My First 2 weeks in Malawi as an Mbedza Volunteer

I am Bree, a 20-year-old student studying at University of Leeds.

Along with my friend Tom, I’ve been in Zomba, Malawi, for just over two weeks now, and I can confidently say we’ve settled in!

The time has flown by during the two weeks due to the diversity of each day. The Mbedza team hold many projects which we have had the opportunity to join in with such as The Stove Project and HIV Testing. It has been so lovely feeling welcomed joining the team. Tom has specifically enjoyed joining Richard with the Tree Project, and I, joining the volunteers in the Sanitary Project at the Songani centre, which has become very important to me.

Tom and I during our orientation week, learning about the HIV work carried out at the Hope and Wellness Centre

From what I’ve observed during my time here, Malawi faces huge gender divides compared to our privileges in England. It is heartbreaking to see so many young girls with infants, knowing that girls in England are in education. My friends at Mbedza have helped me understand the stigma that, from a young age, girls are taught that success is rooted in motherhood, which can limit their aspirations and opportunities. The Mbedza team have taught me the impact of encouraging girls to stay in education, so they grow a passion for their education. Benefiting not just their own futures, but also for the empowerment of women and the progress of the country as a whole. I have grown passionate about working within the Sanitary Project as I believe it is very efficient on combating this social issue. By sewing and distributing reusable sanitary pads, Mbezda helps keep teenage girls in schools, rather than missing education due to staying at home when menstruating. Today I experienced distributing the sanitary bags to a local school. It was important to me to see the equality of every girl being provided with what they need and Mbedza’s conscious effort to distribute evenly over secondary schools in Zomba. The team of volunteers were passionate about helping and there is a positive atmosphere within the sewing room of the Songani centre, everyone helps each other, I look forward to spending every Tuesday helping out.

Making a sanitary kit on Tuesdays at the Songani Centre as part of the ‘Sanitary Project’.

Within our spare time exploring Zomba city, Tom and I have found it very interesting seeing the different way of life. One thing I noticed was how quiet Sundays can be due to everyone being at church, which we joined once too! Overall, the markets are a place where we have spent a lot of our time, eating predominantly fresh produce like the locals. I’ll be honest, getting comfortable with conquering the market was difficult, having locals becoming us over and people shouting “Azungu!” and not quite knowing how to respond, but I think it’s a space that brings an authentic representation of life in Malawi! The scenes of the markets can show very different situations, seeing tired mothers with young babies or sellers shouting you over to their stall seeming desperate to make enough money, I will admit it can be hard to see knowing I cannot respond and help everyone. But while it can be overbearing, I’ve seen an underlying sense of hope and community amongst the chaos. Locals always have enthusiasm, and I have noticed them helping each other out with their stalls, I have had some wonderful interactions with locals helping me. I think the market is an accurate representation of seeing both distressing and hopeful situations within one place, something I have found very common in my experience so far.

Tomatoes on sale at my local market

As of this week, Tom and I have put our teaching plans into practice. Working at both Songani and Malindi Secondary School twice a week, we have developed lots of passion to aid students in their English studies. While this can be quite daunting with a language barrier, both teachers and students have welcomed us into the school and made us feel at home. Tom has been very proactive with creating hand out cards and finding ways to make the teaching fun and interactive for the children. We are both really looking forward to doing more teaching and seeing the benefit to individuals.

Picnic stop on our hike on Mulanje Mountain at the weekend

So far so good!