In the span of one week, I saw two malnourished babies who exemplified the horrible results of untreated mastitis in rural Malawi. This is a condition that can easily be treated, but due to cultural mores and lack of education, the women did not access care immediately. These women will probably lose their breasts, and their babies have lost important early nutrition. Continue reading “An Ounce of Prevention”
After yesterday’s snake post, I thought maybe we should put some puppy pictures here for balance. Shep, our border collie, had puppies a couple of weeks ago. The daddy is either Sammy, a golden retriever that she visited for a couple of days, or else her boyfriend here on the farm, who hasn’t been around since the puppies were born. Continue reading “Puppies”
I’ve been avoiding writing about snakes because we’re hoping my mom will come to visit someday, but I just can’t ignore it any longer. The place where we live is called Nanjoka, which translates roughly as “place of snakes.” And we’ve had our share. Continue reading “Snakes”
Yesterday’s funeral was quite an affair! Even our local Member of Parliament came to pay respects to the chief. There were hundreds of people in attendance. There is so much that I could say about it that I’m not sure where to start. Continue reading “At the Chief’s Funeral”
For the past few weeks, we have been seeing many zirombo (wild animals) running and dancing. But they’re not real wild animals. They are men dressed in rags and crazy clothing, often with their bodies smeared with mud and paint. This is part of Gule Wamkulu, the traditional religion of the Chewa people.
We started learning about Gule Wamkulu more than a year ago, but now that we are living in the village, this is the first time that we’ve seen it actually being practiced. Continue reading ““Wild Animals””
It was like a gangster movie. First I cased the possible locations for the transaction, stepping into small rooms manned by security, asking to speak to the boss. “What kind of rate can you give me?” “271.” “No, that’s not good enough.” “How much money are we talking about?” “A lot.”
In the end, I chose a place based less on the rate than on the ease of the getaway. Continue reading “Millionaire for a Day”
While walking home one day, I noticed the girls on the farm collecting large stalks of grass. I asked them what they were doing. According to them, the headmaster of their school required the students to bring bundles of grass so they could build another latrine (the grass is used to make the walls). I thought to myself, “How wonderful, they are doing this on their own.” So many times in Malawi things are not done because “the projects need donors to provide money” so that Western-type building materials can be used. However, this schoolmaster took the initiative to use home-grown materials to build the latrine. We hope to do the same thing in Kindle–to use the resources the people have to achieve the things that will benefit themselves and their communities.
I am a city girl. I like to have things neat and clean. I hate bugs, mice, and crawling things. I have learned to hike and camp only because Dean likes to do these things. Continue reading “A City Girl”
The Stockers' Stories 