Home from the Warm Heart of Africa

Hello Everyone


I did it and I made it home in one piece.  I managed to go to Malawi all by myself and only landed a few cuts and bruises, two near death experiences, amazing friends, and great stories!


I arrived home on Monday!  After 30 hours of air travel, I made to Logan International Airport.  


As much as I did not want to return the closer I actually was to home, the more I wanted to just be there.  When I walked through the airport to baggage claim my family was there waiting for me.  My youngest brother Aidan even had a sign!  I love them all!

I almost forgot!  I was able to see Mt. Kilimanjaro from the plane!

I have been taking the last few days to get used to the culture shock I have been experiencing along with adjusting my body to all of the food I have not eaten the past three months.  Malawi was a life changing experience and something I will always remember doing! 


Thank you so much for following my blog for the past ten weeks.  I cannot tell you how much it meant to me.


To Mom, Dad, Connor, Trevor, and Aidan, thank you so much for al the support you showed me!  Wether it was the two minute phone calls, emails, or five minutes of on and off skype, it really meant a lot and made it feel like you were always with me, although I was miles away!  My trip to Malawi would not have happened if it was not for all of you.  I look forward to sharing more stories and pictures


Peace and Love


Jimmy

Hi From Lilongwe

Hi All


Sorry this post finds you so late.


I had my last day of work on Wednesday.  It was very emotional.  I never thought my trip to Malawi would go so quickly! 


There were very brutal anti-government demonstrations on Wednesday and Thursday throughout Malawi!


Read this article.  Malawi Anti Government Demonstrations


Pictures to come soon!


Heading to Zambia for safari tomorrow morning will not be back until Thursday! 


Stay Tuned In


Peace


Jimmy

YouTube.. YouTube.. YouTube..

Hi


As you know I have been tasked with interviewing clients for fundraising efforts in the USA.  I have been diligently working with staff members in the office the past six days to try and translate as much as possible before my last day of work on July 20th!  Seemling impossible with the internet connection but we managed to get as many done as possible.


I wanted to post a few I really liked!  Please enjoy watching the video and reading the responses.

Interview With Zione Kefasi of Zipindule Loan Group

Name: Zione Kefasi

MicroLoan Group Name: Zipindule

Location: Lilongwe

Age: 31

Married: Yes

Do you have children? Yes

How many? 2

Do you care for any orphans? 1

Do the children go to school? All the children go to school.

Before you had a loan from MicroLoan, did you work? No

After your loan from MicroLoan, did you earn enough to provide for the family? Yes I earn enough so I can provide my family with everything and boost my business as well.

After your loan from MicoLoan, how many meals per day were you having? I manage to eat three times a day.

How many loans have you received from MicroLoan to date? I have taken 6 loans.

What sort of business do you have?  How is it doing? I own a tea room.  I sell tea with scones.  A small cup of tea is 60MWK and a scone is 20MWK.

Are you happy that you are taking loans from MicroLoan Foundation? I am very happy.  My family has changed.  In the past I was building a house but failed to finish, but now I have finished after joining MicroLoan Foundation. 

What is your dream? My vision is that I cannot withdraw from MicroLoan Foundation because it is helping me very much.  I hope when I continue taking loans from MicroLoan, I will do something very big in the future.

Interview With Esther Limbikani of Mkwelera Loan Group

Name: Esther Limbikani

MicroLoan Group Name: Mkwelera

Location: Lilongwe

Age: 27

Married: Yes

Do you have children? Yes

How many? 4

Do you care for any orphans? No 

Do the children go to school? Yes, two of them

Before you had a loan from MicroLoan, did you work? Yes farming tobacco and maize.

Before you had a loan from MicroLoan, did your husband have a job? No

Before you had a loan from MicroLoan, did you earn enough to provide for the family? No not enough.

Before you had a loan from MicoLoan, how many meals per day were you having? We get food with some problems.

Before you had a loan from MicroLoan, were you able to purchase clothes and shoes for you and your family? Some members of the family have clothes while some cannot have.

How many loans have you received from MicroLoan to date? Only 1

What sort of business do you have?  How is it doing? I sell groundnuts.  It is growing.

Describe costs and profits. I got a 10,000MWK loan.  That was my starting capital.  After making profits I did the repayment to ensure my existence as a member.  With the interest of 1,550MWK as I was told and banked 1,500MWK from the proceeds.

Are you better off now than before MicroLoan? I am better now because when I got the loan I started business and it is characterized by profit.  If I get another loan that would be a booster and I would be encouraged.

Do you have a house?  Describe. Yes.  My house is cemented on one side and the other sides are not.  If all goes well with my business I will do the remaining part.

