The End!

My final update from Malawi - heading home this weekend. I have been here for 5 months, and the time has flown by! I am caught in mixed emotions, very excited to see family and friends, but somewhat nervous about settling back in to my ‘old life’, and discovering how this experience has changed me.

PLANTING SEASON

We successfully delivered the new season’s seeds and fertilizer to our farmers before the rains came, despite the fuel shortages we continue to face. Unfortunately though, the rains have not  come as anticipated. The weather has cooled slightly (we are now back to mid-high 20’s rather than mid-high 30’s), and every now and then we get some rain, around once a week. This is far short of normal weather patterns however, and without any irrigation in most of the country, farmers are desperately in need of more rain. From a purely selfish perspective, however, I have been quietly relieved that Epicentre visits which often involve an hour of driving on potholed dirt roads have not been made even more difficult with almost impassable roads.

TERESA



Teresa Sandikonda



My last visit involved visiting an Epicenter to take some footage from three different THP partners (the term is deliberate – rather than being called a beneficiary, the term "partner" describes an equal effort and risk, which better reflects the THP model) ... allowing them to speak about how their lives have been changed since THP arrived in their village. I was really overwhelmed by one lady, Teresa Sandikonda, who is HIV Positive, a widow, and has young children who are also HIV Positive since birth. Through an interpreter Teresa explained that she now receives a farm input loan (seed and fertilizer), which has allowed her to feed herself and her family, and pay her children’s school fees. Her only (!) problem now, she explained, is that planting an acre of maize seed and tending to her plot is physically difficult for her. You can see from her photo that she is thin, but it wasn’t till I put my arm around her for the photo did I notice just how minute and frail she was. Her little shoulders felt like they would snap in half if I squeezed her. She is now planning to take out a loan (MK10,000=AUD$6) which will allow her to acquire the services of a labourer to help her in her field. She will make enough money from sale of excess grain to repay the loan. I think from all of the experiences I have had her in Malawi, it is the interactions I have had with brave women like Teresa which will stay with me forever.

BUDGET TIME

One of the most eye-opening experiences at THP has been preparing the 2012 budget, not quite finished, but almost. It was a brutal process. We went about it by first preparing our ‘ideal’ budget. Line by line, we identified what was needed to deliver on the plan for 2012. New programs are being introduced, such as “1000 days”, which is about a nutrition and medical care for children from conception until school age. But most of the focus is on keeping existing programs going, specifically driving 3 of our 8 Epicenters to Self-Reliance (and THP withdrawal). This budget included such “luxuries” as a Generator for the office (to carry us through the multiple blackouts when work stops), vehicle maintenance, a new Laptop where an old one is so slow it is virtually unusable, and let’s not forget the price of fuel (if you are lucky enough to get it!) went up 25% in one day last month. After the process concluded, we were given the actual budget allocation from HQ, it was one-third of our ‘ideal’. Going through the process of not only cutting any fat, but cutting right into the bone was horrifying. Seeing how this passionate and dedicated team work through adversity has been an eye-opener, but seeing just how cash strapped the NGO world is, and being in the team where they sign-off on a budget for next year which delivers no relief was heartbreaking. I was so tempted to get out my cheque-book there and then and provide some relief!! It really brought home the need to find ways to raise money. If not for an entire Epicenter ($900K), it might be for a maternity wing for an older Epicenter ($20,000), or just books for the library or toys for the nursery school, but we must get more creative about filling the budget gaps! Another problem to solve on the long flight home!!

RWANDA



Up (VERY) close and personal!



Being so close to Rwanda, and wanting to see the endangered Mountain Gorilla’s I decided to take a mini-holiday and ‘pop up’ there last week. Little did I know that both the cost of the airfares, and the commute time would have been lower had I gone from Melbourne L. Rwanda is amazing. It is a beautiful country, filled with friendly people. The roads are great, the crime rate is low, as is the HIV/AIDS rate (less then 3% cf. Malawi’s 15%), and the place is really moving along. It is amazing what guilt money can do for a country!  I stayed the first night in the Hotel des Mille Collines (location of the infamous Hotel Rwanda movie), and then spent 2 days in the Virunga Mountains, where I did 2 different treks to see the Gorillas. If you ever get the means and the time to go, it is an amazing experience! I was accompanied by a guide for the 4 days, Damian, and during our time together he told me his own personal experience through the genocide – he was 15 yrs old at the time - and hid in the mountains alone for 3 months, foraging or stealing food and water. Afterwards, he discovered that his mother and all of his 4 brothers were murdered by the Hutus. To this day, 17 years later, he doesn’t know where, when or how his family members were murdered. Despite the tragedy in his past (and that of many of his countrymen) Damian loves his country, is positive about his future, and is planning to grow his freelance guiding business to secure his financial future and, next year, marry his 25 year old girlfriend!!

