Category — The Warm Heart of Africa

Malawi is called the “warm heart of Africa” for a reason: the people are so welcoming. The village we stayed in, Makupo, was instantly home. Everyone who lived there was family. After two days of travelling, we were exhausted, but being greeted with hugs from the villagers as we got out of the minibus refuelled our energy. The Education for All study group was ready to explore what would be our home for the next three weeks. We were eager to experience every thing we could in such a short time. What waited for us was more than we expected or were prepared for: village life, the Chilanga schools, the friendships, the interesting characters, the beautiful sunsets, the food… the list is endless. We had a couple of days to “rest” and then were off to work.

Our guides, Mercy, Kenny, and Francis were always ready to answer our questions. Since my personal project was to study the food, I decided to ask Mercy for help. Of course she was more than willing to answer all of my questions and do so in amazing detail. Mercy not only described how to prepare the foods they eat regularly but also showed me where they grew the things they needed in the village. She took me to the maize mill to see the many steps it takes to make maize flour and let me know I was always welcome to visit the women in their kitchen to observe exactly how they did it. I was able to see their staple food, nsima, prepared from the first step of drying the maize to then creating the flour. Finally she showed me the cooking process. There was no “just add water” to anything in Makupo, no North American convenience foods here. Mercy’s openness and willingness to help me understand made me feel comfortable and able to ask more questions and learn more.

The teachers and students of the schools were just as welcoming. Since we were divided up among the three Chilanga schools, I went to the secondary school with Cate, James, Cari, and Francis as our guide. The Headmaster had a meeting with us to determine what we would be doing for the three very short weeks we were there. He was more than happy to have us teach, observe, assist the teachers, or anything else we chose to do. The teachers were happy to have us in their classrooms and the students excited to ask us questions as well as answer ours. We were their guests and they were willing to teach us all that we wanted to know and learn as much as they could from us. The school’s acceptance of us made our job that much more enjoyable. We were all able to feel at ease for the work we were to do: the interviews we had to conduct, the observing in the classrooms, the helping teachers learn how to use the laptops we brought for their library, and so much more.

This was my first international travelling experience, and it was a huge one. It was my first time flying, and I was not scared. My first time on another continent, and I felt at ease. My first time completely immersed in a new culture, and I felt welcome. Of course, there were many things that I could not immediately absorb or understand, and may never entirely comprehend. This project opened my mind to so many new things, so many new people. I interviewed a teacher on his life history, learned about the food from the people, worked in a secondary school surrounded by students, travelled to different parts of the country meeting new people, and more. Everything that we did, that I experienced, involved the kindness of the people of Malawi.

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