Malawi, a Retrospective

As we were initially planning this time away, we didn’t set out to specifically visit Malawi. We wanted to get to see Lynn and Carol “in action” and so met with them to see how our schedule and theirs might line up. We realized that Malawi, among the many countries in which they work, was likely the best timing and so we put the country on our itinerary. At first we thought we might stay just for the pastor training course and then leave, or maybe add an extra day or two. Then we ordered a travel book — the only one we could find with Malawi…I think the 2016 Lonely Planet book that also included Mozambique and Zambia. Even though the section on Malawi was only about 30 pages in total, we realized quickly that this was a country we wanted to linger in as there was so much to see. And, so, we planned 2 weeks to explore southern Malawi.

When cyclone Freddy hit in March, just six or seven weeks before we were to be here, we decided to pivot and not come here as the news we were seeing in the states was terrible with stories of death, villages and roads washed out, crop loss (creating impending food shortages) and increased spread of cholera in already the worst outbreak in the world. After several days of discussion, we made contact with folks in Malawi to say that we were canceling, talked with our travel insurance, and started exploring other options for those two weeks. Then, overnight we got word that it would still be ok to go and really felt a sense of loss to not have Malawi on our itinerary. And so we pivoted back and kept our plans, which luckily hadn’t been officially canceled. I have thought about that decision so many times over these past weeks and I am so glad we decided to still come!

Malawi is certainly not “easy” travel, but it has been so fulfilling and we have seen so much. It is a very poor country — depending on the specific metrics or organization reporting, Malawi is consistently listed as one of the ten poorest countries in the world, per GNI. While the bigger towns have infrastructure and other amenities (stores, restaurants, etc.), the majority of the country lives in villages which have no electricity, water only from a communal pump, no paved roads. It is estimated that only 10% of Malawians have a full-time job that pays a regular salary or wage and is part of the taxed and formal economy. Another 20% or so have some kind of job that pays them wages, at least part time, but usually in cash and not necessarily reliable or consistent. The other 70% of Malawians work at a basic subsistence level and do not participate in the formal economy. This all means that life in towns is very different from life in villages and it means economic development country-wide is very slow. The legal minimum salary here (again, just for the 10% who have formal jobs) is the equivalent to $50 per month or $600 annually. According to our guide, $400 per month or $4800 annually would be the “very comfortable level” people strive to reach, but few can achieve this with one job, so it would take a good job plus another side hustle or two.

We have had an awesome tour guide on our trip, Kay — she planned everything for us, has driven us around, and also been an invaluable source of information. She is always up for answering any questions or discussing anything. Through our conversations in the car especially, we have learned about village life — everything from pregnancy and baby initiation to funeral practices and traditional dress. We discussed women’s roles in society, how marriage, divorce, and becoming a widow/widower works both in practice and legally. She’s shared stories about helping neighbors negotiate mental health crises and wanting to buy a donkey. Our trip has been so much richer because of her and she has helped us see much of the nuances and complexities of life in the developing world in the 21st century.

One day, while driving through a market, we could see just piles and piles of clearly discarded/unwanted US goods, especially clothing. She explained that these goods get shipped from the US and end up in aid stores. Then people can buy huge pallets of them and then they’ll go to the market to sell pieces individually. We generally have the view that just shipping a bunch of unwanted stuff from the US isn’t a great model for aid and development and so asked Kay about that. Her view was that, yes, it is problematic in some ways because it might put out of business a local tailor or something like that and it is actually pushing people to wear more western clothes and so traditional chitenge cloths are becoming more rare, losing that aspect of culture. But, it is helping enterprising individuals develop a side business selling the goods and is also providing accessible goods to villagers who might not otherwise have access. For instance, in her village on the lake, the fisherman now have access to quality warm weather gear which is crucial on their long, overnight trips, which they were not able to afford or even find before. So, like everything in life, especially global, cross-cultural life, it’s complicated.

As we have driven or walked through villages, we are often approached by the village children (and sometimes adults) asking for something. We clearly stand out here as muzungus (white people)! Kids often ask either for money or for bottles. These are often the only English words they know and sometimes it is clear they don’t even really understand what they are saying. Money is obvious; they ask for bottles to use as food storage or perhaps for a little side business of making juice that can be sold. While it seems like an easy thing to help these children and even heartless not to, it is also really problematic. If kids learn they can make money by chasing cars, they might put themselves at risk in the road and they will stop going to school. Again, this is a really complex and tricky question of aid and development and discerning when kindness and good intentions actually have bad consequences.

I am leaving Malawi with a heavy heart because we have so enjoyed our time here. Malawi, known as the "warm heart of Africa" embraced us with open arms, showed us her very best and most beautiful, and we leave just a bit of our hearts behind as we depart. This country certainly dazzled and surprised us and we will be forever grateful.