All's well that ends well

Bingu has been re-elected in what appears to have been a free and mostly fair election, we’ve gotten the word out to all 57 scholarship recipients for term 3 and the craft shop remodeling is completed.  We couldn’t have done it without your encouragement and support, and we’re deeply grateful.  Together, we’ve made a difference in the lives of many here.

Tomorrow, we start our journey south to Lilongwe and soon we’ll be winging our way homeward.  We hope we get a chance to see all of you over the summer.  Photos with this post include a different angle on the remodeled shop and the faces of some of the term 3 scholarship students.

In gratitude,

Steve and Mary 

Turning Point

It is Tuesday, May 19th as I write this, Mary Ellen’s birthday and

election day in Malawi.  For Malawians, it is a crucial turning point

as they vote for local representatives (Ministers of Parliament) and

for a president to lead them for the next five years.  The country

emerged from one-party rule in 1994 and since that time, democracy has

gained a foothold here.

But it’s a fragile thing, and one of the two leading candidates for

president is a throwback to the worst abuses and repression of the

late Hastings Kamuzu Banda’s regime.   Banda’s rule spanned four

decades beginning with Malawi’s break from colonial rule in 1964 and

became increasingly despotic in the fashion of Zimbabwe’s Robert

Mugabe.   By 1990, he was 91 years old and though still president in

name, John Tembo had positioned himself to succeed Banda.

Tembo was a shadowy figure during the Banda years and the de facto

ruler from 1990 on.  While a member of Parliament in the early years

of independence, he used his position to build a personal fortune.  In

1992, he placed the country’s Catholic bishops under house arrest

after they wrote a pastoral letter critical of the abuses of power of

the Banda regime.  In May of that year, police shot and killed 4o

people in the capital city of Lilongwe at the height of protests

against the government.  In October of the same year, a prominent

government opponent and founder of the Malawi Congress Party died in

prison after being held since 1981.

Unfortunately for Tembo, the world was watching and by early 1993, he

conceded to his opponents and allowed a referendum on multi-party

elections to take place.  Malawians voted for change and in 1994 held

their first multi-party presidential election.  In 1995, Tembo was

tried (and acquitted) for the murder of three cabinet ministers and an

MP who died in a suspicious car accident back in 1983.  Fast forward

to 2009 and Tembo is making a run for the presidency against the

incumbent Bingu Mutharika who has presided over economic growth of

almost 9% this past year.

So Malawians face a critical choice today.  And while it seems

unlikely that they would vote to return Tembo and his thuggish ways to

power, he has been aided by the endorsement of his once chief rival

and former two-term president (1994 - 2004) Bakili Maluzi.  Maluzi’s

support makes Tembo’s challenge viable, especially in the more

populated south, and here in the north where Mutharika enjoys

overwhelming support, people are holding their collective breath.

Tembo has publicly said that Malawians had better pray that he doesn’t

seek revenge if he loses, so some expect a protracted fight after the

polls close if the votes are slow to be counted and the results look

close.  Worst possible case scenarios include violent clashes between

Mutharika and Tembo supporters in the urban areas and an eventual

power-sharing arrangement ala Kenya and Zimbabwe.  If you’re

interested in the outcome, Google the BBC who usually pay closer

attention to Malawian affairs than their U.S. counterparts.

Against this backdrop, Mary and I are finishing our tasks here and

beginning a round of goodbyes.  My last day with 102 first-graders

will be this Friday and it will be a bittersweet goodbye.  The days

have been exhausting, but the kids are so much fun.  I’ve been

scrambling to get the word out to our 50+ recipients of term 3

scholarships.  Since all are away at school, that has required some

logistical planning and long hikes down the Goroti’s twenty bends and

up and down the M1 highway.

Mary has been finishing up the craft/coffee/tea/cold drink shop

remodeling job and it is looking darn cute.  The word is out all over

the greater area and we expect it to be a stable source of income for

orphan care once we get the final okay from the Head of Station who

returns from a three-month course in South Africa in early June.

Our time here has been profound and deeply felt for both of us, and

we’re already planning our return trip.  At the same time, we’re very

excited about seeing friends and family and returning to our little

place in the woods.  We’re grateful for the opportunity we’ve had and

looking forward to sharing our experiences in person with you.   

Photos with this post include life in the standard 1 (first grade) 

classroom and long lines at the local polling place (the primary school)

in the early morning on election day. 

