(Kevin) The baobabs are beautiful

Maderitso and I are getting along really well. We're just two dudes holding down the fort - cooking, cleaning, chatting, and walking to and from work. I really like his friends, and he is helping to push me to learn Chichewa. I find that when I'm surrounded by so many proficient English speakers, I don't push myself as hard to learn the language. When the incentive to be able to communicate effectively doesn't apply, the motivation to learn doesn't exist as much. I've acknowledged that learning isn't going as quickly as I'd like it to, and I'm ramping up. Maderitso is going to try and hold me accountable to speak more Chichewa around the house.
 
As I've learned over the last few weeks, taking care of a house is a lot of work when you're working full time - especially when you have no electricity or indoor plumbing. Experiencing the effort that's required to do all of theses things is really valuable to get a glimpse of Maderitso's reality. It's hard work man!

My health is good. I've managed to avoid sickness so far (knock on baobab - by the way, the big trees that I was talking about in my last post are actually baobab trees!), and I've been doing my best to take care mentally and physically. Because I'm eating so much refined flour and white sugar, my energy levels crash often. Because I have so much control over what we cook, I'm going to try to cook more energy sustaining foods. Drinking lots of water seems to help too. 

A baobab tree - much like the ones that line the landscape of Machinga.

Yesterday I had a very interesting and heartbreaking discussion with Maderitso and his friends about opportunity in Malawi, the cost of education, and fair trade. It was a conversation that left me with few words to offer, as I spent most of the time listening and processing perspectives. All I can really say is that there are many people here who have the ambition to achieve something higher, but are blocked for a multitude of reasons. Vague, I know - but I think this is a conversation that is best had once I'm back in Canada.

Today I saw a family break apart in the household beside me. At 5:00am this morning, the father of the household packed his things, and left for Lilongwe. He told me this last night, so it wasn't a suprise when I woke up to the crashes and noises of his departure. It's a very sad thing to happen, and a strong reminder that regardless of who you are, where you are, or how you live, life and emotions happen.

All the best, and much love.

Kevin

(Kevin) Still wondering - whose reality counts?

This past weekend came and went, and it was very enjoyable. I took my bike down a few roads for hours of journeying across the countryside of Machinga. One of the most prominant aspects of the landscape is the giant trees with trunks about 6 meters wide. They are quite a sight to be seen! I also picked up a pair of sandals made from recycled rubber along the way. My friends around here tell me that if I keep wearing them, I'll have the nickname "Jesus" - and they were totally right. That's all I hear when I sport them.

After about an hour or so of biking towards a group of irrigated fields, I came across two young women carrying buckets on their way to fetch water. One of them spoke some English, and pointed towards a giant tree in the distance which indicated the location of the borehole they were travelling to. "Do you want to come along?" she asked. Sure, I thought, why not? So I followed.

After about 20 minutes of walking, we reached the borehole. A group of 15 women and children gathered around the Afridev pump, taking turns and sharing the effort. I noticed something that I had seen before - a small concrete block built on top of the platform (or the "apron", as it's called). As women in Malawi are largely responsible for water collection, and they typically carry water buckets on their heads, this block intended to assist them in getting water from the ground to the top of their heads.

"Do you find this useful?" I asked, pointing to the block. "Of course," the women replied, as they filled their buckets to the brim to prepare for the long journey home. A simple converations that left me with so much thought.

The reason this interaction sticks with me so much is that just a few days earlier, I was having a conversation with a co-worker (a man) about these blocks, and if they were worth investing in. He voiced that they're not very useful, and that the project shouldn't bother installing them with the new boreholes.

Now perhaps he speaks to more people than I do, and has more experience in this district that could lead to a fairly knowledgable perspective, but something about his answer didn't sit right. I guess this just makes me think about the voices that are heard when development decisions are made. What steps can you take to make sure that you're making decisions based on well-rounded evidence and dialogue? And how can you make this a part of such a short project timeline when you're already trying to meet deadlines? What I really want to know is whos reality counts in the decision making process?

Be well, and much love.

Kevin

(Spencer) Everyone Out, Last Stop Accra

(May 18; Written at a time when I was still optimistic I again would have internet, hence verb tenses...)

Finally!

We have arrived in Accra, Ghana!

I am starved for words to adequately describe the initial moments entering the country, such an intense rush of emotions. It is truly incredible to have arrived in Ghana after passing so many obstacles in the journey.

The city of Accra is a massive urban center, population 4 million, densely packed with too few road ways and everybody trying to go somewhere. The colours of the Ghanaian flag are all over, lush tropical greenery growing throughout, and red iron rich soil covers the ground. High rises line the skyline, billboards advertising anything you can imagine (“The price of Guinness has not changed!”, rumour control I suppose) line the road ways, and people seem to burst from the seams. An incredible city to be sure, I wish there was more time to explore.

Our first experience in the country was packing into taxis after Robin, our APS guide, had negotiated prices with the drivers (who is having the money?). Driving is off the hook, such interaction between vehicles; constant honking of horns, stopping and starting, wedging in between each other and dodging pedestrians (more so pedestrians dodging us). Toronto traffic times ten, my first thought was that there must be so many accidents but I have been told that there is actually quite few.

We stayed the night at the New Kokomlemle Guest House, a modest location in the heart of Accra. This house has a special place in EWB history; all JFs, Pro-JFs, and APS, who arrive in Accra stay at this location. “The good energy is stuck in the walls,” says Mark one of the APS who greeted us that night. And right he was, we settled in quickly, excited to begin another day and get a step closer to our placements!

