Things you might see on the back of a bicycle in Malawi

Many of the people in Malawi get around via bicycle. It is a developing nation, and motor vehicles are extremely expensive, so it makes sense to take a bike. We have seen hundreds of bikes in our time here. Almost all of them have a rack on the back for carrying things. Listed below are some of the things you might see on a bike in Malawi, and probably a number of other 3rd and 4th world countries. Some are normal, some border on the strange, and some are just bizarre. They are listed here in no particular order…
On the back of a bike you might see:
A car battery, multiple car batteries, huge reams of 1o foot long grass, firewood, a big stack of firewood, firewood piled 8-10 feet high, a person, two people, a small family, fish (actually, they’re usually hanging from the handlebars, but sometimes they’re stacked on the back), dead chickens, live chickens which appear to be dead (read kate’s travel tip #36 for more info on chicken transportation techniques), a goat, multiple goats (I’m pretty sure all the goats we have seen were alive), another bike, a person holding another bike, a person pushing another bike next to the bike upon which he is riding, bags of illegal charcoal, 50kg of flour or rice, 100 kg of flour or rice, 50kg of flour or rice with a goat tied on top and chickens hanging from the sides and fish on the handlebars (usually in this case the bike is not being ridden, but pushed from the side), a full wooden bedframe (the balance is incredible), a door, giant PA speakers, amplifiers, piles of dvd players, tv’s (I’ve no idea what they do with all the electronics, there’s not much of a market for them here), angle iron, bags of concrete, 10 foot long sticks of lumber, a welder (note: in my experience, there are NO welding masks here, they use cheap sunglasses instead), re-bar, a tool box, pottery, wicker baskets, wicker toys, wicker chairs, wood carvings, piles of sugar cane, a case of soda, 4 cases of beer, any amount of cases of Chibuku Shake Shake (maize “beer” in cardboard cartons; we’ve not tried it, but apparently it’s really, really gross and chunky, but it’s cheap), assorted car parts (I’m pretty sure I saw a transmission the other day), tires (bicycle, car, or truck, with or without the wheel), a 20 liter bucket of paint, 2 20 liter buckets of paint, bricks, a wheelbarrow, cabbage, other assorted vegetables, coils of wire or rope, and just about anything you could possibly need to build a house.
I’m sure there are things I missed, but that is a pretty good list of commonly seen items on the back of a bike in Malawi. We hope you enjoyed this little glimpse into life here. We’ll see what we can do about getting some pictures of the above mentioned sights up in the near future.
Zicomo Kwambili!
Jarrod and Kate

Kate's Travel Tip #36

To really experience a country you MUST take public transportation.
Most of us in the US drive around in our own cars with our music on the radio at our own speed but many without cars take public transportation. Some put their nose up to public ways of getting around but I say it really gives one a true experience of a country. Jarrod and I had the joy of taking a bus from here (Senga Bay) to Lilongwe to spend a couple of days with Suzi and Mama K. The trip started off with us hopping the bus on the tarmack by Cool Runnings at 6:20am. There are not any bus stops here so you just flag the bus down as it is coming by. This means the bus stops about every 20 meters to pick people up. The bus holds about 60 people but at this time we were only carrying about 30 and it was still very early and cold so it was not so bad. Once we hit Salima at about 7:30am (about a 15min drive, normally) we sat in the bus rank for almost an hour and filed in as many people as we could. In the states that 60 people bus would only hold 60 people, but here in Malawi it hold close to 100 plus their bags and their chickens and anything else they need to take to Lilongwe with them. I fortunately got a window sit but Jarrod was not as lucky. He sat next to me and the aisle which was crammed full of people. Now just a little bit of information, Malawi people have no consideration of space and have no problems being packed into bus. Jarrod on the other hand does not enjoy people touching him and being in his bubble or tight spaces full of people so you can understand his problem.
So that is how it feels to be on a bus…now the smells…although people do bath in Malawi it is not ritualistic to bath every day like most Americans. Also when we smell, it is a sweet dairy smell because of our diets but Malawians eat mostly carbs so they smell…well…wow. There is really no way to describe it you will all just have to come here and experience it yourself.
Touch…Smell…Sound…well the sounds were of normal talking and babies crying but it was all being over powered by the same song playing over and over again on the tape. It was in Chichewa but it sounded like an old cheesy Christian ballad praise song. Oh…and just a little side note for you…those chickens on the bus didn’t make a sound because when you hang a chicken upside down from a pole it hangs still and looks dead.
To Jarrod’s relief we arrived in Lilongwe 4 ½ hours after we started (in a car it would be a 2 hour drive). Unlike a car though, we really got a chance to embrace Malawian people and their culture in one cramped, smelly, interestingly unique, slow bus ride.

