What you never hear about Africa...
Welcome to Malawi!
I've been in Malawi for 8 days, yet it feels like a lot longer just because a lot has happened in the past 8 days. Went to a weekend retreat with some missionaries here, visited 'the field' ie. the villages where the water projects are happening, Kristina arrived, and had scattered bits of orientation, and now...already the end of the week. We are planning a trip to Lake Malawi for the weekend.Okay..so here's the REAL post! I haven't really internalized/externalized everything here yet. I guess the first week has been overwhelming that nothing has really phased me yet...except for the cold..which I'll discuss later. I'm not sure if this is a good thing or not...but I've really been looking past the fact that I'm currently sitting in one of the world's 10 poorest countries. Part of me thought I should be torn and sad for the people here...yet even when I was visiting the villages, it wasn't bothering me at all that the kids were dirty, smelly, wearing torn clothing, and had no shoes. At first, I thought I was just cold-hearted...but I think something great came from not focusing on the poverty and stench.
The good thing of looking past this fact of life was that I was meeting people who were happy. I know most are suffering but it was easy to see the joy they had. And not just the kids! It's easy to make hundreds of kids happy when you're an 'azungu' (white person)...you just whip out your camera and they'll just come running from miles away! I got to go through a community who has really taken initiative in the sanitaiton and hygiene training that the Water & Sanitation project has delivered. They made dish drying racks (so the dishes weren't drying on the ground):
They made 'bathrooms' with toilet pits (instead of just going just anywhere), they've planted a fruit tree once the pit got filled and they moved the 'bathroom' to another location. They set up 'hand washing stations':
This village in particular still gets there water from here:
So...we're in the process of selecting a location to dig a shallow well for this village. This is only one village! But not all villages are like this one. There is lots going on all at once. Some villages, they're fixing up existing wells and others digging new wells. However, in all communities, there is training on hygiene and sanitation. Very very very important!!
It was great to see the results of the project that is still ongoing in so many other villages.
I have a lot of thoughts on the success of missions in Africa...but I'll save that for another post.
On a lighter note... here I am chomping on a stick of sugar cane! I had to peel it with my teeth (which was really difficult!) and then suck the sweetness out of the wood-like plant.
And lastly... I'll let you in on a little surprise or secret. It's actually pretty cold here! It's 'winter' here (opposite hemisphere) and we're at quite a high altitude in Zomba so I've been wearing sweaters and pants..wish I had brought more with me! In the picture of me above, I was in a village at a lower altitude and it was sunny and warm that day! Otherwize..it's been quite cold. Again, the lake is lower so we're hoping to catch some warm 'summer' weather. You'd never expect to come to Africa and freeze! My first foot into Africa was in South Africa and it was pouring rain and extremely cold (probably 5 degrees). Not exactly the first impression I was expecting!
I'll try and post again soon. Until next time.
They made 'bathrooms' with toilet pits (instead of just going just anywhere), they've planted a fruit tree once the pit got filled and they moved the 'bathroom' to another location. They set up 'hand washing stations':
This village in particular still gets there water from here:
So...we're in the process of selecting a location to dig a shallow well for this village. This is only one village! But not all villages are like this one. There is lots going on all at once. Some villages, they're fixing up existing wells and others digging new wells. However, in all communities, there is training on hygiene and sanitation. Very very very important!!It was great to see the results of the project that is still ongoing in so many other villages.
I have a lot of thoughts on the success of missions in Africa...but I'll save that for another post.
On a lighter note... here I am chomping on a stick of sugar cane! I had to peel it with my teeth (which was really difficult!) and then suck the sweetness out of the wood-like plant.
And lastly... I'll let you in on a little surprise or secret. It's actually pretty cold here! It's 'winter' here (opposite hemisphere) and we're at quite a high altitude in Zomba so I've been wearing sweaters and pants..wish I had brought more with me! In the picture of me above, I was in a village at a lower altitude and it was sunny and warm that day! Otherwize..it's been quite cold. Again, the lake is lower so we're hoping to catch some warm 'summer' weather. You'd never expect to come to Africa and freeze! My first foot into Africa was in South Africa and it was pouring rain and extremely cold (probably 5 degrees). Not exactly the first impression I was expecting!I'll try and post again soon. Until next time.
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Praying for you!