Lilongwe from home

This week I was finally able to get out of the office and head to the field. Some USAID officials were visiting projects and I got to tag along. So I thought I’d detail the projects and give you a better idea of how your tax money is being spent abroad. If you didn’t know, everything that USAID gives to poor countries is tagged with the motto, “From the American People”. And, at least in Malawi, people seem to recognize some of the good work that the US is doing.

The first project I visited is where I took the above picture. Everyone in the picture is infected with HIV/AIDS. USAID supports a consortium of organizations which does a lot of work with HIV/AIDS in Malawi – both treating victims and preventing the spread of the disease. Malawi has one of the highest rates of HIV/AIDS in the world, so this is one of the biggest programs we do. In this case the consortium, called I-LIFE, was distributing free cornmeal and pinto beans to 120 rural farmers infected with HIV/AIDS. I got a chance to interview a few of them after the project. As I was interviewing others jumped in and wanted to tell me how much they appreciated the grain and how important it was to them. One said the grain was 50% of the food their family eats in a month. Another said the grain would last three weeks. One lady said that she had 8 children and without the grain shipment she would not be able to feed them for the month.

I think the thing I noticed most about these victims of HIV is that they weren’t the emaciated faces with swollen bellies that you see on tv. They were relatively well-fed (for Malawians) and strong enough to carry 55 pound bags of grain on the tops of their head. I wondered if that really was thanks to the program of the US government. We picked this area because of its extra high HIV prevalence. So they were lucky enough to receive the rations of grain. But we only picked 8 out of 20+ districts in Malawi to give the extra food. So I wondered what the HIV victims in other district looked like. Maybe I’ll see them in the future.

The second project I saw was a hand-over ceremony for scientific equipment. It was at the Natural Resources College just outside of Lilongwe. This is one of the two main agricultural colleges in Malawi. USAID donated about $50,000 worth of mushroom spawning equipment. Yep, mushroom spawning equipment. You know, for spawning mushrooms…

The look on your face is the same one that was on my face when they told me why we were there. But it turns out that it’s actually very practical for small rural farmers. All across Malawi people are cutting down trees which they burn and turn into charcoal to be sold in cities or they simply use to cook their meals. They do this because it’s the only way to make money during the “Hungry Season” – the part of the year in between harvests when no more money is coming into the home. To prevent continued degradation of forest land donors are trying to come up with new income sources for rural Malawians. And one of the most profitable new sources of income, strangely enough, is mushroom farming (no, not those kind of mushrooms). As I learned, mushrooms can be grown in bags inside small houses (like the one pictured below) that act as humidifiers. The great part is that mushroom plants continue to grow and produce mushrooms providing a steady source of income for almost no work (which is great for HIV victims who tend to have very little energy). The thing is that you have to have quality spores (basically seeds) to buy. But thus far Malawi hasn’t been able to produce quality spores. Thus the US government donated the machinery to produce mushroom spores, which then go to produce a sustainable source of income for some of the poorest and vulnerable Malawians. Very interesting stuff I’d say.


Beyond that getting out on the road afforded me the opportunity to notice a few more things about Malawi, such as:

-It’s very common for men to walk around with machetes in Malawi (something I got used to seeing in Central America), but it’s just as common to see people walking around Malawi with big stalks of sugar cane. They peal away the bark and gnaw on the sugar inside. Cheap snack.

-At the HIV site I noticed that when the audience applauded, they did so in synchronized fashion. It was really impressive. There was no cue for them. It was just that when it was time to applaud they all found the same beat at the same time. Then I was told what they were doing when a guy got up and asked them not to clap like that. As my interpreter told me, the synchronized clapping is reserved for chiefs and special guests (me). But the unsynchronized clapping that we’re used to hearing is how they clap normally.

-There’s a main highway in Malawi called the M1. It turns out that it’s really just a road with one lane going in each direction and no shoulder. And while you’re driving the M1, just like any other road in Malawi, you must keep a weather eye for obstacles such as goats, kids, bikes with incredible loads (see next bullet), and slow cars with way too many people in them for safety. There is never a relaxing moment for drivers in Malawi.

-One of the most noticeable things about traveling around Malawi is the role that bikes play in life. Bikes have really turned into the beasts of burden for Malawians. Each bike has a platform behind the seat for carrying loads such as: firewood literally piled 7 feet high which must weigh easily over one hundred pounds, sugar cane also stacked high, 40 gallon barrels, boxes of vegetables going to and from market, pots and pans, men riding behind and women riding side-saddle, goats, chickens, sides of beef, and 55 pound bags of USAID-stamped grain rations. And this is just in my first two weeks.

-Another interesting thing I noticed about Malawi is that I have only seen one woman riding a bike. But women are carrying just as many loads as men. Unfortunately for them, they carry their loads on their heads. I saw these two older women carrying 8 foot long bundles of limbs three feet in diameter. When I asked some Malawians about this they didn’t really know why women don’t use bikes. They said it wasn’t taboo or anything, it’s just something that women don’t do. One guy told me “Men come from very far, women, however, only travel a short distance”. I guess.

-Another fun fact about my life in Malawi is that the house I’m staying at doesn’t have satellite tv, instead it has The Armed Forces Network – the same programming offered to the military. The most interesting thing about AFN is that they don’t have any commercials. But since there are still breaks in shows they have to fill, they have produced public service announcements for all the military folks watching around the world. These are fun and very patriotic. For instance, they tell us that it’s no longer legal to bring back treasures from wars, the difference between general vs. special powers of attorney, how to get citizenship for your new wife, be sure to check your tire pressure, obey local laws, the history of the military, the origin of simper fi, and my favorite – Be sure to vote in November!! The Republicans need you!!!