SAYING FAREWELL

My last week in Malawi is hectic, between giving away much of the stuff I bought with me or acquired here, finishing all the loose ends at work, and seeing friends for the last time, I am full of mixed emotions, sad to leave but excited to soon be seeing my family. I have a surprise farewell present planned for Friday for all 14 of my THP colleagues, involving taking them to one of my favourite places in Malawi for the day, however with diesel now nearly impossible to get, I have been worried that they day might have to be cancelled. Rowlands, however, who can solve any problem that pops up, has ensured me we will have fuel by Friday!!

My lovely friends have arranged a farewell dinner for me on Friday night, Saturday I fly out to Jo’burg, and Sunday night leave for Australia.

Thanks to everyone who has sent me notes of news, encouragement and love from afar ... even the smallest little emails reminded me I am not forgotten!! To everyone else, no Christmas cards for you!!!

ps.. An article was published in December's AFR BOSS magazine about Aussies who have given time vs money to African organisations. I was interviewed for the article a few months ago, here is the link if you are interested!

http://afr.com/p/adventures_in_altruism_SQNOQwPIQ3Vh9BlZCl7XHP

November 8 - Not enough anything......

Since my last update we have had a major focus on getting the farm inputs to farmers before the rains ... a bit like Y2K, an immoveable deadline!!

FARM INPUTS

First, let me explain the Farm Inputs Credit system. Poor rural families typically have access to an acre of land, where they grow maize corn for their annual food needs. The maize, when processed into flour, is mixed with water and cooked into a dish called 'nsima', the basis for all meals in Malawi. A bit like rice or pasta, it is a bland, polenta-like food, which you serve with a protein or veg-based food, if you have access to those extras.

Maize is planted right now, just before the rains come around mid November. The rainy season lasts until March-April, when the maize is harvested. Within the THP Epicenter, the Farm Input system ‘loans’ a farmer a package of high quality maize seed, and two types of fertilizer, enough for an acre. The farmer also learns about modern farming techniques, and will typically yield around 45 bags of maize, 3-4 times what he was getting before. The ‘repayment’ is a pre-agreed number bags of maize to the Epicenter Community Food Bank. The Food Bank can then sell maize to people within the community who don’t have enough food, and at the end of the season, excess maize in the Food Bank is sold on the free market, and the proceeds used to fund the next cycle of farm inputs. Any excess which the farmer has after repaying his loan is his to keep, a welcome source of income which often goes towards school fees and the like. (nb: I have used the term ‘his’, however there with high mortality rates in Malawi there are many female headed households in rural Malawi.)

There is a separate budget for Farm Inputs for HIV Positive farmers, this is but one of many incentives for people in the community to be tested and declare their status.

 Several weeks ago we were in the middle of selling and transporting all the Epicenter Food Bank excess maize to the market, to raise funds to purchase the new farm inputs. After sourcing the inputs and lining up transport, we were struck by diesel shortages to get the inputs to the farmers before the ‘planting rains’ arrived, which was just this weekend. The Program Officer was run off his feet for a couple of weeks, supervising the whole exercise, as naturally in Malawi you need to monitor everything visually, with a high rate of pilferage of such valuable commodities!



Signing  up for the first Farm Input program at Majete



On Thursday I went to Majete Epicenter (our newest), for their first disbursement of Farm Inputs. Each farmer (who had earlier registered and received the training), arrived at a local school (the Epicenter building hasn’t been built yet) to receive their 3 packages, 2 x 50kg packs of fertilizer, and a small pack of seed) .. and each one then either carried them off on their heads, or on the back of bicycles. Not surprisingly, when we were driving out, we saw more than a few upturned bicycles!!



Young woman with baby on her back being loaded up

with her 50kg bag of fertilizer

 
 


Now to get it home!!

 






 



Happy with his lot!!



OTHER SHORTAGES AND PRICE HIKES

Aside from the desperate state of diesel supply, Malawi seems to be heading in a general down hill spiral as supply of other essentials falter. This is all due to a lack of foreign currency, in a country where just about any manufacturing process requires at least some imported items. A common one is soft drinks. Coke and Fanta here are bottled locally by Carlsberg, but with a shortage of gas which is required for the ‘soda’, we haven’t seen Tonic or Soda water for sale here for about 2 months. Now only Coke and Fanta are bottled, but in alternating weeks, so we have one week where you can only see Coke for sale, the next week it is only Fanta. I expect this will also be a temporary situation, until you cant get either, only beer.

Electricity is provided to all Malawians by a single hydro plant on the Shire River, which was built in 1963. To ration the completely inadequate supply, power goes off every 3-4 nights per week, previously for 2 hours, but in recent weeks this has jumped to 3 hrs, from about 6-9pm. In addition, the morning after your evening of outage, another blackout lasts from about 5:30-9am. Just as well I am no longer using a hair dryer!!! Generators would be a great alternative; however the fuel shortages ensure few people have enough fuel to feed their generators after filling their cars.

As shortages increase, and the Kwatcha is devalued, naturally the next thing you see if increasing prices. You even expect them.... however I think everyone was taken by surprise this morning when we woke to the news that Petrol and Diesel had increased 50% OVERNIGHT!!! Imagine the knock-on effects to the cost of everything else .. Especially the impact on the rural poor!!

