Supplies Gathered

Here are some pictures of all types of supplies that I collected before my trip. Almost all of the supplies came from co-workers at my Mom's workplace--Hospice of Alamance-Caswell. Thank you, everybody who helped with this collection...especially you Mom.

Assigned Reading 7

Reading 7

Book--A Democracy of Chameleons: Politics and Culture in the New Malawi
Chapter 8--Human Rights and the Multiparty System Have Swallowed Our Traditions
Author--John Lwanda (of this chapter only)
Publisher--Nordic Africa Institute, February 2002


--AIDS probably arrived around 1977 in Malawi
--sexual prudence was very high in appearance--but not practice--so when AIDS hit, it was 'shushed' about--experts and practitioners were scared to tackle the problem for fear of rocking the boat
--initially AIDS was dubbed 'the American disease' in Malawi
--also, some looked at the epidemic as resulting from God's wrath...AIDS was seen as a divine punishment
--the first concrete indicator of the epidemic in Malawi was around 1985
--AIDS research was not encouraged during the Banda era...civil servants and those close to the Banda regime started dying finally caused the regime to take notice
--the HIV problem, however, could be a way to exploit outsider assistance/donations

Cultural Practices and Banda's Legacy
--only 20% of Malawi are polygamous
--the weak position of women in Malawian society, however, just compounded the HIV/AIDS problem--polygamy, initiation rituals, arranged marriages, men refusing to wear condoms, and delayed condom use in comparison to other African countries all enhanced the problem in Malawi
--the government under Banda was also very negligent towards the HIV/AIDS problem
--"it took the government too long to accept there was an AIDS problem...the MCP were happy to receive all the money. What Malawi got (were) pre-packaged solutions made abroad."--I think this opinion was referencing the neglect of the outsiders to the cultural issues surrounding the means of improving the HIV/AIDS problem
--Banda's regime was also "obsessed" with presentation...which caused great neglect to its subjects' welfare
--donor collusion (secret, illegal conspiracy or cooperation) also added to the problem
--by 1991 HIV/AIDS was acknowledged as a major cause of death in Malawi...but it was only acknowledged

HIV/AIDS in the 'New' Malawi
--1994, about 1/3 of hospital admissions in Malawi were for HIV/AIDS-related illnesses
--the first 4 years after Banda, under the Muluzi administration, significant improvements for the HIV/AIDS problem were not made...improvments were made elsewhere, not in the countries promotion of public health
--1997, about 73 non-governmental organizations (NGOs) were dealing with the HIV/AIDS problem...however, Muluzi was still ambiguous on the stance of whether Western medications or traditional medical approaches should deal with the problem
--during the Muluzi era, Malawians were finally fully exposed to the extent of the HIV/AIDS epidemic happening in their country
--the Muluzi era started losing members and activitsts...which heightened their awareness to the problem
--outsiders (popular global musicians) also were spreading awareness to the problem
--between 1996-99 the government was forced to admit that HIV was a major national problem
--1999, statistics indicated that there was an 8.8% prevalence rate of HIV in Malawi

Assigned Reading 6

Reading 6

Book--A Democracy of Chameleons: Politics and Culture in the New Malawi
Chapter 9--Human Rights and the Multiparty System Have Swallowed Our Traditions
Author--Ulrika Ribohn (of this chapter only)
Publisher--Nordic Africa Institute, February 2002

• human rights is a national/global idea...but it should be interpreted and defined locally, although it rarely is--most outsiders to certain areas argue in favor of global human rights policies, even if they conflict with local cultural values for given areas
• in Malawi, a dichotomy between human rights and cultural values in relation to women exist--people are made well aware of this dichotomy by the media and outsiders
• the Malawi Congress Party (MCP) monopolized Malawian politics from 1961-1993--however, since its disbandment, many say that the role of women in politics has gotten worse

