The best way to imagine life as someone else is to step into their shoes and journey with them.
Imagine yourself as a child.
Your name is Kondwani. A typical 8 year old boy who loves to do what boys do. Play with your friends and be all rough and tumble. You love to play sports and your favourite pastime is making whistles and motorcycles out of river clay. Knee deep in mud of course. You go every morning to the Care Point to eat your favourite meal of nsima and play with your buddies. You love the Care Point because you know the care workers and teachers love you and try their best to care for you. They also gave you your favourite blanket. Well actually your only blanket.
But behind a set of beautiful brown eyes, you are hiding a lifetime of struggles and challenges. You have no mommy and daddy - they aren't alive. They died when you were a baby. You now are being raised by your grandma, but she can't play with you the same way a mommy or daddy can because she is sad and life has been hard for her. You live with her, your older sister, four cousins, and an auntie all in a tiny mud hut. But the mud hut isn't even your real home. It's your neighbour's because your own home was destroyed by a storm a few months ago. You were in your own home when the storm came. You remember when the wind ripped off the roof and the rain made the walls fall down. You cried and were very afraid. You had no place to sleep, but then your neighbour said you could stay at their house. You don't know how Granny is going to fix it but she says she will find a way to. But she says the crops aren't doing well. You shouldn't have to worry about not having enough food but you know that it makes Granny worry, and you can't help but feel scared. You don't want to tell her that, though, because you have to be strong for her. Your shirt has lots of big holes in it and almost falls right off and you don't have any shoes so sometimes your feet hurt when you step on sharp things in the fields. But you already know that Granny doesn't have any money to buy you a new shirt or shoes.
Yet you walk home from the Care Point with a brave smile on your face. Every day. Because you know that you are loved. And you also don't know any different.
This is Kondwani*:
Here he is with two of his buddies. How great is his smile?!
This is the Care Point where he gets a hot meal every day - usually nsima and beans.
This building is where Kondwani attends school and eats his hot meal. It is a community school that is run by teachers who are a part of the Care Point.
And the big open field is the best for playing sports.
Kondwani is one of 150 vulnerable children and orphans that attend the Care Point in Maonde, Malawi. Here each child receives the 3 Essential Services Hands has set in place - food, education, and healthcare.
Kondwani's story is one of the many I heard during my time spent in this community last week. It is so difficult to listen to these stories, but such an incredible privilege I had to be able to hear his story from his grandma while visiting his home.
I was so blessed to have been able to stay in Kondwani's community with Charlotte for a few days. We stayed with Butwell, who is the field coordinator here in Malawi and lives with his family in Maonde. He has such a lovely family and we both enjoyed our time with them. Pictured below is his family - with a few neighbour kids who wanted to join the picture :)
*Names are changed
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I suppose I should mention a bit of why I'm in Malawi. After my intake finished the 5 week orientation, we were all given a placement where we would serve in one of the Service Centres in Africa. Some people went to Zambia, some to Zimbabwe, others stayed in South Africa, and I was placed in Malawi with Charlotte (a volunteer from England.)
Here's us proudly sporting our new chitenges :)
Charlotte and I are basically two peas in a pod now since doing community stays together makes you lose all boundaries. So does being together 24/7. And getting lost on the streets in our town Dedza. And riding motorcycle taxis decently while wearing long skirts in the rain. And going on mosquito hunts before hiding from them under our nets. And eating unbeknownst things with a straight face. And having several dizzy bouts per day from our malaria meds. We can now finish each other's sentences, read each other's minds, and look at each other and know what kind of chocolate and tea each other needs at the end of a long day. Good thing we've gotten along since Day 1.
But in all seriousness, this month spent in our placements are set aside for each of us to learn more about the Service Centres and build relationships with the team members there. It's a special time of personal growth and developing a deeper understanding of Hands. We also are getting several opportunities to visit and stay in the different communities the Service Centre works in through Hands. So far it's been an incredible journey. It's been so encouraging to see the amount of love the care workers have for the children here, particularly with the male care workers. It's so different than what I've experienced in South Africa where there are no male care workers.
It's been so special to begin to build relationships with the Service Centre team as well. Royie (Service Centre Coordinator) heads up the team with his beautiful wife Violet, who acts as Care Worker Support. There is also Butwell as Care Worker Support, Ivy as Bookkeeper, and Symon as Project Support. These are all people who live in the surrounding areas and have stepped up to the challenge of serving the most vulnerable within their own communities. It is an honour and great privilege to be walking alongside them.
As for Malawi - I can agree wholeheartedly that it is the warm heart of Africa! Where else in the world can you buy airtime and be asked by the cashier if she can be your friend? Or where else can you walk home from market and strike up several conversations along the way with strangers who express an interest in you? Or buy produce from the market and make a new friend with the person selling it to you? Ahh I'm in love with this country and these people. They are so genuine. And the landscape is stunning - from the mountains to the colourful wild flowers to the green fields filled with maize - it's incredible.
There's a part of my heart that will always remain here.
Despite the challenges.
It's not exactly easy being away from home. It can be exhausting trying to interpret broken English. It's terrifying laying in bed in community when you are listening to a drunk man saunter around outside on the street singing at the top of his lungs only a few metres away from where you're laying. Its heartbreaking seeing kids having to stay home from school because they can't afford the tuition of 100MK (equal to 27 cents) per semester - just to mention one of the vulnerabilities the children face. It's difficult living at the Service Centre when there is literally no break to enjoy some peace and quiet. And the things I'd do for a homemade chocolate chip cookie with a glass of cold milk... :)
But I wouldn't trade a second of precious time spent here.
-heather
