80% of the Malawian population live in the rural areas (2010)
where they are completely off the grid with no electricity and water. Luckily
boreholes have been constructed but people must walk and carry water to their
homes which is often uncomfortably far away.
In the first few weeks in Malawi I experienced the rural life
of which I am now used to. People enjoyed what they had: constantly joked &
laughed about their friends or what planes were going over ahead even though
they had never stepped in one. My new family and I were situated 7km from the
airport and I tell you now it was still much quieter than the 10km from the
airport from Heathrow to the small town of Virginia Water where I was brought
up. Virginia Water was definitely a small town and not a village as I compared
it to my village called Sam’s Village in Chigonthi. Mteza school, opposite Sam’s
village has a school of 1000 pupils and 7 teachers. It does have electricity
so this is classed as one of the better schools in the rural districts! The
village has a U.S. aid milk factory, tea rooms, several general grocery stores,
a grain mill powered by a generator, a few street chips stores, a small market
selling fresh veg grown in the surrounding fields and a goat hung up on a tree
(fresh meat butchers!). From the one main country road in Chigonthi suburbs
sprawl and house around 200 people in total.
Even though it is considerably small right through the center
there is a main road (dusty bumpy path for almost 2 cars) that feeds traffic from
the North M1 road from Lilongwe to the North West region, Dowa District. The
road transports tobacco, maize and other items that people sell at the local
market using lorries or ox and carts. There are a few cars but generally
millions of bicycles that cycle into Lilongwe fully loaded with goods to sell
in town. Between the village and
Lilongwe town lies Kanengo which is where all the tobacco is auctioned for some
money. People prefer to grow the cash crop tobacco as maize and other staple
foods don’t sell for as much money. Although people need a license to grow tobacco
so the government controls how much profit people can make. 80% of Malawian
citizens work in agriculture.
Village life was full of celebrations: 5 funerals
and 7 weddings in one week. It was the dry season but still this completely
reiterated how fast life was here. The average life expectancy here is the age
of 55.
Whatever age, the water borehole is a special place where
everyone congregates. Small kids will carry full buckets of water on their head
to their homes. People will clean themselves, get water to drink or fill buckets. The ladies sometimes entertain themselves with song and dance,
moving in full swing on the hips. The foot stepping dwindles back and forth. Some dances seem simple enough, they
love teaching me their traditional dances.
I remember one weekend I stepped out of the village and went
to a BBQ which was full of expats and generally quite strange so from then on I
decided to stay in the village for the next 3 months. Village life was great
but certain culture clashes were noted. After a few months I started spending
more time in town. It took me a while to get used to the changes, people with
lots of money, the drinking culture and ease of a house with electricity, taps
and gas. Now I am familiar with both rural and urban settings and my
personality suits me to jump in and out of both areas. The rural area is
energetic and refreshing after a long weekend in town and vice versa. Town is a
place I can have my own personal space after the hectic week of work. I have made both of these areas my home.
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