Malawi - Travelling Round.

I haven't travelled South of Lilongwe. The furthest North & East I have been is Mzuzu & Lake Malawi. The furthest West is Kasungu National Park which is close to the border with Zambia. So although my body has registered every mile on bad roads, I haven't really had time to cover a lot of the country.

To me it is endlessly fascinating. All of life is there on the roads because most "villages" are strip development along both tarmac & dirt roads. Daily life; household tasks; caring for animals - chickens, goats & cows, & children, pounding food in a big pestle & mortar, cooking, washing, sweeping, chatting, all goes on outside because it's too hot inside & people are very sociable.

Traffic, both human and vehicular is constant. People walk long distances, the women often carrying big loads on their heads & also a baby on their back.

  

The simplest form of transport is the Kabasa - a bike with a makeshift seat on the back & handlebars & foot rests if you are lucky. On a dirt road I wouldn't risk it, but they seem completely safely balanced.

There are also shared taxis & mini buses packed tight with more people than you would believe. People do very long journeys lasting hours in these. I would be in agony & would melt with the heat.

Everywhere I've been, even the most remote villages "in the field", there have been people selling something at the side of the road. Seemingly people sit, all day if necessary, in the shade if possible, but in the blazing heat if not, until their goods have been exchanged, usually for very small amounts of cash. The goods may vary, but the patience of the people for very little reward is humbling.

 

Published unemployment figures are - Youth unemployment 23%. National unemployment 21%. I am surprised, because this seems relatively low compared to what I've seen. Young people are being sold expectations which are not realistic in the current state of Malawian development - that if they work hard & go to school & then to college or apprenticeships of some sort they will get a good job. If their parents can afford private school, which is far, far, better than state education, they are very lucky. According to Malawi 24 - "Unemployment becomes a disease in Malawi: Graduates scrambling for non-graduate jobs".

Africa & Africans have a huge amount of potential. The problems are immense, but I have loved being here.