thomastrail

goodbye

Thomas Trail — Mon, 01 Aug 2011 18:46:29 +0000

here i write my last blog post from Malawi (and probably my last blog post). i leave Lilongwe tomorrow, the 2nd of August, at 1:05 pm and get back to the US at 8:45 am on the 3rd of August. i am certainly not ready to leave. most people reading this know that i have always wanted to move back to Africa sometime in the future, and this journey has only reinforced that desire and made me desire it even sooner.

i may have only spent 10 weeks in Malawi, but i feel right at home here, certainly more-so than in Wake Forest, but then again i have probably spent more time here than there! and as i have said on here before, “the worst day in Africa is better than any day in Richmond, Virginia.” of course i say this with no offense to any of my lovely friends that go to school with me there, after all, it is you that i created this blog for! but yes, i have absolutely loved this country. its climate is incredible, its views (outside the city) are wonderful, and its people are beautiful, friendly, and so very interesting. as i have been here i have learned a lot about the country, African culture, physical therapy, special education, children, working for an NGO, a Christian NGO, being a Christian in an NGO, language barriers (increased knowledge here) and myself. of course it will take a lot of reflection to bring out the best of what i have learned and it is more than i would ever post here. but i would like to write about one thing i have learned about myself and also why i have loved Malawi.

i have learned that i am a lot more independent than i thought (thanks Katy Fort for pointing that out). since i have been here (and especially after my hosts left) i have had to do so many things on my own…and i loved it. i road the minibuses everywhere (only white person i have ever seen on one), i shopped on my own, ate on my own, cooked on my own, found interesting things to do on my own, i have been on my own and i have been in a crowd on my own (you won’t understand that until you are the one different person in a crowd) i walked hours and hours this summer in the African sun with the African people. i have been a single white person in a crowd of at least 4000 African football fans. i have supported a friend in a pool tournament in a bar in a little village as the only white person in that village. i have sat on the workers side of the gift/souvenir street venders and played bao, rather than being the prey of the hungry lions (as Charles put it) on the buying side of the market. i have been a rare volunteer where i work, because i never turned down what Mai Davie offered me to eat or drink. she was very thankful for this act of mere good manners because of a good African upbringing by a wonderful set of parents, and of course because i like their food. i have been more African than i have ever been before, and i liked it. i have loved this summer because i have eaten what the Malawians eat, i have walked where the Malawians walk, ridden the minibuses they ride, played the games they play, gotten dirty from their countries dirt, smiled because they have smiled, laughed with them and because of them as well as celebrated their victories and worried because of their tough times. i have been more African than i have ever been before, and i loved it.

Malawi becomes the fourth African nation i have lived in, despite its ephemerality.

rick

Thomas Trail — Tue, 26 Jul 2011 20:38:00 +0000

i (unfortunately) am just now (in the past few weeks) finding where i should be hanging out when not working. it is with Rick, Charles, Francis, Hope and Wesley. these young men, amongst others i have spent time with, work down town, selling their wooden carvings to all of us lovely white folks. i first went down there to buy a souvenir of my Malawian journey, that’s when i met Rick. i then realised i needed to get some gifts for some people so i went back a couple more times. i have been back at least once a week for probably the past month and a half, most days i was buying or trading for gifts. however, some days i was just checking with Rick and Francis to see if they had found me an old Coca-Cola sign that i asked to see if they could locate (still hasn’t come through, that’s 50 Kwatcha to Kat Quincy, darn). anyway, what first drew me back to find Rick, each time i was there, was not good prices, or incredible carvings, it was the fact that he saw my 2 dollar, thrift store, Elon University water bottle and really wanted to trade for it. so of course, i new i would get a good deal for the trade and returned. i still needed my bottle since i had at least a month left so i kept telling him i’d come back. eventually i traded but they let me hang onto the bottle til i left since i still needed it (how trusting, see if you get that in the US), and yeah, i got a good deal.

