Malawi is a very Christian country. Malawians attend church regularly and have strong Christian values so it is not a surprise that Christmas is an important day in that country. In fact, it is so important that many begin preparing for the day as early as August.

As Christmas approaches families with some means, like Azikiwe’s, will prepare cakes or scones. They will buy soft drinks, rice, cookies and fresh fruit. A chicken will be slaughtered and rice will be prepared for a mid-day feast. On Christmas Eve families will attend a long church service, which may end around midnight. The following morning the family will return to church and then go home to enjoy the food that has been prepared. Families will welcome neighbours and friends to their home sharing with them some of their food.

Malawians like Azikiwe don’t generally buy gifts for each other but if finances permit, they will buy new clothing for one or more members of the family. This year Azikiwe plans to buy clothes for his two youngest children. In the package that is being sent to the girls I have included a few small gifts for the family to open on Christmas day.

The Itatu girls will celebrate Christmas in a similar way. They will attend church in their best clothing and then come home to food that has been prepared for them. In most cases this food will be a chicken and some rice or nsima. The people in the village will also prepare a drink called “thobwa” which is a sweet, thick drink made of millet. Families will visit friends and neighbours and share this drink. After visiting and eating the people of the village will gather at a football field to watch and participate in local dancing. As villages are generally close together people will wander from on village to another participating in the festivities.

I hope one day to be part of the Malawian Christmas celebration.

Merry Christmas to all of you.

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This year, my personal gift to my friends is a more frivolous one. I have decided that Azikiwe should buy a bicycle for his daughter Lusayo and for his grandson Innocent. The children are aged 5 and 7. I feel that they should have a bicycle and I’m very excited to see them use it when I visit in July.

It feels good to help a family that has given me so much.

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After looking at my Malawi photo album and having a brief discussion of how the lives of the Itatu girls differ from ours the children showed a whole new side. Hands flew up with ideas of how they could share their candy canes and toys. Kids were asking if we could bring in shoes, toys and some of their candy canes to be sent to Malawi. It was the first time I have seen this class show empathy and it was very touching to see.

‘Tis the season for generosity, even if one is 6 years old.

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As I listened to young Michel speak of his life as a youngster in Democratic Republic of Congo, I was moved by the fact that he did not have a childhood. At the age of 5 he was abducted by the rebel troops and made to attack villages and kill his peers. He was never granted the opportunity to experience joy, innocence and wonder.

L Gen Dallaire has dedicated his life to the eradication of child soldiers. He speaks of being haunted by the images of children carrying machetes and AK-47s, prepared to kill on command. During his time in Rwanda, Dallaire was faced with a question that no one should have to answer: Do we kill children who kill? Imagine, this is a question soldiers are increasingly forced to ask themselves. Dallaire argues that children are the current weapon of choice in wars around the world.

Obviously the stories I heard yesterday were heartbreaking. I did however take a moment to feel gratitude, not just for my own situation, but also for that of my girls in Malawi. Malawi is a peaceful country. At this time, people are allowed to express their views, girls can be educated and people of different tribes live together in an atmosphere of respect.

The girls in Malawi suffer great hardships which even I, who have spent many months with them, can not fully understand but at the very least they know that they are safe. They can play. They dance and sing and appreciate the simple pleasures in life. I will continue to work to make their lives better but I do realize that it is all relative as they are far more fortunate than their peers in other parts of the world.

As always, I am grateful to have been born in Canada.

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While HIV/AIDS is no longer a death sentence in Malawi it still greatly decreases one’s quality of life. There is still a stigma attached to the disease such that many will lie about the death of a loved one in order to avoid ridicule and shame.

While AIDS is on the decline in Malawi, down from 11% of the population to 5%, it is still a significant source of concern. Unfortunately the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, TB and Malaria has pulled its funding from many developing countries. This means that those in need of ARVs will likely have to begin to pay for them out of pocket. Given the lack of foreign currency in Malawi I feel it is unlikely that the government will be able to purchase the ARVs (antiretrovirals) from developed countries. This will mean a great shortage of the medication in the country. It is expected that 70 000 new cases will be reported next year.

One MP has suggest putting a tax on beer and using that money to fund HIV/AIDS treatment. Malawians do like their beer so perhaps this is not a bad suggestion.

As always, I feel grateful for my health and good fortune.

