Photos of people living in poverty in the developing world often appear beautiful, which is something I find perplexing. They often show lush fields with people clothed in traditional, colourful clothing or beautiful, smiling children.
This is something I’ve been struggling with since our first day here on September 3rd. As we were driving from the airport to our new home, I was overcome with emotion. The tears I fought back weren’t tears of sorrow. I’m sure I was feeling the relief of finally arriving in Malawi after months of preparation and anticipation and days of travel. But there was more. It was something about the scene I saw along the road that struck my heart. Was it the women walking with large baskets on their heads and babies tied to their backs, or the many children and adults walking along the side of the road, or the people gathered around tiny store fronts just up the dirt hill from the road? Perhaps it was the brown mountains circling the city and the tropical vegetation all around? The people, the landscape, and the mountains all seemed so strong. And despite the litter all around and the dirty and dusty ground, something seemed beautiful.
I think we see the beauty in poverty when we see the beauty of such resilient and strong people. Malawi is ranked 170 on the United Nation’s Human Development Index. The average number of years a Malawian attends school is 4 (compared to 13 in Canada). The gross national income per capita in Malawi is $1,073, whereas in Canada it is $42,582. Of the 16 million people living in Malawi, 15 million have no access to electricity. Those who have access can’t always afford it, and almost everyone experiences “rolling blackouts” due to lack of supply. Despite living in extreme poverty, most Malawians are warm and very optimistic. Despite what they lack, most people I meet here seem to be grateful for what they have.
But poverty is ugly and horrible. Garbage ends up everywhere here because of the lack of a garbage disposal service. And there are no public garbage cans. Then there are the deeper horrors of poverty. Last week I spoke to a friend whose niece—a young mother—was beaten to death by her husband. The couple’s one-year old child is still living with that father and left without a mother. There will be no justice served through a criminal system: there is no criminal system for the poorest of the poor in Malawi and no police to assist a woman at risk of domestic violence. There is no money for lawyers. There will be no trial. So, although there is something extremely beautiful about sunny, tropical landscapes and the strength and endurance of people living in poverty, the longer I live here, the more I understand the suffering and ugliness of poverty.
Living in Malawi with our family may sound heroic or admirable to North Americans, but we live an easy life here compared to the vast majority of Malawians. And in a few years we will return to Canada where we will once again have all the modern conveniences we are so used to. A few weeks ago I complained to my husband about our (damn) kitchen because the fridge doesn’t work properly, we have no electricity 2 or more days every week, the oven has no numbers on it (I think I’ve figured out roughly where to turn the dial for 350F), and we have no dishwasher. And yet I have far more than most Malawians.
After living without some of the things we are so used to having in Canada, I hold even more respect for the people living here. I know what it means for our family to live part of the week without electricity, so I have a better sense of what it means for most Malawians to live with none. I also have a better sense of the true ugliness of poverty, and the strength and optimism of the people of Malawi seems even more beautiful.
Photo Credit: Heather Chappell
Missional-aries 
Paraphrased your post for our eight-year-old. Her question, “how do they wash their dishes?” I did turn it back to her and she did figure your just must do it by hand, but it was certainly surprising to her. Not sure if she will be so excited to visit now! (On a school poster about her, she said the place she wants to visit is Malawi, but that was before this!)
LikeLike
Could it be that we tend to take beautiful pictures to ‘sanitize’ poverty? Could it be that we publish beautiful pictures because if we are honest, we don’t actually want to see the nitty gritty ugliness of poverty and what it does to people? How many ‘likes’ would a picture of a malnourished child get? When we see a picture of the ugly side of poverty, it reminds us that we, those who ‘have’, are to help those who lack. I think that many in N America enjoy (too much?) comfort and that we don’t like to think about the suffering of others – it makes us uncomfortable. We run from suffering in our society. I think that it can also make us feel helpless: what can I do about the suffering of this person in a faraway place? You mention that you see resilience, strength, gratitude, and optimism among the poor in Malawi and this is what makes things beautiful. Perhaps the children growing up in poverty in Malawi are learning more important life lessons than the ones that our children are absorbing by being immersed in our entitled and excessive society.
LikeLike
Your writing is sincere, real, raw. Thank you!
LikeLike
Oh Vivian, you painted a both a happy and sad picture for me today. The beauty that you saw in the landscape and the people on your arrival sounds stunning… the mountains, the lush greenery, the women with baskets on their heads and babies on their backs. And the sadness of the poverty and suffering in Malawi that is heart-rendering. But you see strength and beauty in the people and the landscape. Thanks so much for sharing your insights.
peace to you,
love, Mom
LikeLike
Hi Blair and Vivian. Great to hear from you! And thank you seeing, and writing about, the sobering contrasts of God’s beauty, our poverty, God’s grace. Glad you’re doing well!
LikeLike
Love your insights, Vivian. Hugs to your family, Wen
LikeLike
Thank you. I am re-living my 6 months spent in Mulanje reading your posts so far. Especially here, trying to communicate to people who will never totally understand your reality – the wonderful-ness and awful-ness of it; the joy and struggle it is to be there; the personal toll of thinking about these things every damn day; feeling lucky and guilty at the same time each time you leave your home to do a tiny little thing. It’s a lot. Blessings to all of you. May your family be strong and God be your guide. -Emma Nickel
LikeLike
One of the challenges that I encountered living in Tanzania was that I had to personally confront the chasm of global inequality caused by macro economiv forces and admit my place as the rich man who had won the cosmic lottery. I could never honestly answer Jesus’ question of “when did I see you hungry, naked, in prison….?” because my own responses felt so completely inadequate in face of the scale of the problems, or worse, I wasn’t willing to go where he was calling me.
But it is also important to see the beauty, resilience, defiance, and pride that people in poverty exhibit, without using that observation to justify our privilege (“they may be economically poor, but they are rich in spirit and have so many things that we lack like community and….”. But also to recognize how people can in turn exploit each other within their own society.
Bottom line for me was that there is no satisfactory resolution, nor easy way through it. You just have to live within the tension, love until it hurts, and kick at the darkness where you can. Keep writing and reflecting, pray for doubt and reserve judgement.
LikeLiked by 1 person