Visit Back to Jenda

On Wednesday morning I headed up to Jenda.  It was my first time on the bus alone and I did really well!  I thought for sure I would get off at the wrong stop but I managed just fine.

I was met at the station by Gerald who had been there for a few days collecting data for the FICA project.  He brought me to the branch office where I was greeted by the Office Assistant, Linda.  Little did I know she would be the one helping me the rest of the day.

I went to Jenda to work on another project.  I have been tasked on collecting pictures and video of clients for MicroLoan USA.  The offices plan on using the information for grant writing, public relations campaigns, and fundraising efforts.  My visit to Jenda was really exciting and I did a lot of video and picture taking of clients!

The branch in Jenda is the newest to MicroLoan Malawi.  It was opened this year and already it's bustling with clients!  I was able to meet with two groups and witness their reapplication for a loan.  They start by going through the bylaws set by the group  and then conclude with their signature next to the amount of the loan they would receive.  Most women sign their name but some do not know how to write so they use a finger print instead!  Following, they women head to the bank with the Office Assistant to cash the check from MicroLoan which includes the total amount of the group loan.  They then return to the Branch Office to divvy up the loan to each individual client in the group.  After, the clients invest in new businesses or the current ones they are participating in.

Kapsya Loan Group 

Chitukuko Loan Group

For lunch Gerald and I headed into the market to do some wandering and exploring.  For lunch I had chips from one of the market vendors.  I told Hlupe when I got into the office on thursday and she asked if I got sick.  She couldn't believe I was fine!  (The chips are our equivalent of french fries)  After lunch I took some photos of some market stalls and had Gerald ask around the vegetable stalls if any of the women were clients of MicroLoan.  Two raised their hands so I went over and introduced myself and Gerald translated.  I took a snap and shared the image with them and their surrounding stall mates.  After we went back to the office to continue our work.

Chips & Chicken From the Market for Lunch!

Open Air Butchery

MicroLoan Client Selling Mustard

MicroLoan Client Selling Rape

When I returned I began interviews with clients.  Linda conducted all interviews while I manned the camera!  My first set of interviews were with women from the Kapsya Loan Group.  The group was made up of 11 women!  I have posted two interviews below.

Link to Interview with Elizabeth Nyirenda

Name: Elizabeth Nyirenda

MicroLoan Group Name: Kapsya

Location: Jenda

Age: 42

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

Before you had a loan from MicroLoan, did you earn enough to provide for the family? Before MicroLoan things were not good.  I used to be a farmer and grown tomatoes but I did not earn enough money for my family.

Before you had a loan from MicoLoan, how many meals per day were you having? 1 meal a day

How many loans have you received from MicroLoan to date? 3 loans

What sort of business do you have?  How is it doing? I sell tomatoes and it is doing well.

Are you better off now than before MicroLoan? I am better off now.

How has MicroLoan helped you? Now with my loan from MicroLoan I am doing well.  Things have changed.

What is your dream? My dream is to buy a maize mill.

Link to Interview with Margret Muluwafu

Name: Margret Muluwafu

MicroLoan Group Name: Kapsya

Location: Jenda

Age: 26

Married: Yes

Do you have children? Yes

How many? 2, 2 boys

Do you care for any orphans?  No

Do the children go to school? Yes

Before you had a loan from MicroLoan, did you earn enough to provide for the family?  Before MicroLoan I used to be a farmer and I did not have enough money to provide for the family.

Before you had a loan from MicoLoan, how many meals per day were you having? 3 meals a day

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

What sort of business do you have?  How is it doing? I sell tomatoes and it’s doing well.

Are you better off now than before MicroLoan? I am much better off now.

How has MicroLoan helped you?  Life has changed for good compared to before MicroLoan.

What is your dream? My dream is to build houses so that I could rent them and source money from it.

Following Kapsya, I interviewed clients from Chitukuko Loan Group.  Their group consisted of 23 women!  I have posted two of the interviews below.  You can view the rest of the interviews with translations on my YouTube account!

