Jan_2009_Newsletter

I sit at the window in the living/dining room, staring down the escarpment of the Rift Valley of Malawi. The Rift is alive with green as we are well into the rainy season.  I type to the accompaniment of music and minibus horns. Unlike our other homes in Malawi, which found quietude from placement at the edge of this great crevasse, due to the breeze that flows towards the house, we are one with life in the local market below us. Voices rise, and then drop; laughter bounces up to me. CD stalls vie for customers by playing their songs loudly. The minibuses honk their horns to attract customers seeking a ride after shopping. Children laugh and cheer and the sound of their football (soccer) game add to the general sounds of market life I hear, I try to gather my experiences and feelings of my day for you. It is a struggle. I am happy here, happier than I had remembered. The choppy tarmac and dirt roads beckon to me. I must still a desire to spend the day visiting familiar places. I am here to work. I can control my thoughts, I can control my actions, but I cannot control the joy and peace that flood my being. Malawi is a part of my heart, a part denied. Most would be dismayed at my feelings. Malawi is poor, inconvenient, with electricity and water that work only at their own whim. I hide from a tropical sun by day and disease bearing mosquitoes at night. Water is suspect. Cars break down from the abuse of craggy roads. Yet, a part of me was reawakened the minute I stepped onto my beloved country. My first day was spent becoming acquainted with Mark’s student volunteers, Heidi, Jay, Eleanor, and Bill. They are each delightful. They are each intelligent and just a bit quirky. Today, I began in earnest my preparation for my meeting with USAID, whose grant allows us along with two wonderful family foundations to expand our factory and expand our formulas. Americans will be pleased to know that USAID maintains strict requirements of those with US government funding. (Perhaps, these strict guidelines could be used for the bailout monies?) I go to meet with USAID to meet and to make sure I understand what reports they ill require and that I understand all that they expect in those reports. Tomorrow, I will spend the day in the factory with our factory manager, Liyaka Nchilamwela, reviewing the building renovation plan to be sure we have accounted for every need of the expanded factory. The rain has just begun. It beats on our tin roof, drowning out the other sounds of life. I pray for a good rain, required for a good harvest.
Mardi Manary  Project Peanut Butter

January 2009