Ana, kompyuta ndipo police roadblock – Kids, computers and police roadblocks

3 May 2018

As I told you in my last post, I’ve spent a lot of time preparing and writing in my first weeks here. The goal was to make the entry into the project easier for future volunteers, so they can start directly with their work. So I’ve written various guidelines recently, such as the guide for the computer class.

This week I could finally kick-off the computer class and it is a lot of fun! The women are very keen and happy to learn something new.
Apart from the computer course, another project just started – the childcare project. Maybe some might think: „Children? I thought Taste of Malawi was about women?“ And that’s true, but in discussions with the team, we came up with the idea to support the women’s children as well. Of course, the kids shelter is about fun in the first place, but at the same time it is about supporting the children on their way into future and thus doing sustainable work. We’ve planned various topics such as health, nutrition and career choices. At the same time they will be taught English in a playful way. So they can reflect themselves and their future and at the same time they are supported beyond school.

As usually, planning a project is quite different from its actual implementation. The plan was to take care of children aged six to nine, as they already go to school at this age and speak a little English. But it turned out that the women tend to have younger children who came to the kids shelter this week. The communication was a bit difficult, but we still had a lot of fun together. Although the topics can not be carried out as planned, the children’s glowing eyes when painting and playing together was priceless and I’m looking forward to the next times!

Another project that should start in the next few days is redecorating the rooms. We want to make everything friendly and even more comfortable. I am really looking forward to this project, because I can use my creativity and create something that will last for a longer period.

Fun fact: Actually only ten people are allowed to sit in one mini bus. But why stop at ten, when you can fit more than that in a bus (for example 21 people and a chicken)? So most of the time you’re really cramped when riding a bus. Just one question left: What happens in case of a police control?
Easy as that: Somebody gets out of the car, walks past the roadblock and gets back in. Alternatively a few Kwacha bills can change hands.