Open Writing

Venturing out of our Lilongwe hotel I bought a copy of the Malawi News. I was staggered to find acres of criticism of the Government. What a contrast with the 1970s when all publications were censored.

As a Servas traveller I had written to two Malawian hosts asking if they would provide us with accommodation. Boarding the luxury Sacramento coach for Mzimba in the north of the country good time was made on the surfaced road. A sea of faces met us as we alighted from this air-conditioned palace on wheels in Mzimba.

"Mr Eric?" a voice called out. Honoratius introduced himself as our host for the next few days. A 32 years old public health officer based at Mzimba General Hospital. In attendance was 19 years old Elijah, our host's cook and general dogsbody who received free board and lodgings in exchange for his labours. He carried one of our bags for the ten minutes walk to the house rented by Honoratius. As with so many houses in Malawi it would have benefited from a coat of paint.

Our bedroom contained a mosquito net, not surprising given Honoratius's role in the community. The house possessed a flush toilet but no running water in the shower room. We washed in water poured into a tin bath. The lounge was awash with a range of easy chairs and sofas.

The proud owner of satellite television there was rarely a moment when the screen was not filled with one of the leading European football matches. Honoratius told us he invited people into his house to watch all the big matches; the European and African Championships and the World Cup. He was an avid fan; it proved impossible to persuade him to turn the set off except when he went to bed. Last thing at night Elijah would carry the TV into Honoratius's bedroom as a security precaution.

Our host was relatively wealthy by the standards of his neighbours aided no doubt, by his bachelor status. He had recently bought a secondhand car. Only holding a provisional licence he had been obliged to secure the services of Elliot, his chauffeur cum driving instructor. He confessed to breaking the law on the odd occasion, usually to drive himself to church which was on the other side of town. Elijah made a number of commendable efforts to cook meals for us. The combination of ingredients was sometimes bizarre and wrongly timed. Warmed up breakfast chips being a first for me.

Honoratius's work took him into the villages where he offered guidance on sanitation; diet; child care and general social skills. Malaria was the most common illness. In an attempt to reduce the incidence of mosquito bites the government supplied nets at a low price. Measles was also prevalent, particularly amongst the children. HIV/ AIDS was also of major concern. This was born out when I met the local Baptist minister. Identifying himself as the head of the nearby primary school I learned that he had twenty orphan children on his register. Although not specifically identifying them as the offsprings of deceased AIDS victims it was not unreasonable to assume that most of them had lost a mother or father to the illness.

Each child in the school received one small A5 notebook from the government each term. Once it had been filled up parents were expected to buy replacements. Given the financial difficulties facing many parents who just managed to scrape together their children's school fees it did not require much imagination to picture the problems faced by teachers in seeking to achieve a proper learning experience. The position of the orphans was perhaps unimaginable in this environment. I had filled much of my luggage space with teaching and learning aids. I was pleased to be able to hand over a supply of notebooks, pens, pencils, a frizbie, whistle and a clock face for learning to tell the time.