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Background: Established in 1891, the British protectorate of Nyasaland became the independent nation of Malawi in 1964. After three decades of one-party rule under President Hastings Kamuzu BANDA the country held multiparty elections in 1994, under a provisional constitution, which came into full effect the following year. Current President Bingu wa MUTHARIKA, elected in May 2004 after the previous president failed to amend the constitution to permit another term, has struggled to assert his authority against his predecessor, who still leads their shared political party. MATHARIKA's anti-corruption efforts have led to several high-level arrests but no convictions. Increasing corruption, population growth, increasing pressure on agricultural lands, and HIV/AIDS pose major problems for the country.

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By wheresmykipper
October 9th 2008

go places! meet people! do things!

Africa » Malawi » Northern » Nkhata Bay

My tummy bug slowly cleared, and i took a lift in the back of a truck that a german family had hired to get to chipoka to meet the ferry on friday. The truck was 2 hours late arriving, leaving barely enough time to get to the port. It then ran out of petrol in the middle of lilongwe and we had to push it to a petrol station. Arrived at chipoka just before 4, when the boat was supposed to be leaving, and found that it was delayed by 4hrs. Sat in the waiting shed, having a couple of beers. [View Full Entry]

By Rach and Marc
October 8th 2008

A goat and two pigs.

Africa » Malawi » Lake Malawi

Clothes and all!

Hi everyone, Well the last few weeks have been busy, so much to tell I don’t know where to begin. First of all, two of the volunteers who had been here for 8 months were leaving so a party was in order. A goat and two pigs were the guests of honour and were they welcomed! They arrived already slaughtered (thank goodness) in a wheel barrow and the butcher had a very interesting technique. I think he was going for the tenderising method. Using his axe he just cut it into a million pieces. There was music intermittently (solar power doesn’t [View Full Entry]

By Pennie
October 6th 2008

Zomba Mental Hospital

Africa » Malawi » Southern » Blantyre

Welcome to Zomba Mental Hospital

Zomba Mental Hospital On first impressions ZMH was better than expected; the dilapidated buildings which were referred to in our pre-departure documentation have largely been replaced with new wards. So some of the hospital buildings are old and dilapidated, others are new and not dissimilar to the structure of an old Victorian psychiatric hospital in any number of towns in the UK and some are under semi-aborted construction. On our first day in Zomba we were given a tour of the hospital; it’s hard to believe that this was only three weeks ago. That day we started off in the admi [View Full Entry]

By Pennie
October 5th 2008

Early Morning in Matawli

Africa » Malawi » Southern » Blantyre

Jacaranda

It’s 5:30 in the morning. I seem to be waking up with the dawn every day. Although it means I’m tired later on; I love this time of day. The morning light is different again, it is cool and there is often a gentle breeze and sometimes quite a strong one. The birds start signing and in the distance children are playing as the area around us slowly wakes to the day; cockerels crow and there is a certain peace and quiet before the rest of the house wakes up. The house has been provided by the Zomba Mental Hospital; and [View Full Entry]

By PointCareinMalawi
October 4th 2008

"South Africans are good at building houses"

Africa » Malawi » Central » Lilongwe

Our mobile clinic ready to leave our clearing agents' building
Unfortunately, a few moments later, a gust of wind blew a cloud of red dust all over our freshly cleaned truck!

“South Africans are good at building houses” I am very pleased to be able to say that several weeks of working with a local Clearing Agent and the Malawi Revenue Authority (MRA) have paid off. Our project truck has finally been ‘let go’ and we were able to bring her home last night. One additional thing that resulted from all of this bureaucracy is that I spent so much time at the offices of the Clearing Agent that I have made a few new friends in the staff there and have received a dinner invitation! The reactions from the hospital staff [View Full Entry]

Shida, Hilda, a hospital security guard and Kapoza

Dr Kiromera and Mathew (hospital administrator)

By PointCareinMalawi
October 4th 2008

"Well officer, this is a little unusual isn't it?"

Africa » Malawi » Central

Huts on the hills in Ntchitsi Forest Reserve

“Well officer, this is a little unusual isn’t it?” Too many events have happened over the course of the past few weeks for one entry so I am breaking up my latest news from Malawi into a couple of chapters! My good friend and ex-colleague Todd is over visiting from San Diego for a few weeks. He is helping me a lot with work (more of that in the next entry) but we had a public holiday the other day, to celebrate the end of Ramadan, so we took a little road trip to Ntchitsi Forest Reserve. There is an interesting [View Full Entry]

Some kids carrying out their usual duties of collecting the water

By krstnhsy
October 3rd 2008

September

Africa » Malawi » Central » Lilongwe

Hey! So I arrived in Lilongwe this past Wednesday. I came up with some people from the office, so that was a nice way to travel...Beats the matola! Anyway, so I have been very busy. 2 weeks ago I had to teach 20 hours of Nutrition. It was my first time meeting these kids (I say kids but they were all my age, maybe older), and then they were stuck with me 4 hours a day in the MORNING all week. I am sure they LOVED it. But, they found out that I used to do tae kwon do, so they [View Full Entry]

By bmiller4764
October 3rd 2008

Kings and Queens

Africa » Malawi » Southern » Blantyre

Queens Hospital

So here is a brief breakdown of the work experience in Malawi. Since I've been here (2 weeks) I have been exclusively at Queen Elizabeth Central Hospital in Blantyre. It is the biggest hospital in the country and home to the medical school. The medical school has only been in existence for a few years, initially the graduating classes were 20-30, now it's closer to 100. Regardless, these graduating doctors are meant to see to the needs of the entire country of 12 million, a difficult task given the current numbers. Because of this Malawi relies heavily on foreign doctors, specifically [View Full Entry]

By wheresmykipper
October 1st 2008

african belly

Africa » Malawi » Central » Lilongwe

It's happened again - i finish my project, looking forward to seeing some of the country, and i get ill. This time it's a stomach bug that went round the lodge over the last couple of weeks. I'll spare you the details, but i've taken my antibiotics and it seems to be improving - don't panic mum, it's nothing serious! I'm at Mubuya Camp, a backpackers place in Lilongwe with a swimming pool, bar and good internet connection. I've taken a double room rather than a dorm as i've been ill. Last week back at the lake, we finished spraying a [View Full Entry]

By bmiller4764
September 24th 2008

the 'bique

Africa » Malawi » Southern » Blantyre

Catedral de Nossa Senhora da Conceição
Praça de Independência, Maputo

Hi all. I have arrived in Blantyre, Malawi as of Sunday. It was a little hard to get information as I was on the road, so I was pleased to hear about the Cubs clinching the division and not as pleased to hear about the banking crisis in the states. Too bad I'm not still at Rush or I could have contributed some meal tickets toward the $700 billion bailout. It certainly feels strange to be so disconnected with the goings-on, especially with the debates coming up Friday, my favorite part of election years. Anyhoo, my travels are over for the [View Full Entry]

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Travel Blog » Africa » Malawi