What does tomorrow hold for this country??

October update - too much heat, not enough diesel

I can’t believe it is nearly a month since my last update, and only just over 7 weeks until I return to Australia, with some trepidation I must admit, although can’t wait to see friends and family.

LIFE IN BLANTYRE

We are now truly in ‘the hot season’ in Malawi, temperatures most often 35+, minimums no less than 25, and very high humidity. All wouldn’t be so bad if there was any relief, but aside from a trip to the local Shoprite supermarket, and one of the 3 showers I have per day, you sleep in the heat, travel in the heat (my least favourite!), and work in the heat. This weather is expected to continue until “the wet season”, which apparently starts in November, when the oppressive heat will be replaced by torrential rain. Along with the heat, electricity “load shedding” continues ( it’s not like there are hundreds of aircons running in the county, about 90% of residential population don’t have electricity in their houses!). You can cope with it at home, but it now regularly occurs in the office in Limbe. Last Friday, we lost the electricity at 8:30am, and it came back on at 3pm. Can you imagine running a business under these circumstances? We are on the second floor of our building, so when we lose power we also lose running water (no pump), so things go from bad to worse very quickly. Most interesting to me is the response from my work colleagues when this happens – no complaining, desk thumping or emotional outbursts (apart from me of course!!), just pure resignation. We all just sit around, read the newspapers, and sit around some more.

On top of the power cuts, fuel shortages are back again with a vengeance (petrol supplies smoothed out for a few months after the demonstrations, but diesel supplies have never been good). This naturally adds tremendously to the country’s productivity. There is a facebook page called “Malawi Fuel Watch”, where people post sightings of fuel supplies, and state of the queues, and fuel companies post planned deliveries. It is common to see “No petrol or diesel supplies today in the South/North/Central region” .. which means there are no service stations with ANY supplies that day in the entire country. A by-product of these shortages has been the proliferation of individuals (in the hundreds) who bring gerry cans to the filling station, most of whom go on to sell this fuel on the black market. Things gets ugly very quickly when fuel arrives, as there are usually queues of vehicles several kilometres long, but the guys with the cans mob the attendants, money changes hands, and often vehicles miss out. It is an unsettling feeling seeing not only normal vehicles, but fire engines, ambulances etc in the queues who don’t get served – there is no priority system here. From an organisation’s perspective, we will have at least one (of our 3) driver in a fuel queue each and every day, often for 10 hours. Without credit, they have to call our Finance Officer (or other SMT member) when they get close to the pump, who then rushes to the filling station with a bag of cash to pay for the fuel. Only in Malawi!!!!

THE HUNGER PROJECT – TIME TO GET READY FOR THE RAINS

Our main focus at the moment in the Hunger Project is to transport seed and fertilizer (Farm Inputs packages) to our farmers, so they can have ready for the first rains. These farmers take what we refer to as a Farm Input Loan, so they receive a high quality maize seed, and fertilizer, enough for an acre of land. Using these top quality ingredients normally triples their yield, from about 8-10 50kg bags of maize (not enough to feed a typical family of 8 for a year), to about 35-40 50kg bags. After harvesting, they repay the loan by giving 6 bags of maize corn to the Community Food Bank, and then sell any excess grain for cash. It is a great program; the Community Food Bank then sells its haul of maize every year to the market, and uses the money to buy Farm Inputs for the next growing season. This is where we are in the cycle right now. Several weeks ago we arranged for the sale of all excess Food Bank maize, picking up a cheque for more than MK3million (>AU$17,000) from the trader who purchased it. What followed was another ‘Malawi-moment’ for me. We had to take the cheque to the issuing Bank (not ours), convert the cheque to cash which we then took to our Bank to deposit.  Bearing in mind the largest note here is MK500, we had 3 large brown paper bags with over 6,000 individual notes in them, which had to be transported to another bank branch in another part of town (which I’m pleased to say happened without incident!!!). We have now purchased the fertilizer and grain, however our transport providers have no diesel to make the deliveries to the Epicentres!!! Just imagine how productive we would all be if we didn’t waste so much time on these logistical things that we in the developed world take so much for granted.

MOULDING 800,000 BRICKS BY HAND TO BUILD A COMMUNITY



Moulding mud bricks for the Epicentre building. Only 799,998 to go!



