Photos from Malawi
I have all my photos from my visit to Mulanje, Malawi up on Flickr for the world to see. You can check them out here.
You may want to use the “View as slideshow” link. If you do, you’ll notice a floating lower-case “i” over the center of the main photo. (You may need to mouse over it to make it appear.) Click it, and you can see all of the captions.
Malawi is a land-locked country in southern Africa. A former British colony, it is now one of the poorest nations on Earth. It’s been especially hard-hit by HIV/AIDS, losing a huge portion of its 20 to 40-year olds. Young parents, especially. It’s now a nation of children and old people.
FOMO (Friends of Mulanje Orphans) runs 10 centers, providing services to 4,000 orphans. Ryan and I visited to help repair and repaint the Gulumba Centre, and to meet the kids who are doing remarkably well in remarkably difficult circumstances.
We also visited medical clinics, in the hopes of establishing a presence for U.S. Doctors for Africa. Treatable diseases like malaria are a huge threat, and the lack of medicine and infrastructure is crippling.
For all its challenges, Malawi is incredibly beautiful, as are its people. It’s like an island nation without an ocean.
So what now? I’m still figuring that out.
Obviously, FOMO will continue to need financial support, and I can help with that.1 But to a larger degree, Malawi really needs to be put on the map of human awareness. There’s no hot story happening in Malawi: no civil war, no genocide, no pretty blonde tourist going missing. The country is isolated and easy to overlook. And its citizens are so invariably polite, it’s hard to imagine them demanding their fair share of the world’s attention.
But I think there are unique opportunities in Malawi. It’s stable and English-speaking. It’s infrastructure is lacking — its roads in particular are a mess — but the lack of embedded choices can be a blessing. If there’s any place perfect for leapfrogging to the Next Better Idea, it’s Malawi.2
The main reason I wanted to blog about the trip is that I’ve always been kind of uncomfortable-slash-terrified about the developing world and global poverty. And I suspect most readers are, too. It’s overwhelmingly macro.
But when you look at it in the micro scale, it’s not nearly so intimidating. I didn’t leave with any big answers, but I now know a bit about keeping kids fed. And how to install a corrugated metal roof. (You nail through the peaks, not the valleys, with capped nails.) I spent most of my time painting walls, and watching. Learning.
Obviously, not everyone is in a place financially to book a ticket to the other side of the world and just help out. (That’s what Ryan and I basically did.) But a lot of my readers are young — in college, or just after that — which is a perfect time to head out and explore the world. If any part of you is thinking about doing that, trust your instincts.3
- As can you, obviously. It’s a [registered U.K. charity](http://www.fomo.co.uk/HowtoHelp.htm). ↩
- The land-line phones (and with it, the internet) in the entire Mulanje region went out for three days, yet I got four bars on my cell phone almost everywhere. Wireless internet in the U.S. is handy. Wireless internet in Malawi seems essential. ↩
- Beyond university-affiliated programs, a quick Google search will reveal dozens of programs that specialize in a new kind of “voluntourism.” We considered programs in five African countries and South America before picking FOMO. ↩
Articles
July 17th, 2007 at 7:31 am
Inspirational….. Fantastic photos – lots of memories of my time in Malawi are flooding back…. I’ve not been back as an adult
There’s another Malawi-based charity that does some good work – the Nchima Trust…. Again, a UK-based charity, they pride themselves on 95% of their funds making it to Malawi (as opposed to admin costs in the UK)
Out of interest…. Had you heard of Malawi before Madonna adopted a child from there? Most people I know hadn’t….
July 17th, 2007 at 7:37 am
Somewhat incidentally, it appears that Google Maps as a nearly-as-close-as-possible view of Mulanje….
Weirdly enough, Mulanje seems to be the only part of Southern Malawi, including Blantyre, that does have this amount of detail… Maybe you’ve got a reader who works at Google and dug out some satellite photos that hadn’t been put in yet to get a better view of the area….
July 17th, 2007 at 7:38 am
John:
Thanks for the photos and especially the captions since they put everything in context. And kudos for picking up yourself and heading to the developing world to educate/expose yourself. As a native of Trinidad and Tobago, (living in San Francisco), poverty and a lack of infrastructure is no stranger to me though T&T is not comparable with Malawi in any shape or form. Of greatest impact were the legions orphans and the background of their everyday living situations. That you don’t see everyday.
Anton
July 17th, 2007 at 7:43 am
John,
I applaud you for sharing this experience, and I challenge others in and out of the public eye to undertake similar endeavors of their choice.
If everybody in the world did kind things for one another — and not want or expect to be reciprocated — we’d have a much better world.
(And not necessarily things for those across the world: next door is good, too!)
July 17th, 2007 at 7:45 am
That was a beautiful slideshow. One of my favorite shots was of you doing the sing-a-long with the three kids. Do you think you will do another “Voluntourism” in the near future? Well, welcome back home, we missed you.
