local report
If Streets Around the World
Unite Hand in Hand
It Will Turn Into a Tremendous Power
Long Flight to Africa
It’s been three years since I started working as a translator for African JAG Project. I knew the terrible situation of Malawi through translating emails but finally, I had the chance to visit Malawi with Ms. Asano, the organizer of the project.
We left Narita at 5pm, then arrived at Bangkok at around 9:30 local time. We waited for three hours to connect our flight and left for Johannesburg at 1am. It took us about 11 hours. Then two-hour flight to Malawi at 10am. It had been 26 hours since we left Narita. It was the longest trip I had ever had in my life. by Masafumi Kajitani
Purchasing Supply|Embassy of Japan
The capital of Malawi, Lilongwe, was like a small town in Japan. The road in the central area was paved but other than that, it was al dirt. There was a tree which blooms its flowers three times a year called Jacaranda and it was beautiful. It was like a purple cherry blossom. In the central area, there were so many vehicles with Japanese writing on the body that said, “ooxx cleaning” and “ooxx nursing home” The second hand vehicles from Japan were used in Malawi. And what I realized was that people in Malawi were staring at us. Maybe I felt this way because I was being so nervous since it was my very first time in Africa. I was told that there are many Chinese people living in the country for business, so Malawians are used to seeing Asians. I must have been feeling nervous. We went a small pharmacy and purchased 120 Malaria medicines and vegetable seeds for the Mvunguti and Msaka, where we had been supporting since 2006.
Then we headed to Embassy of Japan for a meeting on Grassroots Assistance Project. We are going to apply for the project and if things go well, we’ll be able to donate an engine boat and maybe build a borehole for the people in Mvunguti. Also we gathered recent information of Malawi like there’s a factory that makes insecticide bed nets. We will be going to the villages tomorrow and the support activity will officially start. I wa feeling expectation and anxiety at the same time.
To Cape Maclear
Our driver Maccy took us to Cape Maclear where we will be staying until the support activity is over. On the way, we purchased 50 kg of rice and maize flour for the villagers. We drove through the paved road and arrived at a clinic in Monkey Bay. Patients were dressed in colorful clothes and the weather was nice since it was the dry season… so I couldn’t really sense the gloominess but when I saw the words VCT and ARV the realty started to kick in. People were waiting in line to get tested with dark eyes. The clinic was not clean like the ones in Japan. We were planning a VCT an the villages so we asked for the permission. We left the clinic and drove unpaved rough road slowly for hours. A truck with too many people on the rear deck and a boy with a goat on his bicycle passed by. And there we were, we arrived at Cape Maclear.
Inspection 1
We went to Monkey Bay to visit Mvunguti and Msaka to let the villagers know about the VCT. To go to Mvunguti, we had take a boat and sail through a huge lake called Lake Malawi since there is no land transportation to the village. So we were looking for a boat to take us there and a man offered us a ride. The transportation fee that he offered was MWK12000 which was way too expensive. And all the drivers were drunk. Kids were asking me for water and money and I knew this kind of thing would happen, and I started to realize that I was n Africa for the first time. We decided not to go to Mvunguti this day and headed to Msaka instead.
There was a nice school in the entrance area of Msaka which was donated by Icelanders. As we entered the village, there was a cemetery on the both sides of the road. But the tombs with proper markers were rare and most of them had a bucket to show that the bodies are buried underneath. We met volunteers who had been helping us and talked about the current situation. They told us that the situation of the village is improving due to our support since 2006. I realized that the sustained support is the most important thing.
Inspection 2
We found a guy who would take us to Mvunguti at cape Maclear and headed to the village. The transportation fee was MWK6000. It took us 40 minutes to get there. Mvunguti was covered with giant rocks as big as a house, no electricity, and it was literally an isolated village. The houses were so close together that if an epidemic raged through the village, it could take down every villagers super quick. The chief of the village who was still alive when Ms. Asano visited last time was already gone. Percentage of HIV positives was super high as well. Water in the well was contaminated. I knew that a place like this existed but you can’t really feel the heat, smell and the gloomy feel if you don’t actually visit the place. But even though people there are living with less than a dollar a day, the children’s smiles were dazzling. I have never seen such a smile in a wealthy country like Japan. And I thought to myself, what can I actually do to help such a place?
VCT (Mvunguti)
The support activity will officially start today. Ms. Asano couldn’t come along to Mvunguti for the VCT due to health problem and I went to the village with two VCT staff and our driver maccy. Everything was new to me and I was very anxious. There was not much to do during the VCT, so I decided to film the procedure. VCT was quite simple. You take the blood from a finger and pour it in a special chemical. That’s how to see whether the participant was HIV positive or not. As I was filming, my hands started to shake. I guess I was a bit scared… I can’t even imagine how I would feel to be tested. And when the participant is tested HIV positive, they receive a transportation coupon to a clinic so they can get ARV. They don’t even have the little transportation fee to get to the clinic. So it means a lot to them.
So we held the VCT for three days at Mvunguti and the number who were tested HIV positive was very high. I was never surrounded by so many HIV positives in my life. There was a girl who was tested HIV positive and was smiling. Maybe she knew from the previous test that was held last year, but I’m sure I could never smile if I were her. And so many people came to Ms. Asano to show gratitude. I wondered how it would feel to see people getting better who were so sick that they couldn’t even get up from bed. Yes, what is need is a sustained support.
VCT (Msaka)
We were supposed to hold VCT three days straight at Mvunguti and go to Msaka on Saturday, but owner of the boat tried to raise the tranportation fee to MWK9000 so we decided to go to Msaka this day. Most of the villagers didn’t know about the VCT so not many people came to take the test. But I had some time to talk to some villagers and VCT staff. A boy told me in broken English, “I can’t speak good English because I can’t afford to go to school. I’m sorry…” And one of the VCT staff told me, “Don’t forget about us…” And I was also told about little girls who work as a prostitute for money. It had been a week since I came to Malawi. What can I do to help? Honestly I can’t find an answer.
We had held VCT at two villages and it was time to go back to Lilongwe. An AIDS orphan whom Ms. Asano had been supporting since 2006 was with us in the car. His academic ability was far low and Ms. Asano decided to take him to Lilongwe where he could receive proper education. In developing countries where people don’t have money, epidemics and lack of education is a great problem. If the children who are responsible for the future could not receive proper education, the future of their country will not look bright. But what could I actually do to help? I still don’t know. I couldn’t even do whatever I had to do without Ms. Asano’s directions. I could help but to feel powerless. Being born in a wealthy country like Japan is a miraculous thing. If you are born in such a country, I feel people should take a look at disadvantaged countries.
Embassy of Japan
We went to the Embassy of Japan to make a report of the situation of the villages and also to talk about the Grassroots Assistance Program. If it goes well, we will be able to donate an engine boat so that the people in Mvunguti don’t have to worry about transportation to the clinic. By the way, the price of the boat is around $4000. This is about the same amount as the fee which took me to Malawi. Was my visit to Malawi worth the amount? I feel like my visit to Malawi has ended in vain where I was left powerless. Maybe what I can only do for now is to tell as many people as possible about he situation in Malawi and work continuously as a translator between Malawi and Japan. And also do my best to make the Grassroots Assistance Project happen for Mvunguti. I have to try not to forget the reality of Malawi and do whatever I can do continuously.
Past Reports
※ Reproducing all or any part of the contents of this site is prohibited without author's permission.
