Final Thoughts: Malawi, GRS, ndi Anzanga

I've been back in the U.S. for a month now and I think one of the most frequent questions I've gotten since returning has been, "do you think you're experiencing culture shock?"  I've found it difficult to answer this question because frankly I haven't felt shocked by anything since I've been back.  If anything I'm surprised by how much everything seems to be just like I remember it, as if I went to bed one night and had a yearlong dream where I lived in Malawi and then just woke up and I was right back where I left.

That of course is not what's happened (though it does sound like a pretty compelling movie plot which likely already exists).  I certainly haven't had any breakdowns or freakouts of which I was warned before returning, but in their place I've had a quiet unease in the back of my mind as I realize I don't quite fit into this world as seamlessly as I did before.  There was a time where New York City, New Jersey, my family, my friends, and my work in those places were pretty much all I knew.  However, thanks to the opportunity given to me by Grassroot Soccer, the inspiring staff of GRS in Malawi, the support of my ever-present roommate Mel, and the many anzanga (friends) I made in my time there I realize I am a decidedly different person than the one who boarded a South Africa Airways plane bound to Lilongwe just over a year ago.

The end of my time in Malawi finished in a hectic blur as test kits finally arrived in the country and we worked to fit months of programming into my final two weeks there.  We finished an intervention cycle at schools, launched the first ever Skillz Holiday Camp in Malawi, and held only the second HIV Testing and Counseling Event outside of Lilongwe that the program had ever had.  All of this was combined with development sessions for coaches and final matches and farewells with soccer teams and friends.  It's not an exaggeration to say that my last 3 weeks in Malawi were 3 of the busiest of my life.  Add to that all of the emotions swirling around my mixed up head (I just have a lot of feelings) as I faced a departure from a place and community I'd grown to love, and lets just say I didn't have the calm, thoughtful good bye I might've preferred.  Upon further reflection though it was the perfect farewell; if there's one thing I learned in my time there it's that things never go the way you plan them (or want them to), but they still always manage to come together.

In that time I've changed in ways I'll probably only continue to realize as I assimilate (albeit clumsily) back into life here; all I know is that I'm eternally grateful for the support I've had along the way from both everyone in Malawi and here in America that helped me get through and grow in the many obstacles I faced abroad.  A couple days before leaving I found out something that I knew was a looming possibility for some months, the Grassroot Soccer program in Malawi would be shutting down by the end of 2012.  Unfortunately, as with many growing organizations choices have to be made, and in the case of Malawi, Grassroot Soccer decided this site was not worth the investment to try and secure new funding.  It's a shame too because the caliber of coaches is not something you can just put a number to and the knowledge, attitude, and examples they set in their community are something that cannot just be replicated in other places.  GRS Malawi was the only GRS site in which each coach was also a certified HIV tester and counselor and so they were able to deliver comprehensive education to youth which included completing the GRS Skillz Curriculum as well as delivering home visits where our coaches provided free pre-test Counseling and testing to any participants and family members willing to receive their services.

Although the Malawi Grassroot Soccer site may be closing, the work is never done and there are other organizations with tons of support and focus in Malawi that I hope will continue to carry forward the hope and belief that this country CAN stop the spread of HIV while supporting those that are suffering from it.  The continued improvement in the fight against this disease will only serve to free up resources to improve other areas of need while providing inspiration and strength to a people that are always eager to smile and to help.  My time with Grassroot Soccer in Malawi has ended, but its effect on me and the direction to which this experience will steer my life is only just beginning.

Thanks for reading and for all of your support.

Baylor Lilongwe Staff

Grassroot Soccer Malawi Staff

-Matt (Mateu, Kamwile, Akamwile, Lethal, Martin, and any other nicknames I acquired and have managed to forget)

Top 10 Lists

I've always been a fan of lists and in my second-to-last post I thought I'd take the time to think about my top 10 Favorite and Least Favorite moments from my time in the Warm Heart of Africa.

10 Best

1.       Goals for Girls – Between taking 100 young girls through Grassroot Soccer activities, to showcasing women’s ability to play football even against men, to testing and counseling almost 400 people this even held near Lake Malawi, about an hour and a half outside of Lilongwe, went spectacularly well and was all the more rewarding after the immense efforts to organize it in the weeks leading up and the incredible work done by the staff on the day of the event.

