Malawi is a cash economy where the two dominant currencies are the US dollar and the Malawian kwacha. The current exchange rate, give or take 10 kwacha, is 1 USD equals 730 MK. The largest denomination on a kwacha is 2000. The largest bill here therefore equals about $2.75 USD. If you are buying groceries … Continue reading Producing Fruits; Elms and Vines
They were already singing and dancing when we got out of the car: 40 women in colourful clothing under a tree on a hot day. I wish I could bring you there right now so that you could hear them sing, see them dance, feel their joy and experience northern Malawi. I hope the photo … Continue reading Women In Malawi
Pragmatically, the Presbyterian Church in Canada (PCC) responds to gender based violence in a number of ways. One of the ways is through various projects of Presbyterian World Service & Development (PWSD). In Haiti PWS&D works in conjunction with Partners in Health on an anti gender based violence program. In Malawi, one way of helping … Continue reading Neno – Responding to Whose Justice?
In a conversation with a Malawian friend I discovered that he had been off work for two days. He was attending the funeral of his niece. There is nothing extraordinary about this. In a country of 16 million people in an area roughly the size of Nova Scotia and New Brunswick, there are a lot … Continue reading Whose Justice?
The other day John Carr made a comment on the Presbyterian Church in Canada Facebook page regarding a post from missional-aries.com . He correctly pointed out that we do not so much bring hope someplace as we are hopeful in a place. Both Vivian and I had been uncomfortable with the end of the original … Continue reading It Used To Be Better Part 2
Here is a piece that I wrote for the WESM newsletter that offers a complementary perspective to the post from yesterday. Who can turn down an invitation like this: “We particularly need people with some experience to volunteer, but we also invite ‘amateurs’ to join in. It is an excellent chance to really get to … Continue reading WESM Game Count 2017
A few weeks ago our family went on a three day holiday to Nyala Lodge. It was the kids’ mid-term break. They had a week off, so we decided to spend some of the time with the Wildlife and Environmental Society of Malawi (WESM), taking part in their annual Game Count. We stayed at a … Continue reading It Used To Be Better
Any kind of theological training in Malawi is tough, lay training especially so. The logistical barriers are staggering. While Malawi’s overall literacy rate of 65.8% is better than some of its neighbouring countries, it is still far below the world average of 86.3% of countries such as Canada who are roughly 99% literate. Most often … Continue reading Theological Training is Tough
Knocks at our gate are quite common. It serves as our front door and people come calling regularly. I normally have some difficulty answering the gate because frequently the visitor does not speak much English and I speak little Chichewa. When a man I eventually came to know as Charles came knocking this wasn’t a … Continue reading Charles and Tidzalerana
