Hello
I apologize for no recent posts. Internet connection was so awful in the office this past week and the place I was staying on the lake did not seem to be any better.
As mentioned a few posts ago, I was planning on doing the value chain analysis with the Business Innovation Facility last week week but due to fuel shortages it was canceled.
I decided to head to Mabuya last weekend! It was packed! The owners, Tom and Janie had said it seemed as if it was already July because that is their busiest month of the year!
On Monday the 27th and Tuesday the 28th I met at MicroLoan Foundation's Lilongwe Office where I did field visits with out loan officers there! I wanted to continue my work for Linda Thomson on collection of pictures and interviews of clients for fundraising efforts in the US.
I met at the branch early on Monday morning where I was introduced to Readson, the Office Assistant. Pictures covered the walls of the branch office of our client loan groups. Evita and Glad later arrived. They are both Loan Officers! I was later greeted by the Branch Manger, Menace. He checked the group meeting schedule and sent me out with Glad.
Glad was already in the field seeing groups so Menace said he would get me there. We took the motor bike to a mini bus stop where he gave the driver specific directions in Chichewa as to where to drop me. I got an awful gash on my leg as I was entering the car that bleed the rest of the day. Every fly in the village was attacking it. Not fun! When I arrived at the petrol station Glad was there waiting for me. We introduced and then headed through Lilongwe till we arrived at our first client group. The roads were not typical pavement, something I assumed being in the capital, so the ride was very bumpy and thrilling! Every person did a double take as they saw a muzungu riding on the back of a motor bike!
We arrived at the first group and a sudden uproar of singing and dancing began. I hopped off the motor bike, began videoing, and soon realized I was dancing along with all of the clients. I then sat down with Glad and introduced myself to all of the women as Glad translated. They greeted me with open arms. It was a bi-weekly repayment meeting so all their money was laid out on plates for me to see. They women even insisted when I took their group picture that the money be in the front showing how they all work hard to repay their loan. After a quick visit we were back on the motor bike and traveling a long distance to the next group.
The next group of women we saw were so energetic! They sang a song with a very catchy tune. I replayed the video all week in the office so the lyrics have begun to stick. I mean I guess I can say my Chichewa has improved! The group was also one of the biggest I had seen. Glad explained that lots of women in their village wanted to get involved but due to the group size restrictions some women had to wait till they had others to form another loan group. That explains the group of women sitting under a tree not part of the meeting! They were there to support their friends, see a muzungu, and listen.
While the meeting progressed a young village boy came over to the group and started making noises. I asked "how are you," in Chichewa but did not get an answer. The clients laughed and one lady spoke up. Glad explained that the boy had problems. He was born with a disability. That did not prevent me from shaking his hand and letting him sit next to me. I did not have much in my bag because my lollypop collection was dispersed on the bus to Lilongwe, but I managed to give him an empty water bottle I had. He came back 20 minutes later and game me some sugar cane. An act of kindness that was so unselfish and did not go unnoticed.
After the repayment, some of the clients walked with Glad and I to the village headman's house where we would conduct interviews. On the way we stopped at their individual houses and the ladies showed me their crops. We picked up many village children along the way and when we finally arrived at the headman's house there must have been 30 of them cackling and laughing as they all whispered "muzungu."
Afterwards Glad and I hopped on the motor bike for the long journey home. We stopped at one of our clients takeaways. Lucy was on of MicroLoan's bridging loan clients. The bridging loans are much larger than the standard loans offered and allow women to fun larger business models. The food was so good, cucumber salad, rice, and chicken stew!
I returned to Mabuya and then woke up early the following day and did group visits with our other loan officer in Lilongwe, Evita. The first group of women we met with were so welcoming. Many of the clients were at a funeral and some were sick so we began the repayment meeting anyways. Two women brought Evita and I tea and potatoes. It was very refreshing! Another lady also returned with a huge bag of groundnuts, a loaf of bread, and powdered milk for me. It was so nice! After repayment we went to one of the clients houses with the others. The lady had a coop of some sort in the back of her house so I asked what it was. Evita told me it was a pigeon coop. The client opened the door and out came the pigeons into their holding pen. I got closer to take a picture and out flew all the pigeons into the sky. I screamed and panicked because I thought they were going to fly away and it would have been all my fault. Evita explained they all come back and all the ladies were roaring with laughter.
Afterwards one of the clients prepared Evita and I a great lunch in the village headman's house. Nsima and pumpkin leaves with groundnuts and tomatoes. I think it was the best I have had since in Malawi. I even managed to drink the village water. I am still alive so I don't think it had much of an effect on my system! Following the meeting we went into the market where we interviewed three of our clients. Our first interview was with a lady selling nsima and vegetables at an open air eatery. The next was with a client who ran her own tea room. I purchased a round of tea for everyone and we all had a bread biscuit to go a long with it before we interviewed the next client. Lastly, we interviewed a client selling irish potatoes. We then took the long drive back to the branch. Most of the journey was on the intercity road so we were going 80kph and big buses, cars, and trucks still managed to pass us. We then were held up by a police man and were told the President of Malawi, Bingu Wa Muthalika's convoy would be coming through and that we would need to pull over and wait till they passed. What a sight, I managed to get a picture even though Evita advised against it. She said it was illegal and I confirmed that in the office on Wednesday when I returned. There were about 15 cars in the convoy and they all speed by at 150kph!
When we returned to Lilongwe Evita and I stopped at the office and then she drove me back to Mabuya. I was a mess. I had no shower in four days due to water and power shortages. The filling station we passed on the way was packed. That was a sign that getting back to Kasungu tomorrow morning would be tough.
I was right! We stopped for about two hours along the side of the road to wait for black market fuel.
Best
Jimmy
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