicinal garden. We made two different kinds of compost and it was a really great way to teach the members that you don’t need expensive chemical fertilizers to help these plants to grow well. The best things for these medicinal plants come right from their own homes and fields and it doesn’t cost them anything!
This week I will be spending a couple of days with at my sitemate Vanessa’s house, she is a secondary school teacher and she lives about 20 miles from my house. Myself and three other PC volunteers from my district will be assisting Vanessa with an HIV/AIDS day that she is running at her school. Not only will I be enjoying the company of my fellow PCVs and electricity for two days but I’ll also be teaching students about good nutrition and how it relates to HIV/AIDS.
The women’s group is in the last month of paying off their first loan. So far at least 7 of the 13 women are going to take another loan immediately after repaying their first one. This time most will increase the amount from an average of about $45-60 to about $70-100. We are also planning on doing some cash crop diversification since all the members have decided to no longer grow tobacco. It’s a decision I completely support not only because of the extremely low prices this year, but also because it requires chemical fertilizers and it is very harsh on the soil (and not forgetting the fact that it’s the main ingredient in cigarettes). So right now we are contemplating between growing paprika, soybeans, and/or groundnuts. I am hoping to have a mixture of the three just in case of potentially low prices next season.
I am still continuing to meet with the girl's volleyball club at my local secondary school. Although they are all busy with the end of the school year coming up, they have all told me over and over again how much they want to go on a trip and play another school. We have played a couple of other local teams in the area but I think that they want to go and play girls from another school. Of course they chose to go to Lake Malawi so they can enjoy both some volleyball and the lake. It sounds like a perfection combination to me but since there is no money we decided to do a fundraiser. So next Saturday the team will be hosting the "Kapiri Disco", and by disco I mean basically it will just be a dance party. So they'll sell tickets to get into the disco and maybe some food and drinks and hopefully the money generated from the event will help us to take a trip in the near future. Also, the girls really loved "HIV/AIDS Month" in March so basically I've just extended it and now once a week we do different activities related to that. Not all of it is directly related to HIV, some of it's also focused on helping them to become empowered, educated young women of Malawi. It's great!
On the personal front this month I'll be part of a few volunteers welcoming another new group to Malawi next week, this time we'll have 17 people who will be teachers placed throughout the country. The rest of the month of June will be dedicated to gardening, spring cleaning around my house, and trying to stay as warm as possible through the coldest month of the year. Also I'll be celebrating Independence Day on a one week hike around Lake Malawi with a bunch of friends. Very exciting!
And some big, big news is that WE FINALLY HAVE THE FUNDING TO BUILD THE COMMUNITY HEALTH CLINIC! After a couple months of bugging my family and friends to give up some money, it has all come together and the project is about to begin. Within this week I will have all the money sent to my bank account and then immediately we’ll start buying all the materials (cement, iron sheets, trees, etc.) and hopefully it should take us about 2 months to get the structure built. I get a smile on my face every time I think about this project and I have decided to wait to tell the community until the money has finally reached into my account that the project is ready to go. I know they will be even more ecstatic than I am. Definitely stay tuned for more news and pictures on that front, and for the 1000th and not the last time I will say thank you to everyone who donated money. People’s lives will be changed and it’s because of you.
The HIV/AIDS group I am working with is still waiting to start the nutrition and income generating project, so while we are waiting this past week we made some really awesome compost to help with the medicinal garden. We made two different kinds of compost and it was a really great way to teach the members that you don’t need expensive chemical fertilizers to help these plants to grow well. The best things for these medicinal plants come right from their own homes and fields and it doesn’t cost them anything!
This week I will be spending a couple of days with at my sitemate Vanessa’s house, she is a secondary school teacher and she lives about 20 miles from my house. Myself and three other PC volunteers from my district will be assisting Vanessa with an HIV/AIDS day that she is running at her school. Not only will I be enjoying the company of my fellow PCVs and electricity for two days but I’ll also be teaching students about good nutrition and how it relates to HIV/AIDS.
