We traveled to the Sakata region near the city of Zomba in the morning along a very rough road for about an hour and a half. We actually stayed at an agricultural center near the villages, but since I didn't get to see much of it until the second day, I won't focus on that now. We dropped off our bags and headed straight to Kanuple, where a health clinic had been built during the last two years. There we would meet with many villagers as we distributed chicks that had been donated through Villages in Partnership.
the clinic, and Zomba Plateau in the distance
Actually, the clinic was pretty sweet. There was classroom space as well as a room for health workers to come run clinics, examining patients and giving out basic medication and supplies like soap. Tree of the day: mango tree. You can see one small one right at the corner of the clinic building, but the site of the clinic is very close to a pair of much larger mango trees, under which many villagers and leaders met with the people from the Allentown Presbyterian Church in 2008, which lead to the formation of Villages in Partnership, which lead to the building of this clinic and many other projects that we'd visit in the coming days. Actually, a few of my teammates had helped make the mud bricks that became part of the clinic. I was thrilled to see such a major accomplishment, but it was especially exciting for them to see.
Most of this trip was focused on meeting with people and talking about the issues they were facing, not necessarily doing the labor and leaving tangible change. The goal was to show the villagers that we are not just some blind benefactors far away, but we truly care about their progress and want to work with them to accomplish the things that they think are most important.
Liz, our leader, talking with some of the village women with Violet's help
Helping us communicate was Violet, the furthest right in the picture above. When I met her, I immediately liked her. She's really spunky and sweet. However, I struggled to have conversation with her for most of the first day because I could not for the life of me place how old she was. Was she in school? Was she married? Was she a mother? I didn't want to ask questions that might come off as offensive or stupid. Late in the day, I learned that she is 20, and has a 3 year old daughter. Violet didn't finish secondary school, presumably because she got married and had a baby. However, she dreams of completing secondary school and going to college to become a nurse.
Bob, the president of VIP, handing off one of the chicks
After the chick ceremony, we toured some of the farmland in Sakata. Our visit was during the end of the dry season, which is usually when the food starts running out from the previous harvest. One of the reasons for the shortage of food is the shortening of the growing season due to climate change. They just can't grow as much as they need. Another reason is because of the lack of irrigation infrastructure.
Above are some small plots that are constructed this way to help reduce erosion when irrigated-- this has been made possible by negotiating a little bit of waterfront land and connected a series of long hoses to the manual water pump picture below! It is basically like a Stairmaster, and once it gets going, it's really quite easy. I imagine pumping water loses its novelty quickly, but it's easy enough for people to take turns, and makes a huge difference in their ability to grow more food for more of the year.
It was easy enough for the smaller boy to work steadily on his own. I think the bigger boy just jumped on to help when he saw all of the cameras out!
We visited with a man (pictured above) who received a goat from VIP, based on his neighbors decision that his family was at risk. He is a pastor in his village (Roben), and he and his wife are sending their two children to school, plus two other children who were orphaned who they've taken in, plus another child or two besides whose father is not in the picture for whatever reason. Pastor Sewula's goat was pregnant, and he gave the kid to another family in need. In talking with him, he seemed very dedicated to the concept of paying it forward. His goat is pregnant again. Not sure what that says about the goat, but it is good news for the villages, who see goats as security.
It actually rained at the end of our time with Pastor Sewula, which is absurd because it's the dry season. However, it was warm and gentle, so it was not a bad thing. The VIP team walked back to our vehicles with probably two dozen children following us. They were excited to hold our hands and walk with us. Unable to communicate with the little kids who haven't learned much, if any, English yet, I just acted silly, taking large steps or jumping or skipping and dragging them with me. This brought so much laughter, which was more than adequate means of communication.
sunset over Zomba Plateau, through the rain clouds
the clinic, and Zomba Plateau in the distance
Actually, the clinic was pretty sweet. There was classroom space as well as a room for health workers to come run clinics, examining patients and giving out basic medication and supplies like soap. Tree of the day: mango tree. You can see one small one right at the corner of the clinic building, but the site of the clinic is very close to a pair of much larger mango trees, under which many villagers and leaders met with the people from the Allentown Presbyterian Church in 2008, which lead to the formation of Villages in Partnership, which lead to the building of this clinic and many other projects that we'd visit in the coming days. Actually, a few of my teammates had helped make the mud bricks that became part of the clinic. I was thrilled to see such a major accomplishment, but it was especially exciting for them to see.
Most of this trip was focused on meeting with people and talking about the issues they were facing, not necessarily doing the labor and leaving tangible change. The goal was to show the villagers that we are not just some blind benefactors far away, but we truly care about their progress and want to work with them to accomplish the things that they think are most important.
Liz, our leader, talking with some of the village women with Violet's help
Helping us communicate was Violet, the furthest right in the picture above. When I met her, I immediately liked her. She's really spunky and sweet. However, I struggled to have conversation with her for most of the first day because I could not for the life of me place how old she was. Was she in school? Was she married? Was she a mother? I didn't want to ask questions that might come off as offensive or stupid. Late in the day, I learned that she is 20, and has a 3 year old daughter. Violet didn't finish secondary school, presumably because she got married and had a baby. However, she dreams of completing secondary school and going to college to become a nurse.
Bob, the president of VIP, handing off one of the chicks
After the chick ceremony, we toured some of the farmland in Sakata. Our visit was during the end of the dry season, which is usually when the food starts running out from the previous harvest. One of the reasons for the shortage of food is the shortening of the growing season due to climate change. They just can't grow as much as they need. Another reason is because of the lack of irrigation infrastructure.
Above are some small plots that are constructed this way to help reduce erosion when irrigated-- this has been made possible by negotiating a little bit of waterfront land and connected a series of long hoses to the manual water pump picture below! It is basically like a Stairmaster, and once it gets going, it's really quite easy. I imagine pumping water loses its novelty quickly, but it's easy enough for people to take turns, and makes a huge difference in their ability to grow more food for more of the year.
It was easy enough for the smaller boy to work steadily on his own. I think the bigger boy just jumped on to help when he saw all of the cameras out!
We visited with a man (pictured above) who received a goat from VIP, based on his neighbors decision that his family was at risk. He is a pastor in his village (Roben), and he and his wife are sending their two children to school, plus two other children who were orphaned who they've taken in, plus another child or two besides whose father is not in the picture for whatever reason. Pastor Sewula's goat was pregnant, and he gave the kid to another family in need. In talking with him, he seemed very dedicated to the concept of paying it forward. His goat is pregnant again. Not sure what that says about the goat, but it is good news for the villages, who see goats as security.
It actually rained at the end of our time with Pastor Sewula, which is absurd because it's the dry season. However, it was warm and gentle, so it was not a bad thing. The VIP team walked back to our vehicles with probably two dozen children following us. They were excited to hold our hands and walk with us. Unable to communicate with the little kids who haven't learned much, if any, English yet, I just acted silly, taking large steps or jumping or skipping and dragging them with me. This brought so much laughter, which was more than adequate means of communication.
sunset over Zomba Plateau, through the rain clouds
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