Thomas O'Hare's work in Malawi with 'Naturally Africa Volunteers'
"After I finished my degree at Exeter University, I knew I wanted to do some volunteer work. At this stage I had no Idea what I wanted to do, or where, so I got on the internet and looked around. I found a new charity, Naturally Africa Volunteers, which runs medical and educational projects in Malawi. As I read up about the charity and Malawi as a whole, it soon became apparent this was the choice for me. Malawi is nicknamed “the Warm heart of Africa”, this is because of the friendly, laid back nature of the people. Malawi is one of the poorest countries in the world, with infant mortality rates close 20%, with 12% of the population diagnosed with HIV or AIDs, as well as suffering with very high malaria rates due to the lake.
I set
off from Heathrow and, after a stopover in Nairobi, arrived at Llilongwe
International Airport a mere 26 hours later. We were picked up by a minibus
whose best days were definitely behind her, and started the 5 hour drive
through the mountains to the remote village of Nkope. It was one of the most beautiful
and terrifying drives of my life. As I
was to learn over the next three months,
this was the norm for driving in Malawi. It was late when we arrived at the
lodge we would call home for the next 3months, where we had a quick supper of Nsima,
a maize flour sort of thick pancake that is definitely an acquired taste, and a
tomato stew.
The next day was an orientation and then straight into the
volunteering. I was to start by teaching
English and maths to the Standard 5 class, which in the Malawian school system
meant 75 children between the ages of 8 and 16. On my second day in the class
without another teacher, and still reeling from culture shock and rather tired
(I wasn’t used to the 6 O’clock rise yet) I was more than a little alarmed when
one of the older boys walked into the classroom waving a Machete! I was later
informed that on Fridays the children help clean the school, and some of the
older boys bring in machetes to clear the bush around the playground. In the afternoons
I would either give extra reading lessons in the library or run an afternoon
sports club either in the village or with the children from the school, though I
could hardly keep up: three years of student living had left me in no shape to
keep pace with the kids, let alone the village football team in deep sand and
the Malawian mid afternoon sun. We also ran health clinics and small projects
within the community, like teaching hand washing classes, which seems so simple
but is massively important, as dysentery is endemic, and can be fatal.
What struck me most about my time in Malawi was the amazing friendliness and positivity of the people. This gave me a whole new perspective on life. In Malawi you have some the poorest people in the world, but there is not the overt suffering I had been expecting; but rather a determination and joy. The children fish and play in the lake after school, breaking out into dance at the sound of a drum, or music coming from the village bar. Another amazing thing about Malawi is the sharing; all the food you have is shared equally amongst everyone is who is around. Working in the nursery one morning and seeing the a three year old taking a bite of her mango, then passing it around the circle for everyone to have a bite was heart warming. It was the same when giving a boy outside a supermarket in Mangochi, a city two hours away, the last piece of my chocolate bar; instead of eating, it he took it to his four friends and they each had a tiny bite. These are people with so little yet they give so much. Meanwhile, here in the western world, we take things for granted, like clean water, and are concerned about what we have, not what we can give.
Malawi is about 85% Christian; on Wednesday mornings at school, Mass was sung in the local language, Chichewa. I have never been in a place with more exuberant energy than when 800 children sung their hearts out. It was honestly a privilege to live and work with these people, I went to teach and I learnt."
- Thomas O'Hare (H08)