"What has been your biggest accomplishment in Malawi?" my fellow volunteer friend posed a question yesterday.
It got me to think...
I thought of all the little projects including income generation activities and building of preschools and many more things that I started; but I don't feel like calling any of them as my biggest accomplishment.
As I was practising my daily ritual of listening to BBC news on radio through my cellphone last night, I realized that I do have something I can proudly call as my biggest accomplishment.
The numbers of death from HIV, malaria, malnutrition and so forth, now means something personal. It does something to my heart, just like when you hear a news about your hometown in another country.
When hearing news about hunger and malnourished children, spread of HIV, illiterate villagers, and fear of malaria, I know exactly what they're talking about. I can vividly visualize my preschools and children there. I can remember the faces of my friends from positive living club (those who are HIV positive) and their life stories of how they got HIV. I can feel the pain and fear of getting malaria or loosing someone important from malaria. I can remember the smell of villages and the color of beautiful sunsets in Malawi...
Though it may sound strange and I can't express myself well enough, I somehow feel proud of that.
May be this whole development work or volunteer experience is all about this, being able to relate the sufferings and events that happen in other side of the world. Or is that too selfish of an idea??
Monday, July 28, 2008
Tuesday, July 22, 2008
Less than one dollar a day...
The word "Extreme poverty" suddenly became something with a meaning to me.
The World Bank defined "extreme poverty" as "living on US $1 or less per day."
I can't recall how many times I came across this word in economics textbook I've read, in debates I participated, or in documentaries I've watched as a university student.
But the thing is, it meant nothing. It was a word without meaning. It didn't trigger any images or feelings. I simply failed to associate myself with this concept itself.
Yesterday, I had a small argument with a guy who was selling me roasted corns. He charged me MK30 [Malawian Kwacha](or 20 cents) instead of MK20 that he normally charged simply because I was azungu (the rich or non-Africans in Chichewa). My fellow volunteer friend was laughing at me saying how stingy I was for being upset over MK10 (12 cents) . The money wasn't the issue. It was the fact that he charged me more because of who I am-- I wanted him to consider me like anyone else in the village.
Suddenly, I realized how little he earned everyday and felt slightly guilty for accusing him for charging me MK10 more...
As I waited for the bus to come, I asked a lady who was sitting right by me how much she earned that day from the green vegetables she was selling for MK5. "MK135" she said. Less than a dollar. (MK150 = US $1)
Less than one US dollar for her whole-day work at the market.
1 tomato MK15-20.
1 egg MK25.
1 papaya MK50.
1 kg of rice MK150.
1 kg of groundnuts MK150.
100g bar of chocolate MK250.
1 litre of gasMK250.
1 litre of milk MK300.
1 chicken MK550-700.
and 1 bottle of wine MK2000...
No wonder so many children in the villages are malnourished.
It occurred to me that adjustability could sometimes be cruel. While I started recognizing the intangibles from the people I work with-- happiness, peace, and love regardless of the circumstances, I stopped feeling peoples' suffering here. I stopped seeing the poverty here. But there really are, right in front of me.
EXTREME POVERTY... Less than one dollar a day became real.
The World Bank defined "extreme poverty" as "living on US $1 or less per day."
I can't recall how many times I came across this word in economics textbook I've read, in debates I participated, or in documentaries I've watched as a university student.
But the thing is, it meant nothing. It was a word without meaning. It didn't trigger any images or feelings. I simply failed to associate myself with this concept itself.
Yesterday, I had a small argument with a guy who was selling me roasted corns. He charged me MK30 [Malawian Kwacha](or 20 cents) instead of MK20 that he normally charged simply because I was azungu (the rich or non-Africans in Chichewa). My fellow volunteer friend was laughing at me saying how stingy I was for being upset over MK10 (12 cents) . The money wasn't the issue. It was the fact that he charged me more because of who I am-- I wanted him to consider me like anyone else in the village.
Suddenly, I realized how little he earned everyday and felt slightly guilty for accusing him for charging me MK10 more...
As I waited for the bus to come, I asked a lady who was sitting right by me how much she earned that day from the green vegetables she was selling for MK5. "MK135" she said. Less than a dollar. (MK150 = US $1)
Less than one US dollar for her whole-day work at the market.
1 tomato MK15-20.
1 egg MK25.
1 papaya MK50.
1 kg of rice MK150.
1 kg of groundnuts MK150.
100g bar of chocolate MK250.
1 litre of gasMK250.
1 litre of milk MK300.
1 chicken MK550-700.
and 1 bottle of wine MK2000...
No wonder so many children in the villages are malnourished.
It occurred to me that adjustability could sometimes be cruel. While I started recognizing the intangibles from the people I work with-- happiness, peace, and love regardless of the circumstances, I stopped feeling peoples' suffering here. I stopped seeing the poverty here. But there really are, right in front of me.
EXTREME POVERTY... Less than one dollar a day became real.
Thursday, July 10, 2008
Kids with big bellies 栄養失調の子供たち
Have you seen a photo of a child with huge belly like this boy? Well, I have.
That was a typical image of African children in poverty often depicted by the media.