No blogs in a while

Hey folks! I know we havn't written a blog in a while, and I just wanted to write a little note to let everyone know that we're ok and doing well. We have been very busy over the last week working mostly at the safe haven house. Kate has been painting a very cool mural, and I've been painting white walls. Today, we went into Lilongwe to get our visas renewed and to pick up our new (well as new as a car built in 1995 can be) car. It's a pretty nice Nissan Pressia which runs well and should serve us well. We are pretty tired now, so will have to write more later. Perhaps tomorrow evening after soccer duties we'll give you a good update and post some recent pics.
Thanks for reading, and you'll hear from us soon.
Jarrod and Kate

Mama Kadzimira

If Malawi is the warm heart of Africa, then Mama Kadzimira has to be the warm heart of Malawi. Our 3 days of being in Lilongwe (and if you’ve been following along, you know how we feel about Lilongwe) have been punctuated with dinners and evenings at Mama’s lovely home with Mama, her sister Mary, and Suzi. Mama is a most gracious hostess. She is warm and kind, and her heart for the people of Malawi is evident in every word she says. She is very intelligent, and her wry sense of humor caught me off guard more than once. She and Mary made us feel quite at home, and even cozy in her home, despite the palatial feel of the place. The dining room has a grand table which would easily seat 15. A marble topped buffet sits against the wall displaying treasures of Mama’s past. Her Sitting room is adorned with beautiful red velvet chairs with gold trim. A beautiful chandelier hangs from the ceiling. Pictures of her past and pictures of former president Banda hang on the walls and sit on the shelves and tables. Mama was there when Malawi gained it’s independence 45 years ago. She is an integral part of the history of this country, and she is respected as such. She is also real and down to earth, and not at all what my preconceptions were. She is everything a woman in her position should be. Mary, her sister lives with her and serves as a kind of care-taker to Mama. Mary is hysterically funny. She loves hugs (I got six in total yesterday alone). She makes jokes and sings to herself, but is very serious about making sure that the house is run properly. We helped Mary set the table for dinner Wednesday night, and everything had to be perfect. It took us nearly an hour to set the table for six of us (Mary’s not the fastest, she’s the best). Suzi cooked and dinner was wonderful. Thursday night, some people from the Malawi Project showed up to see Mama and Suzi and held an impromptu meeting in the dining room. So, while I was outside unloading and reloading about 4,000 pairs of Air Jordans the project had been donated in a shipping container, Kate and Mary worked on supper. Now, I want to tell you, guests are apparently not allowed in Mama’s kitchen (it’s just not the proper thing to do). So, (and I don’t know if Kate feels this way) it was a bit of an honor for us to be able to cook in her home. When I had completed my task of moving sneakers, and after the power came back on, I joined Kate in the kitchen. She didn’t really need my help though, she had everything under control. Dinner was great, and Mama told us stories of Malawi, and Suzi told us stories of the Project. In the end, all of us were exhausted from a long day. We took some pictures and said our goodnights. Kate and I told Mary we were going to take her back to NJ when we left, and we got some more hugs and made our way back to where we were staying. We are blessed to have been able to spend these two evenings with Mama. Her warmth and presence reflect Malawi, and are a beacon of hope to her people.