The women’s group is in the last month of paying off their first loan. So far at least 7 of the 13 women are going to take another loan immediately after repaying their first one. This time most will increase the amount from an average of about $45-60 to about $70-100. We are also planning on doing some cash crop diversification since all the members have decided to no longer grow tobacco. It’s a decision I completely support not only because of the extremely low prices this year, but also because it requires chemical fertilizers and it is very harsh on the soil (and not forgetting the fact that it’s the main ingredient in cigarettes). So right now we are contemplating between growing paprika, soybeans, and/or groundnuts. I am hoping to have a mixture of the three just in case of potentially low prices next season.
I am still continuing to meet with the girl's volleyball club at my local secondary school. Although they are all busy with the end of the school year coming up, they have all told me over and over again how much they want to go on a trip and play another school. We have played a couple of other local teams in the area but I think that they want to go and play girls from another school. Of course they chose to go to Lake Malawi so they can enjoy both some volleyball and the lake. It sounds like a perfection combination to me but since there is no money we decided to do a fundraiser. So next Saturday the team will be hosting the "Kapiri Disco", and by disco I mean basically it will just be a dance party. So they'll sell tickets to get into the disco and maybe some food and drinks and hopefully the money generated from the event will help us to take a trip in the near future. Also, the girls really loved "HIV/AIDS Month" in March so basically I've just extended it and now once a week we do different activities related to that. Not all of it is directly related to HIV, some of it's also focused on helping them to become empowered, educated young women of Malawi. It's great!
On the personal front this month I'll be part of a few volunteers welcoming another new group to Malawi next week, this time we'll have 17 people who will be teachers placed throughout the country. The rest of the month of June will be dedicated to gardening, spring cleaning around my house, and trying to stay as warm as possible through the coldest month of the year. Also I'll be celebrating Independence Day on a one week hike around Lake Malawi with a bunch of friends. Very exciting!
Monday, May 9, 2011
kapiri women's football cup '11
For three months I have been planning and preparing for a soccer tournament involving only the females in my community. From finding sponsors, organizing teams, making the schedule, printing tshirts and finding other prizes, to practicing with my team from my village, I have been busy trying to put it all together as well as super excited to share my love of soccer with the women and girls. However...
From the start of the first day it seemed that everything was going to go wrong. We originally had 8 teams scheduled to play, but one team dropped out the day before the first game because the husbands refused to let their wives compete. I was disappointed but frankly not surprised, but thankfully was able to find another team that wanted to participate. But on the day the tournament started we had 4 of the 8 teams show up, and not even one came on time, not even the team from my own village who I have been asking for two months to not be late. Players, coaches, and even refs did not bother to come to the games less than one hour late, even with my strict "be on time or forfeit your game" policy. And from coaches bickering to players complaining, it at times seemed too much for me to handle. I however had a ton of help from 3 other Peace Corps volunteers in my district which was probably the only reason I stayed sane during the weekend.
To be honest I don’t really consider this tournament much of a success and I know for sure that I won’t do this kind of thing again while here. I guess I just consider this more of a learning experience for myself and hope that at least the women had fun while playing. I have learned that a lot of the things we do as Peace Corps volunteers is both very prone to failure and hard to be sustained. That’s just the nature of our service. We are here for two short years and in the timeframe of development it’s a small amount of time. So I hope to just do what I can while here and leave the rest up to them.
Although there were a lot of frustrations and disappointments, it was very encouraging to see close to 500 people show up to watch the finals. That included 15 local chiefs and other community leaders. After the championship game finished the second place team was given necklaces and water bottles and the each player from the first place team received a tournament t-shirt. Also, the MVP was presented with a World Cup ’10 replica ball. The theme of the tournament was “Mphamvu kwa Amayi” which means the strength of a woman. I don’t really know how empowered the women felt, but nonetheless I think they were happy to have a chance to compete and win some cool prizes.
If you'd like to see some pictures of the tournament you can go to my facebook album titled "projects and such" to view them...http://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.519000862652.2024248.170100061#.
Sometimes you just gotta shake it off and say "zimachitika" (it happens).
