Kid's Korner: KITTEN time!

I know it has been quite a while since we posted. Sooo, we would like to make that up to you by posting 3 blogs in 3 days! Starting with our promised, Kid's Korner, where we answer questions we have gotten from children and youth.  Our first post features our adorable kitten!

Question: Do people have pets in Malawi? 

Short answer: Yes.  Not a lot of people have pets but the ones that do have cats and dogs.  Many people have chickens, cows, doves, rabbits, pigs and goats but they are not pets, they are food.   

The cover of his book entitled:
"The Art of Being Adorable"

The complicated answer: Not a lot of people have pets and not a lot of people treat their pets very nicely.  People have pets for different reasons.  Someone might have a dog to guard the house or someone might have a cat to eat mice.  It is not very often that a person has a pet as a friend.  You know how you play with your dog or cat and make sure that they have good food and water?  Cats and dogs are not treated exactly the same way.  Some times, people have trouble making sure everyone in the house has food, so to feed an animal is considered rude, or culturally inappropriate.  Also, because many dogs are raised to be guard dogs and to chase and bark at people many people are scared of dogs and don't like to play with them.  While, in the U.S. we might think of pets as something to love and play with or a good friend, here in Malawi, everything has to have a purpose.  So, if you have a dog or cat it must do something.  

He insists on helping with
EVERYTHING

BUT that did not keep us from getting a little kitten of our own!  His name is The Amazing Gonzo, for the fact that he is really clutzy, silly, and lots of times does not land his tricks! 

Often times our community thinks we are weird for picking him up, playing with him or feeding him.  But we have been sooo happy to have him!  He has graduated from eating crickets to spiders and we believe he will soon be on his way to a BA in Mouse Hunting...we couldn't be more proud.  

In some ways it has allowed us to share some of our culture with the community and sometimes it has made it harder for the community to understand us.  But we love the little bugger and are super glad he is with us!

Snoozin' and toys...
toys and snoozin'

Once a month or so we will answer a new question from a child or youth!  

So send them to us via: e-mail, letters, or whatsapp!! (we promise to do better!!)

Next Time on Kids Korner:

How and where do you poop?