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Today was Mother’s Day in Malawi. Tomorrow workers will have a day off in honour of this holiday. Mothers in Malawi are by far the hardest working people I have ever known. Let me outline a typical day in the life of Florence, the wife of my good friend, Kalirani.

Both Florence and I are elementary school teachers but Florence is so much more. As I’ve mentioned in the past, elementary school teachers in Malawi all want to teach secondary school because the salary is at least triple. Florence is not unlike her elementary teaching peers.

A typical weekday for Florence begins at about 3:00am. Upon waking she spends 90 minutes studying for her secondary school equivalency tests. She is taking 6 night school classes to complete her final year of secondary school. After her morning study session, Florence starts a fire to heat water for cooking and bathing. She then begins to prepare breakfast for her husband who will rise at 6:00. Instead of sitting around waiting for the fire to heat the water Florence washes some of her family’s clothes. Finally she hangs the clothes on the line and takes her own bath. Once Kalirani is awake, he goes to church and she begins to prepare the food they will sell to the other teachers at lunch time. She leaves the house around 7:00, always cheerful and grateful to see another day.

Her school is a short walk down the road. She teaches grade 8 in a class of about 80 students. Like teachers here she is expected to complete a lot of redundant testing and assessments. Each child is to receive some sort of personal written evaluation each day.

Florence returns home at about 3pm, has a bit of lunch, which is by now cold. She then takes the clothes off the line and begins another load of washing. She might also have to carry a 50kg bag of maize to the local mill for grinding. She is fortunate enough to have a wheel barrow to transport the maize. The line at the mill is usually long and provides her some opportunity for socializing.

At 5:00 Florence goes over her notes for whichever class she is to attend that evening and by 6:00 she is gone, back to school. Each class is for one hour. Some nights she will attend 2 classes.

After her evening classes Florence returns home to eat a late dinner with her family. She is lucky to have boys at home who are very helpful in preparing food. When she arrives home she may just need to put the finishing touches on the meal.

After dinner Florence and Kalirani watch the news while she dozes in the chair. By 9:00 she admits defeat and heads off to bed.

On the weekends, Florence attends classes from 12 until 4. In the morning she may do her hair, attend to church business, visit an ailing neighbour or mend Kalirani’s clothes.

Florence works hard every day. She welcomed me into her home with no reservations and with an open heart and mind. This is a mother, like so many Malawian mothers, who deserves a day to be honoured and pampered.

Happy Mother’s Day to all Malawian mothers.

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Dear Ms. Douma

I would like to share half of the money I got for my birthday with the children of your orphanage. Would you please make sure this gets to them so that they can buy some things that they need? I got $200 from my friends and family so I want to give you $100.

Thank you for helping those kids.

Love,
CB (now 8 years old)

The boy gave me permission to share this letter in the hope that it might inspire other kids. I’m sure it will inspire many adults as well.

Thank you!!

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Last week I was joking with Azikiwe asking him if he plans to send 4 year old Innocent to school this year. He responded that his idea had been to send Innocent after his 5th birthday. I realized that he was not joking and told him that it would be unfair to send the boy to school in October, two months after his classmates had begun their school year. Azikiwe then said that he agreed and would speak to Innocent’s mother about sending him to school on Monday, four days from the time of our chat. Innocent had been attending nursery school in Ntcheu but since the move to Salima he had not attended any kind of school.

I expressed concern about such a young child being in a room with 100 other children, sitting on the floor and being made to listen and learn for an entire morning. There are no toys or even books in Malawian primary classrooms. There isn’t even furniture. I reminded Azikiwe of the fact that his own son, Leonard, was so young to be facing secondary school as a result of his starting school so early. I asked him why he was so eager for Innocent to repeat this trend. He didn’t really know but just thought it was for the best.

After some discussion Azikiwe admitted that his daughter prefers to send her son to school next year at age 5. I explained to him that grade one children in Toronto are 6 by the end of the year. Azikiwe then conceded that perhaps he could wait a year to send his grandson.

I found this conversation interesting. Every parent in Toronto knows the exact year that his or her child will begin grade one. The only real questions are whether or not the child will go to kindergarten and at which school. This relaxed attitude, the idea of giving the child 4 days notice before beginning such an important part of his life, seems so foreign to me. It really illustrates the lack of emphasis placed on education in Malawi.