Is it weather proof in the rainy season?  It is weather proof in the rainy season but not so much.  I am sure that if I stick to MicroLoan it will all be secured.

Do you use kerosene to see at night? No I use paraffin.

Do you cook over an open fire? I collect firewood from the nearest forest but it is not easy to use firewood because when I am cooking the room is full of smoke which makes the environment in the kitchen bad and my eyes begin to tear.  

Do you grow any vegetables? I grow vegetables for domestic consumption.

Describe a typical day. I wake up at 5:00 AM to do the cleanings to protect the family from diseases.  I also go to the field to do some fieldwork like clearing the land and I go to bed at 7:00 PM

If you have an emergency in the family and need a lump sum of cash, do you have it saved? No I do not keep any savings so in an emergency I go and borrow money.  I would borrow money from my husband’s relatives.  

Do you own a cell phone? I had one but it was stolen.

What is your dream? I am very watchful to see how best MicroLoan can really assist me but the way it has started is good.  If I stick to MicroLoan policies I am sure that my problems will be minimal and I will be able to send my children to school.

Interview With Emily Naboti of Tadala Loan Group

Name: Emily Naboti

MicroLoan Group Name: Tadala

Location: Lilongwe

Age: 29

Married: Yes

Do you have children? Yes

How many? 4, 2 boys, 2 girls

Do you care for any orphans? No

Do the children go to school? Yes, they all go to school.

Before you took a loan from MicroLoan, did you take loans from any other institutions? Yes, I was taking a small loan from NABW.  I was only allowed to take a maximum of 10,000MWK which I was repaying monthly.  Because the money was not enough my business was not growing.  

After joining MicroLoan, how man meals per day were you having?  Three meals a day

How many loans have you received from MicroLoan to date? At first I was taking a standard loan for two cycles.  Now I have been taking bridging loans for two cycles.

What sort of business do you have?  I sell clothes, fish, and fritters.

Are you making profits? My business is going very well.  At first I was taking small loans and repaying fortnightly but now I am taking big loans which I repay monthly so this is helping.  This means from the first of the month to the thirtieth I make big profits.  That’s how MicroLoan Foundation is helping me. 

Are you better off now than before MicroLoan?  Yes

What is your dream? My vision is that I hope in the future I will do something big.

What is the big thing you’re going to do? I will build a good house because the house I am living in today is not in good condition.    But I believe that I will build that good house with electricity in it.

Wednesday Workshop

Hi

The internet has not been very strong the past five days so I choose to hold off on posting as I wanted to include pictures.

Last Wednesday I attended a workshop that was held in Kasungu for all MicroLoan Regional and Branch Managers.  The workshop was held to address key areas where operational excellences are being made and where further improvements need to be made.  

The meeting began with brief introductions of everyone.  Following, ground rules were set and agreed upon before the meeting started.  

The Founder and CEO of MicroLoan Foundation, Peter Ryan was supposed to be leading the workshop but he was held up in Nairobi, Kenya after his flight was canceled to Malawi!  Francis Munywoki, the interim CEO of MicroLoan Malawi filled in and ran the workshop with two consultants from the UK, Daniella and Anton.  

The workshop was held to specifically achieve:

- Agreement of a customer charter

- Recap on operational excellence successes to date

- Introduce the New Product Pilot Task Force

- Brainstorm on how MicroLoan can improve savings for its clients

- Develop understanding of what a good group means and appropriate loan collection prices

Everything was really interesting and I really enjoyed being able to take part in the process!  I was in charge of videoing our staff during the insights sections of the workshop.  The words our staff offered were so inspiring and motivational.  I cannot wait to share them when I get home.

During the meeting Mel passed me a note.  She is a full time volunteer from the UK working on staff training in Malawi!  Check out her blog Mel Harbinson's Blog! I opened it up and saw a poem!  I continued reading and decided I would share.

Tutu and Wun-Wun

Tutu was a racehorse

Wun-Wun was one too

Tutu won one race one day,

Wun-Wun won one too

Tutu said to Wun-Wun,

"I want to be like you"

So, when Wun-Wun won one race one day

Tutu won one too

The poem had so much meaning around positive peer pressure.  In the poem Tutu wants to be just like Wun-Wun.  I gathered in life if you try to emulate someone who is your friend you will be successful.  Hence positive peer pressure at MicroLoan wether it be with staff of clients.

Back to translating tons of YouTube client interviews.

All the Best

Jimmy

This Past Weekend at Luwawa Forest Lodge

This past week the internet in the office was dreadful.  The lines were being worked on so it was kicked off for about two days.  Most of the work in the office I had to do was related to YouTube and posting client interviews so that had to be pushed back to this week.

