Blogs from Malawi, Africa - page 23

I thought I'd start my blog by telling you about the roller coaster of emotions I've experienced leading up to my new adventure! Yes my teeth really have been chattering! I've always had a strong desire to help others and since surviving breast cancer 6.5 years ago (yes the half makes a difference) I've also developed a strong desire for new experiences and adventure. Basically living life fully! So what better way to fulfill both desires than volunteering for charities overseas! www.afid.org.uk in a nutshell is a social enterprise that helps find qualified accountants who are willing to volunteer their time to help charities strengthen their bookkeeping and accounting systems. It's essential because the information that comes out of their accounting systems affects decisions that are made and that includes whether donor... read more

In the final few days of my trip and have been really busy after recovering from the unplanned for hospital stay being treated for malaria - can't believe this happened of all my preparations I think I paid most attention to health but consider myself initiated into Malawian life and the stronger for it. The care and consideration that I have had from the people here has been remarkable, including sleeping on the floor of the hospital room overnight. They tell me that this is the Malawian way and even though I came the here a stranger just a few weeks ago they have treated me as a sister and I shall never forget their kindness and compassion. Making up for the time lost has meant a very busy couple of weeks and time has flown. ... read more

Small hands fought to hold my own as I walked through the small town centre. Each corner bought additional children with trusting open smiles dancing across their beautiful faces. Although the private resort Kandi Beach offered an escape from the external world the temptation to walk beyond the security gate was far too great to resist. The small village beyond the perimeter housed a local community in typical poverty struck African thatched mud huts. Poultry and goats freely roamed the village, their owners confident of their return before nightfall. Plantations of Cassava lined the road, a root vegetable that required no water, nor no care to thrive. Re-planting was as simple as slicing a small branch from the exposed plant and crudely driving back into the earth. This staple of the Malawian people was harvested 3 ... read more

Day 14 - 18 Three days of long, hot drives (high 30s) through Zambia and into Malawi...real Africa with the small towns, markets etc. Lukasa Zambia is a surprisingly modern city with lots of inte-national money ....and always KFC! Crossed border to Malawi, no issues just lots of paperwork and line ups...so Zambia check. Then 2 days at Kande Beach on Lake Malawi...90 miles of white sand beach...picture Long Beach at Tofino with similar waves and sand but water around 22c...so...spent most of th past two days body surfing . Absolutely gorgeous place! Visited the local village, homes, school and clinic.... many villagse in Malawi now has a well courtesy of Canada....makes us proud. Schools are 100 kids per teacher but again, lots of Canada flags on books, furniture etc. The medical clinic was a good ... read more

While reading up on Malawi over the past few months, I repeatedly came across articles that said that Malawi was "the warm heart of Africa." And, quite literally, they were correct- Malawi is about as hot as a gorilla's anus. But despite the overwhelming heat (it is currently about 110 degrees here), the people in Malawi are indeed as friendly and hospitable as any you will find in Africa. I am always shocked at how happy and accommodating people are in places where the average person lives off of less than $1 a day. We, in the states, could definitely learn a lot from this... But I digress. About a month ago, I was fortunate enough to land a gig working as a Health Systems Coordinator (and videographer) for the global health organization, Partners In Health, ... read more