My first time in Malawi
Hello friends of KATW, I'm so glad that you dropped by to see what your favorite altruistic knitting artist is up to! My name is Ashley Sullivan and I have the distinct pleasure of being Kelly's volunteer for her Malawi 2014 trip as well as her contributing blogger while I accompany her. We've been friends for 15 years now and getting to know this side of her has given me new insight into the woman she has become. I will never be able to thank her enough for a giving me this once in a lifetime opportunity. If you have the chance, I seriously recommend going on an exotic, spur of the moment trip, especially if a great friend is involved.
As many of you know KATW is a charity that works with organizations who provide services for people living with HIV/AIDS in Malawi (and hopefully in the future many other countries). Although I knew what KATW did, I didn't fully understand the whole concept until I arrived here on Sunday afternoon.
Our arrival was met with a parade, dancing group, and the military honor guard dressed to the nines. Honestly it really was. Now it wasn't meant for us necessarily, it was actually for their newly elected president who was just arriving back home from the African summit being held at the White House. This small detail however did not dampen our spirits and we took the celebration as a great way to be greeted to Malawi. This being my inaugural visit, I seized the opportunity to wave my most presidential wave as others looked on wondering who this strange and rather egotistic girl was. I'm sure many just chalked it up to jet lag.
We then proceeded thru customs with little problem. The only odd part being we had our temperature taken before we got to the line to have our passports stamped, I'm sure as a precaution due to the current Ebola epidemic. Kelly and I picked up our bags with no problem and proceeded to exchange some of our money. Now I am far from poor, broke yes, poor no and exchanging money here made me feel quite blessed to have been born in a country, that while struggles, still is far ahead in its economic stability than a lot of countries, Malawi included. This point was driven home while we waited for our arranged ride to pick up his other passenger.
We then proceeded thru customs with little problem. The only odd part being we had our temperature taken before we got to the line to have our passports stamped, I'm sure as a precaution due to the current Ebola epidemic. Kelly and I picked up our bags with no problem and proceeded to exchange some of our money. Now I am far from poor, broke yes, poor no and exchanging money here made me feel quite blessed to have been born in a country, that while struggles, still is far ahead in its economic stability than a lot of countries, Malawi included. This point was driven home while we waited for our arranged ride to pick up his other passenger.
We had our stuff brought to the car by men who were very eager, pushy even to help us, they of course wanted tips. I thought to myself sure, they work for him (our driver) then I realized that they were not his helpers, only aggressive helpers that look for those who may have cash that they would part with easily. It's hard to say "no, sorry" when I see they're very worn but clean clothes and know they experience hunger much more than I, but I was advised that giving would cause more problems than help. Tough love I guess. The men left and we waited enjoying the sun, well I was enjoying the sun, and just absorbing all that I could.
I watched people arrive and depart, listened to the cheers and music in the distance and then noticed a group of young children around 6-7 yrs. old wander about and walk past us. Now, Kelly and I are on one side of the vehicle, chatting and seemingly oblivious to what is around us. To keep the vehicle cool its windows were rolled down. The kids spot us and kept walking around the other side of the car. I think they pass, but can hear some giggling, so I turn and see the kids with their hands in the window attempting to open one of the pockets of my pack back. They see me spot them and all jump back with a look that a young one has when they've been caught with their hand in the cookie jar. The smallest ones' face changes quickly to a very adorable, angelic smile and says "you give me money, you buy me food". His expression tied with his thick Malawian accent, extremely shabby clothes and absolute sharp wit made me laugh so hard! I just stood their laughing at the absurdity that this is really happening to me right now, and not in some movie laden with African orphan archetypes. Shaking my head no and laughing, they ran off.
Shortly after, our driver arrives apologizing for the wait. It is of course no problem and we all climb in and set off to our final destination. For Kelly and I it was World Camp. The drive was beautiful. The scenery was exactly what I expected, but incredibly more stunning in real life. Seeing the mountains in the distance, watching the people fly by on the side of the road kept my usual talkative self, very quiet. I wondered about the people, where they were going, how long it would take them and if they made the trek often. Lost in my thoughts I didn't realize we had arrived. Our ride was over before I was ready. Yet as soon as we dropped our bags in our room, my body, having only gotten a few hours of light napping, was ready to crash and I let it. This was my introduction to Malawi.
I watched people arrive and depart, listened to the cheers and music in the distance and then noticed a group of young children around 6-7 yrs. old wander about and walk past us. Now, Kelly and I are on one side of the vehicle, chatting and seemingly oblivious to what is around us. To keep the vehicle cool its windows were rolled down. The kids spot us and kept walking around the other side of the car. I think they pass, but can hear some giggling, so I turn and see the kids with their hands in the window attempting to open one of the pockets of my pack back. They see me spot them and all jump back with a look that a young one has when they've been caught with their hand in the cookie jar. The smallest ones' face changes quickly to a very adorable, angelic smile and says "you give me money, you buy me food". His expression tied with his thick Malawian accent, extremely shabby clothes and absolute sharp wit made me laugh so hard! I just stood their laughing at the absurdity that this is really happening to me right now, and not in some movie laden with African orphan archetypes. Shaking my head no and laughing, they ran off.
Shortly after, our driver arrives apologizing for the wait. It is of course no problem and we all climb in and set off to our final destination. For Kelly and I it was World Camp. The drive was beautiful. The scenery was exactly what I expected, but incredibly more stunning in real life. Seeing the mountains in the distance, watching the people fly by on the side of the road kept my usual talkative self, very quiet. I wondered about the people, where they were going, how long it would take them and if they made the trek often. Lost in my thoughts I didn't realize we had arrived. Our ride was over before I was ready. Yet as soon as we dropped our bags in our room, my body, having only gotten a few hours of light napping, was ready to crash and I let it. This was my introduction to Malawi.
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