Escape from Chitipa!

I realise it’s been over two months since my last posting, which suggests that not very much has happened recently, and to some extent that’s true. Life in Chitipa has settled into a bit of a rhythm, but unfortunately not the kind of rhythm that it should be. Basically, although I was posted there to work with community-based organisations, despite my several attempts to get to the field, I was told that there were no resources to pay for the fuel, so I ended up doing office work and somehow time passed… In retrospect, and having talked things over with my VSO Programme Manager, I probably could have approached things differently, but there’s no point worrying about the past, and in a way, I needed time to get to know how things work at the Assembly. Now I have a bit of a plan to get things going when I return. Ah, yes, I should say that I’m writing this post from the UK, as I decided to take some time out to recharge my batteries and catch up with friends and family, as most of you already know. A lot of people looked very concerned when I said I was going home (particularly those in the VSO office) as they seem to be under the impression that I’m not coming back! As much as I need this break from Chitipa, there’s no way I could leave without achieving something and I’m determined to finish my placement, and maybe even extend for a few months if necessary.

Having said that I haven’t achieved much, I have had a project recently which has been a good introduction to the CBOs. A number of them had submitted funding proposals to the National AIDS Commission back in October, and it’s the job of the District Assembly to review these. I mobilised the Proposal Review Committee to meet in February, and we conducted the desk reviews. The next stage is the field appraisal, which of course presented a bit of a hurdle, given the lack of resources. I persuaded Kondwani, the Monitoring & Evaluation Officer, to drive the motorbike (sorry to disappoint you all, but I haven’t been driving it myself) and we managed to visit those CBOs within a reasonable distance (I think the furthest away was 40km), using my own money for fuel. Given the condition of the roads with the recent rains, the journeys were quite tiring, but it was great to finally meet the CBO members, and to get a better picture of what they’re doing. Most of them focus on providing care and support to orphans and other vulnerable children (OVCs), as well as people living with HIV & AIDS (PLWHA). This can be in the form of financial contributions and also material support, such as food, clothing, soap and other necessities. Some of the better-run (and probably better-funded) CBOs have impressive programmes including prevention activities, mobilising communities in several villages. Most of them, however, have not been funded for the last three years, so of course they’ve been restricted in what they are able to do. Some of them have income generating activities, such as rearing animals, to help towards self-sustainability.

Kameme NAPHAM (National Association of People living with HIV & AIDS in Malawi)

Kondwani and the bike!

Zambwe CBO

Twauka women's group

I don’t think I’ve really talked much about the DACC (District AIDS Coordinating Committee) in my previous posts, so I’ll explain it a bit here. Each district should have a DACC, which reports to the National AIDS Commission. The DACC is made up of representatives from various public sectors including the police, the hospital, the Labour Office and Youth Office, as well as representatives from NGOs and the private sector. There are also various subcommittees, most of which are inactive in Chitipa. As a voluntary committee, it’s quite difficult to mobilise and motivate people to attend the meetings, and you can’t hold any meeting in Malawi without offering at least a bottle of Fanta and a snack. In fact, the sure way to get people to come to meetings is to pay an allowance, but again due to the lack of resources at the Assembly, this has been tricky. As DACC, we’re supposed to meet once a month but that hasn’t happened. I tried organising a meeting for one of the subcommittees, but we had to cancel twice as only a handful of people showed up. And when people do show up, they’re usually at least one hour late, if not later. It seems to be a vicious circle, as people know others won’t be on time, so they come late themselves. It’s been an ongoing battle, with previous volunteers trying their best but it seems to be an unchangeable mindset!

So while work has been slow, I’ve been trying to find ways to occupy my time. I’ve taken up knitting, which all the women in Chitipa seem to know how to do. A nice lady who does the cleaning at the office has been teaching me how to make a cardigan, which is coming along nicely! I also bought myself a drum, and have been trying to find myself a teacher. I heard about some drummers at the Morovian church so I went along to meet them. I was really surprised to find that they actually have electric guitars (very old ones, but still!). Anyway, the drummers were very sweet and happy to teach me, but they weren’t very sure of how to teach… I’ve been for one session with them, and they taught me a few basic beats. Let’s see how far I manage to get with this!!

If you remember I mentioned a while back that my neighbour (now Imogen’s neighbour) was pregnant. Now she’s had the baby, a lovely little girl. I visited when she was just one day old and it was my very first time to hold a newborn :)

Tina and baby Songwani

Much as I was super-keen to get back to Chitipa when I was stuck in Lilongwe, the novelty of the place has worn off a bit, and it can feel a bit claustrophobic. It’s hard to get away because of the state of the road and there isn’t anywhere very exciting to go nearby (unlike the south of Malawi). I went along with Imogen one weekend because she decided to buy a car from a leaving volunteer and had to collect it from Mzuzu (the nearest city, which is 5-7 hours away, depending on how you travel). We ended up going to Nkhata Bay, on the lake, for two nights, which was a good break, although I was a bit overwhelmed by how touristy it was. Two other VSOs joined us there, Ling and Marianne, both of whom are doctors based in Rumphi. It was nice to see them again and catch up, since we don’t often get the chance. The main reason I wanted to go to Mzuzu was to stock up on groceries, things that aren’t available or are much more expensive in Chitipa, like juice, oats, chocolate and cheese. Sad story though: Imogen suddenly asked on the drive back if I’d remembered to get my cheese from the hostel fridge and of course I’d left it behind. I’d splashed out and spent the equivalent of £4 on this cheese, so you can imagine how upset I was!!!

I’m still going out now and then, although not as much as I used to. A new club opened up in Chitipa (yes, that’s what I said, a club!) and it was fun for the first few weekends, but lately it’s not been so busy and I feel quite self conscious dancing there as the only Mzungu (foreigner). Imogen doesn’t feel so comfortable going out in Chitipa, which I understand. As a doctor, she's dealing with people from all sections of society, many of whom wouldn‘t approve of her drinking. Not that people really approve of my drinking either, but I don't really care what people say about me. It’s impossible to live in Chitipa if you worry too much, because as Azungu we're constantly the subject of conversation and people will gossip about everything we do. I'm sure people think I have about 10 boyfriends because they've seen my male friends coming and going from my house, and the minute you’re seen talking to a man the stories will start! I’m sure people talk about Denis and Sparks too, but as men they can get away with a lot more. They also don’t have to deal with all the annoying men who fancy their chances, even if they have wives, girlfriends, or are old enough to be my father!

I had a party for my birthday, which ended up being more stressful than fun! Thankfully I had people to help with buying the beers and the meat, and Imogen very kindly offered to drive all the stuff to my house. It was quite upsetting because we had to buy a live goat, which was slaughtered at Denis’ house. I know many of you will be wondering why I, as a vegetarian, agreed to this, but a party isn’t a party without meat, so I had to compromise my principles. Marianne came up that weekend and brought decorations, which was sweet of her. And it was Kara’s birthday too. We’d miscalculated how many people would come, so there was way too much beer and people refused to leave, even when said I was tired and asked them to go, so the party carried on til past 4 a.m.

The birthday girls

Denis and Leo, starting the dancing early :)

Lighting the mbaula

Imogen taking her turn

Erm, what can I say?! Except that I met two of these guys for the first time that evening

Grace, Ida, Imogen, Marianne, me and Kara

Anyway, I think I’ve brought you all up to date! I’ll be returning to Malawi at the end of April and will probably take my time going back to Chitipa, and take the opportunity to visit a few other VSOs. Looking forward to seeing some of you very soon in Cambridge, London or Brussels!