Abuse By Tulupi Gondwe

This is one of the poems written during our Create Your Voice Camp in March.  

Tulupi on top of Lunjika Mountain

Abuse

-Tulupi Gondwe

What is abuse?

Mama Africa

Papa Africa

what is this crying am I hearing?

the cries of the children,

the cries of our women,

is this abuse?

what!

Is this still happening in our communities?

Papa Africa,

every morning instead of going to work

you go to drink beer

and when you come back

you beat your wives.

what is this crying am I hearing?

Mama Africa,

what is this cries of our children am I hearing?

you want them to be educated

but instead of them going to school

you send them to go and sell mandazi in the market

Mama Africa,

Papa Africa,

this is abuse!

if you want our land to be in peace you stop this abuse!

lets stop abuse!!

*Mandazi--is a local sweet, fried bread.  Almost like a doughnut.  

Create Your Voice Take 2

Our first camp in March was such a HUGE success and the girls loved it so much that we decided to hold another camp in July between holiday breaks. The boys had been howling so much about not being involved in the first camp that we decided it was time to try a gender empowerment approach that was co-ed. After all, how can there be equality between gender if both sexes are not a part of the conversation?

We had a different set of outstanding PCVs this time: Cody Reed, Beccy Burelson, Justin Krohn, and Shelby Spear. It's kind of insane how great Peace Corps Volunteers truly are!

This camp was a lot like the last one. We used a GrassRoot Soccer curriculum that focused on HIV. We added some gender empowerment components, and of course kept the most successful part of the camp: creative arts.

We should never take even our "smallest" experiences for granted. 
In the US, knowing how to use scissors is a requirement to pass kindergarten. 
In Malawi, this might be the first time a student has used them. 

Having a co-ed group provided some challenges, however, not quite the challenges we were expecting. Due to cultural norms and anecdotal data from teachers we expected girls to act a certain way in the presence of boys. Girls would be more shy, have less English comprehension, and not work as hard as the boys. 

 FALSE. All of these things were false!

The boys needed HUGE amounts of coaxing to join conversations, they had a much harder time understanding English, and the girls and boys worked equally as hard.

Discussing facts and myths about HIV

At some point I have worked with most of these girls doing gender empowerment lessons; driving home the point that they are just as important as boys, can be just as smart, and they deserve to have a voice among all people.

I guess it worked! The girls rocked the show. They brought meaningful conversation and questions to the table and by the end of the week were leading games and praises.

Gender Stadium: Girls and Boys take turns listening to
challenges that gender roles present to both sides.

There are times during a Peace Corps service that you KNOW you are doing good. You are doing what you came to do and you are proud of your service. July 23 to 27 was a distinct example of knowing I'm in the right place at the right time.

I could not be prouder of my learners!

Students viewing their work at the gallery walk during graduation

Create Your Voice Girls Camp

Awesome PCVs!!!

During the school holiday, in March, Matt and I hosted a female empowerment camp called Create Your Voice, with some awesome PCVs Betsy Holtz, Tim Hainley, Amy Oppfelt, Jackie Wille, and Kelsey Smith. We were also joined by Kisty Mtambo, a local Primary School teacher.

In the morning we had interactive lessons about female empowerment and HIV prevention using an outstanding program called GrassRoot Soccer. In the afternoon we taught creative art classes that emphasized how we can use visual, performing, and written arts to share an important message with our communities and friends.

Betsy demonstrating how to use various art supplies. 

During the week we were able to reach 46 girls age 11 to 19 about HIV prevention and management, child rights, family planning, self-confidence, reproductive health, and goal setting. These are things that are not often discussed in Malawi, and rarely in a safe space with other girls. They really had an opportunity to open up and ask hard questions that in other settings might make them uncomfortable.

The camp culminated in a public graduation in which all participants shared with the community what they felt was the more important message from the week of camp. Using the visual and preforming art skills gained during camp, 4 groups of 10-12 students created and preformed messages for the community. The students created songs, posters, poems, and short dramas.

Each group came up with their messages independently, but in the end it was clear that they had one common message to share. Every group wanted to let the community know that the way to a better Malawi is stopping violence against women and promoting gender equality.