Sunday Church and Post-Church Adventures

7-05-09
Thank the Lord it was Sunday…
Jarrod and I went to church at the Senga Bay Baptist church. Last week we sat together but this time to follow what they do I sat with the woman and children on the right and Jarrod sat with the men on the left. Margret (women that runs the Baptist clinic) was there and asked me to sit with her. A man moved up a seat and sat with Jarrod. The pastor is still out caring for his wife who is very sick but the elders of the church did a great job of running the service. We sang and danced for the first hour or so, the children’s group sang and then the women’s group and then the youth choir plus some other individuals. I am finally starting to recognize the songs, I don’t know what we are singing just yet but I can sing along a little and Margret let me read off her hymn book so I could see the words.
After lots of singing… church started with a woman giving a report about the retreat the women went on during the week, what they studied and what they learned from it. Then the sermon, which was on being in the books of the government for and being known in this world but does christ know you and are you on the books to get into heaven. The elder that gave the lesson was very powerful in his conviction and was jumping around and using large hand movments. (he was nice enough to preach in chichewa and english) after he was finished he asked Jarrod to close in prayer, a little confused Jarrod did (most of you know Jarrod’s prayers) and showed his absorbtion and knowledge of the lesson and verses that went with it. Margret then leaned over to me and was just amazed by Jarrod’s faith.
We closed church with a grouping of about 4 hymms put together. As we walked out of church we shook hands with all the elders and then everyone walks out shaking hands with everyone else and forming a circle as we go. Once everyone was out of the building we sang one more hymm as a group and closed in prayer. As everyone started to make their way away from church to start their days most of the men of the church came up to Jarrod to shake his hand and talk soccer. It is so rewarding for all in charge to see that the community is really into the soccer league and support the youth. There are not many organized sports in Malawi so to see the village people excited and supporting it just shows that more community activities can come from this.
After church we walked back to Cool Runnings, Jarrod had to quickly jump in the truck to get to the soccer game and I awaited Magic (the boatman) to return so I could go see the bush babies.
The Lilongwe wildlife center had taken some bush babies from shop owners that were trying to sell them. (very common here in Africa) After some time trying to find their homes in the wild they decided to let them go on Malleri Island with tags so they could monitor them. The week before they had set up a cage at the top of the island and left the babies inside to let them get comfortable with the area. The day I went it was time to open the door. Magic and I were in charge of getting the film crew there. Magic and I took off on the boat to the Wheel House to pick up the film crew and then to the island. Bush babies are nocturnal so the wild life center wanted to open the door at night but Magic didn’t not want to take the boat back at night it was just to dangerous so they agreed to do the release at 4pm right before the sun started to go down. When we got to the top of the island one bush baby was awake and jumping around. Then they opened the cage…now these are wild animals and we need to respect them and there space and let them do what they want to do and not scare them. WELL… the camera crew didn’t think that was right they wanted these great shots of the baby jumping out and playing in the trees and all of that. So the one very stupid camera guy jumped in front of the cage and started dancing around to scare the baby. Well like any wild animal it did get scared and attacked him. The bush baby jumped out of the cage and latched onto his arm and bit in hard. The camera man was trying to throw him off but the baby would not let go. Lee (one of the wildlife crew) gently removed the baby and placed him back in the cage and shut the door. Very angry Lee stopped the whole thing and told everyone to leave. Magic and I walked down the mountain and back to get the boat ready to go as the sun set. About 20 mins late the film crew came down and we were off. I became dark fast and with the ruff current Magic was having trouble steering the boat. Unable to see the buoys he drove right through a fisherman’s net, right away I felt the boat pull and Magic and I just looked at each other. The then slowed way down and we pulled in to the Wheel House and dropped off the film crew. We then pulled the motor out of the water to see that the fishing net had pulled one of our steering fins right off. With nothing we could do just then we decided to slowly drive back to Cool Runnings, the boat pulled the whole way but we made it home safe. We were both very happy to just be back.

