Friends and Family,
We are coming out of the coldest part of the year here. Most of the mosquitoes are gone, but I sleep with 3 blankets on my bed, so it does get surprisingly cold! In Chichewa we say, kukuzizila (it's cold).
In May my parents came for a visit. It was fun for me to be able to show them what life is like here in Malawi. We visited Lake Malawi, hiked up a mountain, and went on a safari.
In early June, I taught 6 groups of 10 women each how to make soap. This was in partnership with another organization that works in rural villages. It was exciting for me to see the way…
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-July
Flimsy blue chair pressed against warm iron walls.
Blue sky, no clouds.
Bees buzzing, butterflies flitting.
A multitude of voices, chasing each other on the backs of a steady breeze.
Maize leaves rustling, a thief in the field.
Creaking iron doors, a hammer beating a nail into shape.
Daisies growing, red dirt blowing.
Hot sun shining, temperature climbing inside my shipping container, turned soap factory.
Wooden shelves all around, holding bottles, molds, and rubber gloves
Soap stacked in neat rows, soap spilled in tangled piles.
Square bars, carefully cut. Round balls, made from scraps…
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Friends and Family,
This Christmas Eve I want to thank you all for you prayers, your financial support, and your encouragement. I began writing this in the last hour of my twenty-four hour journey back to the US. It has been a refreshing break and has helped to give me new perspective on the things that are happening in Malawi. I will be flying back on December 26th to complete the remainder of my two-year commitment. Below I have listed a few of the exciting highlights that I have seen happen.
In addition to providing jobs for over 40 artisians in the refugee camp and the…
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Friends and Family,
It has been a busy past few weeks! Some things I have been working on lately are:
Interviewing micro loan applicants
Drawing up budgets and repayment plans
Making new soap scents
Making candles
Experimenting with making lip balm
Teaching small business owners how to manage their money, and calculate how much they should sell their products and services for
Selling soap, candles and Kibebe products at the Farmers Market
Hanging out with friends
The month of August flew by for me. It is still unseasonably cold here, and I am comfortable in jeans and a sweatshirt in the…
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Last week I celebrated Independence Day twice. In addition to the 4th of July, we celebrated Malawian Independence on the 6th. While the lack of fireworks was disappointing, I was able to have a cookout with some of the members on my team and their visiting family. Speaking of visiting family, my sister Erika came to visit me for a month in May and June. I know many of you supported her on her trip, so thank you for that! She brought me many small tastes of America in the form of candy and cards from some of you. I am very thankful to you all for thinking of me.
Erika amazed everyone by…
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