When asked about the camp one girl responded,

"We've learned so much and I feel like I can do what I am told is not possible. I want other girls to know that they too can achieve their goals."

Another girl, form 3, said 

"I must dream big to achieve big!"

Girls preforming a skit about gender based violence
for the community

Since the camp several girls have asked to continue to learn art so they can spread important messages to their community. Other girls have asked to help teach lessons on gender equality and HIV. The camp was not only a success in the sense that there was a severe improvement in knowledge (11.3% increase from pre to post-test) but there seems to be a fundamental drive from the participants to let other girls know that they have a voice and deserve to be heard.



Due to demand from the students, in July, we did another Create Your Voice camp.  This time Co-Ed.  Stay tuned for more photos and stories!!! 

Kid's Korner: How do you cook?

We now interrupt your regularly scheduled silence to bring you a new KIDS KORNER!! 

For real though, sorry folks.  We've had this post ready for a while but became consumed with a million other things!!  Please accept our apologies!

"With no electricity, microwave, or stove how do you eat?"
Answer: Fire! Lots of fire!
There are a few ways to do this in Malawi.

1. The traditional 3 brick fire.
This is exactly what it sounds like.  Three bricks are set on the ground in a triangle, a wood fire in the middle, and a pot rests on top.  This is the method most commonly used in the village.  All of the materials are easy to find and you can cook anywhere!


2. A clay mbaola.
This is what we most commonly use! It is mostly used for wood fires but it can also burn charcoal.  It cooks faster than the 3 brick by directing the heat to the pot and makes less smoke.  These are less common because they take more resources and knowledge to make.  Another challenge is that not many villages know about them.


3. Charcoal mbaola.
This one is made of metal and cannot burn wood.  Charcoal is hard to find and technically illegal.  It's not like the charcoal brickets you buy at the grocery store for a Bar-BQ.  It is wood that has been slightly burned and buried for a few days.  This makes it easier to burn.  BUT it takes extra wood to make it and there are not a lot of trees here.

4. Paraffin stove.
We use this sometimes.  It is like a gas stove top in your house. It cooks fast with no smoke.  This is the least common cooking method. The stove is expensive and the fuel is really expensive and sometimes not available.  Just last month Matt went to buy paraffin and the gas station was out.




5. Hot plate.
Colleges may have put major bans on hot plates but here in Malawi it is the most popular choice for those with electricity.  The electricity found here is not like the United States.  It does not flow evenly and is not always powerful enough to run more than one big appliance.  There's no way you can run a hot plate and a hair dryer.



No matter what method used, cooking in Malawi is a major chore.  For a family of 8 a 3 brick fire starts at 4 or 5am and is kept going all day.  It boils water for tea, heats bath water, cooks porridge for breakfast, nsima and greens for lunch and then again for dinner. It's an all day affair.

Next time on Kid's Korner:

How do you shower?  

Kid's Korner: Surprise Visitor from the USA!

We interrupt your regularly scheduled Kid's Korner to share some of our activities with our visitor, Flat Stanley! After being stuck at the Post Office for a few weeks because there is no home delivery of Mail, Flat Stanley visited us and our village for a few weeks.

Here he is at our house.

 

Admiring the view of Lunjika Mountain behind our house.

Checking on the Maize Crop.

Helping Tara's Grassroots Soccer Team with one of their Practices.

Attending my Grassroots Soccer Team's Graduation.

We had a lot of fun showing Flat Stanly around and even took him to the market to get him his very own Chitenje clothing.

Next time on Kid's Korner:

Back to your regularly schedualed programming:

If you don't have electricity, how do you cook?

21 Hours

21 HOURS
The number of hours Matt and I saw each other in all of February.

It has been much harder than expected to spend quality time together.  One of our biggest expectations for PC was to spend more time with each other than we would know what to do with.

Sometimes like ships in the night Lilongwe calls each of us, individually, for one duty or another.

These times pose challenges that we have never really had to face in the states.  Since September 2010, when Matt moved back to Virginia, we have not been apart more than 2 weeks at a time.

In the states we would call each other, text, or if we really needed to we could make a trip in a car to see each other.  Here, we have Whatsapp, which as been great, but phone time is limited.  At times phone signal is slow or down, there is no voice mail, and phone calls are expensive.  Round trip from Lunjika to Lilongwe is a minimum of 4 days for what should be a 5 hour one way trip.  This makes a quick visit impossible.  Nothing in Malawi is quick.

