CorpsAfrica- Peace Corps Response- 3 Full Years In Malawi

You'd think now that I no longer live in the village, and instead go to an office with WiFi everyday (well, most days), I'd be a bit better about posting blogs more regularly. However, that doesn't seem to be the case at all. Soooo, for my 3rd year anniversary in Malawi I thought I'd update everyone back at home about what I've been up to since my last written post in August....yikes.

On September 5th, 2017 I finished my third month working as the National Gender Coordinator at the Peace Corps Office, and started my Peace Corps Response position with the Non-Government Organization, CorpsAfrica/Malawi. Yayyyy!

To start, some of you may be wondering what the word "Response" means, so let me fill you in. Peace Corps Response means that I'm still a Volunteer. It means I'm still given a living allowance instead of a salary. It means I still can't drive a car in Malawi. It means I still tell Peace Corps every move I make. AKA it means my life is still signed away to Peace Corps.....haha, just kidding. Well not really actually. It does still mean all of these things, but it's also much more than that.

Being a Peace Corps Response Volunteer (PCRV) means that I'm working for an organization that Peace Corps Malawi has built a partnership with, and that I am trying (key word) to build capacity within that organization as a member of their team. It is also a great way for me to gain further International Development work experience, while improving and acquiring different skills that I may want to gain.

Or....as Peace Corps would say it, "Peace Corps Response sends experienced professionals to undertake short-term, high-impact service assignments in communities around the world. Bringing valuable skills and experiences to projects in places where it's needed most." Have I sold you on it yet?! Check out their website if you want to know more!

Anyways, like I mentioned above I started working with the NGO CorpsAfrica/Malawi, as one of five staff members. Well, technically I'm not a staff member- still a Volunteer here- but you get the gist :) Our office is made up of a Country Director, 2 Program Coordinators, our M&E guy, and me!

Pictures of me, Sarah, and Tusa- the 2 CorpsAfrica Program Coordinators.

When I first learned about CorpsAfrica (CA) back in early 2016 I was immediately intrigued with the mission of this organization. To give you a an idea of what this mission is and what CA does, it's pretty much Peace Corps for citizens of African countries. It was started by a Returned Peace Corps Volunteer from Morocco in 2011, seeking to celebrate and build on the enormous success of the Peace Corps model by offering a similar transformation experience to emerging leaders in Africa (currently CA has programs in Morocco, Senegal, and Malawi). CorpsAfrica gives these young leaders professional and personal growth opportunities, as well as a chance to be a part of the solution for their own country (and sometimes other Africa countries). In my opinion, this organization applies the best approaches of international development, including listening to and empowering communities through the mindsets of Human Centered Design.

In September when I joined the CA Malawi team they were preparing for their second cohort of Volunteers in Malawi. There were 376 applications that came in, and I probably read around 150 of them- there is a lot of unemployment here. From that list we narrowed down 60 candidates to interview and within a month had invited 21 Trainees to Pre-Service Training (PST). During this time I was also helping with site development, meaning I was working with our Program Coordinators to identify and solidify Malawian communities for our Volunteers to serve in.

Sarah and I even developed a CorpsAfrica site at my old Peace Corps Village, Chipoka :)

For the month of October until mid-November I was located in Dedza District at the College of Forestry, where our Pre-Service Training took place. During PST our Volunteers were further introduced to CorpsAfrica and our mission, spoke about expectations of the organization, received certification in First Aid, met with many local and international NGOs and potential partners for their communities, and were trained in Asset Based Community Development and Human Centered Design. To say the least it was a BUSY month and a half!

Also check out this amazing video with footage from the training, produced by my good friend Andrew Datu!

After completing this very intensive training, all 21 Trainees were sworn-in as the second cohort of CorpsAfrica/Malawi Volunteers on November 13th. We had a nice swear-in ceremony at a hotel in the capital city where many came to join us. Member of Parliament Juliana Lunguzi, Ambassador of the U.S. Virginia Palmer, U.S. Mission Director for USAID Lit Tazwell, Chief Kachindamoto, current Peace Corps Volunteers, friends, and family came to celebrate and give support to all of our new Volunteers.

Juliana Lunguzi reading the Oath of Service

CorpsAfrica Malawi Staff Team

Me and Exchange Volunteer from Morocco, Mostafa

Peace Corps came to support!

Following the swear-in ceremony Volunteers were deployed to their new sites in Central and Northern Malawi (we do not have any Volunteers placed in the Southern Region this year due to the blood sucker situation, but that's another story). The CA Volunteer service is for one year from start to finish, meaning they will be in their communities until October 2018.

Similar to Peace Corps Volunteers it takes time for our CA Volunteers to adjust into their new communities, and it doesn't come without it's challenges. As these Volunteers are typically from cities in Malawi- with houses wired with electricity and running water, 3G cellphone network, a comfy bed, a refrigerator, and other luxuries- our Volunteer's are usually not too familiar with what it's actually like to live in a rural community in their own country (except maybe those couple times they went to visit grandma in their home village when they were children). It's definitely an eye-opener and learning opportunity for these young African leaders, which in my opinion, makes it all the better of an experience.

The way CA encourages and gives Malawian, Senegalese, and Moroccan host country nationals the opportunity to progress towards development in their own country (and other African countries through the exchange program) is exactly how I believe development programs should be executed. Instead of foreign aid always "coming to the rescue" I think this approach- locals empowering locals- is what the future of development in Malawi should look like. I believe that our CA Volunteers are the future of Malawi, whether that be in Government or working with/starting new local NGOs, and that this Volunteer experience will give them insight and a perspective of how the majority of their fellow Malawians are living their day to day lives. I hope that they will hold their CA service close to their heart and be intentional in their future actions- like I hope to do with my Peace Corps service- helping to make Malawi, and the world a better and more loving place.

#peacecorps