5 August 2010- a chat

So as usual I was sitting around waiting for transport from one place to another. I am on my way to CampGlow in the south and had a stop over in NkhataBay to meet with a district official regarding a grant. Anyways, so I was sitting outside of the administration office waiting to proceed to Mzuzu and an older gentleman struck up a conversation, this is his story:

He comes from Mzimba District which is just to the West of Nkhata Bay. He was a teacher for 20 years at the secondary level in Chitipa (the most Northern district). Now he works for the Nkhata Bay District Educational Office as assistant to the DEO (District Education Officer). He says that he in the paper pushing instead of practical work he used to do. So now he has worked for 34 years and seems no where near retirement. A jolly guy who cited Mahatma Ghandi "We are not a civilized people until we do common things in an uncommon manner" and told stories of the funny things he'd heard kids say "I want to grow up and be a madam for a profession". He, infact, is talking of compiling a book after he gets his eyes worked on which have become bad with years of reading and study.

He told me stories about the history of his name which means 'confused' as there was inter family marriage without the people knowing as there was a surname change and a return to the home village of his ancestors. From then on his family was given the name and while it was year ago it has stuck. He also told me about the word 'boma' which to us means any trading center. For the longest time I thought it was just another Chutumbuka or Chichewa word. But in reality it means "British Oversees Military Association" which was established in city areas to dispel information to the rural areas. Now it is used commonly without the acronym connotations and no one is the wiser (except this gentleman of course).

He finished our conversation by telling me about his step-son who was jailed under suspicion of conspiring murder. The background here I did not ask for, but he spoke of visiting the boy weekly and starting Catholic prayer groups as a way to give back. The way he put it is, "as my son did wrong I needed to do something to better my family with the world". Now he is not allowed to carry on the project, however, as he met several prisoners who were being withheld their ARVs and fought for them to the Mzimba District authorities. Of this I don't know the validity, but I can say that I have never heard a good thing said about the penal system in Malawi.

This is just one character of many who I've met, but one who is doing something for himself and his people. He is not written anywhere as a hero or known with any high regards. But, he's led a good life and done what he always thought appropriate. I am happy to have met him, and possibly even slightly changed by the encounter. That is the beauty of people, you never know when one will come along and show you their amazing story.

August 15, 2010-CampGlow

I'm Gonna STAND… I'm Gonna SOAR… We are WOMEN… Hear us ROAR

This past week I was a counselor at a women's empowerment camp in Mponela, Malawi. We had 82 girls from around the country, 7 Malawian counselors, 7 Peace Corps counselors, 4 facilitators, and rotating teachers and speakers throughout the week. Each day had a different theme centered on things that girls should stand for. I'm gonna stand for … Monday-myself, Tuesday-my body, Wednesday- my heritage, Thursday-my Malawi, Friday- my choices, Saturday- my Future. We had guest speakers including: Catherine Gotani (Deputy Minister of Gender, Child, and Community Development), Joyce Banda (Vice President of Malawi), and representatives from the Minister of Education, Malawi Youth Council, Nation Bank of Malawi, etc… In addition, other Peace Corps volunteers filtered through to give lessons in areas of their particular expertise.

Needless to say it was an extremely full week, but amazing and empowering for the campers and myself. We had one girl speak openly about her positive HIV status, girls wrote songs and speeches about their empowerment and rights, one girl got a scholarship to study in Scotland, another girl got connection to an NGO to speak at her school about protecting themselves against low-moral teachers, and all the girls learned how to be assertive in a country where very few women have such a quality. It was amazing as I was taking them through the bus depot to return home they said, "I'm standing for my choice and it's my choice to not ride with you," to the mini bus drivers hassling them. I know that what they learned this week will forever be with them.

Personally, I ran around like a crazy person most of the time make crafts, organizing the campers, helping the facilitators (four volunteers from me group) to whatever capacity they needed, and rolling my ankle at one point dancing 'gule' around a fire at night. Little sleep was had, too much coffee was drunk, and I'm not sure how the time went so quickly; kind of sad it's over actually. I left with a new vigor for my work and service which makes me eager to return to site and get back into my projects. In addition, I brought two girls from my community who I hope to see doing amazing things upon their return. It was so powerful, I don't think this blog or any words I could speak would really do it justice actually, just know that in a country where women are seen as less; it is life changing to everyone there to be involved in the GLOW experience.