Chisomo and Linda giving their keynote speeches at Goals 4 Girls

William giving knowledge to the masses at Goals 4 Girls

2.       Skillz Holiday Camp – The first Skillz Holiday Camp in Malawi was a great success as we recruited over 200 youth across two sites to go through an accelerated Grassroot Soccer Curriculum.  Organizing logistics for this first-time effort was at times (most of the times) hectic, but everything managed to work out great.

Me giving the closing speech at the Skillz Holiday Camp at the Biwi Site

Owen's (Red Shirt) Skillz Holiday Graduates

3.       Climbing Mulanje – I don’t think I’ve ever seen a more beautiful, serene, and impressive place in my life than Mount Mulanje, a mountain massif in the southern region of Malawi.  Trekking through the paths of this majestic “island in the sky” all the problems from miles below melted away for me as I lost myself in the views and the energy of the place.  At less than one tenth the price of Kilimanjaro this also had maybe the best value of any trip I took.

One of the many majestic views from Mulanje

Me taking a bike taxi by the tea plantations at the base of Mulanje

4.      Victoria Falls – From the 20 hour road trip across the Zambian countryside to the Sunset Cruise on into the Class 5 white water kayaking and then the Devil’s Pool all culminating in a terrifying bungee jump I don’t know if I’ve ever pushed myself and my boundaries as much as I did in this terrific 5 day trip.

White water kayaking on the Zambezi river

Along the edge of Victoria Falls

5.      Playing with DD Sunshine – DD Sunshine, named from their founder and head coach David Dube, is the premier women’s football team in Malawi, with many of their players also representing Malawi in the national team.  Since they routinely beat female opposition by margins of more than ten goals they often scrimmage men’s teams.  Luckily because of my friendship with three of the DD Sunshine players as well as the assistant coach I was given the opportunity to both train with them and play alongside them when they faced male teams.  The experience of getting to travel to remote villages on the DD Sunshine Bus to see places I never would’ve known existed in front of crowds of hundreds of villagers was one of the most memorable experiences from my time in the “warm heart of Africa.”  The true character of the team also has to be noted as the players are all committed role models for their community, while the team also dedicates a portion of their winnings for schools fees and housing for players that can’t afford it, in addition to sponsoring one girl not associated with the team to help her complete her schooling.

DD Sunshine Team: 2011-2012, National Champions

6.      Helping Reuben Climb Kilimanjaro – This year one of our outstanding coaches, Reuben Phiri, was given the opportunity to travel to Tanzania to climb Kilimanjaro in addition to taking part in various international conferences and workshops all with the aim of ending violence against women.  The climb was organized by the UNiTe campaign and featured representatives from every African country.  I am just proud to have gotten to play a small role in enabling Reuben to take part in this amazing experience as he was deservedly chosen to represent Malawi.  Prior to this Reuben had never left Malawi, had never been on a plane, and had not regularly used email.  After getting through some medical checkup scares, Reuben made everyone proud by reaching the top and proudly hoisting the Malawi flag and Grassroot Soccer T-shirt all while making invaluable international contacts and even having a chance to meet the president of Tanzania!

Reuben on his way to the summit of Kilimanjaro adorning the Malawi flag on his backpack

From L to R: Reuben, Me, Aubrey (Reuben's brother) before he left

7.      Monkey Bay in Lake Malawi – My first trip to Lake Malawi I think still stands as my favorite.  We traveled there in an oversized land rover that lacked basic essentials (most notably any sort of headlights), camped in a tent we set up on the beach at night using our headlamps to guide us, and swam all around the bay (all without realizing that someone had been attacked by a crocodile in that very bay only two weeks earlier).  Add to that sightings of enormous baboons, a ton of rock climbing, and nearly drowning and I think it’s safe to say I had a weekend at the lake I’ll never forget.

View from Monkey Bay beach

View from a mountain (or a small hill) that we climbed

8.      Social Football – Although I didn’t play as much soccer as I thought I would, the occasions I did play were a ton of fun and gave me the chance to meet a lot of great people.  On Sundays I played in a Malawian Social Football League with the team Kuche Kuche (named after the Carlsberg Beer of the same name).  It was full eleven-a-side matches where we’d generally play in the same stadiums used by the Super League.  Baylor, the clinic that Grassroot Soccer is based out of in Malawi and where I worked, also had an informal football team in which we’d scrimmage other organizations, the highlight definitely being when we came from behind to beat UNC!