Our newest Epicenter is in the first year of existence. The community of about 20,000 attend intensive “VCA sessions” (Vision, Commitment and Action), where they learn about choices they themselves can make to end the cycle of hunger and poverty. You can surely imagine that after generations of hunger and a subsistence existence, people cannot believe they have a choice. They travel from a point of view that “it is up to the Government to provide more food/jobs/housing/ etc”, to taking it upon themselves to move forward. A critical part of this process is the formation of leadership committees, and understanding the power of ‘the masses’. The first major project they do is build their Epicenter Building, which includes a community hall, health centre, class room, rural bank, food bank, library, nurses quarters and toilets. This structure requires 800,000 mud bricks to be hand-made, a project which requires people who have never met before to equally contribute to the outcome. To start with, we hold a ‘Brick Moulding Ceremony’ attended by the local MP, Group Village Chief (Chief of Chiefs!), sponsor, journos and other stakeholders. The ceremony was a few weeks ago, and, due to lack of fuel, we had to pick up and take the radio journo and Group Village Chief and his aid/bodyguard. We, (the five of us including driver), travelled for about 3 hours on the worst dirt roads I have ever seen, (covered only about 70kms) from the Village Chief’s house to the ceremony, which was held under a temporary structure in about 40 degree heat. The ‘dignitaries’ (which included ME the photographer!) all then went into a small house, sat on the floor/ground and ate together, before turning around and going home. That was a ‘long day in the office’!! This community have already moulded more than 300,000 bricks, and is well on the way to creation of their Epicenter building.

A NEW MATERNITY WING

We received funding a few weeks ago from one of the mobile phone operators, TNM, for equipment for a maternity facility in one of our Epicenters. Normally women walk between 15-20kms when they are in labour to get to a delivery centre. Naturally, this contributes to a high maternal and infant mortality rate, which drops to ZERO when a maternity facility is incorporated in the Epicenter (where they might have to walk 5kms max).... easy words to write, but for those of you who have given birth (or whose wives have given birth), close your eyes and picture walking 20kms while you are in labour!!!! We were thrilled when TNM offered to fund the KW3million (US$18,000) to buy the equipment (which arrived yesterday), and an appropriate ceremony with more dignitaries is being planned for 2 weeks from now. Of course Rowlands has jokingly suggested I camp in the Epicentre waiting for the first birth so I can capture on camera ... not sure how much he is actually joking!!!!!!!!!

WITCHCRAFT



THP HIV Program Officer with guard and Health official who
sitting in front of 'possessed' dispensary.



Another interesting event in the ‘only in Malawi” category is a meeting I attended recently in a disused health facility within one of our Epicenter communities, about 5 kms from the centre. We want to use it for Aids outreach (testing, counselling and ARV distribution), however the local health authorities cannot staff it because it is apparently possessed by witchcraft! The HIV Program Officer had a meeting (in the affected room!) with a rep from DHO and the local guardsman. The guardsman explained how he was sure the building was possessed, it was regularly struck by lightning (a common sign of witchcraft apparently), and his wife had been in the building several times and has since gone crazy and left him and their children and run away. Outcome was that DHO are going to try to find a medical assistant who does not come from this area to staff the building, as they won’t know about the witchcraft, and so won’t be affected!!!!!! I will keep  you posted on any signs that I personally have been bewitched after attending the meeting.

BUSH AND ISLAND GETAWAYS





The ensuite bathroom for my tent at Majete - see if you can spot
the bath, toilet and shower?



On a personal note, there have been highs and lows in the past month. I have enjoyed visiting both Majete Game Reserve and Mumbo Island recently for weekend getaways. Both a tad ‘luxurious’, but a great relief to get away from the problems of Blantyre and chill out. Majete I travelled to solo, and enjoyed an entire weekend of sitting on the deck of observing animals. While I was there, the reserve released a male leopard they have imported from Sth Africa, with a female still caged and to be released the following weekend. 3 more leopard couples to follow in the next year, and mid-2012 a pair of lions. Couldn’t help but thinking how all of the monkeys, antelope, hippos, buffalo, warthogs, and zebra who were enjoying bush around my camp would be surprised in the next few days by the arrival of the predators!



My tent on Mumbo Island



Mumbo Island last weekend was dreamy ... a short boat ride from Cape Maclear to the Island for a Pilates retreat. Only 5 other guests, all my colour, gender, age and appetite for alcohol. We all got on like a house on fire, shared life stories, became firm friends and will continue to catch up with before I leave. They have all lived in Malawi for 3-20 yrs, the most recent arrival is a British woman who was a headhunter in London, but left 10 yrs ago to follow an NGO career, has lived in Sudan and the Congo, and has even been taken hostage for 3 days. Bit different to the type of friends one usually meets, but made for a fascinating weekend!

The more sour note involved my recent visit to the Immigration Department (they never end well do they???) .. I wanted to clarify my status before potentially leaving the country for a weekend in November... all of my research before leaving home, and since, indicated Australian’s DO NOT need a VISA to enter Malawi. This is actually correct, however in Malawi there is a difference between ENTERING the country, and STAYING in the country. I was abused by a large, overweight Malawian government employee (I am sure you can picture him) ... as he yelled and humiliated me in the Immigration office. I had ‘offended his country’, broken the law, was an illegal immigrant and was to be arrested pending deportation. Luckily (there is always a saving grace isn’t there!), we got to midday, when he announced he was taking his lunch and I should return at 1:30pm!!! When I asked what would happen at 1:30, he told me I was going to be arrested! When I asked “why would I come back to be arrested?”.. He responded with “because I had already broken enough laws, and shouldn’t break any more!!!” ... my sense was that I was being worked up for a very large bribe, after which he would “solve the problem”! I called Rowlands, who called ‘his network’, arranged for us to have a meeting at 1:30pm with the Head of Immigration, who apologised for the confusion over their laws, and arranged for me to be issued with a Temporary Visitors Permit, valid till mid-April, 2012 ..... Mr Nasty back in the Immigration Office was mightily pissed off that I had gone above him, so for my remaining visits over the next few days to arrange appropriate paperwork, took every opportunity to yell at and humiliate me ... Rowlands was most embarrassed for my treatment (very very unusual for a Malawian, but of course not unusual for an Immigration Official in any country!!!)... I can’t stop thinking what would have happened if I had gone to the Immigration Office a day later than I did, when Rowlands was then in New York for 2 week visit L