(View of STC station)

In country training is set to begin May 19, tomorrow, in Tamale (800km north of Accra) and to get there the group of us are going to be taking a bus up to the north, that is if it ever arrives. What was originally set to be an 8am departure has been delayed until past 3pm. The bus was undergoing repairs in the shop contained within the Intercity STC bus depot. It is a 12 hour bus ride to Tamale from Accra, I have an endless list of things to do so by no means will it be boring.

After traveling since early Sunday morning this delay has fazed none of us, we expect transport to be late by now. It also serves as an excellent introduction to “Ghana time” where everything runs at its own independent schedule…

(View of STC station)

The bus has just arrived and I took my seat. Sitting directly ahead of me was a small child who was covering his eyes and laughing. So I covered my eyes and laughed back. A hysterical game of peek-a-boo started up with him and I peering over the seat at each other covering and uncovering our eyes. Laughing harder and harder we dodged around looking through the cracks between seats, catching glimpses of each other driving into incredible silliness.

He voiced that we should bonk heads, so we did and he laughed so hard after every impact. Making hand gestures of us colliding and what looked to be explosions occurring in his fingertips. We continued on with this game of laughing and peeking for a few beautiful minutes until his mother called him to switch seats. We shared a final laugh as his father picked him up and they left for the back of the bus. Things are going to great here in Ghana I know it already.

Sending love from a packed STC bus

Spencer

(Spencer) Unexpected Excursion

(May 17 Backpost)

Hey All You Lovely People

(I wrote this with the intent to post in Germany, but my laptop died, hence the verb tenses)

We are in Germany now; our group divided into three parts so that the airline could accommodate all 17 of us. My respective group had a flight out of Washington to Frankfurt in Germany at 9:51pm. We were fortunate to have most of the day open to us in Washington (minus the much needed sleep at the hotel).

So what did we choose to do with our time?

Making the best of a situation is something EWBers excel at. The group who had 9:51pm flights took a shuttle from the airport to the doorsteps of the White House. We were greeted with a menagerie of sights;  protests in action, various political opinions being cried out, old woman entrenched and determined to have their message heard, and of course tourists all over.

A quick tour of the sights ensued including the Washington Monument, White House, War Memorial and Capitol Hill. As a city Washington DC is beautiful, the buildings are of an architectural style that exudes power and the amount of greenery and green space is a very welcome surprise. The highlight was the Washington Monument, any previous pictures or footage of it that I have seen do not do it justice. It is an incredible obelisk that reaches far into the sky, towering over everything in the city.

On the note of being in Germany; Dena and I have a seat in a restaurant that overlooks the airport, we each have a pint of beer in hand, Paulander Welfsbier is the brand (and due to German purity laws we know it is quality), this it is exactly how I imagined we would spend time here.

Our German experience is best summed by an airline attendant, ``So you like German beer?..Me too”

Spencer

(Spencer) Reemergence

Hello after a many blogless night!

Internet at last! I had purchased a Vodafone mobile internet stick days ago but due to Vodafone being quite terrible in many regards only now can I connect. Though now I should have internet access anywhere within the country, at a slow speed mind you. There is a reason no one in Ghana likes to use Vodafone despite the overwhelming marketing campaign going on her (Vodafone signs everywhere, all over , the largest advertising campaign I have ever seen). The largest mobile network in Ghana, Tigo, has the slogan, "The only network that actually works." and after my experience with Vodafone I fully support this slogan!

But enough ranting about mobile networks..

Where am I? What have I been up too? What about the placement? Where will I be living? What is Ghana like? Questions, questions, questions and all will be answered in time.

Currently I am staying in the city of Tamale, the third largest in Ghana population 360000, at the Presbyterian Lay Training Center. Tamale is bustling with people and has many exciting places to explore (future posts to elaborate).  I will be departing for my placement tomorrow morning bright and early at 7am on the tro which is similar to a minibus in Malawi or a 15 person van.

The destination district is Karaga, a newly formed district where I will be working within the government at the District Planning Office (expect some posts in the future explaining the decentralized government structure in Ghana). The work I will be doing is implementing a district wide data system and promoting behaviour change in the staff to see the value of using data to make informed evidence based decisions.

I have a written a few blog posts in  the past week while I was without internet. I will toss them up and  today I will be working to write a few more, catching everyone up to speed with what has been going on.

Remember to ask questions and request content, I will do my very best to make it happen!

Much love

Spencer

(Kevin) Play Pumps in Machinga

If anyone has followed EWB blogs before (especially Owen Scott's blog), you know that Play Pumps are a hot topic in Malawi. Play pumps essentially fuse together the enjoyment of a children's toy with the delivery of water from a borehole. I'm not sure of the specifics behind how it works, but as children spin the toy, water is pumped from the tap. I saw a few of these pumps around Machinga yesterday, and I was able to have a conversation with some of the folks here about them.

At first glance, it's a creative idea, especially when they're placed in schoolyards. But here are a few issues:

1) Very rarely are Play Pump spare parts available. There is a service number on the pump, but it is a South Africa number. As people around here say, it often takes a long time to get a response and any sort of attention to service. Although, I'd be interested if anyone has any recent information on Play Pump spare part availability. 

2) Government officials here have told me that in certain instances, perfectly functioning Afridev pumps were removed and replaced with Play Pumps. Why fix something that isn't even broken? Especially when the Afridev pumps have a relatively good reputation in Malawi.

