does africa know a song of me?

Yesterday, I had the opportunity to visit three biogas plants being operated in an area just south of Mzuzu called Lusangazi.  I went with Mr. Sichinga, who is an agricultural engineer working with the Livingstonia Synod's Relief and Development Department.

What happens is that people collect cow manure, mix it with water, and allow it to sit in an underground tank for 40 days.  During this time, "biogas" that can be used to power stoves, lights and other things like this rises to the top of the tank, and goes through a pipe - straight into a kitchen stove (or lights, etc.).  The manure that is left over goes into another holding tank (not underground) and can still be used to fertilize crops.  And, by this point, it doesn't smell at all!  No flies or anything.  Cool, eh?  If the person maintaining the plant feeds it a little every day, there is a consistent supply of usable biogas.

One of the issues that this project is working with right now is figuring out a way to bottle the gas.  These plants are a huge investment of time, money and other resources, and right now they are only being used by one household each.  The three plants produce enough gas to service a lot more people; there is just no way to get the gas to the community.  By bottling the gas, Mr. Sichinga and the villages involved will be able to ensure that the whole community is benefitting from the plants.

Last Thursday (the 16th, I think), I went out with my friend Grace to see some of the work that the hospital's malaria project is doing.  Malaria is still a pretty big deal here - comparable to HIV/AIDS.  Sleeping under a mosquito net is one of the best ways to prevent transmission.  Through Grace's project, people are able to purchase bed nets at a subsidized cost through village committees.  These committees also educate villagers about malaria, how to prevent it and how to use the bed nets properly.  When I asked some of the villagers (through Grace - my chiTumbuka is not that good!) as to whether or not they had seen a difference in their community since the introduction of the Malaria Control Programme, they answered, "Chomene, chomene chomene!" ("very much" - I didn't need a translator for that.)  It is very cool to see villagers working to deal with issues in their own communities, and to see them being successful as well; I think the message means a lot more when it is coming from peers as opposed to hospital staff or other outsiders.

Picture this... you are lying in bed at camp/in a tent/at the cottage and a mosquito starts buzzing around your head.  Has to be one of the most annoying things in the whole world, right?  You can't see to kill it, but you can't let it continue to drive you crazy because it's buzzing right in your ear and you won't get any sleep.  So, you get out of bed and turn on the light, and the mosquito flies to the light and you can't reach it to kill it anymore.  You turn out the light, get back into bed, and the cycle starts all over again.  Brutal.

Mosquito nets are honestly a gift from God... they are helping me to get back at all of those Muskoka mosquitos who have tormented me for years.  They are also saving my life from malaria, but that knowledge is not nearly as rewarding as lying in bed, hearing the mosquito buzzing around you, and knowing that there is no possible way it can get in your ear or bite you.

Take that, mosquitoes.  Victory is mine.