Written by CorpsAfrica/Malawi Volunteer Ms. Shyrene Kossam
My site lies in the eastern side of Dedza District. It is headed by Group Village Headman, Sunduzeni, under Traditional Authority (T/A), Kachindamoto, with a population of 901,444 people, spread across 24 villages. Four (4) kilometers from my house is a small portion of Lake Malawi which makes fishing a major business for my community members. People in my community also practice irrigation farming and harvest crops throughout the year. Rice is the major cash crop grown in my community, whereas maize is grown as a staple food. It happens that my site produces the best quality of rice, though at a small scale. The area under T/A Kachindamoto experiences very hot weather, which is different from the cold weather that is usually associated with Dedza District.
My site is an area of the Ngoni Tribe, which means people believe in keeping a large number of livestock as a source of wealth and prestige. Most people in my community depend on livestock for their economic upkeep. They also enjoy most roasted meat along together with beer. Most people believe in extended families and practice polygamy. The community is also blessed with a variety of fruits, which include baobab, mangoes, cucumbers, manoni, and masawu (small berry-like fruits).
People in my community are very open to development, with the Hunger Project working in their area, as my partner organization. The Hunger Project Epicenter consists of the clinic, the hall, the nursery school, the loan department, the food bank, the library, as well as the moringa processing unit. Apart from other activities like teaching, mentoring the girls, working with the youth, and playing with the nursery school children, this is where I spend most of my time.
There are a lot of things that I enjoy at my site; eating fresh fish almost every day which is sold at a cheap price, is one of the best. I’m so blessed to have such an amazing community to serve as a CorpsAfrica Volunteer and I really enjoy working with these people.