Blogs from Malawi, Africa - page 9

Today was a great day! We made amazing progress on our houses. The walls are almost done and the interior doorways are complete. Today we added scaffolding and I enjoyed climbing up and working from the higher vantage point. If I can I will add a photo of our progress. Each day we are rotating team members and homes to have the chance to work with all our team members. Our arrival in the village was greeted with less trepidation than the first day. The children came to see us, the women again, serenaded us with song. Many of us are learning the basics of Chichewa to help us communicate with our builders. Not the most useful of vocabulary, but it gets the job done and provides a chuckle for the locals who laugh at our ... read more

After a hearty breakfast, which is a necessity for my malaria medication, I purchased some trinkets from the vendors along the shore of Lake Malawi. I ended up getting several paintings and keychains. I will receive the keychains tomorrow as they are being hand-carved on one side with the names I provided and one of the other side with an animal found in Africa. I am not the greatest at negotiating for lower prices and was trying to purchase items from several of the vendors instead of just one. Before heading to the build site, the team started the morning with a devotion on what it means to be an observer versus a participant. We discussed how we view and interact with those we come into contact with each day, ... read more

We arrived in the village of Dayison/Dyson in the Salima district to a group of women welcoming us with song. We later learned the songs were about welcoming Habitat to the village. The children watched from a distance, but within a few hours we bonded with the children. The chief of the village and some of the leaders welcomed us and shared their appreciation for coming to help build two homes in the village. After a quick safety talk and explanation of what we would be doing, we split our team into two groups based on age for day one. The older group worked with Bartholomew, while the younger group (my group) worked under the supervision of Harry. Our job for the week was to build all the exterior and ... read more

I am writing you from the last leg of our long journey to Malawi. Our flights through Washington DC, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia were uneventful. I’ve never been on a plane with more children than the long flight to Addis. I figured I would take this time to introduce you to our partner families. Anne Eliya is a widow who lost her husband some years back. She currently takes care of her 6 children, ranging in age from 4 – 16. Anne engages in farming to earn a living and support her family. Anne, lives in a dilapidated house with one broken window. The house is built with unburnt bricks (made with just dirt and water) and thatched grass roof. The house leaks heavily during the rainy season. In her own words Anne says “I’m not happy ... read more

Part of what drew me to this trip was Habitat for Humanity Malawi's focus on orphans and vulnerable children. Below is the description of the program from Habitat for Humanity Malawi's website. HFH MALAWI ORPHANED AND VULNERABLE CHILDREN PROGRAMME BRIEF 1.0 Background The HIV&AIDS pandemic, compounded by high levels of poverty and other social challenges such as food insecurity, is the main threat that has subjected many households to loss of sustainable livelihoods and incomes. HIV&AIDS-related deaths have negatively affected the economic production capacity of individuals and families and led to increased household poverty. Children have found themselves bearing the biggest burden of the HIV & AIDS pandemic and its consequences. According to the UNAIDS Report on the Global AIDS Epidemic (2010), Mal... read more