Link to Interview with Dorah Mhango

Name: Dorah Mhango

MicroLoan Group Name: Chitukuko

Location: Jenda

Age: 31

Married: Yes

Do you have children? Yes

How many? 1, 1 girl

Do you care for any orphans? I care for 3 orphans.

Do the children go to school? Yes

Before you had a loan from MicroLoan, did you earn enough to provide for the family? Before MicroLoan I used to sell bananas on a very small scale.  I did not earn enough money to provide for my family.

Before you had a loan from MicoLoan, how many meals per day were you having? 3 meals a day

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

What sort of business do you have?  How is it doing? I have a shop selling groceries.  It is going well.

Are you better off now than before MicroLoan?  Now that I have the support from MicroLoan, things are going a lot better.

How has MicroLoan helped you? MicroLoan has helped me do what I always wanted!

What is your dream? My dream is to educate my children.

Link to Interview with Esnart Nkhonje

Name: Esnart Nkhonje

MicroLoan Group Name: Chitukuko

Location: Jenda

Age: 35

Married: Yes

Do you have children? Yes

How many? 4, 2 boys, 2 girls

Do you care for any orphans? I care for 2 orphans.

Do the children go to school? Yes

Before you had a loan from MicroLoan, did you earn enough to provide for the family? Before MicroLoan things were not working for me.  I used to be a farmer on a small scale.  I did not earn enough money to provide for the family.

Before you had a loan from MicoLoan, how many meals per day were you having? 3 meals a day

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

What sort of business do you have?  How is it doing? I sell tomatoes and its going very well.

Are you better off now than before MicroLoan? I am much better off.

How has MicroLoan helped you? Now that I have support from MicroLoan I can fund other family members businesses.

What is your dream? My dream is to build a house.

This was by far the most rewarding experience of my trip in Malawi thus far!  I learned so much about these women and their individual lives before MicroLoan and after they received their loan from MicroLoan!

After both groups left they both sang some great songs for me!  Click the links below to watch them on YouTube.  I have included translations on the video under description on YouTube!

Kapsya Loan Group Singing

Some of Chitukuko Loan Group Singing

Enjoy

Best Wishes

Jimmy

Fuel Shortage Effects my Schedule

I was planning on being out of the office for the entire week next week as I was participating in the value chain analysis with consultants from Imani Development.


Just got word that they cannot make the trip as their is no fuel in the south of the country where they are located.  Looks like we have to reschedule!

Malawi Fuel Shortages

Returning from Lilongwe with Gerald last week.  The bus comes to a complete halt and pulls over into the brush along the road.  Why?

Men sit huddled under a tree with a baby softly crying in the distance.  Passengers grow restless.  The driver steps out onto the road and converses with the men.  I wonder what is going on.  

A boy comes out of the wood with a large yellow container attached to the back of his bicycle.  The driver hands the men a wad of cash.  Out comes a funnel.  What is going on…fuel sales on the black market!

Recently Malawi has been gripped by fuel shortages that have halted the operations of different sectors of the economy.  This is evidence by the scarcity of diesel, petrol, and paraffin.  

The few filling stations with diesel and petrol are so crowded it takes hours before one gets their chance at the pump.  Apart from transportation, the problem has also affected operations of communication sectors and service sectors.  When there is a blackout of electricity, Malawi’s network providers, Zain and TNM use fuel for operation of their transformer system. Due to shortage of fuel some areas of the country are experiencing communication problems when there is a blackout. 

The predominant reason Malawi is having this problem is due to a shortage of foreign exchange to buy fuel energy imported through neighboring countries.  Also, importers are demanding cash payments because Petroleum Importers Ltd. hasn’t repaid all debts from deliveries made on credit!

In an effort to combat this fuel crisis the Malawi Government through Malawi Energy Regulatory Authority (MERA), has directed fuel service stations to ration fuel to clients so that there is optimum distribution of the commodity. 

