Hi! This is the Malawian experience of Adam and Lili
My name is Lili, and I did my first overseas volunteering experience at DIN Malawi as their nutrition intern. Adam, my fiance, joined me on this adventure. He was giving help to the organization with content creation mainly. The reason why our stay was slightly special, is that we were the first international helpers since the Covid-19 restrictions started, so after one and a half years. Let us sum up our memorable Malawian stay in a couple of sentences.
Let's start with who we are, and how did we end up at DIN Malawi
As mentioned before, I arrived in Malawi with Adam. We are Hungarians currently studying and living in Denmark. I am doing my final semester at VIA University College in Aarhus to get my bachelor's in Global Nutrition and Health, while Adam is also about to finish his Product Development and Integrative Technology studies at Business Academy Aarhus. This means, as you might suggest already, that we had to find internships. For me, finding a meaningful intern position was quite challenging due to Covid-19. A couple of months before this volunteer time I had to start looking for a place to do my internship. As a Global Nutrition and Health student, my main personal goal was to work at an NGO, where I can work with the connection between nutrition and infection, possibly hand in hand with the target group. This goal of mine got real when I saw DIN Malawi’s profile on Workaway.com.
We quickly checked whatever information we could find about the organization, and realized how this place would be a perfect fit not only for me, but also for Adam, as he can volunteer and help as a freelance photographer, and web designer, just the skills they were also looking for. We instantly got in touch with Anderson Frey Billiat, the Executive Director of DIN Malawi, who made an unparalleled first impression just in a couple of quick texts. So we filled out the application form, and a month later... we were in Chikwawa, Malawi. However, we need to mention that it wasn't an easy ride. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic situation, Malawi has locked its borders one and a half years ago, which made it quite hard to get a VISA and all the necessary papers and documents needed, but it all turned out to be alright just at the last minute, luckily.
Our stay, and the Malawian culture, atmosphere
We have been allocated at Anderson's home where we shared our everyday life with his family for two months. They have prepared food for us, so we could quickly get familiar with the traditional Malawian nsima. We also visited the local market every day, to see the farmers’ fresh products, and also to buy some sugarcanes, roasted corn (that is our favorite for sure!), samosas, and whatever they had to offer. What you should imagine is that Malawian cuisine is strongly seasonal, thus, one could say not so varied. You can only find ingredients, that have the season at that time, no fresh food exports. This makes a huge sense, but also makes it challenging sometimes to go against certain cravings.
The general atmosphere in Chikwawa is quite friendly. People will not assault you, however, they are all extremely curious about who you are, and where you are from. Some just watch you for weeks, and only greets you after this time, and some will come to you right the first time they see you. Smaller children are running after you, calling you “white people” in their Chichewa language, but as they slowly get used to your presence, most of them will simply stop that, and ask you in English how are you, or just call you by your name. You might get some hugs, some whole-hearted smiles or some children might drop tears as they are terrified by their very first experience of meeting white people. Definitely recommended to learn their greetings at the very beginning of your stay, and the way you can thank something, it will be very much appreciated. A good piece of advice though is to inform on prices prior to your arrival, so you will not have to pay extra for services and items you might want to purchase. Regarding transportation, you can expect bicycle taxis as the most common way of transportation nearby, you can also book taxi lifts, or use minibusses, as public transport. This is an incredibly crazy way of traveling because small busses or cars are overfilled with people and stuff, however, this way is extremely affordable for all, fast, and even can get you to the next couple of cities. Ordinary big busses are going from Blantyre (a bigger city, 1.5h away from Chikwawa) mostly, as the roads to Chikwawa are not suitable for those.
And a little bit about the colleges and work we have been doing
The organization is located at a small, friendly office in Chikwawa, where office hours are from 8 till 12, then lunch break at home, and back at the office from 13.30 till 16. Every morning after having some breakfast, we would head to the office, where a very pleasant atmosphere welcomed us. A big learning opportunity and experience also came for us, when interns from local universities arrived with social work and public health backgrounds. Meeting a different working and study culture is something one can really appreciate to experience once in a life. After spending some productive hours at the office, we would all walk home to have lunch, and see each other again in a bit. The afternoon is about office work for officers, and field visits for the interns, volunteers, and the responsible officers also. I went to visit HIV support groups four times a week and held educative, demonstrative sessions on nutrition and health.
The meetings have been translated both ways by the local interns, which made it possible for us to interact with each other at all times. Members of the support groups gave me an incredible amount of respect, support, attention, and gratitude, which I will always remember. Adam launched the new DIN Malawi website after his first few weeks of work and often joined me on field visits to capture some precious moments with the beneficiaries. From those photos and footage, he is creating edited content for DIN Malawi, as well as a Malawi-stay-themed documentary for his freelance portfolio.
Free-time activities
First off, it is important to clarify that time passes a little differently in Malawi. There are not so many distractions, and believe me, even blackouts can be truly enjoyable if you look at them from the right angle. Next to the working hours, there is always time to go and visit the local market, stay home and play cards, board games, finish online courses, read books, perhaps watch movies, sit and look out of your head, or really, anything you want to make time for. During the weekends, it could be a great idea to visit the surrounding towns, perhaps even stay at lodges, such as in Blantyre, Zomba (very good for hiking as well), or to visit Greenland just around the corner, which is a green area with plenty of trees, bushes, flowers, and a spectacular view to the river. It is suitable, among others for events, chill, food, and drink. Another place worth visiting is Majete Wild Reserve, which is around half an hour away by taxi. Safari game drives, boat tours are available for visitors, but you can also spend some days at their lodges or campsites if desired. We truly had an amazing time at these places as well. On the way back to the Lilongwe airport, the plan is to stop for a couple of days in Zomba, then visit Lake Malawi, and finally go and see the capital, and then to catch our flight.
I hope sharing this experience will help you imagine the everyday life in Malawian, as well as the atmosphere of the work with DIN Malawi. It has been a true, lifetime experience for us, so if you are any similar to us, you will have a memorable time here. Please do not hesitate to contact me with any questions regarding our experience. You can reach me at lili.lehota99@gmail.com, or find more photos on Adam’s Instagram profile at @divine__photos.
Adam & Lili