Kuche Kuche vs Zambian Team

Baylor Social Football Team

9.      Birthday Scavenger Hunt – My 26^th Birthday came with a lot of surprises…and scavenger hunts which I thought were only for children (it’s pretty obvious what people thought about me).  First, on my birthday eve roommates Lizzy and Mel along with Jenn conspired to hide 26 bottles of green joy all around the house.  After a frustrating hour that included searching both inside and outside our home I finally found my 26^th “present.”  The scavenger hunts were not finished though and the next day my coworkers were up to no good as they managed to hide a cake, cookies, drinks, and Mandazi (Malawian donuts) around our relatively small office.  Godfrey took full advantage of the situation by repeatedly yelling out how much time had transpired without me finding things along with relentlessly questioning my competence as a human being.

Lizzy, Mel, and Me with my birthday presents

Godfrey making fun of my inability to find anything hidden in the office

10.   Lesotho – The small country within South Africa is an unknown gem.  Almost entirely in the mountains, my trip there along with Laura, Alice, and led by GRS Lesotho resident Hasmin involved a Donkey Pub Crawl through a small town in the mountains and a gorgeous hike through the rolling hills to a canyon and waterfall.

Future Album Cover

From L to R: Me, Alice, Hasmin, Laura

Also noteworthy were: Bird Watching in Luwawa Forest Reserve, Lake of Stars Music Festival, GRS Coach end of the year Party, Bertha's Night OUT!!

10 Worst
(note: no photos will be posted with these as I'm stil trying to recover from the trauma)

1.      Security Guard at Tingathe Sensitization Event – at this giant event in Area 23 of Lilongwe in October I become one of the many unlucky people responsible for holding hordes of drunk attendees at bay and from rushing the stage to where famous Malawian musicians like Maskal and Dan Lu were performing.  I somehow avoided any actual fighting, but I was more than once called upon to physically push people from the restricted areas.

2.      Unintentionally disrespecting 12 Chiefs – At our last large Testing Event we had gone out to the area, a market town called Msundwe, to make sure everything was arranged for the event.  This included meeting with local chiefs to let them know this would be happening in their communities.  Unfortunately somewhere along the way they interpreted this as an official invitation for which they would also receive food, t-shirts, and money for attending.  When we arrived prepared to give none of those things we faced off with 12 angry village chiefs.  Eventually we provided them drinks and transport money just to get them to leave.

3.      Waiting 30 hours in line for fuel – Fuel was a problem for most of my time in Malawi but one week in particular was especially brutal that involved waiting 5 days in succession for the entirety of the day at different fuel stations hoping to get fuel.  On each of these days either fuel ran out before our car reached the pump or the station never received a shipment of fuel.  It took waking up at 3:30am to park the car right outside the station to get us in the front of the line for the next day’s delivery to break the streak.

4.      Going to the Mechanic – I think every time I went to our mechanic (which was fairly frequent) I just left feeling dumb and incompetent as there was usually a simple remedy for whatever was wrong (ie the window won’t work because it’s locked or the engine light is on because you pushed this button, etc).  Needless to say I’m glad to have returned to a world where I don’t own a car.

5.      Stomach Ailments – I don’t think I ever quite got used to getting stomach sickness although I definitely learned what to expect after my time in Malawi.  The first month was especially brutal but after that I managed to stay relatively healthy outside of a few short bouts here and there.

6.      Long-distance public transportation – You will always get a story out of taking long-distance public transportation in Malawi and that story will only be earned after hours if not days of frustration and a potential loss of sanity.  Whether it’s a bus stopping every 100 meters for ten minutes at a time to drop off passengers, to waiting for 45 minutes at a random village as night quickly descends on you while 10 men try to heave and lift a live cow onto the back of the truck you’re also sitting in the trips will always take twice as long than even your most conservative estimates.

7.      Locking the keys in the car with the car running – Not one of my proudest moments; while we had other interns visiting to go to the Lake of Stars festival I had a colossal lapse in thought as I shut and locked the car doors with the keys still in the ignition and the car still running.  Not only did we not have a spare set of keys, this was also wasting invaluable Petrol.  Luckily the mechanic sent over a couple guys with wire to break into our car and save me from further embarrassment.

8.      Freezing at night on Kilimanjaro – We had been assured that the sleeping bags we rented to climb Kilimanjaro were made specifically for the subzero temperatures we were sure to encounter on the mountain.  Unfortunately, I think they forgot the thermal lining or something because every night I went to bed with multiple layers of clothes on only to repeatedly wake up shivering from the bitter cold.  I’m still convinced that the 4 sleepless night leading up to the summit are what contributed most to my complete sensory loss near the top as my sense of balance and vision completely left me.

