Easter Visit 2019
“Malawians are rich” – this is what I was told before arriving in Malawi for the first time and, though I didn’t fully understand what it meant at that point, the words stuck with me.
What quickly became apparent was the concept of ‘Malawi Time’. Our experience in Lilongwe airport was certainly a contrast to the brisk efficiency of airports in the UK. While usually I wouldn’t welcome two hours spent in passport control at 2am, surrounded by dive bombing beetles, I quickly realised that Malawian culture doesn’t adhere to the same time pressures that many of us are used to. Being ‘that friend’ who’s always late, this was one cultural difference that I immediately got on board with. The warm night time air carried with it calmness – a welcome lack of urgency that begged the question “what’re we rushing for anyway?” We eventually managed to woo border control officers with our mispronounced ‘muli bwanjis’ and ‘zikomos’ and all made it through with high spirits. My first lesson learnt – be time rich. Every now and again it’s ok to let go of the urgency and connect for a moment. Even if that moment is at 2am, after 15 hours of flying!
After recovering from our flight, we made our way to Monkey Bay where we had arranged to visit Chiyambi Nursery. I had some ideas about what I might expect to see when visiting the Nursery. I presumed that resources might be tight and was expecting quite a basic set-up. Now, any teachers reading this will, I’m sure, understand the pressures of under-resourcing in schools in the UK; Pritt Sticks are gold dust and if your classroom is lucky enough to have more than three working felt tip pens then you can guarantee they will be under close supervision from a ‘lid monitor’ to make sure that those precious drops of ink aren’t wasted. Teachers tend to be fairly inventive creatures and we certainly adopt a ‘make do and mend’ mentality when it comes to resourcing. I have to say though, my experience in Chiyambi nursery really humbled me and made me think twice about those little grumbles I’ve had in the past when resources are sparse.
The teachers managed in one (very hot) room with just a tarpaulin for children to sit on and very little else in the way of teaching resources. We were immediately given a warm welcome by the teachers who, in the same way as all others that we met on our travels, welcomed us like family. The children were excited to show us their learning and we were impressed when they recited the months of the year (today I asked the children in my own class if they could tell me the months of the year and one replied by saying “urmm…Saturday?”. I’m feeling great about my own teaching abilities). After the children showed us their learning, we taught them some nursery rhymes and circle games that we play in schools in the UK; ‘Hippo, Hippo, Lion’ – a thrilling twist on the classic ‘Duck, Duck Goose’. We spent the rest of the afternoon playing outdoors with some balls that had been donated by another member of our group. The children played for hours, obviously completely enthralled by this new resource.
We also visited a village in Zomba where the stove project had been established for some time. When we arrived we were absolutely taken aback. We were greeted by a group of around 30 women and children (the men were off doing piece work) who welcomed us with open arms (quite literally).
The atmosphere was one of total exuberance and we quickly realised that this would be an all singing, all dancing affair. We danced our way from stove to stove, led by the village matriarch. I did my best to join in with the jovial dancing (twerking!) and singing, but unfortunately my hips don’t lie and I was giving off the ‘I don’t know what I’m doing…is this right?’ vibe loud and clear. A few friendly sniggers aside, we were welcomed into the heart of this community with a sense of warmth and belonging that was overwhelming. After we had finished the stove-by-stove conga, we spoke with some of the members of the community. One of the older women who had been by far the most enthusiastic dancer with booty shakes that would put Beyoncé to shame, spoke to us and said: “Because of these stoves I can dance with you today”. She went on to explain that she no longer had to crouch down to cook by the fire and that this had reduced the crippling pain she had been experiencing in her hips and knees. Other members of the community told us how the stoves had given them time as they no longer had to spend days collecting all the wood that their old stoves had needed. They finished by saying “we welcome change here”.
So often nowadays the impact of our work needs to be outlined, measured and proved…I certainly feel these pressures coming from a teaching background. But no amount of predicting could ever have told us that building these stoves would give an elderly lady the ability to dance with her friends and family again. This project is about more than what can be read and measured. It’s about health and heart.
I was asked what I had learnt during my time in Malawi and, ironically, that took me back to where I started. Malawians are rich; they’re rich in spirit, in culture, in community. I’ve left with a piece of Malawi in my heart and I know it won’t be the last we see of each other. Zikomo Kwambiri Malawi. See you soon.”
Ellie Hayward