3) How much are communities consulted before these pumps are installed? How will a community feel ownership and the responsibility to maintain something they never requested or wanted in the first place? I should note that I'm sure that in some cases, community consultation does happen with Play Pumps. 

 

4) They may be suitable for providing schools with water when children are in class, but as Yesin tells me, these pumps often supply water to some members of the surrounding community with water also. 

So what happens when children aren't around, and adults are required to pump this water? Well, check out this video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QRiNYmlA1Ic

6) These pumps appear to be a flashy, feel-good piece of infrastructure that makes some donors feel good, but do not provide a holistic approach to water supply.

I'm not an expert by any means, and these are my opinions based on my observations and what has been brought to my attention. I would love to hear other people's thoughts on the play pump, or anything that they've hear about its successful and failures.

Be well, and much love. 


Kevin

(Kevin) No simple solution.

It's a beautiful Saturday here in Machinga. Yesterday I had the interesting experience of buying a bicycle second hand. I strolled to the back of the market where dozens of bike mechanics hang out, and started gesturing and using English and very broken Chichewa. If that wasn't embarrassing (and outsider-ish) enough, I also tested out 3 different bicycles as 50 or so people watched me wobble around up and down the road. I’m getting much better at dealing with these kinds of experiences.

I did find one though after an hour or so, and I couldn't be happier. I'm looking forward to riding around town after I finish giving this update.

A few days ago Chris, Yesin (a Water Monitoring Assitant), and I went to test out the form that will be used by WMAs to survey the conditions of boreholes that may be selected for rehabilitation. What we found is that the boreholes that we saw only had a few broken parts that could easily have bee replaced if the Water Point Committee responsible for the well had taken action. If the rehabilitation project replaced these parts, we would only be contributing to the 'dependency syndrome' (as Chris calls it) that exists in the water sector.

The point of these rehabilitations is to deal with serious structural issues (e.g. concrete is broken, sediment has built up in the well, etc.) that require a contractor, as well as the establishment and training of a WPC to take ownership of the borehole). IGIP’s goal is not here to undermine community ownership and responsibility by replacing spare parts.

An added challenge is that these parts have not been replaced by the WPC in most cases because the WPC isn’t functional. So, essentially these communities are stuck. They have no functional water point committee, a non-functioning well, and a project that can't help them because it would undermine their ownership and responsibility.

One of the biggest themes I've observed on this project is the challenge that exists when trying to strike a balance between capacity building, community ownership, and technical work. You certainly can't have one without the other, which makes what IGIP is trying to do very difficult with the time and resources that they have to use. 

Be well, and much love. 

Kevin

(Kevin) Maderitso comes home!

I have been at my new home for 5 days now, and I guess that I’m starting to fall into a routine. I wake up at 5:30am, sweep the house, boil water for tea, bathe, and of course – greet all of my neighbors in the morning (“Mwadzuka bwanji?” = How did you wake?). At night, I stop by the market to buy goods at the market (eggs, bread, cabbage, avocado, etc.), cook with my friend, chat and sit with the neighbors, and then go to bed at 7:30pm.

As for photos, they’re coming – I promise. I’m still a bit awkward when it comes to pulling out the camera, but I’m getting better. As I’m sure you can agree, it’s a real drag to ruin a perfect moment of learning by taking out your camera for a snap-shot. However, photos are great for accenting my stories, and I shall deliver!

 The person who owns the house I’m staying in – Maderitso – has come home after spending a while in the hospital for an injured foot. I guess this means that Blessings and I can take a break from speaking broken English and Chichewa, and it’s probably good timing. I don’t think either of us could be more lost with our understanding of the situation.

Maderitso is an amazing dude. He is one of the drivers for the ADB project crew, and he has a lot of energy. And get this – he’s 22! Same as me. I know that we’re going to get along well, I can feel it. Another cool thing is that in the past week, I’ve had three Canadian moments:

1)    I met Nancy, who is from Winnipeg, Manitoba and works with the ADB.
2)    I was visiting the hospital with a few of my co-workers, and someone had a Celien Dion ringtone on their phone.
3)    One of Maderitso’s friends had an Algonquin Park sweatshirt with a moose, and canoe, and a maple leaf. Oh Canada!

One the things that I found most interesting about the proposal for this project is the assumption that there will be a 75% success rate when it comes to drilling boreholes. This project is responsible for implementing 193 borehole (yes – 193.. I’m not sure why such a peculiar number) by the end of two years. To account for the success rate, they will drill at between 250-260 locations, anticipating that only 193 locations will be successful. This means that proper geological analysis is needed before to ensure that a success rate of 75% or better is achieved.

As Chris tells me, boreholes are often drilled dry when their location is swayed by community and governmental politics, as opposed to proper geological evidence. The location of the borehole won’t always be ideal for a community, but in my opinion it is worth it if it increases the likelihood of getting a functional borehole.

At this point, after collaboration between IGIP and the district government, the locations for the new boreholes have been decided. It is very unlikely that these locations will change, which is okay from my end, because what I am trying to find out is what factors came into play when these decisions were made.
What I’m trying to say is that my placement is not trying to influence the locations of the new boreholes, but is trying to learn from the decision making process that lead up to this point. During my time here, I won’t be participating in any borehole drilling.

I like to think about myself as a detective: mapping out the chain of events, interviewing folks, and scoping out biases. Neat-o..