anyway, i went back again today, i was bringing back one item to switch for another that i had seen on my last visit and hadn’t seen when i got the first. i got there and saw Charles and met Hope, Rick wasn’t around at the time so Hope and Charles insisted that i play a game of Bao (a Malawian board(ish) game) while i waited, i was planning on waiting anyway so i said sure, and made sure they knew i had never played before (i am undefeated so far, thanks Wesley). it was incredibly fun! i played Hope twice and somehow managed to win both (the second had more to do with me). i met Wesley while playing and he managed to coach me through those two wins and one against Charles’ brother. Bao is a very difficult game, takes lots of concentration and vision. I would always look for the next play, Wesley looked about six plays ahead, thats how he helped me to beat Hope! but these guys are loads of fun, they told me to come back to play some more and i most certainly will, too bad its my last week.

when i was done playing i went to Rick’s section with Charles to make the swap. when i asked Charles (they all sell each other’s stuff and what not) if it was an ok trade he shouted over to Rick in Chewa and i figured he was gonna say that i should put a little more money in as well, i was wrong. to my surprise, when Rick got there, they picked up another carving and gave it to me and said it was a gift because they had enjoyed talking to me. i won’t forget those two anytime soon, i’ll be back again this week to play some Bao, and next time i come to Malawi, i will undoubtedly go find them again. that little sugar bowl, carved by Rick, the necklace, carved and beaded by Charles, will hopefully remind me to pray for them long into the future.

“possessions in my hands…

Thomas Trail — Tue, 26 Jul 2011 20:08:00 +0000

…will never be as important as peace in my heart.” a quote i am often reminded of here in Malawi, it was a quote i saw on a video, called “I Need Africa More than Africa Needs Me,” that my dad showed me, if you have not seen it, youtube it. if you don’t get it, then you need to spend some time in Africa. i was once again reminded of that quote as i played football with some local neighbourhood kids where i work. we play with a ball made of trash. it is literally old plastic sacks wrapped into a ball. sometimes they have a bladder made of a blown up condom to make it feel more like a real ball. it is things like the lack of a football in an entire neighbourhood that bring that quote to mind. here in Malawi, people have very, very little, yet most have smiles on their faces more often than not. i have so very much compared to the people i interact with daily, and yet i have far less than many in the US. but as the quote says, peace in my heart is far more important…than an iPhone 4, for example, which so many people cling to if they have and desire if they don’t. often i fall for the US’ consumer attitude and need reminding of this quote and the peaceful heart that i have, which comes only from Jesus Christ. He is all we need. Creator of the world, Saviour of the world, who has blessed some with iPhones, and some with trash for a ball; perfectly just, always right. for us who wish we had what “that” person has, for those of us who covet possessions, friendships, jobs, authority, Pastor Sean of Flood Church Lilongwe, speaking from his heart, that is filled with the Holy Spirit, says something beneficial to us all. there is nothing a person has (job, possession, relationship) that says anything about that person, all things people have, speak about the one who gave them to him/her. when we see a 25 year old driving a Porsche, why do we always think, “wow, what did HE DO to be so lucky/spoiled?” the truth is HE DID NOTHING, we should be praising God for BLESSING that kid with a nice car. we do nothing apart from God, Jesus said it Himself, John 15:5, “I am the vine; you are the branches. If you remain in me and I in you, you will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing.” so when we wonder what it is someone has done, we should remember it is nothing, and, instead, praise God.

anti-government

Thomas Trail — Wed, 20 Jul 2011 15:11:10 +0000

i have no idea how widespread the news is, but there were anti-government protests here in Lilongwe today as well as two other major cities in Malawi. supposedly riots broke out in Lilongwe which involved some looting, tear gas and burning tires. needless to say, i am ok, but just in case this was on the news, no need to worry about me, i am on the edge of the city in a walled compound. work was cancelled because of the scheduled protests so i have been at home all day anyway. this is how my day went, i was clearly worried.

doesn’t it just look so dangerous where i am?! as i sit in the setting sun listening to Jon Foreman with a Jack Russell puppy asleep in my lap. nice place to sit though, huh? well anyway, if you new about any of this, there was no need to worry, and if you didn’t, forget about this post.