Here in Malawian villages, I see such "big bellies" literally everywhere.
It's not that they're starving but they're very very malnourished, which is why they have the big bellies.
I don't have any medical background but I got to know that the big belly is due to a combination of stomach worms and lack of nutrition, particularly that of protein. Kids here eat pretty much ONLY carb from maize flour.
As I visit nursery or pre-schools almost every weekday, the site of malnourished children with huge bellies has become something normal. I managed to have nutritional supplement and porridge flour with lots of protein and vitamin donated but this is only a temporally solution. I help some preschools to have groundnuts and soy seeds planted but then again, this is not a long-term solution to provide sufficient nutrition intake on a daily basis.
My fellow volunteer who used to work in very poor province in Mozambique recently told me about a 7 year girl she knew. This girl was extremely malnourished, literally being about to die when she last saw here. So my friend tried to get an ambulance come. Unfortunately, this girl died in my friend's house, waiting for the ambulance that never showed up.
I often hear people say "That's just how it is" when someone passes away.
Is that really so? I wonder...
栄養失調が原因でおなかが膨れ上がった子供の写真を見た事がありますか？
メディアでよく見かける貧困地域に住む子供達の様子
――これが今マラウィの村に住む私が毎日目にしている光景。
彼らは飢え死にしそうなくらい食料が無い訳ではない。でも栄養失調は多くの子供たちが直面する問題。それが原因で、写真に写っているこの男の子みたいに、大きく膨れ上がったおなかの子供たちがあちらこちらに。
医学の知識はないけれど、このビックベリー（大きなお腹）については少し理解が増えた。原因は栄養失調（特にプロテイン）とお腹に住む寄生虫。この辺りの村では、トウモロコシの小麦粉からの炭水化物が主な栄養源。
ビックベリーの子供たちも、始めはショックを受けてたけれど、いつしか普通の景色になってきたように感じる。他のNGOから栄養補給の食料を寄付してもらう事ができたけれど、これは短期的なソル―ションで問題解決ではない。大豆やピーナッツの栽培を援助しているけれど、これも同様、365日毎日必要な栄養が取れる事にはつながらない。
つい最近モザンビークでボランティア活動をしていた親友からショッキングな話を聞いた。彼女も貧困地域で活動していたため、栄養失調の子供たちをどこでも目にする。彼女が出会った7歳の少女は過度の栄養失調のためいつ亡くなってもおかしくない状況だった。いつまでたっても来なかった救急車を待機している最中にこの少女は息を引き取ったとのこと。この親友の家で。
誰かが亡くなるたびに、「しょうがない、これが現実」、というような発言をよく耳にする。
でも本当にそうなんだろかっていつも自分に問いかけている。
メディアでよく見かける貧困地域に住む子供達の様子
――これが今マラウィの村に住む私が毎日目にしている光景。
彼らは飢え死にしそうなくらい食料が無い訳ではない。でも栄養失調は多くの子供たちが直面する問題。それが原因で、写真に写っているこの男の子みたいに、大きく膨れ上がったおなかの子供たちがあちらこちらに。
医学の知識はないけれど、このビックベリー（大きなお腹）については少し理解が増えた。原因は栄養失調（特にプロテイン）とお腹に住む寄生虫。この辺りの村では、トウモロコシの小麦粉からの炭水化物が主な栄養源。
ビックベリーの子供たちも、始めはショックを受けてたけれど、いつしか普通の景色になってきたように感じる。他のNGOから栄養補給の食料を寄付してもらう事ができたけれど、これは短期的なソル―ションで問題解決ではない。大豆やピーナッツの栽培を援助しているけれど、これも同様、365日毎日必要な栄養が取れる事にはつながらない。
つい最近モザンビークでボランティア活動をしていた親友からショッキングな話を聞いた。彼女も貧困地域で活動していたため、栄養失調の子供たちをどこでも目にする。彼女が出会った7歳の少女は過度の栄養失調のためいつ亡くなってもおかしくない状況だった。いつまでたっても来なかった救急車を待機している最中にこの少女は息を引き取ったとのこと。この親友の家で。
誰かが亡くなるたびに、「しょうがない、これが現実」、というような発言をよく耳にする。
でも本当にそうなんだろかっていつも自分に問いかけている。
Saturday, July 5, 2008
Dear Anna
On Saturday, June 28th 2008 around 7:30pm, I lost my dear friend Anna, a fellow volunteer in Malawi.
Cerebral malaria took her life away. She was only 27 years old.
On Wednesday June 25th, her malaria test (from blood) showed negative but malaria was there in fact. Soon after, the parasites went into her brain and killed her.
We went through a tough 6-month training together in St. Vincent, Caribbean.
We laughed and cried together.
We shared the same passion for development and helping others in need.
She was a mid-wife.
She was a knitting specialist.
She was a person of love.
She was like a sun shine.
Always lighting up those around her.
Even if it's cloudy, shining behind the clouds.
Even if it's cold, warming all the life without discrimination.
Even if it's dark, lighting up the whole world first thing in the morning.
Now I hope to hard twice as hard for Anna.
Dear Anna, You will always be on my mind.
Thank you so much.
Mitsue
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