July 17th, 2007 at 10:32 am
Come clean, August…
These photos were taken off of I-5 in Grapevine, weren’t they?
Nice work!! And best to you in your future volunteerism adventures.
July 17th, 2007 at 12:45 pm
interesting to read about your volunteer work and your views
July 17th, 2007 at 12:57 pm
2:
The Google Maps/Google Earth satellite photos of Mulanje are crazy-sharp. I was riding back from the airport and checking it out on the iPhone. I could see the exact building I was living in:
Here
I was in the south-east corner of the long silver building.
My guess that the satellite photos exist because of geographic surveys of Mt. Mulanje.
July 17th, 2007 at 8:03 pm
I’m jealous. I live throughout Asia where I do my part to help poverty when I can. Right now I am in China where they have blocked all Flickr photos. I really wish I could get a look at the slideshow because this story has really interested me. Oh well, at least johnaugust.com is online in China and that means a lot to me.
July 17th, 2007 at 8:04 pm
Normally seeing people’s vacation photos is like watching paint dry, but I found these fascinating. I’d much rather do something like this than spend a week at a 5-star hotel and doing a tour. One helps the economy, the other actually helps the people who need it.
July 18th, 2007 at 1:04 am
Oops – I was comments 1 and 2….. Completely forgot to put my name in there…. Entirely unintentional…..
There’s an interesting strip of high-res photos on there running up the Malawi/Mozambique border…
July 18th, 2007 at 4:51 am
Wow, John, those are great photos. You mentioned it was cold. That didn’t seem obvious to me based on the clothes people were wearing. How cold was it?
July 18th, 2007 at 9:09 am
Why not write a movie about it? I hear you’re pretty good at that. ;)
July 18th, 2007 at 10:00 am
John, We just arrived back to Dubai last night. It was a pleasure to meet you both. Although short lived, our time with you was both educational and inspirational.
We saw your artwork (painting of the center). The children there spoke highly of you and are hoping for your return. I got a great photo of Masa wearing the shoes that you guys left for him.
I’m heading back to Mulanje next week (for 5 days) to shoot the distribution of the goods from the container to the centers. Then, Jason and I will go back again in September to begin production.
Thanks for all the advice.. it proved most useful during our stay.
July 18th, 2007 at 11:09 am
John:
When do you plan on going back? Would you provide support for those that can’t afford to go but are willing to donate their time to help in any way they can?
July 18th, 2007 at 11:56 am
The photographs were moving and thought provoking!
July 18th, 2007 at 1:10 pm
An actor friend of mine named Kate Avallone has been in Zambia for the last 6 months with AIDS relief. As difficult as it has been for her at times, I don’t think she really want to come back to the States. She has absolutely fallen in love with the place and what she is doing. But I think the real reason is that it can be easier to like who you are when the trappings that we in the Western world hold so dear are stripped down to the bare essentials.
Thanks for the blog and the pics John. Welcome back.
July 18th, 2007 at 1:27 pm
I have spent many years in Africa and the Middle East. I am a native Californian, yet I have not lived in the US for over 10 years. I visit twice a year, but I have set up camp on this side of the world.
I agree with Jim’s assessment and although I may not “like” who I am over here… I definitely have a better grasp on “who” I am, faults included. In Africa your mind is clear, your thoughts are free and your walls are broken down to the bare essentials… as Jim so eloquently put it.
I came to Africa to help the people and instead they have helped me.
July 18th, 2007 at 3:33 pm
Yaya, you went to Africa, I’m inspired…on a more important note, did anyone see the new DirectTV add that’s a rip on ALIENS climactic “get away from her yo bitch” battle ? Damn Weaver still looks great as Ripley!
July 18th, 2007 at 6:07 pm
Those ads make me sooooo sad.
July 19th, 2007 at 8:52 am
I would encourage everyone who’s motivated to help to look for chapters of the ONE Campaign in your city. They will have created a Yahoo! Group if they’re active. Also, check and see if RESULTS has a chapter in your community. Maybe you can’t get to Africa or send money, but you can certainly lend your voice. Solutions exist. We just have to create the political will to push them forward.
July 20th, 2007 at 8:51 pm
Thank you! Thank you! all of you for restoring a bit of my faith in humanity. I was beginning to think that everyone on this planet had the compassion and decency like our friend Johnny the commercial. I have seen, felt, and been things that are not possible here. I feel at home in Africa, and these images and post made me homesick. I just moved to LA and am beginning to think I was meant to “move” somewhere else like a place where there is a need. The people of Africa are so beautiful and you all have shown this, thank you.
July 22nd, 2007 at 7:28 pm
Thank you so much for taking time to visit our beautiful country. Poverty aside, Malawi is beautiful and has a lot of petential. I hope that a lot more people will take the initiative to help not only the orphans but most of the children who are devasted by poverty. I would like to call for help that more well wishers take the initiative to sponsor children to continue with their education.
Regards and bravo for your visit John
shupikai