After our successful meeting
yesterday, we realized that we needed to replenish our knitting supplies. So, today we went to the shops in the
heart of Old Town again to get more yarn and needles. This also allowed us to strengthen our relationships with the
vendors. We spent the remaining
part of the day putting together informational handouts for the next meeting we
will have with the support group on Saturday.
In
addition to sharing what we did today, I also want to provide a little insight about the city and community here. Lilongwe is
the capital and the largest city in Malawi. While many people work in the city, most of the population
resides in rural areas or villages further from the city center. The country's economy is
based mainly on agriculture, and some of the major crops produced are maize,
tobacco, and sugar cane. Due to
this, maize is used to make the staple food “nsima” and sugar cane is sold on
the corner of every street.
Unfortunately, there is much room
left for development here as can be seen by the lack of infrastructure, level
of education, the value of the currency, health issues, and low per capita
income. However, the attitudes of
the people here are the most positive and friendly, and the
community is very utilitarian and conservationist. Everything, which is possible to reuse here, is! Also, the area endures little conflict
and the rule of law is appreciated here. Many
steps are taken to discourage stealing and and promote proper behavior and locals will defend those being mistreated. We
were on a bus the other day, and, by bus, I mean a mid-sized van filled to the
brim with people almost sitting on each other’s laps! The man beside me took my bag, and the person we were
travelling with, the taxi driver, and the men who oversee all the taxi drivers protested that he give the bag back and finally led him off the bus.
In
the city, English is widely spoken, although a limited amount, but outside of
the city the majority of people are uneducated, can’t speak English, and some
cannot write. The latter is true
for most of the women we work with in the support group. That in no way deters them, though, as
they have an amazing work ethic and great attitudes!
As
for religion, the country is predominantly Christian but there is also a
significant Muslim population. The
role of religion is very significant here. It is very common here to see signs and clothing that display the
name of Jesus, some meetings begin and end with a prayer, most schools and
clinics are religiously affiliated, there are numerous missionaries working
here, and we hear the call to prayer from the Mosque nearby several times a
day.
Hope
that gives you an idea of what it is like here and feel free to post any
questions you have!