Volunteering in Malawi: Our first day in the field

We are 'Team Tiwale'.
Or in English... 'Let's Shine'.


Yesterday, our team had our first opportunity to live up to this name by visiting a nearby community and shedding some light on important issues pertaining to sexual and reproductive health.


The site was a youth club in Ekwendeni, a small rural neighborhood about 20km away from where we're based in Mzuzu. The community liaisons on our team had negotiated two days this week for us to go in and deliver workshops on HIV/AIDS. Our plan was to split the group into two teams, one for each day, and I was going on day one.


I was excited.
This was big.


After all our study sessions and practice runs, we were finally going to put ourselves to the test and share what we'd learned with the world beyond the Tovwirane office.


It was exactly what we were here for.
So off we went.


In a routine that was becoming all too familiar, we piled ourselves into a minibus (to a capacity that would raise all kinds of eyebrows in the UK) and set off to the site. We arrived to a classroom filled with 46 people, whose ages ranged from about 10 to 25.


They introduced themselves in English and we returned the favor in Chitumbuka, before we all headed outside together to play some energizer games. We then divided into two groups, one for the younger kids, and one for the older youth (I went with the latter).


Overall, the sessions went well. There were many questions, some of which were based on interesting myths I'd never heard of before... (e.g. Can you still get pregnant if you have sex in a swimming pool? Can HIV be avoided with more foreplay? etc.) We answered their questions as clearly as possible, and were happy when they appeared satisfied with our answers (#mythbusters).


After returning to the office we had the opportunity to talk about our day, and highlight some positive moments as well as things we could do better next time.


The day was not without its challenges. Language in particular presented a significant barrier we hadn't anticipated. It was difficult, we found, to keep the delivery of the presentations balanced evenly between the UK volunteers and the Malawian volunteers who were doing the translation.


It's important I think, for future volunteers to understand that working in development is not always planting seedlings and taking selfies with little African children. Sometimes the seedlings don't arrive, the children don't show up, or you could spend a week nailing down the perfect presentation, only to stand before a room full of people where no one can understand a word.


But that's okay.


I know I can't speak Chitumbuka,
But I'm here.
And if I could leave Mzuzu at the end of these 10 weeks having made even the smallest of impacts, I know it all would have been worth it.


Frankly, I'm excited by the prospect of overcoming our first big hurdle. We have a strong team, who are passionate about what we do and uncompromising in our mission.


I know I haven't been here long... Less than three weeks in fact.
But I know already that Malawi has changed me.
Profoundly. For the better.
And I have my heart set on returning the favour.

Volunteering in Malawi: Living vs. Tourism

When travelling the world as a tourist, you see some amazing things.

There’s the wildlife and landscape, local foods and drinks, modes of transport, traditions, clothing… the list goes on and on. It’s an incredibly mind-blowing thing, to step into the unknown with a passport and a money belt, filled with confusing foreign currencies, and experience something completely new.

This is something I’d done before and loved. For me there are few things as exciting as returning home filled with interesting stories and memories of the people I’d met and things I’d seen. However, one week after arriving in Malawi, I have come to discover the unique nature of an ICS placement. Compared to tourism, volunteering is a whole other kettle of fish (which FYI, you can expect a lot of on a trip to the marketplace)! There are two distinguishing factors that stand out for me:

1.       The pursuit of service.
2.       Being part of the community.

There’s something special about coming to a country with the intention to serve it. You are no longer an observer, but an agent of change. You become part of the community, and increasingly aware of the role you are playing in assisting in its development.

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Living with a host family is another significant aspect for me. Sitting around a dinner table with my Malawian family, talking about my day and clumsily eating nsima with my fingers is something I never thought would be possible. But being surrounded by such warmth and generosity, it’s impossible to not feel at home. As the days go by, showering with a bucket starts feeling more natural, and you realize eating with your hands is actually pretty fun. I for one am so grateful to be living with a family who help me heat my shower water over the fire, or cook me meals filled with love (not to mention generous portions of beans and maize).

These are but two of the many reasons why being a volunteer is a wonderful way to see the world.

I’m not a tourist. I’m a part of a community.

And tonight, I’m not staying in a hostel. I’m going home.

Malawi: Discovering Language and Culture

Stepping into Lilongwe, Malawi, for the first time was simultaneously one of the most exciting and nerve wracking experiences of my life. Our first few days here brought with them a tidal wave of learning, as we immersed ourselves in the culture and began studying the language ‘chitumbuka’.

There were a few moments during this initial process that really stood out to me. While studying chitumbuka, we learned that if someone were to ask you about your country of origin, you would typically respond with, ‘____ is our home’.

Not my home, ‘ours’. I asked our teacher why and she explained that it’s because your country doesn’t belong to just you, but to your brothers, sisters and entire family tree, of which you are a simple leaf.

For me this subtle difference in language cracked open a window of understanding into the way Malawians view the world. Humility is deeply ingrained in their culture, alongside a love for family and community.

But language isn’t the only way we communicate. Little things like how long you shake someone’s hand, and whether or not you make eye contact while doing so (avoiding eye contact while shaking hands in Malawi is a sign of respect), are significantly different between our cultures. During our session, it was explained to us that Malawian handshakes are longer, because they believe ‘we carry the love in our hands’. One can imagine this being confronting to foreigners, who are used to getting their hands back rather quickly. But as we learn and grow together, we find ourselves better able to appreciate their love as they hand it to us.

While speaking to our teacher, she described learning languages as ‘the tip of the communication iceberg’, and with every passing day I understand this a little more clearly. There is only so far our cluttered notebooks and fractured conversations can take us on our ICS journey. After all, in my eyes, pushing ourselves out of our comfort zones so we could better understand and serve our communities, is exactly what ICS is all about.