I’m planning to visit the communities who are receiving the water points with the government extension workers. These extension workers will be conducting water point committee (WPC) training. A WPC is a group of individuals (a mix of community members and government officials) who are responsible for the maintenance and well-being of their new borehole. Considering that the training will be in Chichewa, I’m not sure how much I’ll be able to get out of it, but I’m excited to observe anyways. I’ll also be using these visits to find out more about why these communities were chosen for a new borehole. What factors come into play? However, none of this can happen until the ADB funding comes in for extension workers’ allowances, so until then I’ll get caught up to speed with literature, and chat with my co-workers.

Aside from work, life is good. My biggest challenges so far have been a few bugs (as in insects, not sickness), not enough daylight with too much to do, and biting my tongue in tough conversations. I’ve also had my first night of home sickness, but it passed when I reminded myself to stay in the moment. Home is good, but challenge is good too. For now, I’ll keep rolling on.

One more thing – at the bottom of this message is the organizational structure of the project I’m working on. The people I am working with most are the IGIP Team Leader (Chris), the District Water Officer (Steve), and the extension agents (CDAs, HSAs, and WMAs).


Be well, and much love from Machinga
Kevin

(Spencer) Interlude Aboard

Zut Alors!

We have fallen into a little trouble in our travels to Ghana but nothing we cant handle. While in a layover in Newark, New Jersey our flight to Washington, Virgina was delayed by many hours. Delayed so much that there was a risk we would miss our connecting flight to Accra the capital of Ghana.

We were informed by customer services representatives that they would hold the flight in Washington for the group of us, after Alex explained our situation to the airline. There was an air of hope about on the flight from Newark to Washington as it drew closer and closer to finding out whether we would make the flight. We landed in Washington and made a mad dash across airport to the terminal we needed to be at. We did our best but in the end the flight had left without us. Everything was out of our hands.

Emotions were certainly at a height as the realization sunk in. What had been hope turned to solemn reflection. We got together for a big group hug and moved to find customer service.

Once the airline was on our case, we plopped down on the floor of the air baggage claim and broke into song. The sight of 17 people all singing Home brought eyes from around the area. Such a beautiful song, in fact I suggest a listen right now (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rjFaenf1T-Y). We all felt so much better after doing so, a complete one hundred and eighty degree turn in happiness!

So what does missing this flight mean? Getting to Ghana two days late...sigh...its okay

-Currently we are staying in a Sheraton hotel which the airline has provided for us (massive rooms, with double beds to ourselves!!)
-Food vouchers were provided to us so we can eat
-We have split into three groups that leave at separate times from Washington to Frankfurt, Germany (I leave at 9:51pm)
-From Frankfurt we will  meet back up during the layover and fly to as a team to Accra
-Land in Accra at 7pm on Tuesday
-Once in Accra we will take a bus up to Tamale (on tuesday) to meet with the APS for in Ghana training

Not the end of the world but disappointing to be sure. We are going to Europe, an unexpected place to be going which is an adventure in itself.

Stay cool
Spencer

(Kevin) My new home and placement

Hey folks!

I've finally arrived in Machinga! A lot has happened over the last few days, so I'd like to break this post up into a few parts.

1) My new home

This is Machinga! It's a small district located in Southern Malawi, and is located very close to Liwonde National Park, which is home to a variety of different animals including elephants, monkeys, and the like. I am currently living in Msamati village, in Kalembo traditional authority, which is just outside of Liwonde, which is on the border of Machinga and Balaka districts (confusing, huh? haha). It is a very nice place, with many shops, a great market to get excellent food (fish, sugar cane, bananas, tomatoes, and other tasty things). Machinga has a high perecentage of Muslim citizens, which is rare for Malawi. Someone told me that this region is up to 40% Muslim, which is a shift from the predominately Christian population of Malawi. The weather feels like summer in Canada, except that the sun feels much, much stronger. At nightime the air is cool, and sleep is well found because of it. Being exaughsted and having a bedtime at 7:00pm has been the strangest thing so far, but I really enjoy getting 10 or more hours of sleep per night.

Genevieve - who will be my EWB coach, and my go-to person on the EWB side of things - helped me to find a home, and we were successful! I am living in a three room house with one of my co-workers. He is currently out of town because of sickness, but the nephew of another coworker of mine is staying in the home to help me get adjusted. He is 12 years old and his name is Blessings. I would say his name sums up exactly the way I feel about him - he is brillant, funny, helpful, kind, and has helped me so, so much. The best part of the last two days was sharing sugar cane on the walk home, and laughing when I said that I was so red from
the sun that I looked like a tomato. He is a really cool dude, and the other family members are awesome, and I'm looking forward to living here.

However, I learned a big lesson right of the bat - sunscreen is important. I don't think I've ever been so sunburnt! Remember to be sun safe.

My house is surrounded by three other households, who are all interconnected in ways that I don't yet understand. Of the folks who live here, there is Peter. He is a student, father, and Bank employee who works harder than almost anyone I've ever met. He is also one of the very, very few people here who speaks english, and I've been able to learn so many valuable things from him. Yesterday I shared Nsima and roasted corn with my neighbors, and had a great time talking about life in Malawi.

This community has been very good to me, and has welcomed me to join them for Nsima (a dough made of corn flour - a staple in Malawi) many times. I feel very happy, and can't wait to share more stories.

2) My Placement

Not only was it my first day in Machinga, it was my first day at my new work placement. I will be working alongside IGIP, who is a German based consulting company who has partnered with the African Development Bank on a water infrastructure project in 4 districts in Malawi over two years. This is a huge project under a very strict time frame, which has posed some big challenges.

