Yesterday, I went out on a field visit north of Lunzu. It was a part of a new initiative to recognize the efforts of the volunteers ("Passionates") that work side by side with the Filed Officers in the field. We will collect information about each Passionate, and then print up laminated I.D. cards for them to have with them as they advocate for their communities. I went to Innocent's field and we walked for a mile or two to arrive in the heart of Malanga. Malanga is one of three villages that make up his field. There, he had mobilized over 20 of his Passionates to be in attendance. I introduced myself and took a picture of each of them. One of the participants served us a bowl of raw peanuts still in the shell. At first, they tasted like dry earth, but then I began to notice a subtle moisture and wholeness to them, and I quickly became a fan of raw Malawian peanuts. One of the Passionates is named Peter. He joined the ministry of health in 1964 when Dr. Banda took presidential control of the first independent Malawian government. Peter remained at his post for over 32 years. Banda remained at his post for around 31 years. I asked Peter what it was like to work in the administration of a man who is now remembered as a dictator--a leader who arrested and tortured any person who spoke critically of the style of his operations. He once outlawed a song because the lyrics reminded him of a heartbreak that he was currently struggling to cope with. Which song? I don't remember. Something comparable to the western sound and time period of the BeeGees. Peter told me that he was like a god to the people of Malawi. Nobody had ever seen a Black man in power stand up and shout at the White people. They were enthralled and intimidated by his empowerment as an educated equal member of the world society. Peter didn't get to spend any time with Banda during his career (neither did he want to, for it didn't take long for Banda to show his tendencies towards cruelty). Nowadays, he asserts that the people of Malawi don't fully grasp the concept of Democracy. That they still think that a person can do whatever they want as long as they have money and power. That is the structure that is slowly dissipating as education becomes more and more available to more and more of the younger citizens. Peter was a joy to speak with. The only one present besides the Field Officers who had confidence around his ability to communicate fully in English. My Chichewa is growing fast, but it has yet to cross the threshold from formality to dialogue.
There are different groups of Passionates. Some focus on Home-Based Care: this is exactly what it sounds like, a group of villagers who stand for the care and well-being of the sick where the sick live. Some focus on condom distribution. Others focus on youth clubs: places where kids can go and learn and play and participate in safe, constructive activities to better themselves and the world around them. Still others contribute to the effectiveness and compassion that goes into post-test counselling. Each of these groups had different requests for me as their ally here for the year. The HBC-focused group wants donations of basic medicines. The youth clubs want soccer balls and radio players. The list goes on... I thought when I joined this project that I would be participating in endeavours to take the information to the people, to paricipate in testing campaigns, and to care for the sick. It seems that my niche is going to be in fundraising, and spreading a buzz about what these Field Officers are doing. For those of you who know me well, you will say that this is a perfect task for me. I agree. Although, I must say that I am intimidated by so many individuals with so many good causes and worthy needs. I will be emailing Adidas to crack the golden egg. I will be going door-to-door to locate 200 kgs of free cement so that the Village Headman of Lunzu can continue to use the bricks at his disposal to build a primary/preschool that is presently half-built and will be damaged by the rains of the rainy season unless the building-process can begin again and be completed in a timely fashion. I have resentments towards the costs of my project's administrative b.s. and the fundraising I did to get here, but I am taking a deep breath as I write this, to calm my nerves, and to make peace with the way things are, and how they are just so, and that that is just that. I have no idea how I will produce the results I am committed to producing, but I know that results bigger than those which I can imagine are completely and utterly possible, and, did I mention that I'm taking a deep breath?
After we finished talking with the group of Passionates, we walked (Innocent, myself, and Akidu--a Field Officer of Innocents neighboring field) to visit another Passionate. This guy is known professionally as "The Prophet Morteu." He is a traditional healer. I knew we were at the border of his property when I saw white flags waving from 30-foot high poles, marking the perimeter of his land. We approached an open section of the fence. A drive-way of sorts. It was marked with a white, thick, chalky line. Innocent told me to remove my hat. We could not enter until he came down and saw us and invited us in. If we did enter without permission, we would be chased out by the screaming receptionist and other workers inside. The receptionist (it turns out that this plot of land which is a traditional healing center, also exists as a hospital) was cooking food over an open fire with her baby on her back just up the hill from the entrance. The Prophet looked at us from up near a covered gazebo, took a moment to think it over, and then waved us to enter. As soon as I crossed that white line, my feet and my legs felt contact with holy ground. There was a crispness to the air, and a loving, healing energy that got right into my lungs. It was my imagination that gave it shape. But this energy exists without me needing to validate it's existence by walking and feeling and perceiving it. I had been told that if we were not in partnership with him, we would have needed to remove all metal from our persons and leave it outside the entrance to the grounds. That he must protect his ward from witches, warlocks and evil spirits. Walking up to meet with him, I felt so moved, and all I could do to make a difference in that moment was to pray for the ground, it's patients, and it's caregivers to receive blessings, and to be blessed. I asked if I could take his picture. He said yes. I took his picture and I asked him how he had received the calling to do what he does. He said that he had a dream where God told him which herbs to use as which remedies. Upon having this dream he sought out the path of traditional healing. I want to find out what resources he uses for what, and then cross-reference with herbal-medicine practitioners in the U.S. and see how the methodologies compare.