I would like to say this is the only challenge to spending quality time together.  However, during our New Year Resolution check-in we came to the conclusion that even when we were both at site we were not spending the kind of time together that we wanted or envisioned.  The days home together were filled with chores and living a village life.  We were being sure to share responsibilities, but not what was happening in our day.  Household work was shared evenly but the simple things of what we were doing or how we were feeling hardly came up in conversation.

We realized that we didn't actually know how the other one was feeling about their service.  At least not how we would have known about each other in the States.

I think we took for granted that the amount of time together does not make up for the quality of time together.  

This lesson has not only been our biggest surprise but it has been our best.

Now, every day we are at site together we set aside one hour for each other and one hour for ourselves as an individual.  Saturday is all ours...no projects, no unnecessary house work.  We just talk, be with each other, cook, and we eat!

It's not as easy as we had expected but we are starting to meet our expectation of getting to know each other even more than before!

Kid's Korner: How do you poop?

Question: How do you poop?

The same way you do! But perhaps you were asking how is human waste disposed of.

Short Answer: In Malawi, the answer depends on where you live. Indoor plumbing is very common within the major cities so, just like in the USA, pull a lever and away it goes. Out in the villages people dig pit latrines called a chimbuzi.

A chimbuzi with a fancy hand washing station.

A slightly more complicated answer: A chimbuzi is just like an outhouse. (Ask your grandparents.) A large pit is dug, then boards are placed over the pit leaving a small hole for the waste. Then a layer of mud or concrete is placed on top of the boards to create a floor. Finally mud or bricks are used to create the walls and a roof is placed on top. After many years, once the pit has filled to the top, the pit is capped and a new pit is dug else where. Often trees are planted near the pits so that the nutrients in the waste can be utilized.

A chim hole

How to use a chimbuzi

The we like to be different answer: While we have a chimbuzi, we don't use it. We wanted to be able to use the nutrients (fertilizer) in the waste so we collect ours in a bucket. Each time we use it we 'flush' with a handful of ash and a handful of leaves to control smell and absorb liquid. When the bucket gets full we take it out and add it to our compost pile. The waste is broken down by bacteria and worms into nutrients (fertilizer) that the plants can use and removes harmful bacteria that can get us sick. We then add it back into our garden for more food.

Composting Toilet with bucket inside.

Not everyone in Malawi has a way to get rid of their waste so they partake in what is called "open defecation" (pooping on the ground). Also, in certain parts of the country, seasonal rains flood out the latrines so they are unusable leading to open defecation. As Peace Corps Volunteers it is our job is to teach about positive waste management. How to use and build pit latrines or alternative systems like compost toilets.

But how do you use the bathroom when you're in the car? No gas stations here so, you pull over on the side of the road and drop trou!

Next time on Kids Korner: 

If you don't have electricity, how do you cook?

Happy Thanksgiving from Malawi!

Here in Malawi most people are just starting to plant for the upcoming growing season but since it is the fourth Thursday in November it is a great chance to share some American Culture with some of our Malawian friends.

We made this for you!

Tara and I were joined by five other Peace Corps Volunteers for a few days of wonderful cooking and feasting. One activity of the day was to draw the male and female reproductive organs. Tara is teaching youth about 'Their Changing Bodies' this weekend at the Clinic's Youth Friendly Health Services. 

Genitalia are fun!

We also kept her family's tradition of drinking mimosas alive.

It wasn't enough.

Today we invited both of our counterparts along with our landlord and his family. We cooked some Thanksgiving staples like Green Bean Casserole, Mashed Potatoes, Stuffing, and Sweet Potato Pie but did not cook a Turkey. One, because half of us are vegetarian and two, no one wanted to slaughter and eviscerate a turkey.

What a sweet spread!

We shared with them that the purpose of Thanksgiving is to spend time with lots of family, be thankful for all that we have, and continue a tradition celebrating the end of the growing season and a bountiful harvest. Some of the things that people were thankful for were a chance to meet new friends, having so many friends to share the day with, and having great friends and great food.

Feast Time!