For what I'm concerned about, this ADB project hopes to accomplish two things:

1) Complete the siting process for new boreholes, and install these boreholes.
2) Complete an assessment of boreholes that require rehabilitation, and determine which ones are eligible for repair under the project.

While I won't be directly helping with the technical components of the projects, I will be exploring how the consultants on this projects make decisions about where to put infrastructure. What are the requirements for a community to be eligible for infrastrture? What factors make one community more suitable for infrastructure than another community? What are the external (political, social, environmental) factors that come into play?

Essentially, I will be learning from their decision making processes, exploring what biases may be in place when these decisions are made, and trying to bring this observations forward to see what lessons can be learned.

I will be working with Chris, who is a French consultant working for IGIP, and Steve, who is the District Water Officer for the Machinga District. I will also be working with extension agents, who are responsible for completing Water Point Committee (WPC) training and other tasks. A WPC is a group of community members who take ownership of the maintenance and management of a borehole once it is installed. I hope that these extension workers will allow me to travel to the villages that will be receiving the new boreholes, to find out more about why they were selected by the ADB. Also, they are the folks with the sweet motorcycles!

Apparently it is a holiday here on Monday (a past president's birthday), so I will start work on Tuesday. I look forward to sharing thoughts from my first week at work. There is an internet cafe about 30 minutes from my house, so I hope to keep up my goal of posting and responding to emails once per week. Please to write emails, and I will do my best to respond.

Also, snail mail seems like it probably won't be available, but I'll keep looking. Keep yer fingers crossed!

Much love, and be well.

Kevin

(Spencer) Accra in Mind

Quick update for a Sunday afternoon.

Outside of gate 258, sitting in the Toronto Pearson International airport with the group of fellows eagerly waiting the first flight  in the overall journey to Accra, the capital of Ghana. In just under 24 hours, after stop overs in Newark and Washington,  we will be be Ghana!
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Pre-departure went out with a bang, with a party with all of the junior fellows, many national office staff , and past APS/JFs. It was official we partied much later into the night than the South African team, but we am feeling the exhaustion badly from so many late nights this week.

The load speaker just announceed that we are boarding...more to come soon..

Spencer

(Spencer) Pre-departure Learning: Day Three: I Found My Bump

Good day everyone! 

Brace yourselves for I have penned a quite a tale describing the third day of pre-departure.  I started writing at 1:41am but my laptop died, so I resumed today. I realize it is outrageously long as such I would like feedback on this approach. (ps. blogspot has been out of commission for the past days, so I couldn't post)

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The third day of pre-departure has been a long stretch, sessions starting at 8am and it’s still going at 1:41am. Energy is still high and there is a very good reason for this late night.

The excitement all started just past eight pm when the daily sessions concluded. As a group we were joyous. Though the day was packed with awesome content, twelve hours essentially not leaving the same room can wear on you especially in combination with considerable sleep deprivation. We peeled away from the university, the location sessions are held at, in small group as we finished some personal reflection from the day. Everyone was eager to get back to the house for the exciting evening ahead.

The walk back to the EWB house was hilarious as two other fellows and I discussed how we are hard wired to check people out...after a day of challenging yourself, it’s nice to put your head into the gutter. We arrived at the house and when we opened the door we were greeted with a myriad of smells. All the best ones at that; chili spices, garlic, ginger and the richness of things being deep fried. Our first sight was people sitting in circles around big bowls of what we knew to be some traditional Ghanian food, it looked to be beans and another bowl with some type of yellow thing.

Quickly we put away our bags and joined the feast. Upon investigation the bean dish was a duo of tomatoes with beans (pinto perhaps?) and a variety of spices. Even more exciting was the yellow edibles, deep fried plantains thickly cut. We each grabbed a plantain and scooped up a big bunch of beans. Into our mouths it went, the combination of flavours was very unique, the sweet and starchy plantain with the spicy beans was, delicious. It hit all the receptors; fatty goodness from the deep fried oils, saltiness from the bean dish, and fine sweetness of the plantains. The combination of the two dishes is called Red Red. If this is any indication of the food that will be consumed this summer, I will be in for a treat.

The dinner was prepared for the fellows by two people from national office, Val and Lauren, to which I give much thanks!

I moved into the kitchen once other bowls were emptied so I could keep eating, while in there George Rotor (CEO of EWB) arrived at the house and was attracted directly to the food. He sat down beside Guillaune and I, he commented that he loves plantains so much he won't spoil them by dipping then in the beans. We started up a conversation regarding an earlier session during the day about rural livelihoods and some of the particulars that I had taken away from it. For those of you who have been in conversation with George you will know the feeling that it gives, he has a sort of energy, an aura if you will that radiates from him. It is so positive and brings a room to life. At the next National Conference I encourage everyone to approach him if given the chance, he is very engaging.

At last the true purpose of the night exposed itself (well.. exposed itself to you wonderful readers, I knew all week). A great night of EWB question and answer, the group of fellows all brainstormed a huge number of questions for him and members of national office to answer. The room was rearranged to accommodate the large group and two flip chart papers were filled with stickies of questions and the Q&A began.

I was desperate for a seat on the couch and fortunately one remained but it had a major drawback. Sigh, it faced directly at a white wall but it was a sacrifice worth making in the name of comfort. This was the first junior fellow Q&A without Parker Mitchell (previous CO-CEO of ewb with George) by George's side; I wondered what Parker was doing tonight.

The first question was asked. If there was one thing you would change about our African programs what would it be? To everyone’s surprise and especially the person specified, he passed the question to a member of national office to answer. Upon some serious consideration he delivered a response. The core of his response was that he would change our operations to focus more on private enterprise along a similar vein to agriculture as a business.

