Here in Toronto the candidates for the positions of Executive Officer have access to their members. They can email, visit schools, make phone calls and hold information meetings. They pay for printing of their own flyers and are responsible for distributing them using our inter-office courier. Flyers are printed in colour and black and white depending on the candidate’s personal preference and budget. Here in Toronto we have 14 executive officers representing 11,000 teachers. These officers are supported by volunteers in schools and in families of schools. They have the difficult job of constantly defending our collective agreement, clarifying our rights and supporting teachers through a variety of challenges including allegations of abuse, teacher performance appraisals and transfer procedures.

In Malawi, things are a bit different. No candidate would ever consider flyers or emails during their campaign. Few teachers in Malawi have access to a computer, let alone email. The mail system is unreliable and printing costs are outrageous. I once had snapshots printed at a cost of 75 cents each. Candidates would not think of calling their members as calls cost up to 30 cents a minute when the network is actually working. Many teachers live in areas with no cellular network. Travel within Malawi is becoming increasingly more expensive. Members can not attend meetings as it would cost some, a month’s salary to get to the meeting.

In Malawi 14 officers are elected to represent 66,000 teachers. These officers are faced with the challenging tasks of fighting for teachers’ rights. They have no collective agreement. The government has refused to implement such a binding contract, instead they work on good faith. Last year the Teacher’s Union of Malawi (TUM) was faced with the challenge of ensuring that all teachers were paid on time. Those teachers without bank accounts and even many with accounts, were made to wait up to 6 weeks for their monthly pay cheques. This happened for several months in a row. TUM also fought and won the battle to get a remote living allowance for those teachers living in the most rural areas of Malawi. Also, a battle was waged to get electricity in the houses of primary school teachers. I believe that battle has not yet been won.

Here in Ontario teachers are placed on a salary grid depending on their years of experience and education. As of now, teachers can easily move to the top of the grid by taking courses at their own expense. Each year of service, up to 10 years results in a teacher moving up the grid to a slightly higher wage. Teachers make a good salary and do not need to hold a second job in order to make ends meet. During my 14 years as a teacher I’ve received a small pay raise each year as part of our negotiated contract to address the increase in cost of living.

In Malawi, teachers are placed on a similar grid using similar grid. Their education and experience is counted to place them appropriately. Malawian teachers can move up the pay grid by applying foa promotion. They must only apply after being at a stage for a minimum of 4 years. If their application is accepted they can attend an interview and explain why they are a valuable member of the profession who deserves a pay increase. Few teachers are granted interviews, so a 5th year teacher may compete against a 12th year teacher for the same promotion. Malawians, like Canadians, are given a cost of living increase each year. Sadly, their increase amounts to an increase of approximately 75 cents a year.

I’ve written often of the differences in the working conditions here and in Malawi. Our schools here have electricity and glass in the windows. Our students are provided with supplies, textbooks and desks. Our schools are cleaned by professionals. We have gymnasiums, musical instruments, computers, libraries full of current and relevant materials, access to resources and time to prepare lessons. Our class sizes are manageable. None of this exists in Malawi. With classes of up to 120 students with one teacher, no furniture in classrooms, no resources for teachers and libraries of English books written in the 1950s donated from churches in the western world it is a wonder Malawians ever choose to be teachers.

I think we are very lucky to work in the environment in which we do. We need to fight for the rights we have earned so that ours can continue to be hailed as a strong and valid system.

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According to the constitution of Malawi, which has only been a democracy since 1994, in the event of the presidnet’s death, the Vice-President is to assume his duties and fulfill the term. Unfortunately, Malawi has undergone some political unrest in these past few years. Although the late Bingue wa Mutharika won the election as part of a team that included Joyce Banda as his running mate, the two had a falling out two years ago. The dispute between the two leaders resulted in the VP being stripped of her membership in the ruling DPP party. Many of her rights and privileges were removed but she remained in her elected post as VP. She formed her own party and carried out her duties to the best of her ability.