Malawi Culture

• there is a duality in Malawians concept of culture--Old culture vs. New culture
• New Culture: equal rights/freedom for all, individualism over community is preferred, selfishness and disrespect have evolved
• Old Culture: women are more subservient to men, respect for elders essential, where one stands with one's community defines one's self
• rural Malawi is often more centered around the 'Old culture'
• umuthu--a word defined in Chichewa as 'something that goes with dignity, including all a person does, good and bad'
• ulemerero wa umunthu--'human dignity' defined in Chichewa
• from what I read these are the closest words that define how a person acts and what type of morals an ethics they exhibit (in relation to English vernacular)

Women in Malawi

• if a woman is 'well-behaved' and shows respect, then she is respected by others
• the only way for her to gain respect is by acting like this
• 'quarrelsome' women are denied help--even by other women
• the problem or gray area exists in what some Malawians define as a well-behaved women--women that speak out about their role in society are often neglected by the community
• many women in Malawi express an attitude of: 'I don't think what I can get out of it (meaning any decision/action they make), but what others can.'--Malawian women are very self-sacrificing--they act and do for the greater good...but is this morally/ethically right...many who adhere to global human rights would argue that Malawian women should not have to adhere to this attitude

Culture as Power

• there are conflicting views between the general public and educational system in Malawi about 'initiation practices' that adolescent girls in Malawi go through--educational systems largely agree that these practices take away from the girls self-value, actual education, and prove detrimental to their overall being
  

• many interpret 'human rights' as taking away from cultural values and Malawian's sense of nationalism
• human rights, in turn, are a double-edge sword because of their western world connotations
• all Malawians can react against these human rights--women against being identified as the violated, and men against being called the violator
  

Assigned Reading 5

Reading 5

Book--The End of Poverty: Economic Possibilities for Our Time
Chapter 10--The Voiceless Dying: Africa and Disease
Author--Jeffery Sachs
Publisher--The Penguin Press, New York: 2005

Background

• the colonial rule era left Africa without educated citizens/leaders, infrastructure, and public health facilities
• after the colonial rule ear, the west stifled African nationalism/independence--Africa was a pawn in the cold war...the western world opposed them getting help from Russia--African leaders that promoted nationalism were opposed by the west--the CIA and Belgium assassinated Lumumba (Congo Prime Minister)--the United States also supported violent Angolan leader Savimi
• the west would not invest in long-term African economic development and they knew that is what Africa needed
• some say corruption is the problem with Africa's economic problems--but there many corrupt countries with thriving economies (India, Pakistan)

First Encounters

• physical geography hurts many African economies--not many navigable rivers and inlets that allow low-cost, sea-based trading
• areas of low population density are very common throughout the country--they usually lack transportation vehicles, electricity, and communication devices--these areas define rural Africa where the economic situation is the worse
• most Africans also suffer from deadly diseases: AIDS and malaria...the average life expectancy in sub-Sahara Africa is 47 years old

The Malaria Mystery

• malaria is treatable, but it claims nearly 3 million lives per year--mostly children, and out of all the children affected by the disease, 90% come from Africa--treatment for malaria is relatively low-cost
• virtually everybody in tropical Africa contract malaria at least once a year
• maps that overlay malaria transmission and low GDP show the same areas are affected--malaria implies poverty...and poverty implies malaria
• when children die in mass numbers, parents will overcompensate by having many children, but only 1 child will receive education because of poverty...so when malaria causes not as many children to receive education

Why Malaria is more common in Africa and how it occurs

• a mosquito bites a person with malaria
• then it takes 2 weeks for the mosquito to process the disease
• after 2 weeks, the mosquito when it bites someone gives them the disease
• the warm African climate lets mosquitoes process the original malaria bite in a shorter time span...it takes African mosquitoes less than 2 weeks to process the disease after the original bite
• mosquitoes can also relinquish the disease by biting cattle after the original infection...but African mosquitoes bite humans almost 100% of the time for some reason
• malaria is also not a major concern in Africa to many outsiders

Conclusions/Findings

• disease implies poverty...poverty implies disease
• Africa has a low life expectancy because: diseases, nutritional deficiencies, unsafe childbirth
• how much should the rich help the poor invest in health is a major question...$6-27 billion should be given...the rich combined GDP = $25 trillion...so 1/1000 of this would be about $25 billion...it is estimated that this amount could avert 8 million deaths per year

We as a generation can do something dramatic to improve our world.

