Written by CorpsAfrica/Malawi Volunteer Ms. Prosperina Mpekansambo
It was on that night of 16 September, in my quiet room in area 25, that I anxiously waited for my email. I had completed my training and was anticipating this email. However, what I was not prepared for was the uneasy feeling of waiting. After a few hours of anticipation, the long-awaited email finally arrived.
My adventure as a CorpsAfrica Volunteer began when I was sworn in to serve in the far northern part of Malawi in a district called Chitipa on the borders of Malawi. I honestly did not have the foggiest idea of how to react, but I was so excited to start my volunteer service in a district away from where I grew up. Days later, there I was in a district so hot I could not handle it, with people speaking different languages different from mine. I have always been interested in learning languages in my country because why stay in your own country and not know any other native language, however, this time I asked myself questions; will I survive? How will we communicate? “You will learn,” I told myself.
Well, a month and three weeks later here I am, integrated into the community, speaking a mixture of their different languages, Chilaundya, Chilambya, and Chindali. Isn’t that interesting? Imagine, a district with over 21 languages! but CorpsAfrica has trained me to have an open mind and I tried my best to do that in the course of keeping my mind open, I have learned and I keep learning their language, I have also learned a lot about my site and the different development activities that the communities do for themselves.
I have learned how these community members have so much knowledge on how to approach their development activities. With my preconceived ideas, I can tell you I thought “village people” as per what we call them, only wait to be given the help they need which is mostly what people do, waiting to receive help. Keeping an open mind has made me curious about a lot of things that happen in this community and as I hear of some reasons I have learned that people have different behaviors and practices which I never knew of. Sometimes I make time to listen and hear what the people have to say about these behaviors and practices and with an open mind I tell myself I can survive in this different environment.
To integrate into the community I join them at the farm, volunteer at the community school, and attend development days where we make bricks for various purposes.
This seven-week journey has not been without challenges and different happenings. I remember, one morning with the beautiful sun rising, off to school I went and as always, after my class, I had to leave and I met one of the community members who told me he was going to a funeral at a far distance. As we parted ways, I went straight home. Later in the afternoon, I went for one-on-one visits only to find there were no people in their houses. I found two kids playing “bawo”, a game that is played in my country and I sat with them and asked where the elders were and I was told they had gone to the funeral. After further research, I learned that everyone in the community goes to the funeral even if it is not from that village. I felt left out, honestly but I learned my lesson that I need to ask for full details on things that are happening in my community so that I can continue to find ways of integrating.
As I continue with my service I yearn to create more trust and relationships with the people to ensure we have a safe environment for working and remember to always keep an open mind. I can’t wait to see what this journey as a CorpsAfrica Volunteer has instilled in me from now on as I keep an open mind and keep growing in knowledge and experiences.