On Friday the internet was still too slow to use so I left for the Kasungu bust station in the afternoon.  I was meeting my American friends from Mayoka at the Luwawa Forest Lodge.  We wanted to pick a destination between Kasungu and Mzimba and Luwawa seemed to be the only location.

They girls live a lot closer to the lodge so I set off first and texted them when I arrived to Jenda which is only a short distance from there.  In Jenda we all had to de board the bus for a police check so I ran to the MicroLoan offices there and popped my head in to say hi!  It was so nice seeing everyone!  

When we got back on the bus it was just a 30 minute ride from there.  When I arrived at the stop I texted Kyla and Leah telling them I had arrived and soon learned their minibus had not yet left because it was not filling up quick enough.  

Twenty minutes later a mini bus passed and two girls were in the back, I could have sworn it was Tori and Charlotte.  They were two girls we met last week at Mayoka from the UK!  Well the mini bus pulled over and out came Tori and Charlotte!  They were spending the night before they took their 36 hour bus ride from Lilongwe to Namibia.  What a small world!  I texted Kyla and Leah right away!

They soon arrived and we took a truck (matola) to the lodge.  It is about a two hour walk from the main road so we paid for the pick up!  The ride was awesome.  We were going right through forest, something I never thought to see in Africa let alone Malawi.  I soon learned it was the largest man made forest in Africa but due to deforestation that claim has been taken back.

When we arrived we nestled up by the fire, placed our things in our room, and explored a bit.  We sat at the dock by the reservoir and then had the staff prepare the sauna for us!  It was so refreshing.  After we showered up and had a really nice dinner.  We then ordered a stack of fire wood and enjoyed life outside in the wilderness.  The fire was situated right next to our dorm so when we were ready for bed we could crawl right in.  The night was so much fun!  We all were the only ones there so we could be as loud as we wanted.  We had brought drinks and food from town so we made a few interesting meals over the fire!

In the morning after we said our goodbyes Charlotte and Tori left.  After breakfast Leah, Kyla, and I set out on a long all day hike. So much of the land was barren due to deforestation.  We did manage to see a small reforestation project that was taking place and took a few pictures.  We walked up hills, down roads, through dirt, forest, and grass until we made it to the fire watch tower.  We set up camp and had peanut butter sandwiches with honey and banana and then had some chips and apples.  It was so peaceful and very cold too!  From the top of the mountain we were able to see Lake Malawi in the distance and Zambia!  

Zambia! 

Lake Malawi!

We then set off for the lodge after four long hours of walking.  We wanted to make sure we left enough time to return before dusk just in case we had a hard time retracing out steps.  Although we were provided with a map, it was no where near accurate.  We did not seem to have any trouble though because Kyla has a much better sense of direction compared to Leah and I.

When we returned we nestled up by the fire and just relaxed.  We were so hungry and could not wait for dinner!  After dinner we enjoyed time by the fire and then went outside and talked about our lives for a bit by that fire.  We soon became really quiet and decided to go to bed really early as we were so tired from our hike.

In the morning we had breakfast and hung out in the lodge all day.  Around 1:00 PM we had the lodge owner George bring us to the road.  Kyla and Leah waited on one side for the bus going North and I waited on the other for the bus going South.  When we arrived at the roadblock in Jenda I ran into MicroLoan Foundations Loan Officer Linda.  She was the one that helped me interview all the clients there while Gerald was out in the field collecting data for the farming project.  She happened to be with her husband and baby so I was able to meet them as well.  Ironically her husband works for the organization Leah and Kyla are volunteering for!

Leah, Me, & Kyla

When we boarded the bus after the police inspection we were off again headed for Kasungu.  I had a perfect seat.  I was right in the front by a seat next to the main door so I had much room to move around and was not so crammed like those in the back.  I had my ipod playing and was just looking out the window when whoof!  The tire popped and the bus swerved all over the road and then jolted forward.  The conductor next to me whacked his head against the window and soon started bleeding.  I was lucky because I had my feet out in front of me pinning my bag against the wall so that braced the jolt forward.

My Seat!

Flat Tire!

The bus came to a halt along the side of the road and out poured everyone into the grass.  It was freezing cold and all I wanted was dinner.  I was starving!  Thank god the bus had a spare tire!  After about and hour and halfs wait, the tire was replaced and we were back on the road.

I made it to Maggie's before dusk.  I am so grateful I am okay!

Looking forward to seeing Leah and Kyla again this coming weekend at Mabuya!

All the Best

Jimmy

Nkhata Bay Continued

The next morning I was looking so forward to the boat trip offering cliff jumping, snorkeling, and fish eagle feeding.  I soon learned it had been canceled because I was the only one person signed up, me!  I was upset but soon learned there was another trip on Tuesday for free rather than $10!   I guess that is why no one was signed up!