We had to leave hastily, so that I could catch my 3-leg, 1.5--2 hour bus ride back home. The day's light was already fading. While walking away from the white flags, I heard a group of children call out, "Mzungu!!! Mzungu!!! ...bye! ...bye!" Mzungu is the name for a white person. It is not nasty. It is just what I am, here in Malawi. I turned around and could see where the sound was coming from between the trees, but I could not see the source. I called out, "Bye!" And they laughed and screamed out happily, again, "Mzungu!!! ...bye!" Innocent and Adiku were chatting as we crested a hill and began to turn a corner, slowly pulling us away from the voices behind us. They kept calling out. I kept calling out. I pictured their voices ringing across the ocean, guiding me home in ten months, and calling me back to this place for the rest of my life. I wondered what their voices would sound like if they called out forever in that state of curious newness and excitement. I never saw them while at the gazebo. I never saw them through the trees. But I heard them with the birds long after the last white flag had disappeared from view.
Today, I went to Lunzu for a meeting with one of the groups of Field Officers. I had had a great meeting last week with the heads of a very popular FM radio station here in Malawi. And just this morning I finalized approval from the staff of my organization to accept an invitation from "FM 101 Power" to bring 3 Field Officers to the station this coming Monday to be interviewed for a health program. I had the pleasure of sharing these results at the meeting this morning. The Field Officers are also very excited. This could be the beginning of a very beneficial relationship with FM 101.
After the meeting this morning, we walked to meet the Village Headman of Lunzu. And then on to Ernest's house a few hundred meters beyond. I climbed mango trees around a fish pond close to the place where he, his wife, his child, his mother, his grandmother, and his extended family all live. He, I, Blessings, and Charles all worked together to get a plastic grocery bag full of ripe mangoes off the branches and back to the shade of the tree outside his home. There, we washed mangoes in a basin of water, and peeled mangoes with our teeth. We ate mangoes and then ate some more. We sucked mango sweetness from the fibers growing like hairs off of the seed. I learned some more Chichewa and felt drunk off of the juice of fruit freshly picked. A happy substitute for alcohol and drugs.
Thinking of all of you,
Ben
p.s. if you all wanna call, but find yourself on a tight budget, check out
skype. if you've got a microphone on your pc as well as headphones, it is really, really cheap. like 2 hours for $10 cheap. check it out.
This is Jong Soh, my teammate and roommate. We eat good. The food you are seeing is a fusion concept. Raw mangoes and pineapple together between us. For the main course, some kimchee (korean spicy cabbage), two different kinds of sauteed veggies (including greens and onions from our house garden), and rice with some soft-scrambled eggs. This meal cost us about one U.S. dollar each to purchase and prepare. The kimchee is shipped from his parents in Korea, so that doesn't count.
This is Johns. What more can I say? He is one of the neighbors. This is one of three photos of him over at our house with his brother and uncle (try finding a picture of them--John's is kind of the show stealer). This kid is not starving. The only thing he has want for are more firecrackers so that he can set them off just before midnite, and then run inside with glee. His family is on my short list of "the best parts of Malawi."
#2: The Coma
Johns with my backpack.
Johns and I.
Not Johns. This is a random car I saw down the street from our offices. Seeing as it is a Benz, and it's in a ditch in Malawi, I felt I had to snap a photo of it. I looked around it, and there wasn't much damage to the body. Nobody knew how it had ended up there. If it had been a crash in the rain, I would have expected more damage, but who knows, it must have been the rain. Not too far from here is a convenience store which employs a couple of locals who have been trying to get me to drink with them and to smoke or buy some "chamba" (guess what that is.) Lately it has gotten ridiculous. I'm getting more and more aware of the convictions behind my sobriety. These two tried to hook me up with a 16 year-old girl for some "no-strings-attached" good times. I don't go there much anymore. Not my scene, I guess.
This is one of the Community-Based Organizations (with me on the right) which exists in Akidu's Field. Akidu is one of the 50 Field Officers whom I am working with during my stay here. The guy standing next to me in the back row is the Village Headman for this village. It is close to Mponda, but I can't remember this village's name. Groups of individuals such as these, work together in self-run clinics, and schools to develop their communities. These folks also double as "Passionates"--volunteers who partner with Akidu and the other Field Officers to further the initiatives of our HIV/AIDS social awareness campaign.
