about half way in & malawi is not poor

So I sitting in Salima just coming from our retreat where all of the EWB volunteers within Malawi got together for 3 pretty jam-packed, intense days of workshops and conversation!! :) For myself this retreat came at a wonderful time because I was needed the engery that it gave me. I was getting a little frustrated with some difficulties I was running into in my work placement. But I'm motivated to get bcak and hit the ground runnnig. I feel I've got a pretty solid plan of action for when I get back.

So I have many a-ha moments here. I am learning alot and taking alot of things in. So sometimes I feel as though my brain is on super overload and I cant process everything that Im taking in. So I have been doing a pretty decent job of every week sitting down and writing out my personal notes & observations. So I will be able to go back and share those when I return to Canada. Ideally I would like to write out most of my so-called A-ha moments for everyone to read. But I actually dont have the time to do that. I am someone who is highly analytical and can talk, write and explain in great length and detail... definatly a factor in how much time it would take me to write everything out. In theory it would be nice though!!

I thought it might be interesting to throw it back to anyone who is reading!! So Im going to share this story..
For the most part I find myself talking to alot more men then women. For the most part men are more educated then women as a result more men can speak English then women. So I would like to connect with more women. But I do find it difficult because I cant speak to many of the women espically ones in the market, besides basic chichewa phrases to gets be through! I also find when women can speak English they tend to shy away from me... I dont kno if shy is the right word. To be honest I havent quite put my finger on what it is but there is a barrier between me and Malawian women... I sense not so wonderful vibes from time to time. So this story is about a time when I definatly was getting some not grat vibes!!

I went to the chairmans office and there were 5 ladies there.. 4 being pretty friendly, greeting me & shaking my hand. But this other that would have no part in it. So in my head... if I get honest with myself.. I was definatly thinking ok this lady is kind of a bitch. So as time went on there was a gentleman who came and he was asking me questions about who i was, where I was from, what I was doing here, etc. The general questions. He proceeded to tell me if I knew Malawi was one of the poorest countries in Africa. Which I said I had heard... this was when this lady who I had sort of labeled a bitch started to challenge this man about why Malawi was poor. Her argument was that Malawi was not poor, that in fact Malawi is rich.

Some of her points were grabbed my attention and I really came to be quite intrigued by this lady! So is Malalwi poor... or is Malawi poor in comparsion to another country? Who is Malawi poor in comparison to?
What is poverty? If poverty is not being able to provide one's basis needs... Then is the subsistence farmer in the village that can feed himself, maintain his health through traditional medicines and herbs, but he lives in a grass thatched house instead of a house with a tin roof. Can we say he is poor?

When we talk about poverty.. what are we talking about? Are we talking about it in a materialistic way?

( I heard something a great thought at the retreat this weekend... around what we hear in Canada. "Oh people live on under $2 or under $1 a day in Africa. But here $2 a day is actually quite alot of money. So someone in the village its a lot. But not in our terms. So if someone decides they are going to be a farmer their whole life. Do they really need more then $2 a day. Why do you need to go to the university and learn to speak English if you are never going to leave your community who speaks Chichewa?!)

So back to the girl.... she was saying people here feel bad and ashamed about their way of life because they are told they are poor. They are one of the poorest countries in the world. They should have a tin roof because that means devolpment... and a transistion towards the 'better life' But in this quest to become developed people are turning their backs on their roots, where they come from and what has bee their way of life for thousands of years.

So I get this feeling sometimes that people have broken spirits. I question how much of people's identity are we taking away from them we are pushing his certain type of development on them? And what are the implications of that loss of identity?
When we talk or development whos development is it really? I realize this can mean many things... is it the rich keep getting rich and the poor keep getting poorer. That can be one way of looking at it. But I was thinking about these developmental ideas.... whose are they? Do the belong to the people of Malawi or do they belong to the west and the west are trying to get the people of Malawi to take ownership of those ideas? So lets not push the technology because we've learned to a certain degree that doesn't work.. but lets push the ideas and the technologies will follow.

At the end of the day I don't really have any answers and/or solid opinions. But it was a different way of thinking that struck me and got me to think. So I wanted to share it!

Have a good day!!