My time in the Chikolongo Village
My name is Jess and I had the absolute pleasure of volunteering with the Mlambe project in Chikolongo village in May 2017. Let me start by saying this will be a very honest account of my time in the village, no sugar-coating!
I definitely could not have asked for a more warm and humble welcome into the home of Stephen and Grace, her sisters- Stella and Georgina, and 3 of 4 children- Prince, Aubrey and the cutest button in the world, Evelyn. Our day usually started at 7am for a quick breakfast, then off to school, walking through the cornfields, greeting everyone Madzuka Bwanji along the way….
Chelsea and I made a rough timetable plan of everything we wanted to achieve and corresponded with Stephen, Geoffrey and Lucy when to fit everything in. On our agenda was data research for the Mlambe Project, involving interviewing the Experts and Teachers about the topics of Water, Health and Education and also a questionnaire at the local Health centre. We also ran a Sports Carnival, dubbed, The Mlambe Olympics, and also ran After School Care Clubs every Tuesday and Thursdays. We also took photos and created content for the Marketing team, and helped out by either pumping water, or food prep for dinner etc.
I also personally ran some First Aid Courses for 2 Mothers' Groups, the Teachers' group and the Experts, and ended up playing Nurse on a few occasions. I was also meant to run two first aid courses for the football team, but that never eventuated, because well, TIA (This is Africa)! We very much ran on our own time in the village, trying to fit in around the teachers and experts, and creating our own games for the After School Club.
My time spent in the village really opened my eyes to real poverty and what the lack of a good education can create. Many women in the village spend up to 5 hours each day pumping water and carrying it back to their homes, often on foot with no shoes in the searing sun, this is a part of everyday life here in Chikolongo. However in saying this, the children were some of the happiest I have ever seen, always with a massive smile on their faces, loving being in photos and laughing at their images afterwards. I am very lucky to have had such an amazing experience in the village and to meet all the children and see the progression of the building around the school. I have a much greater understanding of the way people live in rural Malawi and some of the struggles they face, and have come up with some ideas of my own that hopefully one day I can implement.
I definitely struggled with some aspects of the Malawian village life, for example, some friendly bed buddies in the form of little frogs and insects, people not taking their full course of Malaria medication (its only a three day course!- it baffles me as a Pharmacist!), their love of nsima (pounded corn starch made into an almost tasteless side to every meal), and a lot of girls dropping out of school to either enter Marriage or have to help around the house or take care of younger siblings. This is not the norm where I am from, but I guess this is what you call culture-shock!
However, everything else out-weighed the struggles 100 fold, and I have taken so many recipe ideas away from Grace, Stella and Georginas’ cooking, and loved every dinner they cooked for us, and even put on weight from all the amazingly delicious food, which was great being a vegetarian. Mustard leaves, Groundnut Curry, so many fresh vegetables, I have never eaten so well! The infamous Dinner at Geofferys house on Sunday night again was amazing. Annette, Geoffery's wife, could definitely win any contest on Master Chef!!
Prince and Aubrey and I would spend a few hours some nights taking long exposure photos of the clear Malawian night sky and even painted their names in the dark. Aubrey definitely could not contain his excitement, jumping up and down when we got a perfect shot. I wish I could pack Evelyn into my suitcase, she is the cutest, most curious little darling ever, and we would sing the alphabet and calendar songs and have tickling contests most nights. I will definitely cherish my time in the village forever, and I actually miss waking up to the sounds of the goats farting and their little goat fights and the chickens feeding and the piglets snorting away. The most beautiful time of the day was when I would have my bucket shower, looking out to the fading pink and orange sky at sunset, hearing the goats and piglets foraging about outside.
Hopefully one day I will be back in the village and I have definitely made a friend for life in Lucy, who lives in the village and showed us the Malawian way! I will be following all the progress of The Mlambe Project and I miss everyone so much there already. I have left the village so grateful for the life I have and the access I have to basic things like clean and safe water, electricity, medical care, internet and education just to name a few.
Zikomo,
Jess xx
Jess xx