From the start of the first day it seemed that everything was going to go wrong. We originally had 8 teams scheduled to play, but one team dropped out the day before the first game because the husbands refused to let their wives compete. I was disappointed but frankly not surprised, but thankfully was able to find another team that wanted to participate. But on the day the tournament started we had 4 of the 8 teams show up, and not even one came on time, not even the team from my own village who I have been asking for two months to not be late. Players, coaches, and even refs did not bother to come to the games less than one hour late, even with my strict "be on time or forfeit your game" policy. And from coaches bickering to players complaining, it at times seemed too much for me to handle. I however had a ton of help from 3 other Peace Corps volunteers in my district which was probably the only reason I stayed sane during the weekend.
To be honest I don’t really consider this tournament much of a success and I know for sure that I won’t do this kind of thing again while here. I guess I just consider this more of a learning experience for myself and hope that at least the women had fun while playing. I have learned that a lot of the things we do as Peace Corps volunteers is both very prone to failure and hard to be sustained. That’s just the nature of our service. We are here for two short years and in the timeframe of development it’s a small amount of time. So I hope to just do what I can while here and leave the rest up to them.
Although there were a lot of frustrations and disappointments, it was very encouraging to see close to 500 people show up to watch the finals. That included 15 local chiefs and other community leaders. After the championship game finished the second place team was given necklaces and water bottles and the each player from the first place team received a tournament t-shirt. Also, the MVP was presented with a World Cup ’10 replica ball. The theme of the tournament was “Mphamvu kwa Amayi” which means the strength of a woman. I don’t really know how empowered the women felt, but nonetheless I think they were happy to have a chance to compete and win some cool prizes.
If you'd like to see some pictures of the tournament you can go to my facebook album titled "projects and such" to view them...http://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.519000862652.2024248.170100061#.
Sometimes you just gotta shake it off and say "zimachitika" (it happens).
Sunday, April 3, 2011
april showers
Finally April is here and I am officially into my last year of service. The rainy season is slowly coming to an end and I am definitely looking forward to it. It means that I won't have any more sleepless nights as the sound of rain pounding down on my tin roof make it impossible to sleep. But anyway, projects are continuing to move along and I'm contemplating more and more about what I'll do when I leave Malawi next year. The finish line is definitely in sight!
I spent last week in Dedza with 42 Peace Corps trainnees in the health and environment programs. They are in the second half of their training and I was there for the "Health and HIV/AIDS" week. Myself and the enviro PCTs took a trip to a medicinal garden, hitched rides to the local market, discussed health issues such as malaria and HIV/AIDS, and had lots of language lessons. All the trainnees are spending their training with homestay families and it reminded me a lot of my own experience just a year ago. The five weeks I spent with my Malawian family was filled with lots of awkward cultural exchanges, silent glares due to my inability to speak Chichewa, hot bucket baths, and having all my meals cooked by my amayi. The second time around it was mostly the same but I am thankful to say that it wasn't quite so awkward or quiet. It was a really fun week and I enjoyed meeting the new guys and seeing their enthusiasm for PC, Malawi, development, and their future service.
Tomorrow I will be going back to my site and I will be diving right back in to work after being away for over a week. My biggest focus for this month is with the Kapiri Women's Football Cup which will be taking place from May 6th to the 8th. Registering teams, finding sponsors, making tshirts and getting other cool prizes, organizing the teams into brackets, convincing important community and government leaders to attend, as well as training with my own team is what I'll be doing right up until the tournament starts. Overall I am so happy as to how much excitement has been generated by the players as well as other community members and I'm really hoping this will be just the beginning of women's soccer in Kapiri. Females being empowered to play a sport traditionally played by men, wearing trowsers, learning how to work as a team, playing fearlessly against the boys, and not being afraid to throw an elbow or hip while playing is simply awesome to see.
Over $1000 has been raised so far to build the under five health clinic! It's really exciting and I'm so encouraged by the support so far, however there is still almost $4000 to go. So if you haven't given already, please do! And if you have -- thanks so much -- now please get your friends and family to donate as well! Here's the link once again if you want to check it out...https://www.peacecorps.gov/index.cfm?shell=donate.contribute.projDetail&projdesc=614-226. Also this month the Health Surveillance Assistant and myself will be doing more safe water demonstrations and selling water treatment packets since the rainy season is high time for diarrhea, cholera, and other waterborne diseases.
