Malawi

The Boy Who Harnessed the Wind: Creating Currents of Electricity and Hope by William Kamkwamba

My rating: 5 of 5 stars

I am in Malawi right now and was pleased to stumble upon a copy of “The Boy Who Harnessed the Wind” at a friend’s house where I was staying in Lilongwe. I hadn't met William Kamkwamba, author of the book, yet, but did know that he had help writing his story. Before reading the book I was a bit concerned that his voice might not come through strongly and that it would be written in the polished English of a native speaker. As I began reading, I quickly started enjoying the sound of William's very Malawian voice coming through clearly. I enjoyed endearing English phrases you hear only in Malawi and the Chichewa words inserted throughout the text.

This is a story of resourcefullnes and ingenuity in the most desperate of circumstances. Malawi is indeed a poor country, but the story that doesn't get told often enough is how rich it is as well. There are many youth like William in Malawi who are bright, talented and creative. Unfortunately, more often than not, they don't have the opporutnity to realize their full potential. I am thrilled that William's story is being shared with the world and that he now finds himself with opportunities that will enable him to fulfill his dreams. My hope is that more of his counterparts will also find ways to see their own hopes become a reality.

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This blog continues our lessons on basic Chichewa for those interested in learning a bit of the primary Malawian language. Today, I am focusing on vocabulary words for people.  These are essentail to know as you work on your greetings and help you follow conversations by knowing who is the subejct.

People

• Amayi = Mother/Ma'am
• Bambo = Father/Sir
• Agogo = Grandma/Grandpa/Elderly person
• amfumu = Chief
• Achimwene = Brother
• Achemwali = Sister
• Adona = Madam
• Abwana = Sir/Boss
• Anyamata = boy
• Atsikana = Girl

Note: when talking about family it's not really necessary to know all of our extended family titles like cousin, brother-in-law, niece, etc.  In Malawi, nearly everyone is a brother or sister, mother or father.  For example, a friend and a cousin are both brothers to you.  Also, the older brother of your husband is often called a Father to you.  Your uncle is also your father.  An exception is that a youth might refer to a slightly older woman/friend as "auntie". Finally, any elderly person (male or female) is refered to as Agogo ("a" means respect) whether you are related to them or are just greeting them on the street.

Practice (read this conversation outloud three times!):

Gal: "Moni achimwene"
Guy: "Moni achemwali"
Gal: "Muli bwanji?"
Guy: "Ndili/Tili bwino, kaya inu?"
Gal: "Tili bwino"
Gal: "Zikomo"
Guy: "Zikomo"

"We are busy, busy with business. Busy as bees!" said the ladies at Luso la Manja with huge grins on their faces as they worked on their first Dsenyo order which they were awarded after successfully
finishing their training.  All of the groups we have worked with are expressing so much joy and gratitude for the opportunity to work in partnership with Dsenyo.  They not only get business from us and are
paid a fair wage for their labor, but they receive free training from Dsenyo which elevates their skills to the next level and empowers them with knowledge about product design and quality standards for an
export market.  As each day passes and as I spend more time training with our producer groups, I am more and more convinced than ever that Dsenyo's approach fills a much needed void.

I am traveling with Tamara Banda, a driven, talented and confident young business woman. With Dsenyo's support, Tamara has started KAFUTARO Import & Export. Dsenyo will contract with Tamara's business to provide services like coordinating between our different producer groups, managing quality control, delivering materials, collecting finished goods, and serving as translator during training sessions. In the past, Tamara was one of the leading female soccer referees in the Northern Region and a long distance runner for the Malawi Police College.

I'm here in Malawi for the month of March and promised I would keep all of you up to date on my blog. I resolved to blog for each leg of the trip:

1. Lilongwe
2. Kasungu
3. Mzuzu (Ekwendeni, Nkhata Bay)
4. Khande
5. Zambia
6. Tanzania 

Well, I'm already in Mzuzu, leaving tomorrow for Khande and feeling a bit behind on blogging. So here's a brief overview of my first few days in Malawi which I spent in Lilongwe getting settled and touching base with people in the capitol city.

As the year is coming to an end, I am wrapping up several things for Dsenyo and frantically working on laying the groundwork for big goals in 2010.  Here are some of those goals:

In 2010,  Dsenyo will...

• Help two Malawian women set up their own business, a sewing studio in Lilongwe
• Train and put three sewing cooperatives into production on some of our new designs
• Unveil our first "Made in Malawi" accessories
• Use artisan crafted fabric from Zambia and Tanzania
• Expand our wholesale business
• Donate $2,250 to community development projects in Malawi (One dollar goes a long way there!)
• Contribute to the creation and sustainability of jobs for over 30 women

We have taken our first steps towards getting Tamara and Vina set up to start their business in Lilongwe.  Dsenyo is paying for Tamara to take some computer classes to learn how to do email and basic word processing.  She is also registering her business with the Malawi government and looking for a space to rent.  My hope is that come, March, when I go to Malawi for 4-5 weeks, Tamara and Vina will have rented their space, built a large cutting table and recruited 4 tailors to work on a part-time basis.  With their sewing studio ready to go, Dsenyo will be their first and primary customer.  I will train them on industry standard techniques for cut and sew production of our accessories.  As they get experience with us, they will be prepared to expand their buisness and take on other customers.

I fell asleep to the sounds of African drumming and women singing all through the night. Didn't sleep much actually, which is fine, because I rested under my mosquito net, curled up on my reed mat, and loved hearing the sounds of the initiation ceremony in the background.  There is a primal and instinctual connection I feel to the people here.  I feel this especially on days like yesterday when I had the opportunity to dance with the village women as they began the ceremony initiating a young woman into motherhood.  I think about the history behind these traditions and how far reaching...

I have recently returned from seven weeks in Malawi (see map).  It blows my mind that I can somewhat seamlessly travel between what feels like two different worlds.  Operating in another culture is thrilling, inspiring and sometimes exhausting.  What keeps me going always is the wonderfully cheerful spirit of the Malawian people.

Although this article was pulished a few years ago, it brings up several issues relevant that are still valid today. Namely, that the local textile industry in Malawi has been threatened by the sale of second-hand clothing coming from places like the US and Europe.  Over that past 10 years many textile mills have closed with only one company remaining.  On the bright side, there has been talk about starting to grow organic cotton in Malawi through a partnership with Taiwan.  I will give you an update on this when I return from Malawi at the end of July.

I Am Because We Are is a 2008 documentary made by Madonna about the HIV/AIDS pandemic in Malawi. The film has some raw footage, but presents a balanced perspective on finding solutions to HIV/AIDS crisis.  Notable interviewees include Desmond M Tutu, President Bill Clinton, Prof. Jeffry Sachs, and Dr. Paul Farmer. You can watch is for free on www.hulu.com.