Assigned Reading 4

Reading 4 (http://www.nytimes.com/2005/11/27/international/africa/27malawi.html)

Title--Forced to Marry Before Puberty, African Girls pay Lasting Price
Author--Sharon LaFraniere
Publication--The New York Times, November 27, 2005

• girls are used by families (fathers mainly) to pay debt to other fathers
• the girls oftentimes do not understand the true nature of what they are going to be 'traded' away for
• this: takes the girls out of school, causes them to be adolescent mothers, and creates traumatic experiences
• girls are forced to marry men 3 or 4 decades their superior
• "...girls later choose lifelong misery over divorce because custom decrees that children in patriarchal tribes belong to the father."
  

Assigned Reading 3

Reading 3 (http://pewforum.org/news/display.php?NewsID=5609)

Title--Farmers, Charities Join Forces to Block Famine-Relief Revamp
Author--Roger Thurow
Publication--Wall Street Journal, October 26, 2005 issue (A1)

• Around 2006, U.S. wants to spend 25% of their food-aid budget to buy overseas goods to feed those starving and in need--currently 100% of this food-aid budget comes from American farmers--but buying even 25% from overseas markets will save more than 50,000 more lives a year and save everyone money
• but of course, this pisses American farmers off and some think it may turn them off towards the food-aid idea...some think that the farmers will strongly oppose this turn in fear of their own financial loss
• aid groups also fear that the money will shift away from long-term agricultural project to short-term relief efforts--a prominent problem
  
• so farmers really do not support the change--many in the situation (not the farmers) call this decision by the farmers morally indefensible (because it is)
• the change will allow more lives to be saved and money to be saved for everybody but the farmers involved...who will lose a portion of their annual revenue
• in the past, shipping the U.S. farmers food has been by U.S. vessels and that will change with the new proposal--Americans in the business will be the main one's that suffer financial loss--even though it is for a better cause

• Mr. Nastios, head of the USAID proposed that $300 million of the $1.2 billion from the 'Food for Peace' program be used to buy food as close as possible to the countries that are in need in 2001
• Nastios said, "The fact that U.S. farmers and shippers benefit from the Food for Peace is an important, but secondary benefit."
• He got a very hostile response from farmers and shippers involved
• Most groups support Nastios' proposed local buying of food-aid as long as it does not cut into their gain--a travesty to almost every other person that objectively looks at this situation
  

Assigned Reading 2

Reading 2 (http://www.nextbillion.net/news/freedom-gardens-of-malawi-blossoming)

Title--A Home-Grown Solution to African Hunger
Author--Abraham McLaughlin
Publication--The Christian Science Monitor, February 2006 issue


A story of a successful farmer in Malawi

• he lives in a very arid region of Malawi, yet he sustains his farm annually--and it is 50 acres
  
• Glyvyns Chinkhuntha uses aqueducts and organic fertilizer
• he digs his farming plots below the earth's surface so the water soaks into the dirt/earth and does not wash away
• he also makes a network of berms to direct water from the source (lake/river)--a.l.a. an aqueduct
• this man received EDUCATION throughout his youth...and he learned how to run a farm that will survive through all conditions...he also knows how to properly exploit the resources in his area
• many people in Malawi go to school to run away from farming--all the education and knowledge is tucked away in public offices...not in farming in Malawi--additionally, many of these educated are not interested in touching the soil or helping those who do

• roughly 5 million of 12 million Malawians need food
• the climate has made irrigation practices crucial--these irrigation practices are learned through education
• the total annual amount of rainfall remains pretty steady in Malawi...however, the timing of the rainfall is very inconsistent...there are long periods of dry weather and drought