Hopefully things get better in the coming weeks!

Lake Malawi!

I woke up this early Saturday morning as I had a long weekend for myself planned!

I was headed to Lake Malawi!  I was originally planning on going myself but soon realized the other MicroLoan folk from the UK were planning a trip to the lake region as well!  They were staying at a different lodge but I figured I could hitch a ride with them rather than sitting on the back of a truck!

I had Hlupe call the Nkhotakota Pottery and Lodge on Friday to book me in for a single room with bed and breakfast included for Saturday and Sunday!  I left early morning Saturday with the others from MicroLoan UK.  We went through the Nkhotakota National Park but only saw baboons  :(  I knew there were recent sightings of elephants and lions but because of the thick brush they were too hard to spot!  The road was all dirt so you can imagine the dusty and bumpy ride we had!

Road Through the Wildlife Reserve!

I found some nice information on Nkhotakota prior to leaving.  I though I would share!  During much of the 19th century Nkhotakota was the largest slave market on Lake Malawi!  As many as 20,000 slaves were shipped every year across the lake to Kilwa Kivinje on the Tanzanian Coast.  The slave trade in Nkhotakota was stopped in the 1890's!

Upon arrival I planned on walking the beach to my final destination, the Nkhotakota Pottery & Lodge.  I knew it was only 800 yards from the place those from MicroLoan were staying, so it wasn't going to be a bad walk with my backpack and travel bag! 

When we arrived, I wondered if we aware actually at the ocean rather than a lake!  The waves were huge!  I instantly fell in love with Eagle Rock Bay Lodge!  It was nothing I expected so I decided to spend the night with the MicroLoan crew there!  Instead of renting small single rooms, we rented a house for a lot cheeper at Eagle Rock and it was awesome!  We had our own private beach with a kitchen, three rooms, and a private bath. 

We decided to walk to the pottery lodge for lunch and I was able to cancel my reservation for Saturday night.  They didn't mind as I told them I worked for "MicroLoan Foundation!"  MicroLoan's first branch in Malawi was located in Nkhotakota so they are very well known out here!

We had a great lunch!  I had been craving fish since I arrived, and the piece of fish I had, chambo, was so good!  I was excited for the following day when I would be able to try more varieties for lunch and dinner!

Chambo for Lunch!

After a great lunch we headed back to Fish Eagle where we all took a nice dip in the lake.  It was so warm!  The water was so clear and the ground so sandy!  Following, we went up to one of the gazebos for some beers and reading before dinner.  When it was time, we headed into the cafe area where fish and rice awaited.  We also met a lady from Switzerland, Sarah, who joined us for dinner.  She had been traveling in Mozambique, Malawi, and Zambia for the past six weeks!  She had been to Malawi last year for six months staying at an orphanage and researching the integration of those into the community once they were of age to go out on their own!  She was so interesting and had stories of all of her adventures across the world!

After, we all went back to the gazebo to play cards.  We played this game, "shit head."  Cannot wait to show all you how to play when I return.  It was so much fun!  After about 20 rounds we called it a night and hit the sack. 

I woke up at 6:00 AM to see the sun rise!  It rises over Mozambique, which lies across the lake, so you are able to see it and the pink clouds as it lights up the sky early in the morning.  It was beautiful! 

Everyone left at 10:00 AM as they had work to do and Priya was heading to Zambia to see MicroLoan's new offices there!  I was on my own for the day!  I headed down the beach to the Pottery Lodge where I was able to sun bathe and catch some waves!  After, I walked the grounds, admiring the organic garden and the pottery classes being taken by local villagers.  The rooms and pottery center were Harry Potter themed so it made me think of friends back home.  I stayed in Hufflepuff Room 4!

