Flooding

I have never really experienced what a rainy season means. When it rains in Sweden it can rain for days but it is rare that you get floods. But here the rain is pour down heavely and just after a few minutes you have small floods everywhere. So after few hours of heavy rain it will cause a lot of flooding.

In the past two weeks almost 180 people have died because of the floods and around 175 000 people have been displaced from their homes. It is especially the southern part of Malawi that is heavily affected. A problem is that Malawi doesn’t have enough rescue boars and helicopters to evacuate people. The government has appealed for help and have declared one third of the country to be a disaster zone.

The country's infrastructure is heavily affected with some roads and bridges washed away. This is also affecting the access to power and water. Almost the whole country is without power and water. The power is coming mainly from the rivers but with the floods a lot of branches and stuff is getting stuck in the machineries. 

Hopefully the heady rains will stop soon but unfortunately it doesn't look very promising at the moment...

Mangochi

Chilembwe day

Reverend John Chilembwe died 100 years ago. He was one of the most educated black African leaders at his time. He is known as a brave African nationalist who challenged Europeans when many viewed the whites as gods who could not be challenged. In 1897 he went to the United States with the missionary he was working for at that time. When coming back to Africa two years later he was ordained as a Baptist minister.

He preached the values of hard-work, self-respect ad self-help to his congregation. In 1912 he became more politically militant and openly voiced criticism over the state of African land rights in the Shire Highlands and of the conditions of labour tenants. 

At the tailor

There is this amazing thing that you can go to the tailor and have a dress specially made for your or a skirt or anything that you would like to have. Only your imagination sets the limit.

The Tailor

You buy preferable a chitenje which is a traditional cloth. Then you show a picture of what you would like to have and if you want any modifications. 

Women in chitenje

In a few days or a week the tailor is done. You can then try on what he has made and tell him on the spot if you want any adjustments. Hopefully you get what you asked for.

Dress

I ordered a dress and a skirt but the tailor mixed up the two different cloth I had given him. In the end I am happy with the result anyway.

Skirt

Condomize

The rate of people living with HIV/AIDS is around 10-15% in Malawi. There are approximately 68 000 people dying every year from HIV/AIDS. Each day around 250 people are infected. This is causing pressure on the health care though around 70% of the hospital beds are occupied by HIV/AIDS patients.

Female and male condomes in the office

In the office we have a HIV/AIDS policy and in the toilets you find both female and male condoms. When having bigger meetings it is also announced where you can find the condoms. Each vehicle have a first aid kit with condoms. The UNFPA has a campaign called Condomize where they are promoting the usage of condoms and trying to end the stigmatization by distributing condoms. It was promoted on the music festival I was attending some weeks ago.

Condomes in the office

Rain!

Yesterday evening the first rain came. It hasn’t been raining since April. I had the same feeling as when the first snow falls. You feel happy! Lately it has been very hot and sunny but now the weather has shifted totally. Today it has been cloudy and a bit colder and the air is fresh and humid.

Rain and wet soil

They say the rain season shouldn’t start already so I guess the hot weather will come back but for now it is a very nice feeling. Looking forward to see all the plants turning green again.

Lake of Stars – Malawi Arts Festival

For three days there were music and all kinds of cultural activities going on. Everything was taking place right on the beach on three different stages. Most musicians were from Malawi but also from other African countries and Europe.

Mafikizolo playing

It was an amazing event. Everything was great. It was not a single thing I didn’t like. Even if I could feel the tiredness getting closer the music and the dancing blow it away.  Sleep you can do some other day. The advantage with having a festival on a beach is that you can also enjoy the lake and swim!

The beach

Changing people’s life

Tonight was a special night. I was invited for a welcoming party for interns from Norway. They will work for a music organization called Music crossroads. The Norwegians were playing traditional Norwegian folk music and some other songs and then the Malawians were playing typical Malawian music. The welcoming of the Norwegians were really nice and you could feel the warmth of the people.

One touching moment was when the cleaning lady was brought up to the stage. It was a celebration for her though she has got a scholarship to study nursery. To take the step from being a cleaning lady to start studying is a huge thing to do. It is something very rare to see here. Everyone was very touched by this moment.