Enough typing for one day in the heat (and I’m sure enough reading for you!) ... rather than attaching photos, for all who are not connected to my Facebook, here is a link to some of the photos I have taken since being here .. many more to come.

https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.10150347294267169.338825.693782168&type=1&l=cb999a2d59

Hope this finds you all well, enjoying warmer weather, and celebrating, or commiserating, your football/rugby teams success or failure!!!

September Update - Lake Malawi and Soccer!

Almost a month since my last note, apologies for the delay, but I am pleased to report that life in Blantyre has been ‘normal’ for the past month, so nothing as exciting as previous weeks to report.

Roger (Australian THP Investor) did in fact arrive with my ‘care package’ from home, containing replacement credit cards, glasses, an old phone etc, so it was good to get back to normal. We had an intensive couple of days taking Roger to see the Epicenter he underwrites, he was treated like a visiting royal by the locals (understandably so!), and I just cant imagine what it must have been like for him seeing a community of about 20,000 whom he is responsible for delivering from hunger and poverty! We spent a day meeting different people from the community: widows, families, people living with HIV/AIDS, who all now have access to fresh water, can grow enough food for a year to feed themselves, have access to health services, adult literacy courses and microfinance. One woman proudly showed us her knitting machine (remember the ones they used to advertise on TV in the 70’s!!), which she uses for her business, the proceeds of which she has used to build a house!! Pretty inspiring stuff. Roger and I then spent a couple of days working through his reporting requirements, as I am trying to overhaul the reporting process, so it was a great couple of days!!



Passionate supporter!



I also had the opportunity to attend the Malawi vs Tunisia qualifier for the African Cup. Now you all know I am not much of a soccer fan, but the event was mindblowing!! Malawi needed to win to make the cut, so there was a lot riding on the match. I cant even describe the atmosphere, crazed fans all wearing red (me included!!), the useful pre-match parties and drinking, and, with a nil-all draw, the desolation which followed. The police in riot gear, and military in tanks (yep, up and down the highway outside the stadium) didn’t help keep the crowd calm!! Kamuzu Stadium itself is more than 40 years old, and is really just concrete stands which don’t look to my laymans eyes like I wanted to be at the top. My colleague told me that infact FIFA have similar concerns, and only allow the stands to fill half way up, for safety reasons. Someone apparently forgot to tell the organisers, because those stands were so packed it was like awaiting for a disaster to happen. Luckily, none did, and the stands are still standing...

I have also had the opportunity to visit Lake Malawi, a little piece of paradise here. About a 5 hour drive up, but worth the trip (even the last hour on some really horrible dirt roads). We went to Cape Maclear, which is a gorgeous blend of tourism and local village, so you only need to walk about 500 metres from your beach to find the local community doing their thing! Unfortunately, the Lake is full of a parasite which causes Bilharzia, so just swimming (or even walking on the shore in the water) is enough to cause this nasty little parasite to invade your body (and if you decide not to swim, you will catch it in the shower anyway!!), so I decided, being with well informed Medical Students and all, to take the plunge, knowing that I can freely access the medication 3 weeks from when you swim that will apparently purge the nasty little things from your body ....

One of the THP drivers, Jamia, took us up to the Lake. It was the first time in her life she has seen the Lake, or in fact a large body of water, so it was worth the weekend just to see her absolute delight at walking along the shores and paddling. 



Public phone at Cape Maclear!



Final note on Cape Maclear, is the local telephone service – I am sure Mr Thodey would be proud!

From a social perspective, life at Kabula Lodge has quietened down somewhat, with all but two of the Medical students gone home. A lovely surprise for us was one of the group, Rose, was being joined by her boyfriend and father at the end of her elective, and the three were off to travel to Zambia for 3 weeks before returning to Holland. As it turns out, the boyfriend popped the question the night he arrived, so we had a great celebration of the engagement!