Hogwarts Pottery Training Workshop

View From My Room

I had a great lunch on the beach with a few MGT's and following, set out on an exploration.  I walked along the beach around a cove where I came upon a fishing village.  I followed a young girl and her father into the village where I introduced myself and asked if I could see their agriculture!  A young lad came over and instantly shook my hand and offered to tour the fields with me.  His name was Bubaka!  He was 15 years old and spoke really good english, so much better than the villagers living in Kasungu and Jenda!  After about a 20 minute walk inland he showed me the village plots of rice, bananas, maize, mustard, and tomatoes.  Such healthy crops, I presume from the water the lake provides for irrigation!  After, I took some snaps of the children and headed back to catch a few more rays!

Bubaka and Villagers

Rice Fields

Mustard and Banana Plants 

I felt a shadow over me and soon opened to see Sarah hovering above me.  She had walked down to the pottery for the day to do some painting.  She sat with me in the sand and we talked for awhile!  After, she asked if I would be up for climbing Sun Mountain with her at 6:00 AM!  I was down!

At dinner,  I met a small group of Americans from Michigan State University who had just taken a three week class here in Malawi and were continuing their travels with individual non-governmental organization internships!  What a cool summer abroad experience!  Afterwards I went to my room and grabbed a warm blanket and spent the night under a cabana on the beach waiting for the moon rise.  I don't think I have seen anything more spectacular than this.  It was amazing!

Butter Fish for Dinner

I woke up at 5:30 AM and ran down the beach to meet Sarah at Fish Eagle!  Along the way I took some really nice pictures of the sun rise!  We were both so excited for our climb!  I soon learned Sarah was a professional athlete in Switzerland before starting her own mountain guide business there!  She loved rock climbing, skiing, rowing, running, hiking, and was so adventurous!  When we got to the peak, we sat on a large rock and just admired the scenery.  We both shared snacks and then headed back down to grab breakfast!  The way down was not planned, we decided to scale the mountain rather then taking the path we traveled up on.  It was so much fun!  We trekked through the brush and clung to rocks as we shimmied down one of the steep cliffs!  At the base we had ended up in villages around Nkhotakota so we stopped and took pictures with the children and spoke with some of the adults.  Everyone was so nice.  They said they had not seen any "mzungu" in more than a month because the fuel shortage had prevented travelers from taking the ride out!

Sun Rise! Mozambique in the Distance!

Mt. Sun, Pre Summit

Summit!

After breakfast I packed up my things and called Richard, the Branch Manager for the Nkhotakota MicroLoan Branch!  The Pottery and Lodge is about an hours walk from the main road and with my things, it would be too much!  Richard came on his motor bike and I hopped on the back!  After a fun ride through the villages and a short distance on the main road I had arrived at the location where the trucks leave for Kasungu!  Richard managed to get me a seat in the front of the truck so I was not crammed in the back seat or sitting in the bed of it!

About an hour into the ride and more than halfway through the Nkhotakota Wildlife Reserve the truck got a flat.  Could this really be happening!  Rather than panic with the thought of game roaming the grounds, I just waited patiently.  Everyone was speaking chichewa so I had no idea what was going on till I met a lady who spoke some English and was able to answer my questions regarding the situation.  After about an hours wait with restless passengers, a car finally came along that was headed to Nkhotakota.  Our driver hitched a ride back to get a new tire.  Well after two long hours of waiting, and still no driver, and flies attacking every part of my body I decided I had to take some control.  When the next car passed I got out and asked if I could get a ride to Kasungu!  The driver was so nice, as he was a mini bus driver, and wanted all the business he could get.  Some stayed and waited and the rest joined me on an adventure back to Kasungu!  I had planned on getting into the office before the close of the day to read email but that plan was quickly squashed with the flat tire.  Now outside the Wildlife Reserve, I began worrying about arriving in Kasungu before sunset.  The driver stopped at every village and group of people we passed along the way picking up and dropping off passengers.  He was trying to make as much money as possible!  I don't blame him, but I really wanted to get back to Kasungu to shower, eat dinner, and avoid being attacked by dogs at all costs!