Things that will help farming situation

• education--through education Malawians can learn proper irrigation practices
• independence from western donors--foreign aid is good, but it allows Malawians to become dependent on others and just promotes a failing cyclical process
• no loans/debts--when a farmer goes in debt, he/she is robbed of their freedom so to speak...when in debt, you only think of how to repay what you owe...you are usually not patient enough to design a process that sustains a farm permanently
  

Assigned Reading 1

Reading 1 (http://www.highbeam.com/doc/1G1-138452152.html)

Title--Freedom Is Not Enough
Author--Joshua Hammer
Publication--Newsweek, November 2005 issue

Premise: Droughts occur relatively frequently in Malawi--1994, 1998, and 2002. When droughts occur, much of the southern part of Africa suffers from starvation. The United Nations World Food Program has given money/assistance to southern Africa to help with this problem...but money is only a temporary fix. Droughts occur periodically; therefore, quick fixes do not fully solve the problem at hand. Amartya Sen, a Nobel-Prize winning Harvard economist, argues that more democracy is needed to solve this problem.

• democracy helps reduce famine because election results will be negative towards those in power if famine continues (as opposed to those in repressive one party systems)
• but Malawi has gotten worse in regards to hunger since they have become a democracy (1994)--under their last 'dictator' Hastings Banda, the country did not suffer as much in the food department--there were nearly 1 million farmers and seeds, fertilizers, and good world market prices for crops were available
  
• under democracy, the government lifted budget-busting subsidies which took away the farmers' safety net--Parliament members also looted Malawi's grain reserves and sold them internationally for big profit (a.k.a. corruption existed)--big scandals also hit right when the worst drought in 10 years occurred in 2002
• the government has also managed water poorly--the Shire River and Lake Malawi have not been exploited properly an efficiently--only 1% of the country's arable land is irrigated--peasant farmers are almost entirely dependent of rainfall to water their crops...and, in turn, be able to survive

• throwing out money for food relief causes Malawians to be dependent on outside help--instead, money should be invested in project designed to sustain the population's food supply
• also, current President Mutharika seems legit and wants to stop corruption--opponents say the opposite, but he claims that these opponents are scared of his anticorruption campaign because they are, in fact, the corrupt ones
  

Our Travel Itinerary

Malawi Study Abroad 2009 Itinerary

June 21
Leave Dulles Airport on Ethiopian Airlines at 10:05 AM (Boeing 767) ET503. We will arrive in Addis Ababa on June 22 8:20 AM. Leave Addis Ababa on ET 873 at 9:30 AM (Ethiopia is 7 hours difference in time).

June 22
Leave Addis Ababa at 9:30 AM (Boeing 757) ET 873 on ET 873; arrive Lilongwe, at 12:05 p.m. Pick up at airport, transport to Budget Lodge (contact # 265-1-759 666 or email budgetlodge@gmail.com. We’re on daylight time, so there’s 6 hours difference in time. Some sightseeing in the capital city. Go to to see Budget Lodge. Bus transportation arranged with Malawi Institute of Education (MIE)

June 23
Freedom Gardens in the morning (a sustainable village setting—an experimental project). Lunch there. More sightseeing in the capital

June 24
Leave Lilongwe after breakfast; travel to Zomba. All transportation while in Malawi furnished by rented bus from Domasi College of Education. Stops at Dedza Pottery; paper making facility that makes art paper from elephant dung; other stops to see villages, etc. Arrive Annie’s Lodge by dark (contact no. for Annie’s Lodge 011 265 1 527 002)
(email for Annie’s Lodge: annieslodge@globemw.net -- an efficient, quick way to contact in an emergency)

June 25
Travel to Domasi for orientation to all schools’ location (Domasi Government School, Domasi Demonstration School, and Malemia Primary School) Classes at Malawi Institute of Education (MIE); (MIE contact is William Susuwele-Banda, who is deputy director and a former VT student: wsusuwel@vt.edu), a good way to contact anyone. His home number: 265 0152 6225; his office number: 265 0153 6300

June 26
Go to school assignment in Domasi; (schools do not have telephones) classes in afternoon at MIE

June 27
Orientation to Zomba, walk around town, etc.