Cute kid in Mponda.
This is through the windshield of a mini-bus. I love this picture. Sprite, bananas, the broken glass, and that awesome teddy bear hanging from the center.
More rare mini-bus moments... 
This is the guy on the mini-bus who takes the money. He will fill up the bus through the side door as the driver takes precarious curbs to sidle out of traffic, vying for the best position in a veritable sea of mini-busses. He will fill up with half a liter of petrol (gas), and wedge in between an already smooshed two rows of passengers who are facing each other, somehow sliding a rusty door along it's hinges to close with a click behind his back like a magic trick. He always has a wad of Kwacha in his hand, and coins in his pockets. He sees every single person on the street, remembers how much change he owes every passenger, and has the flexibility of a gymnast. This particular guy escorted me in a pretty empty bus back from Mponda and shared some crazy, squash-like fruit with me. These fruits were dirty, but tasty. They were like a tiny cross between an orange and a pumpkin. 
A favorite tree in a remote village.
A village water pump.
Part of the march during World AIDS Day. December 1st. Lots of schools and NGO's were represented. I think these are some girls from a local primary school. I like their signs. VCT stands for Voluntary Counselling and Testing.
This is a photo before the march. These guys begged me to take this photo. I am so glad I did.
The folks in the red hats are all members of Blantyre Troop North within TCE. From the left, Mercy, Brenda, Wezzie, Blessings, Oliver (-hat), Adzafunikah, Rabson, and Michael (-hat). These folks are awesome. They are on holiday until January 11th. Then they start the 2nd year of their contracts. They are each accountable for fields of approximately 2,000 people. This accountability hinges on reaching these people with facts about HIV/AIDS, as well as access to testing and counselling resources. They will have a rare opportunity to test as individuals in their 50-person troop for certification from the Malawian Government as Health Counsellors sometime in the next couple of months. They work with huge groups of people over long periods of time. Each of them is gaining skills from this work that will help them succeed nomatter where they choose to focus their energies next in life. Many of them want to continue on in an administrative position within TCE Malawi as the organization expands in 2010 outside the district of Blantyre. Many others want to travel and/or continue their education. One of the Field Officers gave birth to a smelly, cute baby girl just before Christmas and will be back to work by February. Can you imagine handling the responsibilities in a field of 2,000 people while 6 to 8 months pregnant?!
Weird, but learnable marble game which is played in markets and street corners all over the city. I will learn how to play, and I aim to bring back a board with me when I come home. There is a lot of pizzazz while playing this game. Quick wrist flips as marbles jump from one pocket to the next. The faster the style of play, the louder the final slamming of marbles is which marks the end of one players turn.
This is Dickison, the Uncle of Johns. He is a quiet, kind man. He manages a store out of a small brick enclosure across the street from our house in Chinyonga. I was teaching him english before the holidays, and I'd like to carve out some time to continue working with him. Teaching him english is a challenge, because he already has such a strong mastery of certain words. Chichewa and english are thrown together a lot here, so it's really something to figure out just where to start without keeping it too simple or making it too difficult. His nephews and niece all speak perfect english, so myself and Jong Soh have been urging them to work with him since they all live in the same house. But we've noticed an attitude of disrespect lately which makes us sad. The kids seem to consider themselves to be better than their Uncle, or from a higher class. This structure has them getting fantastic educations, without a single concern for the education and future of this amazing man.
This is Daniel. He is one of the very well-educated young people who live in our neighborhood. He is also brilliant guitar player and gospel singer. This is a photo taken during one of our first nights in the neighborhood. Seeing this shirt on a native Malawian really moved me. Once every couple of weeks we run into this guy, invite him over, and we talk over a good meal. The last meal was all raw food. cabbage, onion, tomato, cucumber, pineapple, mango, and oranges. 
Although I'm wearing the same clothes as in the photo below, I think that this is another day later in the first week. You can see Henderson on the right, and then another dude on the left. These guys sell woodcarvings underneath of the awning above our heads. The space of their wares is only a quarter length of a very short city block, and the space is shared by more vendors than I can remember wanting to count. I gave my word to Henderson that I would buy from him before I leave Malawi. The footpath from our headquarters in Blantyre to one of the mini-bus depots is directly through this street, not to mention my favorite restaurant, Crazy Kitchen. I have taken the habit of walking directly down the middle of the street so that vendors have a harder time grabbing me by the elbow and pulling me towards their sales.
This was our first day out from the house. We arrived late on the 11th of October. We were so tired that we slept for 24 hours before getting up briefly and then sleeping for 12 more. Behind is the road to Chinyonga, and Blantyre beyond. Chinyonga is the residential village where we've lived for the first month and a half of our stay.
