Written by Aoife.
Find her on Instagram: @taebaglady
The International Monetary Fund ranks Malawi as the third poorest country in the World (2018). 50% of people live below the poverty line and 25% live in extreme poverty and the health organisation, Unaids, reports that there are one million people living with HIV in Malawi.
To be honest I thought I was off to a fairly bleak place, where customs and attitudes would feel alien and where I would look like one!
Instead, the whole experience just confirmed my view that all over the World people are basically the same. With the same drives to achieve, to care and to have fun! I did however make some small children and babies cry at the sight of me!
I was volunteering at Matandani Primary School, near the former capital, Zomba, in Southern Malawi. The volunteer programme was set up and is run by a really great Irish guy who has immense foresight and an incredible ability to get a job done. He’s called Andy.
If you're interested in experiencing it for yourself, the website has lots of practical information on joining the volunteer programme. It’s extremely flexible in terms of duration and volunteer input. It’s FREE but fundraising a donation is really appreciated. Your every cent, penny or button goes directly to the school. A quick glance at the website shows you some of what has already been achieved - new classrooms, solar-powered iPads with Malawi specific apps, teacher-training, eye-testing and corrective surgery for pupils with “club-foot”. If you are an educator or you just know some curious kids, the website is also packed with child-centred resources that detail the daily life of a child growing up in Malawi today.
In terms of my personal experience, a highlight of my volunteer day was the bicycle taxi - a regular bicycle with a padded passenger seat fashioned onto its metal baggage rack - to school every morning. A 7km ride through rural Malawi.
We passed through fields of maize, sugar cane and cassava, past small shops with a big trade in mobile phone credit, and past constructions of mud and straw that were homes to children who raced out to greet us with bright smiles.
Somehow it transported me right back to being a child in 80’s Ireland, hitching a lift on the back of my brother’s BMX. I got to meet again my child self. The one who was free and trusting. She has stayed with me since.
There are many things that could be considered the highlight of my stay in Malawi - the beautiful Satemwa Tea Estate where we were treated to tea-tasting, afternoon tea on a croquet lawn, a candle-lit dinner and fire-side charades, or the sight of the most majestic and brave elephants and grumpy looking hippos at Liwonde Safari Camp. For me, it was the three day hike to Mount Mulanje, Malawi’s highest peak. Our guide’s name was 'Vin Diesel'. It was actually Faniesel but we misheard! He gave me my favourite compliment ever “You move like a soldier!”
A teacher from the school, Max, joined us on the hike. Like most of the people I encountered in Malawi, he had the most beautiful, gentle and caring nature. He apologised profusely when I tripped over a stone (a rare, non-soldier moment!) - “Bad stone!”. That night though, I was shocked to learn that he, himself a teacher, had never seen or heard of a hot water bottle. In fact, travelling from his village to this mountain was something that most of his neighbours would never get to do. I was saddened that such an incredible experience was off-limits for those around me, living and working in the area.
The next night I found myself hiding in the outhouse from a hungry, or at least, very curious hyena! I was waiting outside while my new friend Claire used the “bathroom” but when I heard noises in the dark I had no choice but to burst in on her! We're now trauma-bonded for life after spending about 20 minutes there, listening to sound of this faceless creature’s heavy breathing and its scratching paws on the other side of the rickety wooden door. Max of course came to our rescue…eventually!
They say it’s about the journey not the destination but, when visiting Lake Malawi, it's about both! To begin my journey there, I sat down at a random spot on the side of the road with another new friend, a volunteer, and hoped for the best. Buses are not exactly regular. The trip takes about 6 hours on a good day but is full of encounters with interesting locals…and chickens, so the journey passes quickly. You may even get to hold a baby!
I had just finished my inner pep talk about how I couldn’t control when the bus would arrive but I could relax into the waiting experience, when just then, a shiny new, air-conditioned jeep pulled up. “Hey Sistas! Need a ride?!” We appraised the situation for a second, snapped a discreet shot of the licence plate to be sent to the volunteer whatsapp group and jumped in! They were two young Chinese men on business in Malawi. What type of “business”? They did not elaborate! They offered us some dubious looking “cake” and suggested we change our itinerary to join them on theirs. This was a little unsettling! However, when we got to the connecting bus, they didn’t just drop us off. They haggled with the driver on our behalf for the best fare. They haggled for at least five minutes “Too much, too much. Lower, lower.” Then we said goodbye. Business men they must have been. In hindsight, not the safest judgement call but another “see the best in people” positive experience to add to my now countless list!
On our final night in Malawi the teachers from Matandani Primary School joined us for a farewell barbeque. The speeches they made were among the most moving, articulate and sincere that I have ever witnessed.
This account has only skimmed the surface of my experiences and reflections on Malawi. Go and form your own!
Had an amazing solo travel experience you want to share with other women? Get in touch, we'd love to hear from you.
Comments