I spent the morning swimming, sun bathing, and relaxing.  I also read most of the day because I have a goal to finish all the books I brought with me before I go home.  Around 2:00 I met two American girls, Leah and Kyla who had just arrived in Malawi a week ago.  They came over after they heard me talking and just knew right away I was American!  I soon learned they were both pre-med students at Stanford and were volunteering in Malawi for their summer break.  I learned Kyla was from Sudbury, MA!  We spent the day hanging out and soon met Joel, a Canadian currently mapping sustainable bike routes in Malawi for an organization he and his family have started.  Check out his website Bring Your Own Bike    

We all bonded and before you know it we were in the water canoeing and swimming together.  I have never fallen in love with a group of individuals so quickly.  It was as if we knew one another before meeting.  I really enjoyed their company as they were filled with stories, wisdom, and great insight.  It was so nice talking to them about our lives back home in North America and our experiences thus far in Malawi!

We spent the night playing cards and drinking together.  We stayed up till 7 AM to watch the sun rise on Lake Malawi!  What a beautiful sight! 

I got a bit emotional when I really started to think about how hard it is meeting people you get to know so much about and then within a few days everyone is back on the road either in an office, on a bike, or in the field.  I never felt a connection like this before with someone and knew I wanted to see Joel, Kyla, and Leah again!

Joel and I convinced the girls to stay another night which was really exciting.  I did not want anyone to leave!  We spent the next day at breakfast together, then in the afternoon we did some canoeing, reading, card playing, drinking, and everything in between.  We had really nice pizza for dinner and were joined by friends Helge and Nathalie from Belgium!

Kyla and Leah left Monday morning after breakfast.  We decided we would try and do something next weekend together so we exchanged emails and would be in touch when we both were back in the office.  In the morning I was expecting Hlupe to be traveling to Nkhata Bay to meet up with me.  We were beginning a week long project to try and get some of our sewing products on the market for tourist consumption.  I called her in the morning to see if she was en route but soon learned plans had changed because of fuel shortages in Kasungu.  Go figure!  She said she was going to try and get up on Tuesday but could not guarantee there would be any fuel for the cars.  

With plans quickly changing, I decided to do client visits and interviews at the MicroLoan office in Nkhata Bay.  The office was about a mile from Mayoka, which was really convenient.  When I arrived I was greeted by our Loan Officer Ruth and Branch Manager Brighton.  I went into the market with Ruth and interviewed farming clients growing tomatoes, sweet potatoes, mustard, beans, and groundnuts.  About three hours later we went back to the office to meet a loan group and I called it a day.  

I headed back to Mayoka and met up with the crowd.  I had dinner and had a very long conversation with Joel.  Afterwards we hung out at the bar with friends till 5AM!  I said goodbye to Joel and he was off 30 minutes later!

Three hours later I called Hlupe to see if she managed to find any fuel for the vehicle but did not so I decided I would need to head back to Kasungu Wednesday morning.  I went back to the MicroLoan Nkhata Bay office and did some group visits for the day with Ruth.  I arrived back at Mayoka around 3 PM and saw a crowd of people waiting by the lake.  They were waiting for the boat trip that I totally forgot about!  There happened to be engine problems so it had not left when expected so I managed to take part in the trip as well.

The coast was spectacular!  Lush vegetation grows along the shore as lodges and huts dot the coast.  We motored along until the engine came to a roaring halt and the boat guide began whistling.  Within seconds there was a call back!  What was it?  We threw small fish into the water and out swooped the fish eagle from the tree tops to begin taking part in the feeding.  It was amazing!  I have never been so close to a  bird of prey before.  Afterwards we began having engine troubles and it soon failed us.  We paddled our way back and then anchored for a bit to do some scuba diving.  We were told the site we were exploring was the remnants of an old village back in the day so I thought that was really cool.  There were all sorts of multi colored fish, I felt as if I was diving some coral reef!!  Following we continued paddling back and arrived at the loge right  before sunset.  

I moved to a new room as I had not planned on staying an additional night so I had to pack up my things when I got back from the boat trip.  It was gorgeous!  Private porch with a beautiful window seat looking out into the lake!

I had a relaxing night and played some pool with Mayoka staff and then called it a night.  I was tired and needed to wake up early to catch the bus back to Kasungu!

Malawi just keeps getting better and I know I am going to miss it here so much!  I almost have three weeks left and I already don't want to leave.  I have fallen in love with the work of MicroLoan Foundation and all the great individuals I have come to know and meet!

Peace, Love, and Malawi

Jimmy