9.       Test Kit Shortages – In addition to Malawi’s frequent lack of fuel another equally important resource was often in short supply, HIV Test Kits.  In my year there we went through two 10-week shortages that not only meant many Malawians could not be tested, but also meant I really didn’t have a lot to do.  A significant part of my job there was planning and setting up large-scale HIV testing events, however without any available HIV test kits there were entire weeks where I just found myself in the office trying to find productive things to do.

10.   Saying Good Bye – It was an incredible year, far beyond anything I had a right to expect or hope for.  Saying good bye to so many people I cared about and to a country and culture I grew to love is still something I’m struggling with more than a month after leaving and I don’t think I’ll get over any time soon.

June Update

It has been a LONG time since I've posted and for that I apologize.  They say a picture is worth a thousand words though which is good because I don't have nearly enough words to go over what's happened since my last post but I hope these photos and highlights will at least be a good start:

Joyce Banda, Malawi's New President

Malawi has a new president: Joyce Banda, who took over as president after President Mutharika suffered cardiac arrest and died unexpectedly.  President Banda is the only the second female lead in Africa and has assumed office with a lot of support.

HIV Test Kits Shortage: We haven't had test kits available for two months now and because such a large part of GRS Malawi's programming is based on testing this has had significant effects on what we're able to do.  We've cancelled two VCT Soccer Events, but are hoping that the country will get more test kits in July.


Trip North to Luwawa:

Luwawa Forestry Reserve

Me and Nader (a real life doctor) enjoying the board games

That's right, a giant spider web nest thing of horror, and they were EVERYWEHRE

I traveled up North to the Luwawa forestry reserve for a couple days for some good hiking and bird watcher watching (just like it sounds, one who watches bird watchers).

The sky just goes on and on...

Luwawa crew obligatory jump photo. From L to R: Nader, Avni, Javeria, Mel, Me, Jon

The trip was filled with beautiful, rolling green hills, never-ending views, birds, and of course board games.  For those of you who worried I would never grow up that's right I spent a weekend of long hikes and board games.

South Luangwa National Park: I also made my way back into Zambia to South Luangwa national park for a safari.  What I didn't realize was that the lodge we stayed in was pretty much part of the park as a giant elephant was standing outside our room when we arrived along with a snake inside the room.

On the right our room.  On the left ELEPHANT.

At night hippos climb up from the river which the lodge is right next to and graze on the grass right outside the cabins.  On the game drives we got a great view of the wildlife as well as a thorough background on every animal from our tour guide.

Roadtrip with Laura and Rebecca down south:

Laura and Rebecca looking at the truck we were about to board...along with 40 other people.

Bike taxi-ing through the tea estates at the base of Mulanje

I took some time to travel south along with two GRS interns from Cape Town, Laura and Rebecca.  We visited Mulanje, an enormous massif with the highest peak in Central Africa as well as a trip the Lake.  Public transportation was a string of wins and losses as it always is here and we frequently found ourselves stuffed into the backs of mini-buses, boarded onto pickup trucks, and packed into giant truck caravans.  Often times progress was slow (if nonexistent), and involved all sorts of absurdity from fist fights between drivers and conductors, live poultry, live livestock, stopping less than every minute, to nearly freezing in an open bed truck driving at night.  Mulanje was stunning though offering some of the best views I've seen in my life for a much more affordable price than Kilimanjaro.

The views on Mulanje were second to none.

Seriously, spectacular.

And then we were above the clouds.

As high as we got before the wind and clouds prevented us from climbing higher.

So we settled for warmer weather at the Lake. From L to R: Rebecca, Me, Laura

And enjoyed some pretty nice sunsets

The lake was a nice follow up to Mulanje as we relaxed on the beaches of Cape Maclear.

Chabwino, until next time, tiwonana.

How to Make A Successful VCT Event

Tournament Participant Celebrates a goal in a PK shootout

A VCT (Voluntary Counseling & Testing) Event is one of Grassroot Soccer’s most effective ways to reach the broader community on a large-scale in just a single day.  The Malawi site for Grassroot Soccer is unique in this regard because every single one of our coaches are trained and licensed HIV testers and counselors.    Because of this we can plan events independently without having to worry about coordinating with testing partners.   We host these events roughly once a month (unless there are nationwide shortages of HIV Test Kits) with our target testing number usually around 150 people.  However, over the last two events we have really stepped up to find new and exciting ways to reach people and to encourage them to attend events and to know their status.  With the extraordinary efforts and ideas of our team we have managed to test 638 people over the last two events alone!

