Kwathu ndi ku Malawi

I've talked a lot lately on Facebook about data. Looking at data, analyzing it, using it. And for the past 2 weeks now I've got to go around and see and mentor those who produce it. While data can seem distant and unrelated, it is absolutely critical to the evaluation of programs and their impact. So I wanted to share what it means to work with data in the health sector in a developing country and all the incredibly hard-working health staff who I was able to interact with. These workers don't do anything for recognition or glory and serve in off-road facilities in far corners of the world. I have been traveling hundreds of kilometers a day to visit some urban but mostly very rural health facilities like the one I lived at for the past 2 years. Some were at least an hour via a strong, fast truck from any sort of paved road, city, or electricity. But I went there with partners from EGPAF to give these facilities support, advice, and mentorship. During the mentorship, we re...

So last year in October I posted a blog answering 10 different questions about how I live my life in Malawi specifically relating to my life in the village in Balaka. If you want to read that blog you can go here: http://peacecorpsmalawi2013.blogspot.com/2014/10/how-do-you-10-q.html. But now as you've read, my life has changed a little bit. And to highlight the great and beautiful diversity that is Malawi, I wanted to post a part 2 to this blog to answer these questions again. I now live in the capital city of Malawi called Lilongwe. While it's not a huge city compared to Nairobi or Lusaka, it's still a capital city no less. So here is how I live now: 1. Where do you get water? - From the tap! Yes, I have a sink in the kitchen, toilets and sinks in all the bedrooms and even an outside tap for watering the grass, doing laundry, etc. I pay my bill monthly to the Lilongwe Water Board for consumption which never exceeds about $3 a month. While there are still those random...

Back in 2013 when I was still fresh to living in Malawi, I sat one night on a gorgeous beach in the lake region of Mangochi. As we were watching the sun set from the luxury of a lodge, one expat who had been in Malawi for some time started speaking of her desire to leave Malawi because she was just tired of death. Everyone went quiet as we were not quite sure what to say.  Living in one of the most economically poor countries means there's going to be poverty, depression, sickness, and death. And I knew there was death here every time I rode my bike through the village and found branches of trees crisscrossed on the road symbolizing a funeral taking place nearby. But in your mind you always assumed it was someone older, someone's whose lived a full life.  After over 3 years, with more years yet to come, I now comfortably can say I live here. And with that realization also comes three years of my own experiences with death. And the temptation I face...

Hello everyone. I know I updated a few months back about what my next steps were in Malawi but it seems that process of "next steps" never ends. At least not the questions from friends, family, and well meaning people. But for me I guess the answer now is that there is no more big "next step." As I've been constantly reminded on my trip home to the States, I grew up telling everyone for as long as they and I could remember that one day I was going to live in Africa. I always had different ideas of what exactly I would do there but what was for certain is that I would be across the ocean. A lot of people have been reminding me of my certainty that my life partner would be there too. So in 2013 after years of traveling short-term to Kenya and finishing a Masters Degree in International Policy and a minor in African Studies, I joined the Peace Corps and moved to the place I loved. And what I found was a plethora of more "what's next" questions all...

Filing. It's what our brains do with information. They quickly analyze and file information away into the proper places. In our modern society where we are provided copious amounts of stimuli every single day, our brains have to quickly file and sometimes generalize in order to understand everything the eyes see, ears hear, and hands feel. And when studying psychology in undergrad I started to understand more how the brain works and just how quickly it can process so much without us even realizing it. Books such as Blink also talk in depth about this process happening in the brain. As humans, the world is a complex place we try so very much to understand. Due to this complex nature we develop coping mechanisms which sometimes have negative consequences- prejudice and stereotypes and "box like" thinking. We get so use to putting everything into a category with defined rules and behaviors as our mind expects. So how does this process relate to me here in Malawi in develo...

My heartbeat and prayer for 2015: "I Want It All (Just Give Me Jesus)" by  Daniel Bashta   I don't want just another touch I'm just looking for the real Jesus And only You will do My voice has sung a million words But I'm still looking for the real Jesus And only You will do It's all just meaningless And empty songs at best Unless You respond So Give me the real thing Not just religion Stir up my passion With more of conviction I want it all Not just a portion Give me Your presence Not just some feeling I don't want just another taste I'm just looking for the real Jesus There must be more than this My heart is cold and faith is weak But I'm still looking for the real Jesus Oh I know there's more than this It's all just meaningless The stench of hollowness Unless You respond So Give me the real thing Not just religion Stir up my passion With more of conviction I want it all Not just a portion Give me Your presence Not just some feeling ...

After filling out 28 job applications with 19 different organizations and being given 6 interviews and 2 offers, I have news of what I have chosen to do next in Malawi. While I wasn't always certain what path I wanted to take next, it became increasingly clear over the past month. I've lived in the village in Malawi for over 2 years now and I've seen a lot that can break your heart. But the events of the past month broke me. Over a year ago I met a man who became one of my closest counterparts. We planned a training together, managed a grant, started a health center vegetable garden, re-energized the HIV Support Group, and he became an expert client at the health center even being offered a chance to attend a USAID training. All these accomplishments and we can hardly communicate because he doesn't speak any English and I only minimal Chiyao! It was always interesting!  In February 2014 him and his wife had a baby girl. And to my greatest honor (and quite a bit ...