My visit to Malawi was eye opening and fulfilling. The aim of the trip was to learn and understand what life is like in Malawi and to support the projects run by the charities Mbedza Projects Support and MOSES. Our main project was the work at Jali Youth Centre where education, testing and counselling is provided for HIV/Aids. We ran workshops to help attract girls to the centre. We visited Jali on six days; four of those days were set for workshops.

The activities we came up with were nail painting, embroidery and felt sewing, decorating headbands and playing netball. Some of these were more successful than others, such as the felt sewing which was very popular, we ran out of all the felt that we supplied (fortunately we will be able to send some more over in the near future). The netball was also very popular. The girls loved this and decided to create a netball team and meet weekly. Another project we helped with was the tree measuring and stove project. This was very rewarding as I was able to see how appreciated our help was, it was also a pleasure to meet and be welcomed by the members of each village. We measured 400 trees in 5 different villages over 3 days. This work was very enjoyable. A final organisation that we helped with was working with the ladies who create the bags. We discussed how it was working and why it was established, also how it could be expanded and improved.

In between all of the work we had a few days to ourselves, so we were able to visit Mvuu Safari and go to Lake Malawi to stay at Monkey Bay (Fat Monkeys) and visit Café Leon.

3 things I learned about Malawi:

• Malawi taught me how much I took for granted at home, this was because we lived with the people and did not stay in a hotel. I experienced the lifestyle in a lot more depth. I learned that daily life for the people in Malawi is a lot harder, with long and tiring days and sometimes having to leave their families behind for months, as the only jobs they could get were far away, but still paid very little.

• Another point I learned was that in some places it was almost as if you were going back in time. This seemed most prominent when we visited the island on Lake Chilwa. Girls were expected to get married around the age of fifteen and begin to have children straight away. If they could not have children they were seen as not profitable and kicked out of the home. We met with the chief’s wife of one of the villages on the island, it was eye opening to me when she found it strange that I did not have a boyfriend, or that I or Amber did not have any children.   

• I learned that we are very materialistic in this country; we always want the latest gadget when what we already have is perfectly fine. I learnt that you could live a minimalistic life and still be very happy. It showed me that I don’t need to surround myself with goods. And it made me change my idea of ‘priorities’ to show that family is always the most important thing.

3 things I loved about Malawi:

I loved everything about Malawi, however the main things I loved were:

• The people. After being in Malawi for a month it seemed usual to greet almost every person you walked past, however it was such a shock coming back to England and getting weird looks if you smiled and said hello to a stranger. This really showed how friendly and welcoming the people of Malawi are. You do not need to spend long there until you feel at home.

• Another thing I loved was the food. I loved the food so much that I even got an nsima spoon so I am able to make it back home. The nsima goes with various vegetable dishes and boiled meats. It was very interesting to learn how all the food was made, and that it is in fact, very simple but so flavoursome that you just keep wanting more.

• I loved how religion was such a big part in everyone’s lives. In England I would not say I have ever really been affected by religion. However, while over in Malawi I visited a church twice. I was unable to attend one week as I had come over very ill. However, I was very touched when the Pastor of the church we had been attending came to visit Amber and me at home, so that we did not miss out on the service.

3 things I found hard in Malawi:

• The thing I found the hardest was saying no to so many people especially children, who would come and beg for money. It was very upsetting as I wanted to help them but if I gave money to one I would be continuously approached by many other children. Other times we had to say no was when people would ask us to take them back to England, which we knew was simply not a possibility. To many Malawians we are made of money and even after explaining to them that we would not be able, they still did not understand. Having to say no to boys who asked for our numbers and facebook names was also hard as you do not want to offend them but I had to say a very stern no.

• I found it hard to see how they treated animals, as it is very different to how we treat them at home. A lot of people had dogs, however they were not seen as a family pet, instead they were guard dogs that had to fend for themselves. A lot of the time they had fresh wounds from fights and many were so thin you could see their ribs. This was heartbreaking for me to see, as I am an animal lover. There were also many stray cats and dogs wandering around that I just wanted to help.

• Another thing I found hard was seeing so many people on the streets. Sometimes we were approached by people who would tell us how poor they were. Many looked ill and starving. It was very hard to walk by without helping. This really showed the struggle some people face living in Malawi.