Hours flew by as some really tough questions were asked and answered. George can command a room like no other; even with me looking straight at a wall I was spellbound. Perspectives were expressed and challenged all throughout the night.

All these past hours my gaze was largely directed to a particularly interesting spot of white paint on the wall. To describe;  it was small bump no bigger than a penny, had a small curved crack that ran through the spot,  a slight shadow on the bottom it, a tiny scuff to the left, a lumpy shape, and looked to have been painted on the wall after something had left a really small impression into the wall. I wondered what would have been the cause of the bump? What events were happening at the house? Who painted the bump? I made a realization, I have never really looked at a wall in this way before and surprisingly I was enjoying it a lot. I thought, why don't I do this more often just do some thinking and relax?

Soon after this George brought up Parker and revealed what he was doing that night. He was participating in a ten day silent retreat just outside of Vancouver. You heard right ten days of no talking or communicating. The idea behind it to my understanding is to better understand yourself through dealing with your emotions and uncovering new parts of your personality and tapping into different parts of your consciousness. Seeking to better understand what it means to be human and to be yourself is quite a noble pursuit in my opinion.

There was a moment of great empathy in me towards Parker, for I had just been pondering what it would be like to sit and think for an extended period of time. I was currently gazing thoughtfully into the same bump that I for hours, and formed an intimate connection to this bump of paint at this moment. I imagine that Parker has found a bump of his own to ponder; I wonder where his mind has wondered in his silence. After this experience I can very much see myself entering into a silent retreat myself. 

All the while the question and answer was continuing. George was even more excited than before with no signs of stopping. He was truly taking this feedback to heart. It is incredible the level of involvement and influence that youth have in this organization. The core of the organization started with young change makers and it will continue to be driven by young change makers. In very few other organizations are the young taken so seriously and the very core structured around transforming people into agent of change. 

At the end of the night George thanked those who stayed wide eyed and attentive, gave a few words of parting wisdom and we came together in a group hug. A night to remember for a very long time.

.

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I will leave you with a few questions to ponder:

-What is one question that you would like to have George answer?

-How can we best leverage the influence we have in ewb?

-What is a memorable experience of your own with a new ethnic dish?

-What is your bump?

-Is this a blog entry that you enjoyed reading? Would you like more in this style?

I strongly encourage comments, there is no judgement here. Post away my friends, no matter 
what!


Spencer

(Spencer) Pre-departure Learning: Day Two: Size of a Smile

"The size of your smile measures how happy you are" - Bill JF 2011

A fun quote that started and will now end the second day of pre-dep. My smile is pretty darn sizable at the moment, along with the rest of the JFs, happiness is definitely contagious.

I had planned to share a series of stories but a excellent conversation about how to get into some greater pre-departure learnings arose, and it had to be capitalized on! Heres a tidbit, when in a session that may not exactly be to your focus see how what you are learning can be twisted to suit your needs in addition to learning that content; extra learnings.

Kevin, you are a shining star,you bring the heart to the heart of Africa...in a BIG way.

Spencer

(Kevin) the Warm Heart of Africa

I've finally arrived! This is Malawi, and it is beautiful. It's 6:30am - probably the earliest I've woken up in months. I think that I've finally gotten over this jetlag, which is absolutely excellent.

We were greeted in Lilongwe by long-term overseas volunteers Duncan, Anna-Marie, and Christina, who made us feel at home very quickly. The drive to Lilongwe from the airport offered a quick glimpse of the landscape of the city - minibuses and cars (on the left side of the road, I might add), markets, stores, red sand, very little surface water, farms with animals, bicycles, women carrying food and other items on their heads and their children on their backs in beautiful chitenge. I look forward to capturing some of this for you when I arrive in my home district of Machinga.

Over the last few days, our sessions have included topics such as HIV/AIDS trends and issues in Africa and Canada, learning Chichewa (one of Malawi's national languages), cultural appropriateness, and a Q&A with the long-term EWB volunteers in Malawi and Zambia. 

We also spent our first day in the market yesterday, which was excellent. As myself and two other JFs were talking with the vendors at the many stalls selling shoes, chitenge, bicycle parts, clothing and other items, I thought I would try out some of my newly learned Chichewa, and it really furthered my appreciation for the power of language to allow you to connect to people (it also helps to keep kwacha in your pocket!). Right now I only know pang’ono (a little), but it will be something I invest a lot of time into.

Tomorrow I go to Machinga to meet Christophe, who will be my working partner for my upcoming placement. He is a consultant for the African Development Bank, working in the water and sanitation sector, and is someone you’ll hear a lot about over the next 4 months. I will also meet Genevieve, who lives in the Salima district. She will be my coach, and will advise me and collaborate with me on ideas, integration issues, health concerns, you name it!

I know I haven’t been too clear about what my placement looks like yet, but I’ll map it out very soon. Details are changing everyday, but I’m sure we’ll reach equilibrium soon. More to come!

For now, it’s off to adventures on bumpy roads.

And as they say in Chichewa – Tselani bwino.

“Stay well”

Kevin

(Spencer) Pre-departure Learning: Day One: Agent of Change

Hey all!

The first full day for pre-departure learning is over, energy is still super high and great conversation runs rampant. Throughout the day there was great learning and sessions that covered topics across the spectrum.

