Muli Uli! Muli Bwanji! Mwu Uli!
These are three greetings in three languages spoken where I live!! A bit overwhelming but keeps me on the ball when I'm greeted by someone. So here I am living in Malawi! I have been in training for the past month in rural Malawi. I just got done living with a host family in a small village of about 70 people. It was quite the experience! About 50% of the population lives below the poverty line and my family was no exception. It was back to basics! I lived in a thatched roof, mud hut. I bathed amongst some tall grass with a bucket of water provided for me by my host mother. The toilet is a hole in the ground. The people of the village cook over an open fire so meals are very simple and because of culture there is not much of a variety. The main crop is maize and they make a dish from it called "Nsima." It is very plain tasting and has no nutritional value, it is a huge problem because this is the majority of what they eat so many are malnourished.
I have recently found out where I will be living for the next two years and I am really excited! I just had a chance to visit my site and I am very lucky because I'm near Lake Malawi! I will be living in a small town called Dwambazi. Its on the border of the northern and central regions of Malawi therefore there is a hodgepodge of languages spoken there. I am living at a health center campus and it is a busy place. Disease is a huge problem in Malawi and so many people are in need of health care. As you all know HIV/AIDS is devastating here. This is mainly due to some cultural practices that promote the spread of HIV. It is a big job. I will be working on various consulting activities with the health center particularly with income generating. I am helping with a large garden with a variety of vegetables and raising chickens for eggs all of which we will sell to make some money for the hospital. It will also be used as a teaching tool for those with malnourishment concerns. There are many starving children and it will be part of my job to inform parents/guardians of the need to have a balanced diet also to do it at a low cost. All the people at the health center are really motivated and very good to me. I am really blessed to be working with them.
I have two other volunteers near me (biking distance) one is an environment volunteer and other is an education volunteer and both are very cool. I am already planning a project with the environment volunteer on selling local produce to some of the beach resorts. It is all very excited but I'm quickly realizing that life is not going to be easy here. We are told to take the days one at a time and I like to remember that these people are God's children as well and that we are all brothers and sisters in Christ therefore we are called to help one another out. Please pray for the people of Malawi and for the work that I'm doing here.
I hope all of you are doing well. I have so much to tell but I will wait for another time. If you get a chance it is a lot of fun getting mail, send me letters! I have a cell phone now and my number is as follows 0012659476695. You have to call it a few times for it to work but i can receive and send text messages real easy and cheaply so send me your numbers! I hope all is well with you all! Let me know what is new in your lives.
Tiwonanege!
Alex
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