In the mean time, Mutharika, knowing the constitution did not allow him to run for a third consecutive term in office, was advocating that his brother, a cabinet minister, should be the next president. Many Malawians have become disallusioned with the ruling DPP party as a result of fuel, food and foreign currency shortages over the past few years. Few would look favourably upon another Mutharika as leader.

It seems that the delay in announcing the President’s death last week was in part due to the fact that the government was in meetings trying to change to constitution to allow the deceased’s brother to take power. The Law Society of Malawi, along with Human Rights Watch, put pressure on the government to say that if they followed through with this plan the result would surely be civil unrest.

On Saturday afternoon, Malawi’s first female president was sworn in. Joyce Banda has been a strong advocate of women’s rights. Malawians have great hope that she will restore Malawi’s relationship with donor countries and begin to facilitate the political freedoms that were slowing slipping away. It is also hoped that she can rectify the shortages that have caused this tiny country to suffer greatly in these past few years. She definitely has a big job ahead but the transition was peaceful and by all accounts will remain so.

This is definitely an exciting time to be “in” Malawi.

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CCB National Office 20 James St. Suite 100, Ottawa, ON K2P 0T6, Canada. Make the cheque payable to them with Itatu Orphan Care in the memo line.

Itatu helps girls aged 9 to 12 in the Central Region of Malawi. We provide meals, school uniforms and school supplies to these girls who are either orphaned or abandoned and are living in extreme poverty. Malawi is a developing country among the poorest in the world. The best hope for a bright futture for these girls is an education. In order to be well educated, the children need to have a nutritious diet to sustain them.

Thank you everyone.

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All this football talk has Azikiwe excited. Earlier this week we were talking about a Premier League game held a few days agon in England during which a cat wandered on to the pitch. It was on the news here and everyone found it cute and amusing. Everyone, except Africans that is. According to Azikiwe if a cat had wandered onto a pitch during a game in Malawi the game would instantly be called to a stop and officials would begin investigating. A cat on the field must surely mean black magic is at play and someone must be trying to alter the results of the play.

At the end of most football tournaments players will exchange jerseys with players from other teams. This is a long-standing tradition int he football world. In Malawi, if players exchanged jerseys they’d be punished and possibly removed from the team for behaving so carelessly with their uniforms. This would be seen (rightly so) as waste and as such Malawians are not permitted to partake of this tradition.

I find Malawi a fascinating place.

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Malawi is a country of about 13 000 000 in Central Africa. It is bordered by Zambia, Mozambique and Tanzania. Malawi was a British colony but they peacefully gained their independence in 1964. From 1964 to 1994 the country was ruled by a dictator by the name of Kumuzu Banda. Finally, Malawi moved to a system of multiparty elections and democracy was recognized. Malawians are actively involved in their local politics and can often be found listening to radio broadcasts of parliamentary sessions.

Presently Malawi is struggling to maintain the peace they have always enjoyed. The current president Bingu wa Mutharika, elected in 2004, has made decisions that have left both Malawians and outsiders frustrated. Mutharika is becoming increasingly less tolerant of criticism, going so far as to dismiss the British ambassador in 2011 for a comment the ambassador made about Bingu’s growing lack of tolerence for opposing ideas. Under pressure from outside donors Bingu has recently patched relations with the British. The majority of Malawi’s foreign aid comes from Britain. All doctors and medicine are provided by money from British assistance.

During the 1990s Malawi was hit hard by AIDS. Though the stigma of the disease has lessened many, in the village are still hesitant to learn about it or even to treat it. This results in a high rate of orphans being raised by older siblings, grandparents and/or extended family.

Itatu was established in 2008 to provide food, clothes and school supplies for children who have been orphaned and cannot attend school regularly. The current manadate of Itatu is that the children should be girls between the ages of 8 and 12 years old. The girls must attend school regularly and in return they receive breakfast and lunch daily. Once a year they are given new school uniforms, school supplies and exam fees. We try to provide sponsorships for girls once they are ready to attend secondary school.

Our girls all come from the village of Chitungu in the district of Ntcheu. I will provide more details about specific costs related to caring for these girls in a later post.

Thank you to those of you who speak to me about what I write or who write to me. I appreciate your feedback.

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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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