Quote and Being a Agent of Change
Cat started the day with a fantastic statement about what it means to be a junior fellow:

"As a junior fellow I am making a commitment to improving my ability to be an effective agent of change"

EWB has over the years investigated what they find to be common traits amongst successful fellows, APS, chapter leaders, national office staff and more. They have narrowed it down to seven points to be a successful agent of change:

1. Internally driven/motivated proactive
2. Willing to push yourself out of your comfort zone and into your learning zone
3. Committed to impact/results and beneficiares
4. Committed to learning and thinking
5. Humility, patience and accepting of ambiguity
6. Able to build trust relationships
7. Build skills of those around you

Daunting to be sure, but a challenge to be up taken

Cool Moment
Following early morning introductions (we drew characatures of ourselves) we were asked to turn to the person beside us and talk about a recent happening when we were out of our comfort and pushed ourselves to greater learning.
It just so happened that I was sitting beside George Rotor (CEO of EWB), I proceeded to tell him about how nervous I was to speak at Gala and the process to how I arrived at delivering the speech, along with the satisfaction following. He probed and asked me lots of questions about the experience, which unfortunately consumed the time allotted. He said that he will share with me later in the week his recent experience with being out of comfort zone later in the week, and I will communicate it when we talk again!

Best Practice
Anytime throughout the week when we are not understanding something, do not stay quiet. Get out your "WTF" sign and ask some questions, figurative sign of course.

Its far too late and my air mattress need to be re-blown, Goodnight!

Spencer

(Spencer) Pre-departure Learning: Day Zero, the League of Superheroes

Hey you lovely people,

I have arrived and thrived following the first night in the EWB house. The house is filled to the brim with 25 junior fellows and let me be first to say these are some seriously cool people. Everyone is preparing for placements in Ghana with a few exceptions. The energy in the air is palpable.

Superheroes
At the first group introduction we each shared what our names would be if we were superheroes along with our superpowers. For me; my name would be Spencasaurus-Rex with the super power of having small arms and an insatiable appetite. Why the small arms? It would be impossible for me to do any engineering reports!

EWB Values
We discussed as a group the ewb values and how we would live those values throughout the week. A quick brainstorming session later and countless methods emerged. For those who struggle remembering them, fear not for it is a struggle for the JFs as well. Heres a few examples:

• Courageously Commit: 100% of our headspace dedicated to learning this week
• Strive for Humility: show the vulnerable side of ourselves
• Invest in People: create a safe space for the group where everyone is comfortable with sharing
• Ask Tough Questions: carefully frame the issue when asking the question
• Address the Root Cause: push yourself to ask WHY 5 times (this will come up again)
• Dream Big, Work Hard: its a stretch goal, work for something larger than ourself
• We Put Dorothy First: always

Mindsets

At the end of the night Cat left us with a few comments on the mindset that we should be operating in this week, it sets the tone.

• Own your learning
• Think critically
• Be open and vulnerable

I will end with a short story, somehow or another I ended without a mattress for myself. To catch the nay-sayers, no I was not the last person to arrive. I like to think it is the humility....but regardless, it was 1:30am and i'm blowing up a double air mattress with my lungs, needless to say when I had it completely filled I passed out like a rock due to the lack of oxygen...

More to come!

Spencer

(Spencer) Trading Places

Time Stamp 1:41 pm Sunday.
~one week until setting foot in Ghana
-5 hours 19 minutes until pre-departure begins
-3 hours 19 minutes until the final G&RI team skype call
-1 hour until I leave home for the summer
-45 minutes until my mother breaks down crying and I with her

It is an incredible feeling to leave the comfort, love and safety that I am so accustomed behind to move forward to tackle new challenges and experience a different side of life. The feelings inside are a tangled mix of excitement, fear, celebration, nervousness, love and enough tickles of emotion in my stomach to have me breaking into uncertain smiles.

I thought to myself how better to pass on a feeling than through a picture. This image had the initial intent to be shared so no better time than now when it may illuminate my innards.

Interrupt however you please as is the case with art, but a brief explanation is in order. The EWB lightbulb is the summer, growing and thriving, exciting and new while the exterior is the rest of me, nervous and volatile. The light pushes back the confusion and as I know for myself, everything moves in a positive direction.


Kevin; we have traded places, I take on very position you were in a week ago. While you enter Malawi today, I will do the same next week (in Ghana of course).

In this coming week May 8th to May 15th I will be living in the EWB house with the other West African JFs. Learning for and discussing the up coming summer. There will be stories to share and a wealth of information to absorb. I look forward diving into pre-departure and sharing as much I as can. Please bare with me as I become more familiar with blogging, I except refinements in the technique and style.
Time Stamp 2:15pm - wow does time fly

I love you all,
Spencer

(Kevin) Predeparture Training - Day 6: Finale!

That's it! Predeparture training is over, and I'm now on my way to Malawi. I just wanted to post a quick update that I'm currently on route to southern Africa with 17 other JFs, and we should be arriving in Malawi in the next 24hrs. Very exciting!

One plan of action that I've taken away from the week is that I want to create an interactive workshop this summer - one that's based on the Decision Support System (DSS) in Malawi. In my head, this vision seems very achievable, and involves Guelph students learning about appropriate technology in the context of systems and people. I would love to be a part of inspiring such dialogue. 

I'm hoping that I can collaborate with Ali, who is a JF from the University of Regina that is also working with the DSS. She's awesome, and I can't wait to kick it off!

Let's hope that a few hours of sleep can be grabbed along the way. I look forward to posting again as soon as I can.


Be well, much love, and take it real easy.

Kevin

(Kevin) Predeparture Training - Day 5: Endurance

Hey folks!

