I’m not a Celebrity

I greet with a ‘hello,’ and am greeted with ‘I want to be your friend.’
A marriage proposal on the minibus is hardly unexpected.
Men unashamedly inquire my dowry price in the market.
A picture outside becomes a revolving photo-op for everyone within sight.

They told us not to photograph like you are some sort of exhibition.
Why didn’t someone tell you that I too, am not an exhibition?

Nor am I a celebrity. My picture is not plastered on buses and billboards,
and it’s weird that it’s now in a stranger’s home.

I want to be your friend too, but your REAL friend.
Your proposal lacks sincerity – friendship is not requested, it just happens.

Don’t tell me you cannot be whole without me after five minutes of talk.
I don’t buy that line in Canada, I won’t buy it here either.

Please don’t tell me you wish you were like me – it breaks my heart.

I’m not a celebrity, I just look different.
I was born in a different part of our world.
I was born with different opportunities.
Yes, I am different, but so are you.

But despite the difference, you don’t always feel so foreign.
In fact, sometimes you feel quite like home.

Your concern when I am unwell makes me feel cared for.
Your determination to find what I am searching for in the market gives me a sense of companionship.
Your stories are wonderful to listen to.

Far more than not, I like you.

I like it when you laugh at my jokes.
I like it when you patiently teach me your language.
I like it when you cook me dinner.
I like it when you let me cook for you.
I like it when you check up on me with a text and insist that I call so you know I arrived safely.

I like that you’re my friend, and neither one of us had to ask.

People to People

Sitting on the torn leather seat of a dated white passenger van, pressed up against the window, I watched the beautiful countryside of Malawi pass by on my way home from work today. As I looked out the window, I saw children running around outside of a row of worn looking buildings, looking to be playing a game of tag. The girl who was supposedly ‘it’ ran half-heartedly after a faster peer and then stopped, dropping her hands in defeat, the ‘it,’ head low, moved slowly back to the crowd of other ‘not-its.’ They all scatter. I was taken back to my own childhood memories of playing tag at my grandparents’ house with my sister and three older cousins. I was never a very fast runner and can remember a feeling of hopelessness and defeat once I was tagged ‘it.’ In the moment of that memory, I felt connected to this young girl who I was riding past, who likely didn’t even see me.

Further down the road, a man burst out of another fairly run-down looking building. He was walking with intent calling out “JON! … JONNY!” and scanning the area. In my interpretation, from my observation point inside the van, it seemed to me as though this man could not find his son. I could feel the distress in his voice and see the anxiety in his movements. In this vision, I saw no cultural divide, this was not how a Malawian would react, nor was this how a Canadian would react, this was simply a human reaction.

No matter where in this world we go, we will find people. People who experience human emotion as true as we do. Though we may express, celebrate, or suppress it in different ways and at different times, we feel it and through some aspect of it, we can connect with people, who, on the outside, may seem very different from ourselves.

Much love from Malawi

3…2…1.

It’s time. “Time for what?” you ask. Time to meet inspiring individuals. Time to embrace personal development. Time to face fears. Time to accept challenges. Time to go to Malawi! And with this blog, time for me to share the next four months of life, lessons, and change with you.

This summer, I will be working with Engineers Without Borders Canada (EWB) on Agricultural Value Chains (AVC) in Malawi. EWB is a not-for-profit organisation dedicated to alleviating poverty. In Africa, EWB works primarily in four countries in Africa – Ghana, Burkina Faso, Malawi, and Zambia. EWB also works here in Canada in such areas as political advocacy, global engineering, and youth engagement. To learn even more about EWB, feel free to check out www.ewb.ca. The AVC team in Southern Africa focuses on improving access to inputs for small-holder farmers in rural Zambia and Malawi. This is done with the belief that better access to inputs will improve farmers’ yields, leading to the opportunity for an improved quality of life. One path through which farmers purchase inputs is the agro-dealer. Agro-dealers are shops that sell inputs to farmers, acting as the link between large input suppliers and farmers. This summer, I will be working with the NGO RUMARK to improve the quality and effectiveness of this link such that agro-dealers can be more effective in servicing the small-holder farmers. I hope that was clearer than mud, and I promise you a more detailed explanation within the next couple of weeks as I, too, develop more clarity around my placement. In the meantime, visit http://untappedmarkets.ca if you’re keen on learning more about EWB AVC in Southern Africa!

Currently, as I finish this post, I am seated on an airplane flying from Washington, DC, USA to Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. We are finally making the journey after six days of jam-packed pre-departure learning in Toronto. Reflecting on those last 6 days, they were full of lessons learned, challenges recognized, and relationships built. And somehow, through the learning, the challenges, and the new friendships, I’m ready.

But what really is ready? I still have logistical questions – ‘when is it okay not to treat my water?’ In many ways I still feel like I have so much to learn to be in some way effective over the next four months. And the people I’ve left back in Canada are still heavily on my heart and mind. Four months is a long time between hugs. So what about this makes me ready? My logistical questions no longer terrify me. I am excited to learn. The acknowledgement that I am not arriving with answers encourages a certain amount of humility and partnership, both vital, in my belief, to effective development work. Furthermore, over the last week I’ve recognized that a contribution this summer will come from much more than knowledge – it will come from thought processes, valuable social interactions, and my heart. And as for those back home, it’s good to miss you because it’s good to love you. It’s four whole months, but it’s also only four months. Moreover, building strong relationships in Malawi is something I am most excited about for this summer – in order to meet these new people, I must for a while leave others. So, in a complex, heartfelt way, this is my ready and yes, I am READY.

Peace out Canada, Peace in Malawi.