.thoughts.

It's overcast today and I can hear the thunder in the distance, people are hopeful. Rainy season was suppose to start in November but I've only seen 2 showers in my week here. It's planting time and if the rain doesn't come soon farmers are going to really worry about their crops. One of Malawi's biggest cash crops is tobacco, but the tobacco market has really fallen in the recent years and being a low-quality tobacco at that it, the fall has been felt hardest here. The government is now encouraging farmers to switch their crops to cotton but when you are born of a tobacco growing family, it's not an easy change. You lose the priceless knowledge, traditions, and heritage.

It's hard to be in Malawi right now. It feels like a country at it's wit's end for several reasons all at once. One, being a land-locked country it relies on others to manufacture things - groceries are brought in from South Africa!! You can easily tell if the shipment has arrived to the grocery store just by looking at the shelves (empty or not!) It's hard for me to know if this is the normal and I'm just acclamating or it is really getting worse? But people say it's been getting worse. One major reason is that due to Malawi's conservative nature (i.e. not acknowledging high-risk groups: MSM and Sex workers) foreign aid has been withheld for going on 3 years!! And with no foreign currency here there is no money to buy fuel so we are currently in a major crisis! Everyday people are waiting patiently for fuel, sometimes missing work waiting in line, some are sleeping over, and others are just parking their cars. The lines run miles long. Taxi drivers and mini-bus drivers are relying on the black market to be able to purchase fuel. With the current rate of fuel being 5,000Kwacha/ 5 liters (that's about $30/5 liters) transportations rates have double!! Which is just a domino effect on everything!

But despite it all and maybe because of it all Malawians are happy, hopeful, and selflessly loyal to one another. I feel grateful for this opportunity to learn and experience life in another way.

























much love to you and yours.
a 

p.s. Our fuel is in and I'm off to site!!!!