Social Studies Malawi Report

by Eden McCulloch

Malawi is a small country in the African continent. Surrounded by Mozambique, Zambia and Tanzania, it is land-locked, with its closest sea parts in Mozambique or South Africa. Malawi is a very hot and dry country, sometimes facing droughts for up to seven or eight months.

Malawi is known for its warmth, given the name ‘The Warm Heart Of Africa’. Tourists are given a enthusiastic welcome when they explore Malawi’s National Park, beautiful hippo infested Lake Malawi, and other scenic attractions.

My name is Eden McC – and I begin my report in Nthondo – a mountainous area north of Lilongwe, the capital of Malawi.

Despite Malawi’s warmth, it is a poor country. Alongside poverty, disease is Malawi’s biggest problem. Diseases such as HIV/Aids, malaria and protein malnutrition, have struck many citizens of Malawi.

Work & Living

Malawi has a very small corporate business world, with agriculture being Malawi’s greatest income. Most of its 11.8 Million population depend on agriculture to make a living, using what they grow for food, and to sell. Things like tobacco and sugar-cane are grown. However, the country has suffered persistent drought in recent years. For up to 25% of people, six to nine months would go by with food shortages.

At least 25% of the workforce will die in the next ten years, because of disease. This will place a huge strain on communities, the economy, social networks and families.

Children

The children of Malawi are becoming a big problem in the country.

Parents are dieing because of disease, leaving one parent, and sometimes no parent to look after the children. Grandmothers are left having to care for them, but are too old to earn a decent living. This, therefore means that the oldest child will have to care for a family.

School

Children go to school at a very late age,  this is because it takes long to walk to school. Nthondo is a very mountainous area, which makes it even harder for children to walk to and from school. School finishes at 2 o’clock, so that the children will be able to walk home without becoming too hot or dehydrated.

Most children have to do the first grade of school twice, and some miss out on so much school during the year, that they have to repeat years of school.

There are 17 primary schools Nthondo, but only one Secondary school. The average finishing age of school is 15 or 16. Children are taught agriculture at school, so that they are able to grow crops for harvest.

Free Time

Free time for children is spent on singing, dancing, soccer, netball, or stone games. They have netball or soccer competitions between schools or communities, which bring a lot spectators, fun, dance, and enjoyment!

Chores

Children do a lot of chores at home, such as preparing food, taking care of Chickens and Goats – which are the most common pet in Malawi – collecting firewood, fetching water in the morning, looking after younger siblings, and for some, looking after cows.

Disease

Disease, of course, is Malawi’s biggest problem. Due to the lack of clean water, or clean medical equipment, disease is easily spread.

HIV/Aids is the greatest challenge. In 1997 one million people were tested positive to HIV, that figure is said to double by 2010, with up to 2 million people positive to HIV. It is possible to live with HIV, if you keep healthy you could live for a long time, but if you become sick, your immune system will be unable to fight off the disease.

Malaria is carried by female mosquitoes, it affects many people, and causes body temperature malfunctions. It is becoming harder to fight Malaria because the disease is fighting harder and stronger against the medicine given to it.

Protein malnutrition is the last of Malawi’s great disease problem. Due to rain and food drought, children, as well as adults, were not eating well enough. Therefore their bodies do not have enough protein or food in their stomachs, causing pot bellies.

That is what I have managed to gather during my stay in Nthondo, Malawi. There is so much more to learn, and so much more to see in this beautiful country of Africa.