Finally, three of the four gents who relieved us of our possessions over a month ago have now been arrested, with two already sentenced to 5 years jail. I received a personal visit from Robert the detective to tell me he had recovered my iPhone and Camera, and I needed to go to the Police station the next day to collect them. Sadly, my Red Nikon compact camera had turned into a silver Canon camera, and my iPhone was now an older iPod. Poor Robert was crest fallen when I told him they were not my things. Luckily they were my friend Tamsin’s,  and she had to go to court to testify as to her ownership of the assets, and received them back the day before she left the country – so a great end to her saga. No sign of my things as yet, but my favourite detective Robert sends me a weekly text message (in English, but only just!!) to assure me he is getting close!! I have been so impressed by the work of the Malawi Police Force, and their ‘customer care’!!! Much better than South African Airlines who pilfered my hard disk drive from my baggage when I came over and failed to respond to my complaint until I sent a personal letter to their CEO!! Who would have figured??

August 28, the highs and the lows of Africa

(first draft, Aug 20)

Well I am writing this update with two pieces of good news for the week -



Chambe Peak at dusk



1. I survived Mt Mulanje (although only just!), and

2. The planned anti-government demos scheduled for Wednesday were cancelled at the last minute!



Mt Mulanje - 3 friends and I (it is important to note that they are all half my age!, one even younger than my daughter!) climbed up to Chembe Peak, at 2100m. We had a guide and 2 porters (I was so grateful for those guides I think I might have proposed to one of them!!) who carried our packs. There is a hut at the top, but you need to supply all food, drink, cooking utensils etc., hence the heavy packs. We took the THP vehicle from Blantyre Sat morning, and drove to the mountain (about an hour away), got to the Forest office, where we picked up the helpers and trotted off. (our THP driver stayed at the bottom, thank goodness!) The first hour was OK, but as we went on the trail got steeper, and my sense of humour almost deserted me! The last half hour of the 5 hour hike to the hut was the flattest part of the track, but strangely the most difficult. My legs had gone completely to mush! The hut was such a welcome sight, and we prepared an interesting concoction of tinned foods heated on an open fire for dinner. Washing and toileting were interesting (see facebook photos if you can), but basically we had one tap supplying cold water, and a few holes  in the ground. All of that would have been quite acceptable, had we been able to sleep. Even sleeping on the floor didn't bother me, despite how hard it was, but with four of us huddled together, none of us slept due to the freezing temperatures. Inside my sleeping bag I was wearing a beanie, socks, long pants and three layers of tops, but not a wink was had :(. Walking down was equally painful, but the scenery was pretty magnificent, and by the time I got to the bottom, I did feel quite a sense of achievement, albeit with a completely numb set of legs! I must say that by the time I got home, I was so pleased to see the piece of foam that calls itself my mattress!!



Walking down was harder than the ascent!



The next challenge was getting up Monday morning, especially the two flights of stairs I have to climb to get to the office. My work colleagues all found my levels of pain quite comical! Monday also saw me facilitating our Strategic Planning Day, so I was not able to sit in corner and feel sorry for myself, I had to be up the front, smiling and completely focussed on the task at hand. It was probably the best thing for me!! The good news is that by Friday, I was again able to get up and down the stairs at the office without pain (thank good for Neurofen!!!!)

Wednesday was scheduled to be the second day of anti-government demos. There has been such uproar in Malawi since the first (July 20) demonstration, when 19 people died as a result of (alleged) police gunfire, and this demo was scheduled on the basis that President Bingu hadn't responded to the petition he was delivered back then. Tuesday saw the presence of many many fully kitted out riot police, walking and driving around Blantyre, on every corner and ever present. Last thing Tuesday, the demo was cancelled. There has been so many explanations for the cancellation, some of which include a) a UN delegation arrived to investigate what is going on, b) the police didnt have enough officers or teargas (yes, that was really on the front page of today's paper!!), c) the organisers were called to a meeting with police on Tuesday and told they would be held responsible for any deaths and property damage so they changed their minds, and d) the organisers were paid off by the government!! Truly, each one of these scenarios has been reported in the papers!, draw your own conclusions! Anyway, I was picked up by the CD at about 9:30am Wed morning, when he was sure nothing was on. Town was quiet, most shops remained closed for the day, it was more like a Sunday, and there remains an easy calm since, although the official word is that the Aug 17 demo has just been postponed for a month, so the Pres hasnt been let of the hook!!

(cont .. Aug 28)

So my optimism and love of Malawi took a dive last weekend when a group of four of us were walking home from our favourite "restaurant" on Saturday night around 8pm. Four youngish thugs confronted us on the road that leads to our lodge, and relieved us of our handbags. I was lucky, only lost wallet (with only a portion of my cash), credit cards, camera, glasses, iPhone ... but one of the girls had everything (including passport, all money etc) in hers. That actual attack took us by such surprise. I put up a bit of a fight (as best I could while lying on the ground) and was refusing to give up my bag. It was only later I discovered a couple of them had machetes, so, in hindsight, I think we were pretty lucky to get off with only a few bruises.

