Blogs from Malawi, Africa - page 31

This title is more appropriate than you might realize, as our boss often behaves like Michael Scott. This is another topic that will have to be predominantly detailed through email instead of this blog. I have yet to decide if I’m going to make this public, and since the Center for Legal Assistance (CELA) deals with various government offices, best to restrict what I post. My colleagues are all very nice. There are 2 accountants, one projects manager, a projects assistant, 3 paralegals, and an office assistant (the one I mentioned earlier regarding the food). Most of them are in their early to mid twenties, except for the projects manager. I’m not sure how old Robert is. CELA’s mission is “to contribute to the improvement of the justice delivery systems, protection of human rights and upholding ... read more

Emma is Mindy and Megan’s internship supervisor. She’s amazing! She knows everyone, and more importantly, they know her. She is a force for human rights and one of the toughest, yet most compassionate people I have ever met. All four of us are staying at her one floor, 4-bedroom house, so even though Dave and I work elsewhere, we’re all getting to know each other really well. That’s just what happens when you’re living on top of one another in an area where the sun sets around 5:30pm and in the absence of street lamps, you’re not advised to wander the streets alone at night. Then there are the blackouts – every Tuesday and Thursday evening from 5:30-8, the city loses electricity. They can be expected Saturday evenings as well. Not too long ago, they began ... read more

Well anyone who knows me will know I am nothing if not determined so, finally, through sheer persistance I am able to post my first blog of our trip to Malawi! We arrived in Lilongwe around 1pm on Tuesday and, as forecast, wrinkles were prominent alongside rather large bags under our eyes as I think, collectively, we had about 10 hours sleep between us on Monday night! So we arrived at the Kiboko Hotel and the first thing we did is head to the bar to discuss our plans for the rest of the day! Luggage was abandoned in the rooms (but at least all the luggage got there!) but we were all sick of the sight of it by then. At this point I should mention we had already met Mike our driver and I ... read more

LAST DAYS IN MALAWI: Well, this is it folks..... our last blog from Malawi although we may continue to write on here from time to time as the journey continues. I left you suddenly on the last entry... sorry about that. I was describing meetings. Our experience of the SUPOCHO meeting, where Derek and I were really excited by the ownership of this community project as the attendance was good and people engaged with it and showed that Webster and Wilfred have the support they need. The other meeting was in a village near to Chintheche where women from a few neighbouring villages are asking for support to help vulnerable people and orphaned children. It was a very different meeting but important as the local politics are getting sorted out to enable the group to function ... read more

After a quick breakfast (I didn't bring much food and turns out there isn't much to buy on the island), I decided I would go for a walk around the island, take in the scenery and maybe find the tiny store they can a shop. I walked along the coast, getting stares from the locals, taking pictures and just breathing in the beautiful lake, the massive baobab trees and the small local fishing boats. I followed the coast and ended up sitting on some rocks right by the shore, just listening to the waves on the rocks and staring over the lake into the distance. I got up again and started heading around the side. I headed back along the path just thinking and taking in as much as possible. The next village I reached I ... read more