chisomo ~ grace

can you hear my voice?
it travels with the winds
blowing-
scattering infinite grains of sand across the sahara
whispering-
the secrets of my sisters
of untold abuse, exploitation, and oppression
roaring-
carrying with it my fierce spirit and brave heart
the heart of a warrior
heart of a woman

do you see me?
the burden i bear?
like so many lines of destiny etched into time
maps of trials and tribulation
tracing the palms

palms
raised to the sky
waiting for precious dew from heaven
to quench the thirst of parched land
palms
clasped
praying to heaven and earth
for strength, redemption

look at these hands of mine
they hold stories
of tenderness-
embracing loved ones
ushering new life to the world
of sacrifice-
tending to my duties as mother and wife
drawing water from the well
gathering firewood
toiling in the fields~ cultivating maize and cassava
of violation-
at the hands of wanton men lurking in the cassava fields
of injustice-
in the flailing fists of my husband
who wishes to break my spirit
who demands my hard earned money
from selling the fruits of my labor~ my blood, sweat, and tears
who wrecklessly spends it on booze and booty
leaving little for the needs of our family

my face
a mirror
do you see my beauty, my grace?
it is your beauty and grace
these rivulets of tears
they are your tears
can you see through windows beyond smiles
look within-
you will find an eternal life giving and sustaining well
one that gives of itself endlessly

will you not hear me?
will you not see?

though my hands chafe and wear with time
though my face weathers in the sun and wind
though my warrior heart breaks
my spirit endures
that is the heart and spirit of a woman
i am mother-daughter-sister-wife-and friend
i am grace

A Blessing For Ina

I wrote this for a Ina when we were at Mua Mission but thought it was a good Blessing for all Women.

My Dear Soul Sister I say your name as a prayer to all women.

As I stood on the deep rich dark soil of Africa today God whispered in my ear. He told me dear one about His most precious baby girl, you. His words came to me through the beautiful eyes of the woman you have become.

God spoke to me dear sister about the day of your birth. He told me my sweet, strong sister of the blessings He bestowed on you before you left the warmth of His loving embrace to touch all of our lives. You see my sister, God blessed you the day He gifted us with you. He blessed you with troubles and so you are strong, compassionate and kind to all. He blessed you with heartbreak so now your heart has broken open and the brilliant light within now radiates to all. He blessed you with your past so you would be this present now.

God wanted me to tell you dear one, He has blessed you with His strength and presences and to tell you he holds you in each moment.
God has blessed you today. You have become the promise of all He hoped and dreamed. Today dear sister God has blessed you with all the courage to use for wings to soar. Your heart has been blessed on this day; your kindness will bless the world.

Through your words, through your eyes and heart and strength of character you will write the stories of others. You will be the voice that carries the message of the spirit of the people, like the wind that blows across this land to others. You dear sister will be the smile of joy and openness of heart that others will see and trust. You will hear their story with an open heart of compassion and you will see His love in the eyes of others. You sister, will be strong enough to bear their story as you learned to bear your own. You will teach others and like seeds the lessons will take root and grow.

God has heard and granted your prayers. His strength is your strength. His compassion and kindness is your compassion and kindness and His love beats deeply in your heart. From this day forward, to the next, to the next and next, you will always know that God blessed you today, holding you in his embrace – that you are God’s most precious child He has never left you and never will.
Today God has blessed your heart with wings my sister and you will forever fly.

malawian feast

They don’t know how to cook. Zilani, one of our new Malawian friends, cringes after taking a bite of the lunch prepared by the kitchen staff. It’s because they’re men. Shall we cook a proper Malawian meal? Then and there the Malawian women agreed that it would be a shame if we left the warm heart of Africa without experiencing an authentic Malawian meal.

After a shopping trip to the local market, seven Malawian women filed into the kitchen adjacent to the dining hall, relegating two baffled male cooks to the outdoors. I snuck in with a video camera and beheld a most colorful sight. The buzz of merry chatter filled the room as women poured their hearts into preparing a feast fit for kings and queens. It was apparent to me that the women took the utmost pride in sharing of their culinary delights with their new American/Canadian compadres. The aroma of kuku ya stew (stewed chicken), chambo cho kazinga (fried tilapia), mbatata (potatoes), fried zucchini and eggplant, and punga wakare (curried rice) seeped out through the kitchen doors to the dining area teasing our taste buds.

