Wednesday, June 30, 2004
The power of the church in Malawi
So, here is my story for you. My visa expires in 4 days... this is not fun news. I don't yet have all the required documents to apply for my Temporary Employment Permit, so I had to go to Mzuzu today to extend my visitor's visa for two more months. So I went to the Synod offices and met Rev. Nkhoma - the General Secretary for the Livingstonia Synod. Chatted with him for a bit - really nice guy. Then told him my problem. He essentially called the immigration office and told them we would be over in 5 minutes. He escorted me to the office. When we got there, he grabbed a random employee just standing around, handed him my passport and explained the situation. Within 10 minutes (of me sitting down - not waiting in any of the long queues), I was out of there with a lovely stamp on my passport that allows me to stay in the country legally until September! Pretty good.
Tuesday, June 29, 2004
More work
Now that I have been here for almost a month, work is slowly picking up. I am becoming more involved with the Soils, Food and Healthy Communities project. I am mainly working in the area of nutrition. Right now, we are developing a curriculum that nutrition clubs throughout the area can follow. It includes things like breastfeeding, complementary feeding, child care and coping with illness. A big obstacle in ensuring that children are fed well here is the unequal division of labour. Because women are responsible for so much, they don't have enough time to make sure that their kids are eating properly. How can we overcome this so that men become more involved in child care? What a huge question. I am for sure learning lots!
I also hope to get involved with the Ekwendeni Hospital AIDS Programme. There are various components to this project, including home-based care, and support for HIV/AIDS orphans. I am pretty interested in this, and PWS&D also helps to support this project.
It is truly amazing to see God working in such tangible ways on a daily basis.
I also hope to get involved with the Ekwendeni Hospital AIDS Programme. There are various components to this project, including home-based care, and support for HIV/AIDS orphans. I am pretty interested in this, and PWS&D also helps to support this project.
It is truly amazing to see God working in such tangible ways on a daily basis.
Monday, June 28, 2004
Moving Day
Yesterday’s big adventure was moving all of my stuff into a new house. I am house-sitting for three months while Shirley, a nurse from Ireland, is at home. Her house is the oldest on the mission station – built in 1902 or something. It is actually enormous, but has been split into two separate living spaces. Shirley’s half has two bedrooms, a lovely kitchen, a nice sitting room, a big front porch, and… get ready… running hot water! Hooray! I had a lovely, long bath yesterday… beautiful. I also have a cat, but I have yet to meet this creature. I actually only have it to myself for about a week; a medical student is coming to live with me for July, and then another Irish nurse for August and September. And then Shirley comes home in October, and I move somewhere else. There is another intern from Canada coming in October, so we will probably live together. Her name is Laura, so she must be lovely :).
Hope that you are all well. Don't forget to vote today - it's important! Exercise your right!
Hope that you are all well. Don't forget to vote today - it's important! Exercise your right!
Thursday, June 24, 2004
skirts
Sorry I haven't written recently... Work hasn't really been anything yet, so I don't have anything to report there. But be assured that I am still learning and growing! Malawi is already teaching me a lot.
But... the interesting news item of the week in Malawi has to do with skirts. When Banda, the dictator, was in power here, women were not allowed to wear pants. That was lifted when he left in 1994, but most Malawian women still don't wear pants. You really only see pants in the cities, and shorts only on the beaches. So... President Bingu, who was recently elected, said a few days ago that he was going to reinstate the pants law. Trouble. But then I saw someone - a Malawian - at work today wearing pants, and apparently the president has retracted his statement; women can wear whatever they want. I still don't think I'm going to wear pants, but pretty interesting that it's still an issue here.
But... the interesting news item of the week in Malawi has to do with skirts. When Banda, the dictator, was in power here, women were not allowed to wear pants. That was lifted when he left in 1994, but most Malawian women still don't wear pants. You really only see pants in the cities, and shorts only on the beaches. So... President Bingu, who was recently elected, said a few days ago that he was going to reinstate the pants law. Trouble. But then I saw someone - a Malawian - at work today wearing pants, and apparently the president has retracted his statement; women can wear whatever they want. I still don't think I'm going to wear pants, but pretty interesting that it's still an issue here.
Sunday, June 20, 2004
Harvest Thanksgiving
It is harvest time in Malawi right now, so this morning was like Thanksgiving at church. Except that many people who live in Ekwendeni are actually farmers... so they brought some of their harvest this morning to give as their offering. Lots of different things - maize, sweet potatoes, etc. Very cool.
Friday, June 18, 2004
"Lola"
An interesting thing about Tumbuka, the language spoken in northern Malawi, is that Ls and Rs are often switched around. So, I am now called Lola all the time, instead of Laura... It caught me off guard the first few times I was introduced to someone, but now I am getting used to it. This little characteristic makes a Malawian accent pretty hard to understand sometimes.
