For those that have not already noticed, I have been posting the following days write up as I do not have any internet access where I am staying. Please look for todays adventure tomorrow!
Moni! (Chichewa for Hello)
What a day! I arrived in Malawi at 2PM and went through customs, exchanged my money, and purchased a sim card for my international phone. Then I met Paolo at the airport and was introduced to one of MicroLoan Foundations new employees who is from Malawi named Jarard. We got into the car and traveled about an hour or so to Kasungu, the town I will be primarily based in for the next two months.
The currency in Malawi is Kwacha (MWK) and $1 USD=155.2255 MWK
For example, the guest house I am staying in cost 4,500 MWK ($30 USD) a night and a can of Coke A Cola costs 50 MWK ($.32 USD).
The drive form the airport to Kasungu was amazing. It truly opened my eyes to what the next two months would be like. We headed down one paved road (M1)the entire way and villages and people were dispersed along the road throughout. We would come up upon centers with different shops like supermarkets, bakeries, seed shops, banks, etc.
For all those that know Monsanto, they have a factory out here in the capital, so when I have some time to do some research and investigation, I will report back.
We arrived in Kasungu and stopped at MicroLoan Foundations Headquarters. I was able to meet some of their many employees both of who were either from Malawi or the United Kingdom. They recently completed a training center there that will be used to train women in different trades (i.e. sewing, IT, etc.)
I just got word that the guest house (Mandella House) I would be staying in was fully booked with MicroLoan staff as we have a team doing some IT training out here. I will be staying at another guest house (Emmies Place) down the street with Paolo till Friday. The guest houses only have five rooms so there is not much space. Last night we went for dinner at the Mandella House and ate with six other MicroLoan staff that are currently doing different projects for the foundation. Dinner consisted of white rice, cooked vegetables, and guacamole. For dessert we had bananas. The food here is very good as everything is locally grown or from the garden behind the guest house. It was so nice hearing about their Malawi experience and getting some ideas for possible things to do on my weekends off!
Tomorrow I am visiting Jenda and meeting a bunch of MicroLoan Foundation's many loan groups that are currently using loans for farming!
Will report later.
Jimmy
P.S. Pictures coming soon!
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