Dinner was quieter than usual as we were all busy shoveling food into our mouths leaving little time to talk. A chorus of mmm could be heard all around the table as we contentedly filled our bellies with seconds and even thirds. To express our gratitude for this unexpected gift, we did a little song and dance for our lovely Malawian chefs, singing our hearts out in Chichewa…zikomo zikomo (thank you). The looks of surprise and delight on their faces spoke volumes to their receiving our gift. And to our surprise and delight, they then spontaneously gifted us with a song in return… taku landi lani zikomo (we have received you, thank you).

~cynthia hsu

Malawian Perspective: Where do I Begin?

Deborah Nyangulu-Chipofya

Where do I begin? I am surrounded by so much love, beauty, passion, talent, trust, truth, diversity, art, intelligence, intimacy, rebirth, blessings, serenity …
Where do I therefore begin? This has been an amazing journey. 16 women most of them total strangers to me but now three days later they are like sisters to me. Through our stories and through our pens and paper I have come to know so much about these women. I am so happy to be part of such an amazing group. I am confident that this group is going to bear so many fruits together.

(Deborah Nyangulu-Chipofya is a journalist for the Daily Times, a Malawian newspaper circulation reaching around the country and a participant of the Voice Flame Writers workshop at Mua Mission, Malawi.)

Breakfast with Winners!

As each women arrived at our hotel for breakfast, there was both gratitude and honor consuming all. The three women, ranging from 19 to 23, received micro-grant and were able to join us for breakfast. Our group created a beautiful ceremony for the presentation of the grant awards for these women which included a blessing for their future business endeavors and a symbolic gift of jewelry.

Mwai, the oldest at 23, will start a jewelry making business. Mitali at age 20, inspired by her mother, wants to start a clothing business. Sarai at 19 is the youngest is attending the local college and looking into starting a business that would allow her the freedom to continue her studies. With this meeting, we have started networking opportunities for these ladies to support each other with cross promotion.

What we want to mention about these young ladies is that each one, being so young to American standards, were so poised, courageous, and unstoppable in the face of their circumstances. Each harbored the character and integrity to greatly contribute to others. As women, each member of our group was left humbled in the presence of these women and inspired by what we are capable of as a woman.

Each grant recipient found this as an invaluable and affirming tool for their self confidence and dreams to be fulfilled. The day ended fittingly with an angelic and haunting song sung by Sarai that captured the essence and losses and dreams of Malawian women.
Like big to little sisters, we walked Sarai to catch the bus, empowered to take the next step in her journey which we trust will be one of many to come in her successful life!

Jill, Karen, and Megan

A Narrative in Malawi

Today I met Lucy, the owner of Ndi Moyo, the sole HIV palliative care clinic in Malawi (www.ndimoyo.org/). She met us at the hotel at breakfast and we began the day hearing about how Lucy and her husband started the clinic after moving back to Malawi for retirement. They had been living in the UK, Lucy a nurse and her husband, a forester. Initially, they planned to retire at their place on Lake Malawi, yet because of the intense HIV situation in Malawi and because there was currently no palliative care in Malawi for people with HIV, they opened the clinic as volunteers. Currently funded by a UK non-profit, the clinic provides medications not currently available in hospitals, as well as psychological and spiritual support. “We meet people where they are at”, Lucy stated, explaining that all religions (i.e. Muslim and Christian, predominant in the area) are supported. “If a person is psychologically or spiritually ill, it can affect their physical health, and those deeper issues need to be addressed, and we do all of this at the clinic”, Lucy said. The clinic serves 20-30 people at a time and is a day clinic where people may receive an examination or pick up medications. As we would spend the day there, we would see the large medicinal garden, modest clinic and administrative buildings and an impressive geodesic dome.

