A Gift of Song

Zomba, Malawi

We went to Zomba, and the team interviewed people living with HIV/AIDS. This group is part of my study. I am interested in how their church is helping them access ARVs, if they have consulted a traditional healer for medicines to treat HIV/AIDS, and the barriers they have experienced accessing ARVs.

These villages are also ones that have benefited from Global Aids Interfaith Alliance (GAIA) projects, which include: home-based care for people who are HIV positive or people who are caring for HIV positive family members or friends, orphan care, support for secondary school fees, and income generating activities for the women of the village.

We met a group of women who started a mushroom farm in the village and are now planting maize (corn) to sell for income. Thus far the projects have made good profits, and they want to continue. There were a few of us who asked questions, so it was like a town hall meeting of sorts, run by the women of the village. It was exciting to see the exchange of ideas and the discourse that occurred over the logistics of the projects and the logical next steps. As with all businesses, not everyone involved agrees on each step of the process or in what ways to move forward, so the challenge is to figure out some sort of compromise. A small village in Malawi or a corporate office in San Francisco, the human conflict is the same!

The trip back to Limbe is reflective and quite bumpy. Life in these small townships and villages is so different to what I’m use to in my day-to-day life in San Francisco. The people in Malawi have very little, but they manage to do the best they can.

I end today with the image of the village women singing to us as we left the village. I did not understand the words, but the rhythm was fun and I could clap with them as we walked down the road. It was translated to me to mean “have a safe journey and God Bless you”. How generous of them to leave us with such a gift of song!