Our best to each of you,

Steve

A chorus of a thousand roosters

As we should have expected, we’ve been besieged with

requests for help with school fees this first week and a half of the

new term.   As word spread of the help we provided to 57 students, we

heard from many others, some with compelling stories and others just

looking for some breathing room.  Unfortunately, with our April 10th

deadline, decisions had been made for terms 2 and 3 and all available

funds had been allocated.

That is until Twin Cities resident Rick Naymark stepped forward with a

generous donation that will allow us to extend our reach for this term

and the next.  So we’re back to the business of reading through the

pleas for help and making a new list.  It is always challenging

sifting through all the requests and prioritizing the need.   We rely

in part on the recommendations of headmasters and the local social

service agency, Primary Health Care.  But some fall through the cracks

and must be evaluated solely on the basis of their words to us.

And we continually remind ourselves that even if mistakes are made,

and they inevitably will be, everyone is struggling with making ends

meet here.  Some, those who have a steady income, look relatively

affluent from the outside.  When you dig a little deeper, you might

find that they’re caring for relatives’ children or orphans in their

extended family.  But for most, income is an intermittent thing,

consisting of whatever they can make doing piecework or selling garden

vegetables.  Most work incredibly hard day-in and day-out just to

survive.

Still, there is a lot of joy to be found in this little village.

Football (soccer) games always draw a big crowd of enthusiastic fans

as outlying villages travel to the main lift here in the village for

games on Sunday afternoon or in the early evening.  With no tv or

video games, children engage in all kinds of imaginative outdoor play

until darkness sends them inside, and it’s fun to stop, look and

listen as you pass groups of them along the pathways that traverse the

village.

Work continues on the craft/coffee/tea/cold drink shop that will

benefit orphan care.  Many local folks poke their heads in the doorway

each afternoon for a peek at the progress.  The room, measuring

approximately 18’ x 24’, has been transformed from a cluttered, dusty,

dingy space to a bright, welcoming environment, fulfilling the vision

that Mary and Una had.  (Before and after photos accompany this post.)  

Many have expressed gratitude about having an appealing, inviting space 

to gather.  All indications are that it will be a great success as an ongoing

fundraising venue.

So it goes here.  Sometimes, in the early light out on the front

porch, looking out across Lake Malawi in the distance, I take a step

back and revel in the kaleidascope of color and shape all around.  I

listen to the cacophony of sound drifting past, a rooster crowing in

the distance, children laughing, goats bleating, an unidentified bird

singing a sweet song, and it is as if I’m experiencing the place again

for the first time.  The wonder returns and I remind myself that I’m

in Africa, deep in the warm heart, and though I’m thousands of miles

from northern Wisconsin, I feel quite at home for now.

Hope all is well in your home and with your loved ones.

Warm regards,

Steve

Back in Livingstonia

This week has been spent tracking down our scholarship recipients and moving the coffee/tea/craft shop proposal for orphan care forward.  Finding the 55 scholarship recipients and their families and giving them the good news has been a rewarding experience as you might guess.  Your gifts have brought great happiness to the plateau and beyond.   We have stressed that Straight to the Heart Bursary represents the combined contributions of many from faraway places called Wisconsin and Minnesota in the U.S.A.

Mary has been busily accumulating supplies for the coffee/tea/craft shop and making arrangements to have the space thoroughly cleaned and painted.  We had one false start this week as the painters arrived late, worked for a short time while making quite a mess, and then left early, apparently convinced that the job was more than they could handle.  But word travels fast here, and by the next morning a more able, experienced painter had arrived on the scene and offered up his services, and things were soon back on track.  

On Saturday, I climbed Chombe Mountain with two young Malawian friends.  The seven-hour round trip included two hours spent dangling our feet over the rock cliff face at the top, enraptured by the azure-blue lake thousands of feet below and the meandering coastline running north to the Chilumba peninsula and beyond.  A stiff breeze kept us comfortably cool despite the strong midday sun, and a family of velvet monkeys provided additional entertainment.  Chombe - not to be missed on your next trip to Malawi. 

Here’s hoping that your lettuce, snow peas and spinach will soon be poking their heads through the soil and your crocuses and daffodils are in full bloom.