We left for the clinic, piling newly returned suitcases on the roof of the van, tied down by a single rope woven through the 7 or 8 suitcases. George, our driver, secured them convincingly; perhaps knowing the roads would have some bumps along the way. In 20 minutes, we arrived at the gate of the clinic. I immediately noticed that the property felt very cared for, with lush gardens circling a dome shaped building we would later learn was intended to provide shade for group activities in the community. Inside the small building, our group snapped photos and took video at every corner, looking inside the three small rooms, including the treatment room where a community member was receiving medication for his terminal illness. We ducked into the room and said hello, as a patient smiled out from behind the curtain (I have to chuckle as I write this!). We also snapped a few photos of a makeshift wheel chair fitted with a plastic garden chair donated by an NGO. The tour then took us to the medicinal plant garden. Lucy explained their goal to plant as many medicinal plants as possible, and described in detail plants used for Malaria and HIV. Cannabis would be excellent if she were allowed to grow it. We later sipped on lemon grass tea, dried from the garden, and learned of its many health benefits besides being delicious. Our tour ended with a discussion in the administration office with Lucy’s husband, a forester by trade who she had met in Scotland. Lucy, a Malawian, and her husband, a Brit, had met in Scotland. Together they had lived in UK and Uganda, before moving to Malawi to retire.
We spoke about the forestry situation in Malawi – two main points stand out in my mind, the first that as forests had been heavily logged, a national and expensive reforestation program was initiated. This program resulted in many “pretty photos” of Malawian women planting trees however was mismanaged because the trees were not watered beyond the initial planting so were not making it. The second point was that local Malawians were actually doing a better job of caring for trees in their own yards, as this provides a type of long-term security, though many of these projects were going unnoticed by the government. While education is good, those who tend the land already know how to look beyond 5 or 10 years. I felt both hope and challenge in these words.

For the next part of the day, our group offered services to support the clinic including legacy interviews and energy healing treatments and trainings. The legacy interviews were intended to provide the loved ones of those at the clinic with a photo and a written legacy of life story, special memories, family lineage events, and anything else they wanted to tangibly share with their children and family. Three members of our group, Kari, Mary and Sue interviewed three women in the shade of the dome. In two cases, nurses and staff members translated. The day was warm yet breezy and the sky softly clouded. Jill recorded the interviews in video. Karen initiated Lucy into Reiki, and when the interviews were completed, the three women were offered Reiki by Karen and Megan or Healing Touch by Judith and Cynthia. For the latter part of the afternoon, we offered Reiki and Healing touch to the volunteers and workers at the clinic (there were about 7) and also to George. We discovered that energy work generally was new to just about everyone there. By the end of the day, the doctor asked to be initiated into Reiki and the administrator asked where he could find more information. I had given some energy healing to a volunteer at the clinic who was also ill; she and I personally connected as well as she explained what she felt happening in her body during the treatment and I described my perceptions as well. I can still feel the quality of our hug. Judith gave 2 or 3 weeks worth of acetaminophen (they go through about 5,000 per month). The nurses and volunteers commented on how good they felt, and we left the clinic an hour later than planned (about 5:30pm) on a high. I wondered if I would return there, feeling the pull.

We then headed south to Mua Mission (www.kungoni.org/), our next resting stop where we will stay for 4 nights. The heart of our journey begins here, as we will meet with 8 Malawian women who will join us in 4 days of writing workshops. The women participating in this workshop are leaders in their own fields, whether working for the United Nations in public health communications or opening schools for the deaf (not common in Malawi). I can feel the excitement bubbling. The Mission is incredible, every space decorated with traditional masks, sculptures, and carvings, paying homage to various mythical figures. There is a soft drumming noise heard in the distance as dancers party and prepare for the festival tomorrow (we will see all of the traditional dances of Malawi), and also a wedding.

As no blog was posted yesterday I’ll briefly mention that we visited Lake Malawi at night, under full moon for a first taste of Masankho’s InterPlay (www.ucandanc.org), where we danced and moved to the stories told through our bodies, on the beach. You guessed it, pretty incredible. Earlier in the day, we had breakfast with three women who received an award for their essays. We learned much about their lives, inspirations, we also wrote blessings for them, gave a piece of jewelry from home, and their grant. Their maturity (two were 19 and 23 years old), personal pride, and confidence inspired many in our group. There were many tears and laughs. One woman brought samples of the jewelry she plans to sell because of the grant; another plans to open up a shop that sells jewelry among other things! One woman said, “because someone has recognized my writing out of over 100 entries, I feel that others will also like my writing and I will write more” (my words).

It’s 10pm, and the toads are calling out from the small marsh at Mua Mission. The air is cool and the sky is very dark, nearly black. Energy in the air is palpable as drumming softly continues in the distance. I aim for a full night sleep tonight. Giggling with Mary capped off my evening, it’s amazing what gets spilled when the sisterhood (plus Masankho who is well versed in traveling with groups of women) comes together. Oh, and to finish, this is what Masankho has learned about women from traveling with groups of them: 1) he has to listen more when women speak than when men speak (because women need to be listened to in a detailed way), and 2) just because a women says something one day doesn’t mean she will feel the same about it the next day! (half our group wanted to send their partners to a Masankho workshop for men!).

Signing off, Carissa