Being in Africa Again—Malawi in May

I’m here in Malawi to participate in an evaluation of our World Renew work, across the border, in Mozambique. Right now it’s Saturday afternoon; early Monday morning we will travel to Tete, Mozambique.

I think t’s been about 10 years since the last time I was in Africa. I ask myself why it feels good to in Africa again. There is a feeling of face to face human interaction, even in Lilongwe an important city of Malawi. My friend, Peter tells me that most of the people in the city are the first generation to move from their rural villages to the city. I think you can feel this in the way they walk slowly, the way they wear their hats, and especially in the way they they enjoy interacting with each other.  (It’s not all “peace and love”: sometimes the interactions in the market can feel like crowding, and we saw a policeman slapping a man along the road, too.

Last night I watched an interview with the president of Malawi, Mrs. Banda. She told how she had gone through being an abused wife and how she feels for the many women of Malawi who are abused by their husbands. So, there is a dark side of African culture, too. But, she also told of her striving to free the women and men of Malawi from poverty—-so that women will have more choices, and not feel resigned to trying to protect their futures by having as many children as possible. There is hope for Africa in this kind of leadership.