2 weeks left

Thomas Trail — Mon, 18 Jul 2011 18:59:03 +0000

this is sad, i only have two weeks left here!! it has gone too quickly and was not near long enough. i would stay much, much longer if i had the opportunity. i have loved Malawi, i have loved my time here. again i have been reassured that Africa really is home to me, i hope it does not take me four years to get back here like it did last time! i wont survive!

well, here are a few more pics, i don’t really have much to say but i have not posted in a while. more kids of course, i have really enjoyed spending time with these kids as well as photographing them! this kid in the first photo has two older brothers, his oldest brother looks basically normal, his second brother looks slightly more deformed, and he looks most deformed. hard to tell from this photo, but he has a sunken in face and large forehead, so his face kind of looks like a bowl. it seems to be a genetic disorder that is getting worse with each child, i don’t know what other effects the problem has but i’m sure there are some, so the parents have been encouraged to stop having children. the other picture is just a fun picture of some of the kids in the school-aged class, click on that image to see it better.

challenge

Thomas Trail — Mon, 11 Jul 2011 18:03:22 +0000

next time you stumble upon (aka go find) a child so severely handicapped that they cannot even hold their head up, is only sitting because they are propped up against a wall, can’t speak or feed themselves and is drooling all over the place; do whatever it takes to make that person smile. in most cases it will only take a smile from you, aimed at them. do this when you are super sad or down, do it when you feel on top of the world, the result is the same: your mood will rise when you see the most beautiful smile you’ve ever seen. today, for the umpteenth time since i have been here, i experienced it. a little girl, that i don’t think i have seen or met before, was sitting on the floor next to me during our singing and prayer session before everyone leaves the center, i smiled at her, and i honestly don’t think i have ever seen a bigger smile before. i didn’t catch her name, but she was maybe 8, or 9, and she had the skinniest little legs, that were positioned at odd angles where she was sitting, leaned on the wall, her front was soaked with drool. her sister had pushed her in her wheelchair to the center for who knows how many kilometers. but she was there, and her smile made my day!

deaf

Thomas Trail — Sat, 09 Jul 2011 18:59:26 +0000

i think this is the best photo i have taken yet. this is Bertha, she is deaf. she is one of 4 deaf girls that i have had the privilege to play with and learn some sign language with at area 25. they all have the most wonderful personalities; Charity is full of laughter and is the loudest deaf person i’ve ever met, Bertha is quiet and shy (and as you can see, absolutely the most beautiful child you’ve ever seen). Rahab (pronounce rah-ha-beh) is extremely outgoing and playful and lastly, Chisomo is quiet, observant and intelligent. now that i have written this, i feel i need to put pictures of the others, so i am going to, but the picture of Bertha deserves the spotlight, and unfortunately i don’t have any pictures of Chisomo.

Rahab is the one in my hat and glasses and charity is the one with the massive smile! these three pictures really show the people in them which is awesome! these photos were all taken last tuesday when i went with these 3 and 3 others to the deaf school about 2 hours from Lilongwe, they were going to take their entrance exams. I am really hoping and praying Charity gets in, she is a year older than their age limit, but she has tried 4 different years now. she was rejected the previous times because of her bad behaviour, shocking, and that is not sarcasm, she is wonderfully well behaved and so sweet, but supposedly that’s because of great improvements recently! Charity rarely smiles for photos for some reason, she normally tilts her head down and looks up at the camera with her eyes, but this time i got her to smile! i am pleased. Rahab on the other hand normally smiles, but i got her at a subdued moment at 7 in the morning while she was trying to look cool as we waited for the bus to Mua school for the deaf. she made me laugh so much between about 6:30 and 7:45 that morning as i waited in the freezing cold for the bus to come (it was due at 6:30, got there at 7:45). all three of this kids are wonderful and Charity has made me want to learn sign language…whether i do or not is a completely different story! however, it would be useless to me if i returned here, because Mua school does not teach sign language…i have no idea how a deaf school works without sign language but they do it. it is one of only two deaf schools in Malawi. what a mission field the deaf of Malawi would be! and despite the lack of sign teaching at Mua, i noticed that all the kids their had created their own and communicated, seemingly, quite well with each other. anyway, those are my three favourite deaf girls, i hope you find these pictures as a nice introduction to them, knowing that you will never meet these wonderful children that i write about in this blog nor the wonderful kids that i haven’t written about!