With the success of these events I feel like I've been able to learn a lot about planning an executing an event in a place where the only thing you can guarantee is that things will not go to plan.

1. The Success of an Event depends on work done well in advance.  This includes buying and organizing all of the necessary equipment and materials, organizing the teams, the music, entertainment, the venue, and even taking the car out into the communities with a megaphone, posters, and loud music to inform people about the upcoming event.

There are a lot of materials needed to be organized for events as you can see from the back of our car.

Poster on our car before going out into the community. (Translated to "Come Today for VCT & Soccer")

A mob of kids chasing the GRS-Mobile during sensitization (they actually climbed on top of the car and were "surfing" on the roof - it gets pretty intense sometimes)

2. Community Chiefs and Local Village Headmen are well respected in their communities and will help to encourage community members to attend events, while their presence at events will also command respect and support the messages.

Chiefs looking on during the Goals 4 Girls Event

3. A Good P.A. System WITH a Generator.  People love music and the P.A. system also allows us to share important messages and information on HIV/AIDS and other important topics while overall the speakers help us to keep things organized and on track.  With daily power outages, a generator for the sound system is a MUST.

William and Godfrey (Yellow T-Shirts) Taking the mic at Goals 4 Girls

4. Multiple Forms of Entertainment.  Soccer has a broad range of appeal, but it is also important to have other forms of entertainment available especially to attract women, children, and anyone just looking for an exciting time.

Local Community Children's Dance group at Chiuzira singing about the important of knowing your HIV status

Me in a dance off with a Gule Wamkulu, a traditional Malawian dancer (with costume)

5. Good Organization.  The day of events is always hectic and the more organized we are the better we can handle the inevitable hurdles that come our way.

The Roster for roles at Chizuira

6. Passionate and Committed Role Models.  Every single one of our coaches serves as a community role model and they are the face of GRS to the community.  Their work, dedication, and leadership by example is what enables GRS to be so successful.

Chisomo (left) and Linda (right) giving speeches at Goals 4 Girls.  Both are Grassroot Soccer coaches and stars for the Malawian Women's National Team

7. Having the right incentives.  Incentives can be as simple as a certificate of completion for GRS activities to T-Shirts and Jerseys for winning teams.  People here love receiving gifts and prizes, but it's important to combine this with positive action.  Another favorite are prizes for audience members correctly answering questions on HIV/AIDS information.

Goals 4 Girls Team with their certificates of completion

Godfrey Presenting Jerseys to the winning team at Chiuzira

8. TONS of Flexibility.  Things go wrong, ALWAYS.  That's one thing I've learned in my time in Malawi and you just have to be prepared to roll with the hits.  This may mean getting down and dirty to clean a classroom so it can be fit for testing, to prolonging a Final match for an extra 45 minutes so that we have time to get more test kits and test more community members.

Mel cleaning a classroom with a branch/broom before Goals 4 Girls

Me reffing during penalty kicks after extending the final by 45 minutes to allow more time for HIV testing

9. Increased Ownership to Site Coordinators to all them to use creativity.  Our site coordinators are for a large part responsible for organizing our events, especially in their areas.  Giving them freedom to choose on prizes, entertainment, venues, roles, etc. has already resulted in some incredible results and new ways of approaching our events.

Area 23 Site Coordinator, Cossam (yellow hat), running the show at his Chiuzira tournament

10. Having Available Test Kits.  There are frequent shortages of a lot of things in Malawi and one unfortunate example of this is HIV test kits.  There have been a couple of shortages in my time here, including at present that can lead to postponing or cancelling events because we can't test community members.

A sign directing community members to HIV testing

11. Things Relevant to that community.  Keeping it interesting for the community we're working in is essential to getting people to care about the messages and information as well as for ensuring good attendance at events.  One example of this is using local entertainers or prominent community members.

A Drama group at Chiuzira leading hordes of children around the venue while performing skits on HIV/AIDS

12. DANGER

George, who's nickname is "Danger" (center with red shirt), is a community health worker that has works our of Baylor with us and has been a strong supporter of our work and frequent attendee at our events.

Basically a lot has to come together for our events to be successful along with a fair amount of luck, but hopefully we'll be able to continue to build on what we've learned so far to have the most impactful and beneficial events possible for the remainder of 2012.