Thursday, June 17, 2004
Work
Well, it’s probably about time that I tell you about what I’m actually here to do. I am working in the Soils, Food, and Healthy Communities, which is part of the Church of Central Africa, Presbyterian’s Ekwendeni Hospital. The project has two specific aims – to increase soil fertility and to improve nutrition in the Ekwendeni area. It does this through the introduction of various legumes like pigeon peas, ground nuts (peanuts, to Canadians) and velvet beans to the local agricultural scene. During the past few days, I have been able to go into the field and see some of the fields of farmers who have gained from this project. While I am no agricultural expert, it is very cool to see how proud the farmers are of what they have accomplished. Their families are eating more nutritious food (not just nsima), they have food to sell at markets, and they don’t need to purchase fertilizer in order to produce a good crop. It is amazing to see true development at the grassroots level!
Tuesday, June 15, 2004
Tea time all the time
I am amazed by the amount of tea that is consumed here. Yes, it is one of the country's major exports, but still. Every time I go anywhere, do anything... people are drinking tea. Breakfast, mid-morning, lunch, before dinner, dinner, after dinner... I even found out today that tea is in the timetables of both teachers and students at Ekwendeni Girls Secondary School (right across the road from the hospital) - every day from 9:35 to 10 am. Mercy. That's a lot of tea.
Monday, June 14, 2004
Happy Freedom Day!
Today is a national holiday (celebrating the first democratic elections 10 years ago), so I didn't have to go to work. Instead, Helen, Munjire (the dog) and I hiked up a big hill called BwaBwa. We had 3 local boys as guides, and it was hard core. I'm not going to lie - I was pretty tired at the top. But the view was worth it. It was absolutely spectacular. Never have I seen anything so beautiful. Breathtaking. Under African Skies, by Paul Simon, has been in my head all day.
Sunday, June 13, 2004
churchy
So, today was my first African church experience. A little more lively than the church that I am used to... even more lively than Smokey Tom's (I know - hard to imagine). Many different choirs sang, and most of them were superb. The service was apparently short - just under two hours - and I had to introduce myself in front of the whole congregation because it was my first Sunday. Adventure. It was quite a nice service. This afternoon, Helen (in whose house I live) and I went into Mzuzu for some groceries, and now we are back for an evening of reading books in front of the fire. Tomorrow is a national holiday - Freedom Day - so it is sure to be full of some adventure on which I will try to report. Hope you are having fun!
Friday, June 11, 2004
Nsima
Well, today was my official initiation into Malawian food... I tried nsima. It's like cornmeal porridge. You take some in your hand, roll it into a ball and then dip it in a vegetable or meat sauce. It was good, but really filling. I am constantly amazed by how much food people eat here! My goodness.
Thursday, June 10, 2004
Hello from Malawi!
I have arrived... and internet access is pretty sketchy. I hope to keep updating the site as much as I can, but I'm not sure how often that will be. I also have a new email address, so contact me at laura.smith@utoronto.ca to be sure that I'll get it.
Malawi is beautiful! It is pretty cold right now (I am in a fleece sweater and still chilly), but it is still beautiful. I have had so many adventures already... I am going to try and write a nice long email this weekend. In the meantime, know that I am well and thinking of all of you. It is a lovely place, but it is not home. I miss you!
Malawi is beautiful! It is pretty cold right now (I am in a fleece sweater and still chilly), but it is still beautiful. I have had so many adventures already... I am going to try and write a nice long email this weekend. In the meantime, know that I am well and thinking of all of you. It is a lovely place, but it is not home. I miss you!
Saturday, June 05, 2004
Amsterdam!
I am here! Saying good-bye yesterday was pretty sad, but now I am in this lovely city where everyone rides bikes. Very cool. I have just visited Anne Frank House (where her family hid during WWII) and I am about to take a tour about the city on a boat. I have to be back at the airport by 5 for my LONG flight to Kenya, so just enough time to take in a gallery (I hope). Anyway, just wanted to check in to let you all know that I have survived the first leg of my weekend of flying. Hope you are well!
Friday, June 04, 2004
leaving on a jet plane
It's true - all of my bags are packed. Those of you who know me well will know that they have been packed for a few days :). My goodness - these suitcases are heavy. This would not be a one-trip portage. Even my carry-on is heavy. The last few days have been excellent - lots of time with family and Duncan. Today will be hard... but it is so exciting at the same time! I fly out of Toronto at 6:20 pm today, and then get to spend the day in Amsterdam tomorrow. I hope to see one or two museums and to take a boat ride around the canals of the city. Saturday night will be spent flying to Nairobi, Kenya, and then on to Lilongwe, Malawi via Lusaka, Zambia on Sunday morning. I am staying over night in Lilongwe on Sunday, and then driving to Ekwendeni on Monday. Exciting!
Thursday, June 03, 2004
a great commission
Last Sunday, 30 May, there was a little commissioning service for me in church. Rev. Heather did it, which is good... it would have been trouble had Mom or Dad been up there with me. It was really lovely - thank you, Heather. It is comforting and encouraging to know that I have the support of my church here at home even when I am far away. You can read the text of the service here.