nkhoma mountain

Thomas Trail — Sat, 02 Jul 2011 18:47:06 +0000

this may be one of the most interesting photos (or series of photos) i have ever taken. this image is a 360 degree view from the highest most point of Nkhoma mountain. the very center of that photo is where i would be standing, i took over 30 photos in a complete circle gaining a full view from the top. i then used photoshop to stitch them all together into a long panorama (like the others on here, unfortunately due to limits on internet use here, i cannot post this for comparison), from there i used photoshop to manipulate the image so that the two edges (where the 36o view would meet) would be aligned, and this is what happens. obviously because it is a single, flat image, it distorts the landscape immensely, giving us this really cool looking 360 degree image.

as for Nkhoma mountain, it is about an hour or hour and a half drive from Lilongwe and is about a 2 and half hour hike up. part of the way is easy going hiking, and part of it is significantly steep and rocky. my friend Samantha planned this trip for her family, some other missionaries, aid workers and myself. we spent most of the day on the mountain and had wonderful time! it is such a beautiful view from the top, and i know this image does not really show that (although it has its appeal), but click on it to see it larger. the only real downfall to the beautiful view is that this time of year (the dry season) is very, very hazy in Malawi (notice the atmosphere-looking band in the image) due to the dust that is kicked up and blown in the wind, and mainly because of all the fires around Malawi. most farmers and ranchers burn the dry, brown grass in the land in order to fertilize the soil and promote new growth, so there is constantly smoke in the air, it’s really gross. well just a quick update of what i did today, and i wanted to post this photo, i really like it…despite its one flaw…

in the words of…

Thomas Trail — Thu, 30 Jun 2011 16:34:37 +0000

…a man much wiser than myself, “the worst day in Africa is better than any day in Richmond, Virginia!”

davie and aniya

Thomas Trail — Mon, 27 Jun 2011 15:27:35 +0000

this is Davie, and below him is Aniya. they both come for therapy/preschool at COBT monday, wednesday and friday. they both have cerebral palsy, specifically, right hemiplegia. this means that neither of them have full use of the right side of their bodies. luckily both of these kids function quite normally, they can both speak fine and are able to walk and do most things on their own.

however, it is still clear by watching them that they have a disability. Aniya walks with a pretty severe limp and “has” to wear an AFO (ankle foot orthosis), she can walk with out it, but is better when she wears it. it is a small plastic brace that is made to keep her right foot in a more natural, flat position. if she does not wear it her foot will drop into a tippy toe kind of position, so when she takes a step she may drag her toes and it will trip her. lots of kids at COBT have AFOs, some only one foot, others have both. Davie on the other hand looks almost normal in everything he does, but he will very rarely use his right hand, it is constantly balled into a fist beyond his control. Aniya rarely uses her right hand either, but more-so than Davie.

both of these kids are very outgoing, friendly, fun and happy, i just met davie today and Aniya last week, but i have enjoyed their company since then! i met Aniya when i went to her house with a fellow worker in attempts to get her to start coming more regularly (she hasn’t missed since we asked). we also wanted to make sure she came the next day because her cerebral palsy was caused by cerebral malaria and my boss (and i) is doing some research on the kids that have had cerebral malaria, so we wanted her to come so we could assess her development since having cerebral malaria. while we were talking to her mother about bringing her back, a massive truck came driving down the dirt road by her house, she then proceeded to start shouting at the driver in chichewa. i had no idea what she was saying but it was hilarious, she was so animated and kept going on and on. later, the man i was with told me she was shouting to the driver that she didn’t want his big truck here and that he should go away! it was just really funny because it’s this little girl limping around with no shoes or shirt on, chewing on sugar cane and shouting at the huge truck to leave her alone. i knew at that moment that she would be a fun little kid to have around COBT, sure enough, she is.