June 28
Annie’s Lodge, Zomba town, local church, study and class meeting

June 29
Go to school assignment; classes at MIE and project work. One day this week we will go to a village church for singing and dancing

June 30
Go to school assignment: classes and project work

July 1
Go to school assignment: classes and project work

July 2
Go to school assignment; classes at MIE

July 3
Go to school assignment; classes

July 4
Study and classes, rest, and town

July 5
Travel south to Mt. Mulanje; see tea plantations; hike on Mt. Mulanje, third highest mountain in Africa (not to the top!!) Check out Mt. Mulanje at www.mountmulanje.org.mw
Return to Annie’s Lodge, on way visit other sights as time permits. This will be a long day!!

July 6
No school. Malawi Independence Day; study and classes

July 7
Go to school assignment; classes and project work

July 8
Travel to Mvuu Camp for safari; overnight at camp; river safari, afternoon and evening safari; all meals included (lunch on arrival, dinner included -- pay for your drinks) (no contact number)
Check out Mvuu at http://malawi.lodgesafari.com/Malawi_Safari_Lodge_Options-travel/malawi-lodges-mvuu-camp-liwonde-park.html

July 9
Morning guided walk; leave after breakfast to return to Annie’s Lodge (Zomba). We’ll stop at wood carvers in Liwonde on the way

July 10
Go to school assignment; classes and project work

July 11
Visit an orphanage

July 12
Study, rest, local church

July 13
Go to school assignment; classes and project work

July 14
Go to school assignment; classes; Farewell Dinner for teachers and various dignitaries

July 15
Leave for Mangochi; visit a village; stay overnight at Club Makokola on Lake Malawi (contact no. cell: +265 (0)8 830077; ground: +265 (0))1 580244
Check out Club Mak at www.clubmak.com (dinner included and breakfast before departure); traditional dancing performed by local villagers.
To see some information on Lake Malawi check out www.clubmak.com/lakemalawi.htm

July 16
Leave after breakfast; visit Mua Mission (famous for museum quality carvings and visit the museum to learn about various tribal rituals; arrive at Budget Lodge in Lilongwe (contact no. 265+1759666)

July 17
Leave Lilongwe on Ethiopian Airlines ET872 at 1:05 p.m (Boeing 757). Arrive in
Addis Ababa at 8:15 p.m. Take flight to Washington at 10:15 p.m. on ET500 (Boeing 767)

July 18
Arrive Dulles at 7:55 AM

Hello

My name is Todd Gasparello. I am studying Mathematics & Education at Virginia Tech. This blog is set up to primarily detail my experiences in Malawi this summer. I will be departing, along with other students and teachers from Virginia Tech/Radford/NC A&T, on June 21st from Dulles Airport in Washington, D.C. The professor from Virginia Tech that is guiding our trip is Dr. Patricia Kelly...I am pretty sure she has been going to Malawi for over 15 years. I will be returning to Dulles on July 18th. Here is a little about me:

Birthplace/Hometown: Burlington, NC
Current Residence: Blacksburg, VA in a house with four great friends
Parents: Patti (social worker for Hospice) and Rob (principal and teacher)


Favorites

Food--Pasta
Number--10
Sports to Play--Basketball and Soccer
Sports to Watch--Basketball, Soccer, Football
NFL Team--Carolina Panthers
MLB Team--Atlanta Braves
Bands--STS9, The Grateful Dead, Lotus, The Disco Biscuits, EOTO
Books--Blink, Outliers, The Little Prince, Where the Wild Things Are, Fear & Loathing
TV Shows--The Office, Planet Earth, Sportscenter, Entourage, Always Sunny in Philadelphia
Ice Cream--Coffee