Wild Africa

We're back in Lilongwe after four amazing days in Zambia.   Tomorrow morning we go to the bank to begin disbursing scholarship funds.  We'll be awarding scholarships to 54 students, most for the final two terms of this school year, but some for longer as is the case with a few orphan students at Chilumba Secondary who will have the remaining three years of their secondary education paid for courtesy of some generous donors who requested that their contributions be used this way.

That’s the business end of things.  But our past three days have been spent at South Luongwa National Park in Zambia, 600+ square miles of unspoiled African bush, soaking up an amazing assortment of sights, sounds and smells in one of the last remaining wild places left on the continent.  

Do you believe those lions?  We were twenty feet away.  That evening on a night drive, we saw a pride of nine devour a zebra in twenty minutes after which the hyenas moved in to lick the bones clean.  As you might guess, that stirred up a mix of feelings. 

Besides the pictured animals, we saw zebras, monkeys, baboons, hippos, warthogs, crocodiles, an assortment of the most beautiful birds imaginable, a 1000 year-old baobab tree and much more.  It was a powerful experience, one we’ll never forget, the realization of our shared childhood dream of seeing these great animals in the wild. 

Tomorrow we head back to our relatively tame existence in Livingstonia, a two-day bus trip away.  We’ll spend tomorrow night in Mzuzu and with luck, we’ll be back up on the plateau before night falls on Sunday.  Sounds like some full-blown spring happening in Wisconsin and Minnesota.  Here, the rains have all but quit, and the nights are getting pleasantly cool, down into the low to mid-50’s.  

Wishing you well from Malawi,

Mary and Steve

Enroute to Zambia

We're back in Lilongwe, where our Malawian adventure began a month and a half ago, enroute to Zambia tomorrow morning.  With any luck, we'll see elephants, giraffes, hippos and, fingers crossed here, a lion or two. 

We spent most of Saturday at Annie and Fred's wedding, and Sunday laboring over our list of scholarship applicants and referrals, deciding how best to disburse the funds you contributed. When we return from Zambia, we'll finalize the list and transfer funds to the various school accounts, making our dream of the last year a reality.  We'll include a summary of that list in the next post.

Tonight, we're in the decidedly un-African environs of the Korea Gardens Lodge in Lilongwe. The muzac in the outdoor restaurant caters to the mostly-mzungu (white) clientele, and while its charms are many, Korea Gardens feels like an island apart from the rest of Malawi.  

But this night still contains a lot of magic as I sit here in the outdoor restaurant at 9 o'clock, white lights twinkling in the trees and bushes around the perimeter, clicking away at the keys and accessing the wireless network to finally send along some photos as promised previously. The photo with this post shows a group of young people in an HIV/AIDS prevention group that Mary Ellen has been working with making place mats of banana fiber which will be sold to benefit Orphan Care.

Down from the Plateau

There is a lake that runs most of the north-south length of Malawi, filling part of the Great Rift Valley that runs from southern Europe all the way to South Africa.  Lake Malawi is as long as Lake Superior and about 50 miles across at its widest point.  Unlike Superior, the water is warm, not quite bathwater warm, but warm enough to spend a half hour or even an hour in without chilling down.  And on a day like today, with a strong southeasterly breeze, its crystal clear waters breaking in 5 - 6 foot waves make for some of the best bodysurfing imaginable.  

One of the accompanying photos shows Chombe Mountain, in the clouds, as viewed across the bay from Chitimba Beach where we're staying tonight.  With luck (no clouds, that is), we'll watch the full moon rise this evening over the moutains of Tanzania, some fifty miles away.

We have come down from the plateau this morning to begin our journey south to Lilongwe, the capital city, and then westward into Zambia to visit South Luongwa National Park where we hope to see at least 3 of the "Big Five" of Africa's great wild beasts.  More about that in a subsequent post.  Today, we're at Chitimba Camp on the great Lake Malawi, just down the treacherous Garoti Road from Livingstonia and, with the magic of wireless internet, we can finally send along some photos with this post.

Yesterday was "opening day" for the newly-named Straight to the Heart Bursary (so-named because Malawi is widely known as "the warm heart of Africa."  We awarded our first two scholarships to Rose Banda and Paul Nguwe Msiska, two volunteer teachers who I've been working with at Livingstonia Primary School.  They are both hardworking teachers who do a great job against incredible odds.  Rose's standard 3 (third grade) class has 128 pupils and Paul's standard 4 class has 77.  Neither of them finished their secondary education because they couldn't pay fees, and now both plan to take their final exams in November.  As with secondary ed here, fees must also be paid to take the exams, and those fees are due by April 15th.  The rest of the scholarship money you contributed will be awarded prior to the start of second term which begins on April 27th. 

