Malawi Bound!
Posted by Katie Durvin on March 12th, 2012
They say that once you go to Africa, a part of you deep down inside never really leaves-even after you have travelled back home and continue on with your daily life. It’s as if your heart has finally found its home. I remember the exact moment when I realized that this had happened to me. [...]
Wishing I could slow time down…
Posted by Inga Taube on March 6th, 2012
I was sitting behind the university yesterday, enjoying the sun (and the lack of snow!) and I realized how grateful I am for getting to experience this country. My work is starting to wrap up; there are still some loose ends but the handbook is starting to look really good. It’s been challenging at times [...]
The Sandwich
Posted by Zoe Tupling on March 6th, 2012
In communication, within workplace and personal relationships alike, I have come across one method of giving criticism/bad news that I am partial to: it is called the sandwich method. The idea is to try to take a piece of negative information and wrap it up in double portions of positivity so as to make it [...]
Too much garbage produced by the Musungu’s
Posted by Chloe Piche on February 28th, 2012
Living in a country where there is no garbage removal system in place has proven the idea to me that we Westerners produce so much waste. Here in Malawi my house mates and I produce about one grocery bag size of garbage a week. Comparing this to my garbage production in Canada, this is quite [...]
Periperi Peppers and Life Changing Opportunities
Posted by Ashley Korn on February 21st, 2012
Coming up over the hill after walking 8 kilometers to Dzaleka Refugee Camp, my skin is hot from the early morning sun. I can smell the burning coals of the fires and roasting corn in the market. Every Tuesday is market day in Dzaleka and the camp residents sell their goods, from hot periperi peppers, [...]
Drizzle
Posted by Zoe Tupling on February 18th, 2012
I’ve always been captivated by the power of the elements. Nature choosing its moment to remind us of our subordinate role to its power. As a Canadian, I am often impressed/dismayed by mountains of snow that seem to magically emerge from the sky. One snowflake at a time, in a dainty flutter, or gangs of [...]
The Diploma program Joys and pains
Posted by Chloe Piche on February 17th, 2012
After 9 kilometers of walking up and around these windy bends, I have almost made it to the Dzaleka Refugee Camp. On the way there, there are maybe 2-3 cars that pass, the foot traffic though is crazy. There are hundreds of people on their way to work in the field, to get water, to [...]
The combination of being hungry and trying to learn:
Posted by Chloe Piche on February 9th, 2012
It is the end of the month and the refugees in the Dzaleka refugee camp are hungry. The University students in camp are attending classes for 35 hours a week, and the majority of them living on one meal a day. Although they are all trying to succeed the best they can, trying to keep [...]
Changing attitudes
Posted by Joshua Pelland on February 8th, 2012
While I could say that I am sad to have to have left the amazing Ottawa winter weather to find my way to Lima, Perú, where I must endure on a daily basis the gruesome summer surfing weather, we may all assume that is slight deceit. Lima is a bustling metropolis with over eight million [...]
Malawi, first impressions
Posted by Chloe Piche on January 27th, 2012
I have now been in Malawi for a little bit over a week now. The people are just amazing and the landscape of the country is un-believable; everything is green, there are so many beautiful birds, mountains and clouds. I am living in a little town called Dowa, it is about 6-7 km away from [...]
