This is a great post Christy wrote about the donation we were able to make with the support from our friends and family to the area we visited in Malawi. Once again, big thank you to everyone who made this trip possible!
Gifts in Life and Death
The Gift that Lasts
How many times have you opened gifts Christmas morning, and a week later they are forgotten or broken? Some are better than others, but what if you could give a gift that lasts all year, and has an impact for a lifetime? This is a gift that one family has chosen to give to a child we visited named Harris. Truly a gift that lasts.
The Stories Begin
We have started the process of editing the video and pictures of our sponsored child visits in Malawi. This is the first one out of the gate, and with permission from the families, we are posting them online to share the great stories with everyone. First up, Shamadu!
Talented Little Drummer Boy
Just watched this video and I had to blog about it. I am also a drummer and aspiring filmmaker, so this really resonated with me. He did pretty much everything himself and wound up with a great piece of music and some great filmmaking- and to boot the kid is only 16! He is interviewed about how he made it here-
Why?
Why do I already miss being in Africa? I am tired, very jet lagged and trying to come to terms with the contrasting nature of everything I experienced. Most days we were up by 6:30, breakfast just after 7, on the road just after 8 (well actually off road much of the time) for an hour and a half, just to start the day. After a long day in the field of visits, projects and/or photography workshop with the kids, the long commute back to our lodge, hungry for supper- often the power was out, or went out just as we pulled up. Once we had eaten, if the power was back on, we started downloading our video and pictures and charging camera battery’s, hopefully have a quick shower and possibly blog, then fall into bed and do it all over again the next day.
Why? It’s not a rest. It is however an invigorating soul experience that forever changes how you view humanity and the world in general. It is hard won first hand knowledge. You smell the fires, feel the dusty grit in your eyes, get the same mud caked on your shoes that squishes through the toes of the children’s feet after a heavy downpour. You see first hand the lights come on in a child’s eyes as they learn to frame a photo, when just days before they have hardly seen a camera, let alone use one. You touch their world and their lives for a few brief moments that both sides will remember for a lifetime. After being flooded with tastes, touch, sights, smells and sound for two weeks, the question changes from why did I do this, to why didn’t I do this sooner. It is not for everybody and it is challenging, but like the training that pays off on marathon day, the payoff for an experience like this is immeasurable. Yes it was hot, a lot of work, and not very convenient living and traveling day to day, but very worth the effort. I will not soon forget the warm heart of Africa, and my why will be answered by the how. How to help, how to tell the stories, and how successful they can be given sustainable tools. Why sponsor a child? Investigate the how. How it works and how easy it is to make such a huge lasting difference.
Epiphany
Check out a great post by my wife Christy. The video was shot as we were walking back from a long hike past the end of the road to visit a sponsored child.
A Room with a Hippo View
Well back in Canada jet lagged and climate whiplashed from a humid +36C to snow and high windchill. Kind of feels like I just went through a time machine or molecular transporter, very weird indeed. My brain is processing much and not ready to do any serious writing, so today here is a fun video tour of one of the places we stayed called Hippo View Lodge. Just to be clear, all funds for expenses incurred on the trip are covered by individual team members fees paid to World Vision. The trip is self supporting in nature so as to not financially impact any programs. So- let’s start the tour!
The gardens are lovely during the day, but were kind of creepy at night. When the power was on, everything was well lit and looked like a movie set. When the power was off, it felt like another planet with a Jurassic Park kind of a feel. As far as the main Lodge, it had an old Hollywood kind of feel. The staff assured me it was a new structure built around 2006, but the old wood windows and doors didn’t seem to jive with that. It looks impressive, but what you don’t capture on video is the cockroaches and ants in the rooms and the water pressure that goes to zero when you really want a shower. It did have lots of water pressure most of the time, just not the one time I really wanted it!
I was starting to be skeptical of the “Beware of Hippos” signs, thinking it was just cheesy marketing. But we had an early morning boat safari where we saw many, many groups of hippos in the water- the first group being just a few hundred meters from the garden. Unique place to be sure, definitely quirky with surprises.
Here is a view of the Lodge on returning from our boat safari. The lodge is located on the bank of the Shire river near a town called Liwonde, which is where the Mposa World Vision office is located. Many more Malawi blogs to follow as I saw and experienced much. Christy and I have a hard drive full of pictures and video; much of which we haven’t looked at ourselves yet. For all it’s inconveniences the warm heart of Africa was well worth the effort.
A Mile in their Shoes
We had just a taste of what these people go through in their daily lives when we had to do that very warm hike this week. I would say we covered about 2.5km each way for a total of 5km. We did have some things to carry, but imagine doing it with a bucket of water on your head. One family we visited had a 4km walk to the bore hole- so that is an 8km walk to get water.
Not always a simple path either, as we had many bridge crossings as well. Bridges not built by a construction company, but by the locals who needed a bridge. Anyone who says Africans are lazy has clearly never watch villagers carry water while having a baby on their back- and sometimes across a rickety bridge!
Everything is done by hand including working the large fields, putting them into rows so as to hold the water when the rainy season comes. This is nothing short of heavy backbreaking work we saw being done by fathers, mothers and older children. Here is an example of one of the field tools-
Ironically many of them were very fit putting most of us Canadians to shame. What they do lack is getting proper nutritious foods to keep them strong and prevent disease. We could learn from their work ethic. With World Vision’s help working together with other NGO’s, they will learn the skills to stay a successful healthy community, and stay that way long after World Vision’s project has completed.
Simple Solutions
Well it has been an amazing week here in southern Malawi in the ADP of Mposa. Dan, who is the manager for the area, is a young smart charismatic man who has accomplished amazing things in just a year of implementation (they plan and organize for two years before they start- so third year of work). His emphasis is on self sustainability and coordinating with other NGO’s and government programs so that when World Vision completes its time in the area, the improvement to the area continues. What many people do not understand, is that World Visions goal is not to give aid, but to give people training and tools so they can improve their lives on their own. Teach them how to fish so to speak, instead of giving them fish.
An example of self a sustaining solution is a simple hygiene hand washing rig. They make it out of a used plastic bottle, string, and some sticks.
This helps them wash their hands by using their foot to push the stick so that the water flows like a tap. Hand washing prevents spread of many diseases and is one good step in keeping the family healthy. Dan was telling us that introducing concepts like this one at a time, so as not not overload them with new information, is something that sticks with them better and is more successfully passed on to the children who learn it while they a growing up. Many small simple solutions can bring big change. This area is still very early in the project, but the great leadership and forward thinking of the World Vision staff under Dan’s leadership are far ahead of the game. Lasting change only happens when people can equip themselves and take pride in their accomplishments. They own it- so the success will continue long after World Vision has moved on to equip another community.
Sporty Sponsorship Child
Got to visit many sponsorship children today. One in particular was obviously a fan of sports and wore his Rider hat and showed off a bit of his soccer skills. So to our neighbors Brennan and Leah, here is a sneak peak at the child you sponsored!