The accompanying photo shows Rose and Paul (in the middle) along with local chief Ptembe and the headmistress of the secondary school where they will take the exams, Mercy Jerre. Both Paul and Rose hope to go on to university after they have completed their secondary school exams and both want to be teachers.  Based on what I've observe, they are both well-suited to the career.

By the oddest of coincidences, too long to explain here, on Saturday we will attend the wedding of a young woman from Frederic in the city of Mzuzu, about two hours from here.  Annie Lupo met her husband to be, Fred Gondwe, when she was a Peace Corps volunteer in Malawi.  They had a daughter together, Sinyala, and last fall Annie decided to return to Malawi to marry her daughter's father.  This strong-willed, ambitious young woman has already found employment as an administrator at a local coal mine.  The photo shows the young family visiting us in Livingstonia last Sunday. 

It is 82 degrees in the shade of the Tiki hut as I write this, a strong breeze blowing off the lake, the water a beautiful azure blue.  We feel blessed to be here amongst all this beauty in the company of the friendly, laid-back, humble Malawians, many of whom we now call friends. We'll try to make another post in the next ten days before we return to the plateau, hopefully including some photos of large animals.  Hope this finds you all happy and healthy in the burgeoning spring.

This is Mary greeting you from Malawi.  I continue to work mostly with the community health teams in surrounding villages and some in the hospital.  Yesterday we drove with an ambulance full of staff to the largest clinic yet.  It’s about an hour each way.  We arrived to more than 400 women plus babies and kids waiting for immunizations, family planning, prenatal care,

pharmacy, the “Dr.”,  and probably other things I’m not remembering. It’s a bit overwelming but it goes quite well.  Everyone but me seems to know the sorting of services and I just do what I’m asked.  It all continues to amaze me.

I’ve also spent a lot of time talking to people about a sustainable project for orphan care that we would use some of the project funds for.  I’m working on a proposal for starting a coffee and tea place in a current craft shop. Right now there is no place to get either or food other than in the the market (picture a farmers market).  We would buy coffee from a local grower, hire someone to bake a simple bread item, etc.  All profits besides what would have to go back into supplies and 1 employee to assist the current craft shop employee would go to orphan care.  The current craft projects already go to orphan care but the shop itself needs cleaning and paint and better ways to display things, which I’m dying to do. 

Una - the nurse from Belfast we’re staying with - and I have added some new items for the shop.  The hospital has a tailor who sews on a treadle machine.  He is now making African shirts and aprons.  There is a steady stream of backpackers who hike up here so we are trying to add things they want.  There is an HIV/AIDS Prevention group that beginning tomorrow will be weaving placemats and coasters for sale at the shop.   Anyway, I’ll keep you posted.

I often wish I could show everyone at home what I see everyday. Sometimes I feel like I’m in a National Geographic magazine except that people are greeting me by name or I’m holding their babies. It amazes me every day that I'm here in this special place.  Hope all is well with each or you.

Mary

I traveled about today as the Malwaians without vehicles do - by whatever means available - heading for Chilumba up the coast to talk to the headmaster at the secondary school there about needy students. This is the nearest government-run boarding secondary school,

approximately 34k from Livingstonia.

I met friend David Mhango and we hiked down the Gorodi Road through 16k of twists and turns, descending 3000 feet in about 2 hours.  We hit the tarmac highway in the town of Chitimba, then caught a mini-bus (a jam-packed Toyota van) up to the Chilumba junction, then hoofed it the last 5k to the secondary school.

At the school, we met Headmaster E.K. Chirwa and 6 needy students including 4 orphans and two visually-impaired students.  It was a very moving experience - the young people were so deferential and regarded us with hope tempered by their real-world experience.  It was all I could do to not promise them the moon.  But we explained that this was an information-gathering visit and we would get back to them.

Afterwards, we caught a matola (rickety old pickup truck - you ride in the bed with several others) back to Chitimba, had some cold drinks and then began the long ascent up Garote at about 4:10.  Three hours and a steep 16k climb later, we arrived back in Livingstonia, tired and thirsty.