Last Saturday's Adventures

The last few days have been very busy. Saturday we started by stopping at Kodo(a place where disabled people can go to find work) to drop Yesen off some new shoes. Yesen is a disabled tailor that works on the front step of Kodo, he has cerebral palsy and he walks on the sides of his feet and wears through shoes quickly.
After that we went to pick up a quad bike at Tony and Lucy’s Hospice Center in Salima. Lucy is a natural medicine specialist and their garden behind their center is just amazing and everything grown there can save lives. After a little work we got the quad on the truck and raced back to Senga bay to do the soccer thing. Kate, Sam, and I drove over to Rovers’ Field and got things going there. Kate only stayed for a few minutes, then rode Sam’s bike back to the Senga Bay field to get team photos and pictures of the game being played there. I’ll let her tell you about her adventure.
Meanwhile, Sam and I stayed at Rovers’. The game was scheduled to start at 1:30. By 2:30, both teams were there, but the ref hadn’t shown up, so we had to pick one randomly out of the people gathered to watch. We did our best to find someone who was impartial, as most of the people there were supporting one team or the other. We found a man with no affiliation and he agreed to ref the game. He did a very good job, we were impressed. Anyway, the game went on without a hitch, and Sam and I set out to leave. Now, earlier in the day, the three of us had driven into Salima for supplies, etc., and while we were there, we picked up a quad that some humanitarian friends of Sam had been donated. It had been given to them to be used as an ambulance, but I’m sure you can imagine a quad makes a pretty lousy ambulance. So, with the ok from the donor, they sold it so they could buy a motorcycle with a sidecar, which makes a much better ambulance for their purposes. Since Sam drives a big ol’ ’75 Chevy pickup (bright yellow, you can’t miss her coming up the road) these people asked if she could take the quad to the people who bought it. So after the soccer game, we went to drop it off, only about 2 or 3 km from the soccer field. We dropped it off, and I showed the new owners how it operates (lots of fun). After that, we left. Sam decided to take some back “roads” instead of heading out to the main road to get home. At one point, we started going up this very steep 30 foot hill, and Sam said, “I think we should have turned left back there…too late now!” She gunned it, and when we got to the top of the hill, it was just sand for about 300 yards in every direction. She tried her best to get across, but that 2WD Chevy only made it about half-way before we were buried up to the axle. Instantly, and seemingly out of nowhere, there were 20 villagers standing there ready to help (for money). Sam and I tried to let air out of the tires, found tree branches to wedge under the wheels, and I even found 2 thin cinderblocks buried in the sand to put under the wheels, but alas, traction could not be found. Sam reasoned with the villagers that the right thing to do would be to help us without asking for money. At first they laughed at her, but eventually, she got them to help. About 45 minutes later, we were free. Sam gave the guys some money anyway and we started off. We had let way too much air out of the rear tires though, and they were now basically flat. Sam’s little 12v air compressor wasn’t working for one reason or another, so we drove slowly until we found a group of young guys in front of a house. “Do you have a bike pump?” “Yes!” And just like that, these guys were pumping up the tires, no questions asked. After another 45 minutes or so (and some modifications to the bike pump), the tires had enough air to get us home, and home we went, but not without incident. By now, it was completely dark, and we’re on a one lane dirt road. We saw a set of headlights ahead, and they weren’t moving. Sam didn’t want to stop the truck, since the road did have some spots of deeper sand, but we had to, there was no way around. So I got out to check the situation, and found that the truck ahead was stuck in some sand. This was a 4WD truck. It wasn’t stuck too bad though, and we got him out. Sam asked if I thought we could get through it. I told her it was only about 15 feet of deep sand, but it was very deep. We could either hit it really fast, or back up until we hit a turn off. Sam hit the gas…hard. When we hit that sand, I’m pretty sure the truck got airborne, because I don’t think we even slowed down. She is crazy. We finally got home about 20 minutes later. Kate was there waiting for us. We exchanged the days adventures over dinner and went to bed.
So my Saturday goes like this…Like Jarrod said at the top, I rode Sam’s bike back down to the Senga Bay Soccer Field, being a young azungu (white person) many of the men on the street were hooting and giving me the what’s up baby one boy scared me as I rode towards him he shouted “hey baby,” I just ignored him but as I rode past he slapped me in the chest. Fortunately it didn’t knock me off the bike but it gave me a scare. After catching my breath and re-gathering my self I coasted down the hill to the field.
The game was very good. When I got there Perri (the young man that runs the Senga Bay side of the league) was very excited to see me. His judge didn’t show up so I had to fill in. Not really knowing how to judge well (unlike Jarrod who is the best) I did my best and fortunately both coaches were very helpful and assisted me along with Perri. It was the Lucky Stars vs. the Senga Bay Boarding School and by far the best game of soccer I have seen so far in the league. The game ended 4 to 2 with the boarding school the winners. The most exciting points of the game were when the top of the goal cage (just 3 pieces of wood put together to make a frame) falling on the goal keeper’s head and him holding back tears and jumping back up to save to goals, and when the 4 goals were made by the boarding school, their cheering section would all run out on the field and do back flips and scream and yell.