Whoa! The days are flying by. It seems that days at predep have followed an interesting pattern:

wake up -> coffee -> session-> uh.. many mores sessions -> cool conversations -> sleep (optional)

That's the way it goes. I've definitely been immersed in some wicked conversations!


Day 5 was a day with lots of excellent discussion. We explored cross-cultural communication and integration, a case study of a Sorghum (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sorghum) co-op in Zambia, and worked with a past overseas volunteer Enam Rabbani to understand the development structure of Watsan in Malawi.


When working with Enam, I realized that one of the biggest barriers to more effective aid is the demand for tangible results to secure funding from large donors. An NGO may be required to drill boreholes with the funding that they're given, with insufficient consideration of siting practices. So.. they spend the funding, they drill, they report to their donor, and they get more funding.

While it is true that their are regions of Malawi that require more boreholes, the water problem in Malawi is not one only of quantity, and we as Westerners should shift our thinking. Drilling wells is pretty damn sexy, but wouldn't it be great to invest in local capacity to maintain the functionality of these wells? Capacity - not so sexy, but certainly a part of the solution.

Tomorrow is Day 6, and is also the last day of predep!

Be well, and much love.

Kevin

(Kevin) Predeparture Training - Day 4: Whose Reality Counts?

Hey again,

Today involved a great discussion and set of activities on power, privilege, and hierarchy, as well as participatory approaches. We also had a discussion on the ways that gender can both put up barriers and present opportunities (whether or not these are intentionally sought after). We also discussed how male JFs need to play a role in supporting the women on the team as we live and work in an environment that challenges the power dynamics associated that exist in the gender structure of our society. I'm also realizing more that my opinions of queer and trans issues will be challenged this summer.

Great shift of thought: 
Considering "appropriate technology" outside of the context of physical objects and infrastructure, and more in the context of systems, ideas, and capacity.

Great book suggestion: 
"Whose Reality Counts?" by Robert Chambers

Most challenging thought: 
When considering stakeholders in the development sector, try thinking about those who benefit from an outcome, as well as those who are negatively affected from that outcome. This shift in priority may increase the number of stakeholders that come to mind.

2/3rds finished predep. Malawi is 2 days away now!

Be well, and much love.

Kevin

(Kevin) Predeparture Training - Day 3: Wow..

What a day! Amazingly, it just ended, but now it's time to grab some shut-eye for tomorrow's early sessions. Be sure to come back tomorrow as I recap some more great ideas and discussions.

Be well, and much love.

Kevin

(Kevin) Predeparture Training - Day 2: Why? Why? Why? Why? Why?!?! (That last one was for the election)

Hey everyone,

Day 2 arrived! The learning sessions on health, livelihoods, and agriculture were a great way to kick start motivations for JFs to own their safety and learning throughout the summer.

While the day started great, it ended in real disappointment. I won't bother you with my outrage towards the thought of 4 years with a Conservative majority, but I would like to address something. Use this as a reminder that we need to take our political drive past today. Today, Canada voted in a government that will neglect to advocate for the rights of people who really need their support. It's our responsibility as Canadians to not only vote, but to keep that message strong. Get your voice heard, work towards solutions, and keep your government accountable - everyday.  Anything less would lead to a dilution of our messages.

*sigh*.. aside from that, I have a few thoughts from the day.


Best Workshop of the Day:
Introduction to Agriculture by Arthur Kong, who is a returned African Program Staff memeber from the Agricultural Value Chains sector in Zambia. The workshop outlined the differences between staple and cash crops, the role of colonialism in crop diversity (and lack thereof), and the use of agricultural practices and technologies as a indicator of wealth or prosperity in a community. I guess the most important thing that was received from this workshop is that farming is important, and it directly affects most in Sub-Saharan Africa.

Great Advice to Take Overseas:
On the journey to find root causes, ask "why?" 5 times.

Thought that Stuck With Me Today:
Why is it that more often than not, we group culture and religion together? In what ways do they influence each other? And in what ways are they independent of each other?

Great Quote:
"Commit to act towards social change in solidarity, and not out of guilt."

Time to grab some sleep for Day 3!

Be well, and much love.

Kevin

(Kevin) Predeparture Training - Day 1: Don't Lose Your Smile

Hey folks,

I'm here at the EWB house in Toronto for a week of training with 17 other Junior Fellows, as we prepare for our departure to Malawi/Zambia this week! The energy here is high, and the opportunities for learning are plentiful.

Over the next few days, I'd like to share a few thoughts and great moments that happen. Hopefully I can capture those great "ah-ha!" and "hmm.." moments that I walked away with from the many learning sessions that we attend throughout the day.

Great word choice:
While eating Ethiopian food for lunch, George Roter (EWB CEO) referred to what I would normally call a "developing country" as an "emerging country".

Great lesson shared:
While there are many things that you don't want to lose in life, among the most important is your smile. Being so far away from home will difficult, and holding on to your smile can lift your spirits and your energy. So.. stay out of trouble - keep yo smile! Oh - and your passport ;-)

Great realization: 
Junior Fellows are dynamic learning tools when they return to your chapters. They are a living body that can engage you in their experience. And while they may not be able to speak for all of Malawi, they can engage you in a two-way learning experience that can be valuable for everyone participating. This is something I'll go deeper into again.

Great question asked: 
Are there controllable and uncontrollable circumstances (at the level of the individual) that lead to poverty? If there are controllable circumstances, what are they?

Off to bed to get ready for another day,

Kevin