Malawi... arriving in to the country I thought to myself, this really looks like home with rolling green fields and trees dotted across the landscape. However, once I stepped off the plane, I knew it was a far cry from Ireland! It took me a couple of days to relax into the way of the Malawians. I know people tell you about culture shock, but I really was in shock at how friendly and open and talkative the locals were. Until you understand that they mean no harm, you realise that your own culture back home is too paranoid and closed off! Lilongwe is my base for the next three months. I am working for on behalf of Waverley Care with funding from the Scottish Government, to carry out HIV prevention and empowerment work with the prison minority group. I have linked up with two brilliant guys who work for a Scottish based charity- The Venture Trust, both of whom work here with the young offenders at Kachere prison. They provide a peer-mentoring programme around healthy living and life skills which I will feed into around the area of HIV for my short stint here.
Life in the last 12 days has gone from extreme panic and doubt on Day 1 to absolute happiness by day 6 and harmony right now on day 12. The people living here are so up for getting to know new people, and that has been brilliant for me as I came out here solo.
I think life here in Malawi is going to be an amazing experience for me, even with all the poverty and hardship you see every minute of the day, there is some sort of strange but beautiful calm and serene flip side to these people. Possibly because they haven't been ruined by the ideals of the Western world just yet..
There's a smell of that book I gave you off that last sentence!
ReplyDeleteBrilliant Dee. I enjoyed reading it. Thanks.
ReplyDeleteAlaa