Category — Cari

Cari Clough has been working in The Learning Centre at Vanier since 2005.  A graduate of Vanier herself, she loves working with students.  Also a writer of grant proposals, Cari became involved in the development of the International Education office in 2007.  She was beyond thrilled to partake in the 2009 study trip to Malawi, a life-changing adventure!

Coming of age in the 1980s, I developed a certain perception of Africa.  In the media, it was only ever discussed within the contexts of drought, famine, apartheid, violence.  Africa became a mythic place for me: so tragic, so distant, so intangible and surreal.   As I got older, the information I took in worked to confirm the image I grew up with of Africa as a catastrophic land so desperate to be saved by the rich west, yet somehow beyond repair.  This perception was informed by a western, Euro-centric viewpoint and I was very eager to land on African soil and discover it for myself; to find out what the African perception of Africa is.

After being in transit for three long days, we arrived at the place that would be our home for the next three and a half weeks: Makupo village in rural Malawi.  Never in my life have I received such a warm welcoming!  The moment we stepped out of the vehicles, we were greeted by a group of children and teenagers who gave us big hugs and with whom we instantly bonded.

The villagers did everything to make us feel at home, and this was key to our smooth integration into a totally different way of life.   Having always lived in busy cities, the need to readjust my pace to that of quieter village life was a welcome change.  For me, two specific aspects of village life stood out and made this experience all-the-more unique.  First, the absence of distractions like television and internet meant that we interacted with one another more and had amazing conversations that might not have taken place had everyone been isolated at a computer.  Second, unlike how life often is here, in Malawi we weren’t constantly dictated by the clock; daily life was more about going with the flow than about trying to control the flow and fit it into a tidy schedule.

In addition to these general observations, life in Malawi – specifically Makupo Village – offered new experiences due to the physical and living conditions.  Most of the inhabitants of Makupo are related to one another, meaning that not only does everyone know his/her neighbours, but they’re all family!  Cousins grow up together like brothers and sisters, and there is the sense that “home” is not just one’s house, but the entire village.  Because family members live in such close proximity, one gets the impression that they are much closer than North American families.  The family in Makupo depends on the land for sustenance and survival; thus, it’s like the villagers are all integral members of a team: they work together to get the most out of the land, and then to transform the earth’s riches into consumable goods.  This yields a sense of family unity that transcends what most Westerners experience within their family lives.  In other respects, however, Malawians also appear to be less emotionally intimate with family members.  Their culture is rather conservative, which means that people often maintain decorum at the expense of concealing their thoughts and feelings.  Coming from a place where closeness is directly linked to how open one is with others (as well as coming from a family full of nosey people!), this struck me as something of a paradox.  I found it striking that the family members in Makupo spend a great deal of time together working, cooking, cleaning, raising children, singing and dancing, yet the conversation generally remains polite and unobtrusive.

Differences in lifestyles and conventions, however, did not mean that we were fish out of water; after all, weren’t these differences what we came to experience?  How disappointing would it have been to land in Malawi only to find that life there is just as it is in Canada?  Indeed, discovering Malawian culture was a major drive for me.  In addition to living in the village, one of the best ways in which we immersed ourselves into our surroundings was by working at the nearby schools.  This not only allowed us to experience the daily life of Malawian students and teachers, but it also gave us a sense of purpose and belonging.

I was stationed at the Chilanga Community Day Secondary School (CDSS) along with Cathy, Jen and James.  Being at this school was an extraordinary experience.  In Malawi, secondary education is not free; thus, many (too many) leave school for good when they are done primary school (or earlier).  The fact that education is not accessible to all tends to mean that those who are in secondary school consider themselves to be very fortunate and have a great respect for learning.  It struck me early on in our work at the CDSS that if had been born in Malawi, it is highly likely that I would have never gone beyond primary school, or that perhaps I would have never received an education at.  This has to do with coming from a none-too-rich working class background, as well as being female.

Unfortunately, as with the rest of the world, males and females are held to different standards in Malawi.  While education is perhaps one of the areas most affected, disparities between the value placed on males and females also greatly impact division of labour (both within the home and the larger social context), as well as most aspects of life.  In terms of education, if a family can only afford to send one child to school (note that while primary education is theoretically free, there are still costs involved, such as supplies and uniforms), they are much more likely to send their son than daughter.  The heart-breaking assumption is that an education might be wasted on a girl, since she will likely have children at a young age, and thus never “need” an education.  Viewing education from this perspective was quite an eye-opener and helped me empathize with the students at CDSS, as well as those not lucky enough to be there.

The school’s infrastructure was also alarming.  There is an urgent need for renovations and more space.  With a total of 464 students and only four classrooms (one for each level), 100 to 140 students are crammed into poorly-lit classrooms on the verge of dilapidation.  The classroom for the form 1 students has no desks or chairs; students have to sit on the floor from 7:30 a.m. to 2:50 p.m. with an hour lunch break and two short recess periods.  (Nonetheless, the classroom was packed every day with students eager to learn.)  Furthermore, there is a shortage of materials, meaning students do not each get a textbook; they must share two – three, sometimes even four, to a book.  Teachers also have to make do with the limited supply of teaching aids and employ creative tactics in the classroom.  In short, there is a general, overarching presence of poverty at Chilanga CDSS.  Considering this, it might not be easy for someone used to Vanier standards to view CDSS students as “lucky.”  But they are, and the reason for this is also the thing CDSS and Vanier students most have in common: they have goals and education is the gateway to realizing their aspirations.

While I witnessed poverty and the need to improve both living and learning conditions, I have not taken away from this trip an image of Malawians as sad, desperate and needy.  In fact, the contrary was true.  The majority of people we met were happy, friendly, magnanimous, resourceful, bright and funny.   There is such a brimming-over of these amazing, positive qualities that I have been greatly enriched by my time spent with the people I met.  Many lessons were learnt and, as cliché as it might sound, I came back a changed person.

Above all, this trip changed the view of Africa that had been cultivated in me since my youth.  I did not see a land full of victims in need of saving.  I saw a population of hopeful, capable people who are still standing strong despite centuries of abuse at the hands of other continents.  While I was in Malawi, the “Africa” I grew up with felt very far away; this had to do with being far removed from western culture and its (mis)representations.  As I wrote in my Malawi journal during my visit, “The Africa myth perpetuated in western popular culture and media is a representation of a reality, but walking around here, my sense is that the perspective of that representation was not informed by actual Africans.”

The things I’ll remember most and forever cherish about my time in Malawi are, first and foremost, getting to know the people; developing a new appreciation of the access to water, to education, and to health services we have in Canada; learning that some things are just not worth stressing about; basking in the presence of so much sky, the breath-taking sunsets, and the absolute plethora of stars in the sky at night; and, happily, adopting a new and improved perception of Africa.

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