We’re waiting on lists of students from the Day Secondary headmistress, the headmaster at Livingstonia Secondary and the director of the Primary Health Care office who is sort of the social services director for the plateau.  We’ve let them know that we need their lists by April 10th as we’ll be leaving here for about about a

week to travel to Zambia.  Enroute, we’ll access the project funds to deposit in the school accounts in Mzuzu to cover the cost of fees for the designated recipients in time for the start of term 2 on April 20th.

Sounds like an early spring at home by all accounts.  Hope this finds you well, enjoying the changing season.

Best,

Steve

Life in Livingstonia

Ah, Livingstonia!  This is a place far removed, 16 km up the side of an escarpment on a road with no less than 20 hairpin turns.  Beautiful views abound but so does some abject terror if you make the mistake of looking straight down at critical points.  Guard rails are unheard of and there isn’t room for two cars to pass, so you rely on the skill of your driver.  Large boulders and deep rain-washed gullies in the road make it one long chiropractic adjustment.  I had forgotten just how bad the road is.

Contrast that with the view when you reach the top, where all is forgiven and forgotten.  Picture the best views along the north shore of Lake Superior (Lake Malawi in this case) and throw in a mountain range visible most days on the far shore of the lake.  Add the everchanging play of light and clouds on the lake and you have a real jawdropper.  The accompanying photo shows a rainbow over the Livingstone Mountains of Tanzania, 50 miles across the lake, as viewed from the plateau.

The weather is moderate here, a little more humid than it will be in a month after fall arrives (south of the equator, you know), with highs in the upper 70’s and lows in the 60’s.  Not too hard to take. During this rainy season, which continues into early April,  the sky cover changes constantly, from thunder and rain to full sun and everything in between.  Big, billowy clouds drift through the valley below us several times a day as we’re more than a mile above sea level.   

The people are warm and welcoming and give so much for those who have so little.  The children are a delight, though I’ve been a bit overwhelmed these past two days as the only teacher for Standard 1 (the equivalent of first grade) with 98 students and a piece of chalk as my only equipment.  I’m doing a crash course in Tumbuka (the local language) commands and questions as the little ones speak almost no English.  It’s challenging, frustrating and exciting at the same time.  

Mary Ellen has been fully immersed in hospital life, and her duties run the gamut from midwife to emergency room nurse.  Tomorrow she goes out on her first rural clinic visits, something she is looking forward to.  Through the orphan care program at the hospital, she was made aware of a young man who was orphaned at an early age and is head of the household.   He is off to college in Lilongwe (the capital city) this week after doing exceptionally well on his entrance exams and receiving a scholarship.  Slight problem - he has no shoes and the usual ill-fittting donated clothing.  She was asked by a credible source if we would donate some of our funds from the orphan care portion to help clothe this young man as he leaves the plateau for the big city and we readily agreed.  So know that your generosity is making a difference here already.

On the secondary education front, we were disappointed to find out that the boarding secondary school here on the plateau is closing as the college is taking over their building.  That leaves only the day secondary school to provide for the needs of all Form 1-4  (the equivalent of grades 9-12) students in the greater area here.  This school is run by a very able headmistress named Mercy Jerre who I spent 2 hours with yesterday.  There is no electricity at the school, no glass on the windows and no lunch program currently, so the infrastructure needs are great.  And, as you might guess, the vast majority of the students come from impoverished families, so we’ll be working with Mercy and others in the community to determine where the greatest need is and how we can help.  

We’re proceeding cautiously and making no promises to anyone here, aware that language and cultural differences can easily lead to misunderstandings.  We’re determined to make the best use of the $6500+ that you contributed, and we’ll keep you informed of our progress.

Wishing you well from beautiful Malawi,

Steve and Mary Ellen

One Week and Counting

Dear Friends and Family,

Your generosity has overwhelmed us.  We've raised close to $6500 at this writing for our projects in Malawi.  Thanks so much to all who have contributed their money and good wishes. We'll do our best to keep you informed of how the money is being spent through this blog. Know ahead of time that your generosity will make a profound difference in the lives of many who have so little.  

We're just one week away from blastoff, and feverishly taking care of as many details as we can every day.  There are dog sitters and house sitters to arrange, suitcases to pack and weigh, work obligations to fulfill and numerous other fine points to consider as we embark on this wondrous journey.  Thanks for taking the time to "travel with us," hence the title for this blog which comes from the Tumbuka language which is spoken in northern Malawi.

 

Our deepest gratitude,

Steve and Mary Ellen