just a few new pics

Hey folks, just wnted to let you know that we have posted a few new pics. We are in lilongwe yesterday, today and tomorrow, visiting with Suzi and Mama K. We found a coffee shop with relatively cheap WiFi nearby, so we thought we’d take the opportunity to post up some pics. You’ll see soccer, the (empty) library we’re working on, a bush baby, the kids at the Baptist Clinic, and Yessin’s new shoes. We know you may not understand what they’re all about, as we havn’t really blogged about some of those things, but we will soon. Enjoy the pics!
Jarrod and Kate

pics!

hey y'all,
Some pics from the first few days of our journey are finally up. click on the cheesy pic of kate and i on the left side of this page to see them. special thanks to texas jess for bringing them back to the states on a memory card and emailing them to matt. and special thanks to matt for posting them. more to come soon...

cell phones

well i just wanted to send out a post saying that jarrod and i have suspended our verizon service while here in Malawi. it doesnt really work and it is so very expensive so jarrod suspended it the other day and we just picked up a phone here so we can call people in the country. it only cost 5,000MK (26$) and it has enough units to get us through our trip. so take that verizon!
so just email the reception is better (sometimes) hehe.
kate

7-3-09
well i know jarrod has written to tell you all that is happening so far but i thought i would just write a little.Jarrod has come down with a cold that started in his nose but has now moved into his chest. he has been resting a lot and having lots of tea, hopefully this won't last to long, i just hate when he is sick. while jarrod is worried about getting better...Sam and I have been very busy getting our thoughts and things together for all of her projects. the safe haven house is coming along and i think with jarrod and i there to help it has put a little fire under the bellies of somoni and erica that run it. I will be painting some educational morals inside the class (all purpose) room because right now it is a little cold and uninviting so we are going to funk it up a little and we are going to get the kids to help. Sam's big goal with the Save Haven is to make the kids proud of their space. It is a place for them where they should feel safe and included. Erica is such a sweet heart and the kids just love her but right now Erica controls the space and Sam wants the kids to feel more at home there so then can feel comfortable talking with Erica and Somoni.Also in the up coming weeks we will be working on the communtiy library. we went today and looked at the very large space to get a better idea of how we want to lay things out. there is still much to do to get it up and running but the ball is moving forward and everybody helping seems to be very excited about it.Well tomorrow is the 4th of July and all of you will be celebrating and watching fire works. our fire works here wont happen until the 6th of July. that is Malawi's indepence day. so the cool runnings camp is full and there are all kinds of people making their way down the the lake to celebrate.Next week we have so much to do....we have soccor all weekend again. it is funny a lot of the people here now know me a katie (yes back to katie, kate is hard for them to pronounce) but when we walk around people address jarrod as Judge. it just shows you their respect for Jarrod in his position as Judge for the soccor league. also a press man from the Guardian (a Malawi News paper) is coming to the game on Saturday to write a story on the Under Fifteen league. Sam hopes that it will get other areas of Malawi to orginize their own leagues. there are not many orginized sports here in Malawi. A lot of it is lack of transportion and funds. I will be posting a little later the address of were to send things(DUTY FREE) to Malawi for sports. The only sport really played here is soccer so if you would like to send balls, pumps or even team uniforms, i will get that to you.then holiday on monday...then tuesday i have to finish the medicial medicine packets that i have made for the safe haven.then on wednesday we leave for lilongwe to stay with suzi and mama kadmankira for a couple of days. (and you cant forget my birthday weds too)we will then arrive back in senga bay on friday, hopefully in the car that we want to pick up in lilongwe on thursday. Jarrod and I cant thank the church enough for their help.then Saturday it is soccor again, church on sunday and back to the fields for sunday afternoon.