Nkhotakota Reserve Enterance!

The Truck I Traveled On!

Flat Tire!

I made it home safely!  Walked into my room at 7:45 PM!  What a journey!  One I will never forget!  I look forward to going back to the lake in two weeks to do some work with Hlupe!

Wish You All Well

Jimmy

FICA Project with MicroLoan Foundation Malawi!

Friday, June 17th, 2011

Sorry for the late posts!  I have been so busy with work and play that I had yet to have a minute on the internet to post!

I returned from Lilongwe Thursday afternoon with Gerald!  Had another great experience using the busses to and from Lilongwe and Kasungu!

On Wednesday we had a meeting regarding the grant MicroLoan Foundation was awarded through FICA (Flemish International Cooperation Agency).  FICA is committed to achieving the United Nations millennium development goals to put an end to poverty by 2015.  They are active in Southern Africa and its partner countries are South Africa, Mozambique, and Malawi.  FICA works with local authorities, but also with indirect actors such as NGOs, research institutes, and multilateral organizations, like MicroLoan Foundation!

MicroLoan was awarded the money through FICA to create opportunities for client farmer groups to supply produce to wholesalers and retailers!  The project is over a three year period and focuses in four main areas. (1) Providing access to wholesale markets, (2) Ongoing training for existing groups to upgrade their skills, (3) Providing loans for farming input, and (4) Accessing better quality inputs and the benefits of bulk purchasing!

The meeting on Wednesday was with some individuals who work for BIF (The Business Innovation Facility).  They are supporting our project with complimentary technical assistance, helping MicroLoan assess value chain and options for market linkages between smallholder farmers and retailers, wholesalers, and processors.  They are also helping us develop a business plan for a viable enterprise providing market intermediary services.

The value chain analysis is taking place next week with Georgina and her translator Mike.  Gerald and I were both invited to come along and assist!  I am so excited to take part in this process!  We will be visiting three districts over the course of five days.  In Lilongwe we will be conducting interviews with processors and retailers.  Included in the list is PTC, Shoprite, Sunbird, Wilderness, Spar, Foodworths, Ulendo, Sana, and Ex-Agris.  In Mzuzu we will conduct interviews with traders, ago dealers, and market vendors.  And in Jenda we will interview traders, ago dealers, market vendors, and MicroLoan farming clients as well as other non-MicroLoan farming clients!  

At the meeting we also developed a viable business plan with the help of BIF.  It was a really interesting process as we took part in a baseline evaluation of the plan and would do the same at the conclusion of the three year project in order to see the results.  We constructed a flow chart with what the initial steps would be to get the enterprise off the ground and then concluded with what we wanted the ending results of the project to look like!  It was really eye opening taking part in something like this! 

At the end of the meeting I told Georgina and Karen that I was staying at Mabuya!  They told me to look out for a young guy, Andy, from the UK who was involved with another project BIF was supporting!  When I sat down for dinner, I saw a guy sitting by himself and asked if he was Andy!  He said, "yeah, how did you know?"  So I explained how Karen and Georgina told me about him and that we should speak as we were both working on agriculture related projects in Malawi!  He is working on his masters in environmental technology and is studying a start up company in Malawi, AfrNut!  We spoke about our interests and travel around Malawi.  He told me about how him and his brother biked from Malawi to Tanzania a few years ago and shared with me his entire experience and all the places he stayed!  

I also met a great American couple from Oregon who have been traveling Southern Africa for the past two months and were finishing their journey in Malawi!  They plan on volunteering at a primary school for the next month!  They had so many great stories of their experiences thus far that they shared with me!  They told me about their near death experience camping in a national park in Zambia where an elephant was sniffing their tent in search of food and they awoke at 4:00 AM to their guide screaming "don't move."  If they startled the elephant they could have been trampled! 

Have a nice relaxing, long weekend planned!  Stay connected!

Love

Jimmy