The last two days, I have had the pleasure of interacting with #PeaceCorps Director Carrie Hessler-Radelet who visited #PCMalawi in celebration of the #PeaceCorpsResponse program’s 20th anniversary. A good day is a day when you meet a new role model; thanks for the good days, Director Carrie!
Peace Corps Director Carrie Hessler-Radelet is in Malawi this week! Follow her trip on Twitter: @PeaceCorpsDir.
Did you know that soybeans are an affordable source of protein for rural families? This Peace Corps Volunteer trains his local community in Malawi on the nutritional benefits of growing soy.
Each day, Peace Corps Volunteers touch the lives of thousands of people worldwide. And together, Feed the Future and the Peace Corps are taking food security to the grassroots level in 43 countries, reaching rural farmers with tools and knowledge to grow a better future.
Cookie Monster told us that cookies are a “sometimes food”, and if you end up serving as a Community Health Specialist in Malawi, these sweet potato cookies will probably be a nice treat, sometimes.
The
zitenje market in Area 2 of Lilongwe can be hot and completely overwhelming,
but since I found my tailor and friend Louis, it has been much less of a
hassle, and more of a pleasurable, giddy exploration of fabric possibilities.
We first met when a tailor I had hired took my fabric and a deposit, stopped answering
my calls, and disappeared with no fabric or money in sight. I was so
disheartened that I didn’t even want to find another tailor, and felt angry at
every Malawian in the vicinity of the market. By chance, on the opposite side
of the market, I approached Louis because of his open face and smile. That day
was a blessing to me; after explaining what happened, not only did Louis get my
fabric back, but he completed the dress and took off the deposit I had given to
the other man so I paid only a little for his own work. He was my knight in
shining armor, when I really needed someone to stand up for me. Now we are good
friends and chat while watching the bustle of the zitenje market. Any design I
find on Google he has been able to adapt, and I have been sending PCV’s to his
stall because I believe in him as an individual and as a skilled tailor. It may
not seem like the makings for a favorite moment, but having a random stranger
support you is the kind of moment I hold on to.
With
aid from PCV Amy Burke I brought Pad Project to my local secondary school,
which is an intervention that teaches girls to hand sew re-usable sanitary
napkins and go through a reproductive health, hygiene and sanitation lesson. After
circulating the date and time of the intervention, (and that the capacity was
only 25 learners) I was astounded to see that over 40 girls showed up on Sunday
to make the pads, and I had to turn them away at the door for lack of
materials! It was a full two hours of girls talking about cultural myths, their
periods, shouting “menstruation” and creating something that will help them
stay in school without embarrassment during their monthlies. To say I was happy
and fulfilled after the session would be an understatement!
When I was just seven years old, my parents took me on my first international trip. Our destination: the west African nations of Ghana and Niger. The trip was a mix of business and pleasure for my parents, but was pure pleasure for my sister and me. Though much of that trip remains vague in my memory, one part has always been crystal clear: I will never forget arriving in Chikal, my father’s village during his Peace Corps service (Niger, 1982-84). From that instant, I knew I would one day serve as a PCV.
Flash forward to today. I am currently an Environment Volunteer serving in a small community in northwestern Malawi. I work with community members (primarily subsistence farmers) in various areas including food preservation and security, soil conservation, conservation agriculture, and income generating activities.
This past July, after serving in the Peace Corps for just over a year, my parents came to visit. There were the requisite “insider” tourist destinations (namely Nyika National Park) but the vast part of their visit was the week we spent at my site.
I had no idea how much my community (and my host country as a whole) meant to me until I began showing it off to my parents. We cooked over a fire, carried water from the borehole, ate nsima and relish (the national dish) with various friends, chatted endlessly, and smiled and laughed as I struggled to translate for both parties.
Perhaps even more important than giving my parents an insight into my life was giving them an insight into their future. They, both teachers for roughly 30 years, were ready for a dramatic change in their professional lives. And their social life. And their domestic life.
A
favorite moment I have had in service concentrates on a time when I was showing
friends around Lilongwe for the first time. As we gathered ourselves to set out
for the chitenje market, I realized how comfortable I had become walking around
the city, conversing with vendors and strangers on the street. I felt no
hesitation at accessing one of the rickety short-cut bridges that span the
river, was able to talk about general pricing and good spots to eat. It was a
type of revelation on how far I have become integrated in Malawi, and what a
cool opportunity I have to show others the bustling city through my eyes!
This round garden shelter is one of many idyllic #forest ‘mile markers’ that measure my runs. When my boundary route is this lush and beautiful it is not hard to jog for an hour. The sixty minutes without trouser-wearing-induced shame helps too! (: #run #malawi #pcmalawi #forestreserve