Last week I turned in a grant to PC for a big HIV/AIDS project with a support group I am working with. It includes pig rearing, developing a medicinal garden, an oil press, and fruit trees for the group to make fruit juice and wine. It is designed to improve nutrition of the group members as well as to give them opportunities to make money from these activities. The support members are ready and excited for this project so all we are waiting for is the funding in order to start.
Next week I will be returning to Lilongwe to meet my "shadow" who is an environment trainnee that will be placed in my district. He or she will stay at my site a few days to see what life is like for a typical enviro volunteer and then I will take that person to meet their site for the very first time. It's one of the most exciting and nerve-wracking times in a PCV's service and I'm really looking forward to meeting my future sitemate.
Lastly, at the beginning of May I will go back to Dedza to the College of Forestry for my group's Mid Service Training. It will be three days of reflection of our first year of service and preparation for our second year as well as life after Peace Corps. It will be quite interesting to hear from all 20 people in our group about the diversity of our projects and site experiences we have had to date.
I spent last week in Dedza with 42 Peace Corps trainnees in the health and environment programs. They are in the second half of their training and I was there for the "Health and HIV/AIDS" week. Myself and the enviro PCTs took a trip to a medicinal garden, hitched rides to the local market, discussed health issues such as malaria and HIV/AIDS, and had lots of language lessons. All the trainnees are spending their training with homestay families and it reminded me a lot of my own experience just a year ago. The five weeks I spent with my Malawian family was filled with lots of awkward cultural exchanges, silent glares due to my inability to speak Chichewa, hot bucket baths, and having all my meals cooked by my amayi. The second time around it was mostly the same but I am thankful to say that it wasn't quite so awkward or quiet. It was a really fun week and I enjoyed meeting the new guys and seeing their enthusiasm for PC, Malawi, development, and their future service.
Tomorrow I will be going back to my site and I will be diving right back in to work after being away for over a week. My biggest focus for this month is with the Kapiri Women's Football Cup which will be taking place from May 6th to the 8th. Registering teams, finding sponsors, making tshirts and getting other cool prizes, organizing the teams into brackets, convincing important community and government leaders to attend, as well as training with my own team is what I'll be doing right up until the tournament starts. Overall I am so happy as to how much excitement has been generated by the players as well as other community members and I'm really hoping this will be just the beginning of women's soccer in Kapiri. Females being empowered to play a sport traditionally played by men, wearing trowsers, learning how to work as a team, playing fearlessly against the boys, and not being afraid to throw an elbow or hip while playing is simply awesome to see.
Over $1000 has been raised so far to build the under five health clinic! It's really exciting and I'm so encouraged by the support so far, however there is still almost $4000 to go. So if you haven't given already, please do! And if you have -- thanks so much -- now please get your friends and family to donate as well! Here's the link once again if you want to check it out...https://www.peacecorps.gov/index.cfm?shell=donate.contribute.projDetail&projdesc=614-226. Also this month the Health Surveillance Assistant and myself will be doing more safe water demonstrations and selling water treatment packets since the rainy season is high time for diarrhea, cholera, and other waterborne diseases.
Last week I turned in a grant to PC for a big HIV/AIDS project with a support group I am working with. It includes pig rearing, developing a medicinal garden, an oil press, and fruit trees for the group to make fruit juice and wine. It is designed to improve nutrition of the group members as well as to give them opportunities to make money from these activities. The support members are ready and excited for this project so all we are waiting for is the funding in order to start.
Next week I will be returning to Lilongwe to meet my "shadow" who is an environment trainnee that will be placed in my district. He or she will stay at my site a few days to see what life is like for a typical enviro volunteer and then I will take that person to meet their site for the very first time. It's one of the most exciting and nerve-wracking times in a PCV's service and I'm really looking forward to meeting my future sitemate.
Lastly, at the beginning of May I will go back to Dedza to the College of Forestry for my group's Mid Service Training. It will be three days of reflection of our first year of service and preparation for our second year as well as life after Peace Corps. It will be quite interesting to hear from all 20 people in our group about the diversity of our projects and site experiences we have had to date.
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