The schools often have no electricity, running water or glass in the windows. Class sizes are often up to 100 children. If a teacher is absent, the children are left alone for the day. On a very rainy day a teacher may not show up for work. Teachers often have to wait for weeks after their pay date to receive their salaries. The working conditions are poor as are the learning conditions for students. I guess it makes sense that given these conditions people don’t really take education too seriously.

We should all be grateful for the education system that we have. Yes it’s flawed but we only need to look at the situation in Malawi to appreciate how lucky our teachers and students are here In Toronto.

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For a few years now Malawi has suffered from a lack of foreign currency. U.S. dollars are scarce in Malawi since the purchase of a private jet in 2009 by the president. For several months there were shortages of fuel that would last for a week or two at most. Although this was frustrating to most, it was a fact of life they came to accept. Recently though those fuel shortages have become more frequent and longer in duration. Weeks pass with filling stations displaying signs that say, “NO FUEL.” At first this is an ironic, almost comical sight but one quickly realizes the impact of the situation. This lack of fuel, caused by the country’s inability to pay for imports, has resulted in a newly imposed VAT (Value Added Tax) applied to many basic items. It has also resulted in a major increase int he cost of food and transport. Since I left Malawi in July of 2011, the cost of most items has gone up 50%. A loaf of bread that once cost 120 kwacha now costs 180. Sugar has gone from 3000 kwacha for 20kg to 3700 kwacha for the same amount. The cost of a round trip from Ntcheu to Lilongwe, once about 1500 kwacha is now close to 4000 kwacha. Those with a good income are complaining of the rising costs. Those with little or no income are suffering.

My friend recently lost his job as a driver for African Wilderness Safaris as a result of the fuel shortage. He has 4 children and a sick wife who depend on him for food, shelter and education.

The rising costs are not the only concern facing Malawians these days. It seems that their country is moving back to a time in which democracy was just a dream. The president recently expelled the British ambassador when a leak revealed that the politician had written in a memo that Bingu was “becoming ever more intolerant and autocratic.” This has strained relations with the UK, once Malawi’s biggest foreign donor. Doctors and hospitals are funded in large part by support from the British government. Presently hospitals are running out of medication and the UK has withdrawn its support. Germany and the US have also withdrawn much of their support.

The media in Malawi is now being censored. Those that report anti-government sentiments face punishment. Reporters are being fired as are members of parliament who speak their minds. One radio station who encouraged peaceful demonstrations by the people had two of its vehicles set afire. In nation-wide protests last month 19 people were killed.

Bingu has given his wife a job in the government. She receives a salary of 1 000 000 kwacha a month for doing the same job that was once done voluntarily as part of the VP’s portfolio. The president has refused to speak publicly about the issues facing his country. The only thing he has said is that those who choose to protest will be punished.

Malawi is relatively new to democracy, having been under a single party government until 1994. Some fear that Malawi is reverting back to the days of a dictatorship.

I feel helpless. There is nothing I can do to help those I care about. I worry about their health and their safety. What a terrible feeling.

On a positive note, my friends there still dance and sing and enjoy life. Their attitude is that they can not do much to change things so they should just accept what has been given to them. I wish I could adopt that attitude.

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Today was a very proud one for me. For the past few months I’ve been teaching my grade one class here in Toronto about the similarities and differences between their lives and those of the children in Malawi. We’ve read books, looked at photos, watched videos and explored artifacts from all over Africa. The children have done a lot of inquiry based learning about this topic which is so close to my heart. We looked at several aspects of life from food, shelter and clothing to toys, school and chores. I gradually noticed a class of 6 and 7 year olds who went from finding humour in the plight of an 8 year old girl with only one set of clothing to a group of children who began to note their own good fortune. Over the past few weeks I would often hear comments about how the kids in Africa would like to have this toy. Children even went as far as to insist that parents help them clean out their closets so that our girls could have more clothing. A few children even brought toys to share with the African girls.

Today, on the final day of school for the children, I was presented with a cheque for $200 from 8 families in my class. The children had obviously gone home and shared with their families that which they had learned. I was truly honoured that these families support my passion and appreciate the lessons I taught their children. Thank you to all of you and what a great feeling as a teacher to know that something I have said actually reached the children.

I am very proud.

Tags: itatu, jennifer douma, malawi, orphan care

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