Sunday we trotted off to the Police Station to report the crime, and was able to show the local 'detective' the actual whereabouts of my iPhone, compliments of the "Find My iPhone" app on my laptop. What followed was like a scene from Keystone Cops. We had to arrange a taxi (as apparently no police vehicles were available), and two of us plus two detectives and taxi driver set off in the direction of where my PC was telling me my iPhone was (not surprisingly, in one of the local slums). Tamsin and I were naturally quite nervous, the two detectives (one a female built a bit like Dawn French, the other a very skinny male) were so fascinated by technology I had on my laptop, that when we asked what would actually occur if we found the right house .. they laughed!! The taxi drove us as far as he could get us into the slum, but we eventually had to get out and go on foot given the shitty state of the  'roads', so you can imagine the sight of the four of us walking around with my laptop open and trying to track the phone, and about 20 of the slum kids following along ... needless to say that wireless coverage eventually gave up, and so did we. It would have been OK anywhere else, but a blue dot on a 'road' with no name in Blantyre could be one of about 10 houses, so we lost the trail.

The next evening the phone turned up in a different area of Blantyre, apparently sold now. This time the CD and I picked up 3 detectives (along with their guns and handcuffs) in his car, and went off again. I was trying to work out exactly what we would do with the offender/s if we caught him (were we to then take him to jail??, coz with the five of us in the car the crim would have had to travel in the boot of the car!), but again we had the problem of too many houses for one 'blue dot'. Since then we have lost the trail, either the phone has been wiped, or it is has run out of charge. The police havent given up, they have supplied the serial number to the network operators, who will supply a call log if it is used (with any SIM!). Apparently the most common trick is to call the phone, tell the person they have 'won a food hamper from Airtel", and they need to come and collect it. Apparently works every time!!!

On a personal note, I have recovered from the attack, I was a bit shaken for a few days, like a frightened mouse every time someone on the street spoke to me, but thankfully all good now, back to normal, even the bruises are fading, so just a distant memory now! Hard way to learn a lesson (NEVER WALK ON THE STREETS OF MALAWI AFTER DARK, EVEN IN A GROUP!!), but I have learned it now!!

Such a long note, wont bore you with the trivia that has followed, but happy to say Bill has been busy putting together a package of replacements for everything I lost, and it arrives Wednesday, courtesy of an Australia THP investor who is visiting - it feels like waiting for Christmas ... I will have my GLASSES, as well as money. What more does a girl need???

Hope everyone is well, and apologies for the long note. Congrats to all who have stayed the distance!!

Aug 8 Update, the amazing Rose Denga

Thanks for all of your updates, and notes of encouragement - it is great to hear from my friends back home, and, as much as you think your news is not as exciting as mine, let me reassure you that is those little pieces of news from home that keeps the homesickness at bay (it must be working, not a hint of it yet!!)

Mrs Rose Denga

Since my last note, I have visited two of our Epicentres - one brand new and not yet in operation, and last Friday a more established and functional site. Both have been the highlights of the trip so far. I tag along when one of my THP colleagues has a need to visit, and while there, I wander around, meet people, photograph and video them, and try to capture something of their stories. On Friday I met Rose (photo attached). She is a 60 yr old woman (that in itself is quite unusual) who is HIV/AIDS positive (doubly amazing). She lost her husband to AIDS quite a few years ago, and lost one of her eyes 2 year ago. Four of her 6 children are still alive (again, this seems unusually high), of which two live with her. She has been the recipient of a "farm input loan", where she receives enough grain and fertilizer to plant an acre of maize corn (remember, no farm tools here, just work with your hands!). With the maize she yielded, she paid back the original loan, paid for her two sons to complete their education, has enough food for her and her boys to last to the next harvest, and was able to pay for a recent visit to hospital admission (you don't get food in the hospitals here unless you can pay for it). She was such an inspirational woman, and couldn't take the smile off her face when we visited. She invited us into her home, and told us her story ... a truly amazing woman!

Baobab tree, approx 3,700 yrs old

On a lighter note, last weekend I went with 5 of my med student friends to a National Park about 2.5 hours north of Blantyre. Transport was via a local minibus. This is worthy of a slight diversion. These buses would normally seat 12, including the driver, however naturally they want to jam as many passengers in as possible. At one point I counted 23 people (including several children who sit on anyone's lap, they just get shoved in!). Luckily no chickens joined us on this trip. I cant even begin to describe the driving style used .. but the term 'russian roulette' comes to mind, especially overtaking on corners!! I think I am now several inches shorter, as my spine was crunched with ever bump in the road, and there are many of them!!!

The Liwonde National Park is stunning, and a welcome reprieve from the madness of Blantyre (and the 2.5 hour minibus trip!). We went on a couple of game drives, although none of the big cats really exist in southern Malawi, we saw elephants and buffalo, as well as numerous smaller critters. A great weekend, although all of my 5 friends have been sick since returning. Luckily they can prescribe themselves antibiotics to cure their pain .. even though none are qualified doctors, apparently they just front up to the pharmacy and ask for the drugs, tell the salesperson they are doctors, and receive the goods. A handy hint for the future if I need it!!!

Another highlight this week was seeing President Bingu driving past our building. His cavalcade would surely put our Queen Liz to shame. I stopped counting after about 20 vehicles, mostly utes filled with military men with very big guns, both before and after the black Range Rover with dark tinted windows! Bingu is not a popular man, and he surely know this!! There is talk of another national demonstration on August 17, and I am hoping very much this doesn't eventuate. Our global office has cancelled the Investors Tour on the basis of a perception things are unsafe for them to sponsor visitors to Malawi at this time. I dont want to think what will happen if another riot happens with more fatalities. 

