October 10th scribbles

Well it’s blog time again. My service- as I view it, or a chance to learn chitumbuka language and teach it to Americans at a school for soon to be tourists- as the locals view it, is almost over. The longer I am here the less I hold firmly to the ideas of what I need(finacially and personally) when I return to the states, except for Taco Bell of course. I think that many of the things that i have bought in the past were because I had the money. I also feel that in looking back I spent alot of effort on things that gained me little as a person.

A villager who is roofing a building at our school shared some knowledge. He said “Americans live with cash while an African needs an axe and a hoe to get food. After he gets food he sleeps. He wakes up the next day and starts again.” This may seem simplified but maybe not. A Newsweek article on identity theft, which is theft of electronic information that helps others steal from us, shows just how important our financial identity is becoming. Also some of the unfortunate behavior of few trouble makers following the tragedy in the south is an indication of how tied to money some are.

I have respect for the self reliance of many people here. Grow what you need and trade or barter for others. Even when many become employed they still grow crops as a sort of savings. This is not to say that we should all stop working buy overalls and start farming but it does give and indication as to why some of the changes in the developed world are taking place. The rapid increase of the expectation of individual’s work at companies, the seemingly degrading family structure, and the continued shift towards self satisfaction may be tied to the needs and motivations of our life with money. It is hard to objectively view it being as tied to it as I am but being here has helped a bit. You could argue that life is better off in America but I would reference studies that say in the past 40 or so years happiness in America has not changed. Or all the exhaust fumes from the mini buses may be getting to my head.

Financially things ain’t smelling like roses here, the local currency depreciated 15% against the dollar in two months. Due to the poor financial responsibility of the previous government Malawi was not included in the G8 Debt Relief. As the hunger season (the season in which many did not produce enough crops for themselves for a varied number of reasons) approaches the base food maize, triples in price making it that much harder for those without to get.

On the other side of the sidewalk, or dirt walk, the new government is still working to remove corruption. They have fired many people from the government. These discarded politicians ran back to their old political parties and are trying to destroy the government. One newspaper article speaking about one such sack of manure (sorry Mom) had a half page photo of the said joker with a headline “how can he still have any supporters left”. These has been politicians are joined in an attempt to impeach the president by those who morn the loss of easy corruption. Keep it up Bingu. And yes we did teach the kids the “bingu was his name uu b-i-n-g…” song. The government has organized a “Feed the Nation” Fund where Malawians can contribute to help support those suffering from hunger. This is a good step as the people are trying to take care of their own.

In my village some awesome things are taking place. Each villager has been requested by the village chief to assist in molding 250 bricks using local mud. Which at a later time will be stacked and burned to make them stronger. These bricks will in turn be used by the village to make a maize mill, where grains are ground to make food, a kerosene pump, which will sell kerosene to people to use for lighting and cooking, and a new teachers house. Both the maize mill and kerosene pump should generate profits so that projects can be supported.

In our village there is an Orphan center that was set up to host a nursery school. Due to some problems there was no assistance being provided. After some prompting the committee hosted a meeting to discuss the problems. They have not only decided to open up the school but also start a community garden so that they can feed the children as well. All of this is driven from within. Even more significant is the 12th grade students are volunteering to teach at orphan nursery schools when they are finished writing their national placement exams, five of the centers were also inactive. In the area I live in there is none of the hunger that has been forecasted for the area and they seem to be headed in the right direction.

I took a six day vacation to visit some friends that stay in the far northern region. To get there, a distance of 100miles, it took three different vehicles each loaded with animals, fish and fine smelling people 7 hours to arrive. That is around ~15 mph average for those of you who are not math wizs. The region is similar to small mountain towns of Montana or Colorado around 100 years ago. Due to its proximity to Tanzania and Zambia and isolation from the main areas smuggling has become a sport. We saw one gent carrying a large box that contained a Sony boom box back with him from Tanzania. On the road he was on it was at least a three days walk including a crossing of the river in a dugout canoe. All this to save tax.

Most of the trip took place by bicycle once I arrived in the region. Small dirt trails and paths made for great fun. The region is a hodge podge of 11 languages and cultures in a relatively small area. At the same time the region now has cell phone service in the main center and soon will have Internet. Technology reaches so far these days. On my return from the region I was not able to get onto the trucks for one day because they were so overloaded. I am talking about pictures of trucks crossing Sahara with tons of people only having one foot inside the bed and stacks of personal goods 8 feet tall on top of the cab, just defying logic as to how it can stay together. Still a sissy at heart I guess.

SOAPBOX ahead, these views are not of the Peace Corps, Taco Bells, or my parents. While all of the recent storms rebuilding to repair damage takes place in America please keep in mind that there are many other events that in their magnitude alone are at least comparable.(There is no benefit in comparing statistics but I argue the situation seen in Katrina pales to what is taking place in Sudan) This is not to take anything away from the suffering of those in America but just a reminder that there are plenty places around the world that need our prayer and support. If anyone has had a chance to see Hotel Rwanda you can understand that there are many out there suffering unjustly. Take a look at Sudan, Zimbabwe, Burundi and the list goes on. And something else chapped my hide, when I read as Newsweek quoted one of the victims of the storm as saying “this is not a third world country” explaining how unjustly she suffered. If that is the approach to compartmentalizing suffering that it should come to no surprise that there are those around the world hate Americans. And it might also come as a surprise that those involved in the storm still had it better than millions in Africa. We as middle class Americans have a tremendous amount of influence around the world through our money and political opportunity. By recognizing what our actions are and the result of them on others it may help us to see the bigger picture. Writing to a politician is free, protesting takes only time, all of this will reach out to those in need whether in America or Malawi.

Just as an example take the unfair practice of subsidies. Subsidies are helping Americans while repressing Malawians, to the tune of $47 million per year. Thats more than the country of Malawi spends on Education and Health budgets. And it is more than the US gives in donations in most years. Opening up the trade markets is not a blind donation lost to politicians this is freeing up restrictive legislation to ensure that Americans do not suffer econimically. If this could be done in a manner that would not hurt others I would welcome it.
check this out http://www.oxfam.org.uk/press/releases/sugar080904.htm

Here are a few websites that you can use to follow news in Africa, and the world for that matter.
http://www.csmonitor.com/world/africa.html
http://www.worldbank.org/
http://www.cnn.com/WORLD


God bless everyone, Matt