Malawi - Home

Unpacked, washing done, ironing awaits, done big food shop in Sainsbury's, cleaner been. Had a lovely meal & evening with my daughter & one grandson yesterday. (The other one is boarding at school). Done three swims now - How wonderful to get some exercise rather than sitting in an office writing a training manual.

So - Life is more or less back to normal. Have resigned from my volunteer job working at the local Community Centre - A real pity, but my life is too short to tolerate the difficulties of managing elderly British volunteers & Malawi put it into perspective.

It all feels very familiar, but there is a disconnect somehow. I don't think you can go and work in a country as deprived as Malawi without it affecting everything in your life. It is the 6th poorest country in the world with a GDP per capita: $1139 (£844) - Nepal, where I have also worked, has a  GDP per capita of $2,480 (£1838) & is the 28th poorest country. The United Kingdom is the 27th richest country in the world with a GDP per capita of $42,513 (£31,500) - (Todays exchange rate)
https://www.gfmag.com/global-data/economic-data/the-poorest-countries-in-the-world?page=12

But it isn't a question of statistics. It's a question of people. People who have so little. "Recurring droughts afflict Malawi's agriculture sector, threatening the livelihoods of Malawi's smallholder farmers, who constitute 80% of Malawi's population. 38% of Malawians live below the poverty line, and 47% of children are stunted -1 Aug 2017" 
https://www.usaid.gov/malawi/agriculture-and-food-security

I think I need some time to reflect & internalise what I have seen. At the moment the imbalance seems intolerable. We who have so much & a huge portion of the world who have so little.

Brexit seems a mere media bubble to me at the moment. I can't connect with rich countries fighting & posturing over trade deals. There are much worse things to worry about in this world than who sells what to whom & economic migration within the EU.