Next weekend the plan is to conquer Mt Mulanje, first stage will just be to the top of a plateau about half way to the top. Apparently a hut exists on the plateau, but you need to supply everything, and sleeping is on the floor ... oh well! Should all go well, before I return home (and when the weather is warmer around October), I plan to go to the top!! Wish me luck!

July 28 Update - My first Epicenter visit

The political unrest has definitely eased, and while there is a lot of 'talk' of further problems, all seems to have returned to normal here, even the fuel situation seems to have eased a bit (although the electricity situation is worse, the last 2 nights we have had blackouts for at least 2 hours, and this morning I had no power, and so NO COFFEE, and I can’t tell you how bleak that situation is!

I seem to have found my place at work. The rest of the staff have warmed to my presence (what choice did they really have?), I have cleared the Finance Director's laptop of a virus, and am now helping everyone else with their presentations and preparation for the Investors Visit at the end of August. I get picked up every morning at my front door by a driver, who carries my backpack to the vehicle, drives me to work where another guy comes and opens the door and carries my backpack up the 2 flights of stairs and gives it back to me, and the whole process repeats itself at night. Tonight I asked to be dropped off about 3kms from home so I could actually get some exercise for the first time in weeks. The driver had a hard time with this concept; he thought I would get lost. When he agreed to let me walk, he said he would drive the vehicle behind me, which would have been absolutely hilarious. He was really scared that he might have to report to the boss that something happened to the Australian!. It was only after I showed him I had a compass on my iPhone that he agreed to let me go by myself!! We are, by the way, talking about him dropping me in the main street of Blantyre and walking home, about 20 mins up one hill!!!!

The exciting news is that the President himself (yes, the man who is apparently the cause of many of our woes), has agreed to inaugurate our new Epicentre during the Investors visit. This has just complicated the tour significantly, as you can imagine. The tour is seven days in total where we will have about 12 investors (significant donors) from Australia and around the world, and about 4 people from HQ in New York, including the global CEO, who is making her first trip to Malawi. Because of the President's involvement, we now have to deal with the Press and significant security people/issues. There will be one big bus to transport the guests, Rowlands and me and the Press to the Epicentre. The President will arrive by helicopter. The rest of our staff will be at the Epicentre early in the morning, and we will then have much celebration, traditional dancing and ceremonies etc etc. I am so excited to be a part of it (and seem to have inherited a significant portion of the organising!). We are also using a photographer to capture the week’s events, and make a DVD for each of the participants, and I am also apparently in charge of the photographer. Not sure what I did to earn this privilege, suspect is it because I own an SLR camera, and must therefore be an expert!!! I feel very privileged to be trusted at such an early stage of my visit.







Village house



This little boy was very unsure about my camera!



Yesterday I visited my first Epicenter (we have 8 here in Malawi), specifically the new one which will soon be inaugurated. It was an unbelievable experience. It was over 200kms from the office, and the roads are pretty dodgy, so we arrived hot and bothered (for some reason even though we had aircon in the vehicle they don't turn it on!). I was so hot I was peeling my clothes off as I was getting out of the truck! I spent most of my time there photographing everything, including walking out to the closest village, 'introducing myself' in my very few words of Chichewa (the local language), and taking photos of everyone and everything. Naturally it went well, people are generally surprised and excited to see a white woman (mzungo) wandering around alone in the bush and even though I am sure they had no idea who I was or what i was doing, they seemed happy to invite me into their houses and photograph them and their lives. I took loads of photos of the kids, and plan to print them and take them back to give them their photos next time I visit. Aside from the building of the epicentre, they were also drilling a borehole and installing a water tank. It is so amazing to think that these 30,000 people will have access to fresh drinking water and health and education services within max 10kms of where they live for the first time in their lives!! And when the CD told them that the President was coming in less than 4 weeks to open the centre, they all stood up and clapped and were so excited! It was a great day, even though we naturally didn't have lunch, or anything to drink till we got home around 5:30pm :(

On the personal side I have made many friends now at the 'Lodge'. Most of the residents are Med students who are doing electives at the local Queen Elizabeth Hospital, and are around 25ish years old. The significance of that fact is that they don’t stay up all night partying on, and they can all hold very grown up conversations (as opposed to your avg 18yr old gap year student!). This weekend I am going with 3 British, 1 Dutch and a Canadian students (all doing the Gyno elective!) to Liwonde National Park, which is one of the local game reserves. We will travel the 3 hours in a minibus (with as many locals and their chickens as they can jam in), and stay overnight at the Park in dorms (@ $15/night, so not expecting luxury!!). This includes dinner and breakfast, so stay tuned for that report! Naturally no 'Big 5', but apparently many elephants, hippos, crocs and the odd zebra sighting, so I can’t wait.