Rural Leaders ― a Travel Log Vol. 16

A journey to meet ARI graduates in Zambia & Malawi, 2024

We are sharing with you a series of travel logs written by ARI staff member Steven, who visited Africa in August.
Again, they were welcomed with the powerful dance of the Nyaw at the village!
“If a leader wants the people to united, they will unite. If a leader wants the people to fight, they will fight.”
McDonald’s words made us think deeply about what makes a good leader.
Let’s get started on our trip to Africa!

【An African journey to visit ARI graduates, Day 17】

Chikwinga Village
Today we got to go to another village. Yeah! This is the reason we come all this way. It is one thing to hear about the work our graduates do, but it is another altogether to get the sights, sounds, and smells of the village, to talk with the villagers and learn what their lives are like, to see their full humanity in its beauty as well as its pain. MacDonald kindly drove us across the dusty roads to reach this place called Chikwinga Village where we were, again, welcomed by singing and dancing. I’ll never get tired of that. This time the Nyau were dancing together with the ladies, looking as fierce as ever. Their masks were different from the previous dancers, and I believe each style of mask has its own meaning, though it is difficult to get deeper explanations when I ask about it.

Goats are good!
The women’s group here is called the Integrated Goats Pass on Project, initiated by Cecilia Mpinga (2016 ARI Graduate). Cecilia first came to this place with the Hygiene Village Project NGO in 2018 to teach them about eco-san toilets. At that time, she encountered a group of 12 widows who were very hard working, but struggling with basic household needs. So, in 2022, with funding from the Tarr Fellowship of the American Friends of ARI (AFARI), she started a goat project, purchasing 18 goats (6 male, 12, female) and distributing them, two per three women. The ladies work in pairs so they can help each other out as needed.

Our little gathering started off with each woman introducing themselves. MacDonald carefully repeated each name as he heard it, to make sure he had it right. It was impressed by how this simple act fostered close engagement. They explained that they haven’t started “passing on” yet as the goats they received were very young and it was some time before the first offspring arrived. They anticipate reaching 10 goats each after passing on some of the babies. The most immediate benefit of the goats is the manure, which they compost with leaves and use in their gardens. With the small money they have made so far, some have purchased bamboo shoots to grow and sell. Climate change has been a challenge for them, particularly the drought of this past spring.

Thank you, Cecilia
They all shared how much they appreciate Cecilia for teaching them new skills in farming and goat rearing, noting that she always comes when they ask for her help, even though she doesn’t get any allowance for that. Cecilia also links them up with agricultural advisors in the government. Their dream is to continue to expand the project to earn enough money to buy iron sheet roofing and have enough food and clothing.

The meeting was followed by a walk around the village to see how they care for their goats. Some are in raised pens and some in fenced areas. They are all kept close to the house for good care and security. It is not uncommon for livestock to be stolen. They are fed maize bran, legumes, green leaves, and a little salt. Village life in Malawi is not easy, but small projects like this can bring marked improvement to people’s lives. I felt proud to see Cecilia, an ARI graduate, taking this initiative of her own accord, for the sake of these ladies.

Before departing, Kai and I did our video interview with Cecilia, but some days later she messaged me with some additional words about the impact of her ARI training, as follows:

“One more thing I didn’t mention when we had time to express our learnings after ARI is my personal strength. Before attending ARI training, I was too shy to speak during meetings and had no courage to conduct an activity on my own. After I returned back, I am strong enough to speak at community meetings, i.e. plan and implement big events with my church, community, family, or at work. Any event assigned by somebody, I do it with positive results. For example, at the family level with my clan, I can plan an event and implement it, and they rely on me. Some of my family members change my name during an event, calling me the PROTOCOL. Other members in the community invite me to help them during wedding ceremonies and they give me the position of CHIEF PROTOCOL. I got all the strength at ARI during the Harvest Thanksgiving Celebration and also Rural Community Study Tour!”

Around midday, we headed back to town with MacDonald. Reflecting on the events of the morning he said, “If a leader wants the people to united, they will unite. If a leader wants the people to fight, they will fight.” I think this comes from his own experience seeing communities all over the country. When he sees places like Chikwinga Village and people like Cecilia, he is greatly encouraged. However, when he sees greedy, self-serving leadership, which is not infrequent, he is greatly disappointed.

WOG meeting
(If you are a Lord of the Rings buff, yes, I know what you are thinking!)
Back at Geoffrey’s house, (remember, that is John’s brother, and remember, John is a 2013 ARI graduate), we had a big WOG meeting. WOG being Geoffrey’s organization, Word of God ministries. All the staff were invited and sat in a circle in the garden to talk. Before I get into details, however, I want to share a Malawian proverb:
“A guest is like dew. It comes and goes quickly.” Meaning a host must value the short time they get to spend with their guests.
As I mentioned above, WOG’s priority is evangelism, but also with branches into community development. They have three plots of land they want to start farming, with big hopes for John to help them. (1) ½ acre next to the house. (2) some fields about a 20-minute drive away that they have just purchased. It is a beautiful area with many other farms around and a river lined with palm trees flowing through it. It seems they don’t have much experience in farming. Going organic sounds appealing to them, but they really don’t know. MacDonald was advising them to start right away, clearing all the brush and composting it! (3) the 20 hectares mentioned above. I honestly don’t know how to use such huge land because ARI style farming is so intensive that we get huge harvests from small plots. They seemed to be thinking about fruit orchards.

WOG was registered as an organization in 1997 but had a slow start. At the time, Geoffrey was still working in the Malawi Broadcast Company. He even went to Japan on a collaborative project with NHK. In 2009 he invested himself full time in the WOG and in 2010 started doing village banking. I am not sure if this is different from the VSLs I have been seeing, but it seems to include a component of training about coming up with a business plan. Staff member, Dorothy is managing the Village Banks now and in answer to my question of how many villages they work in she said, “many!”

Taking what they call the “village approach” when they enter a new community, they will first set up a fellowship. These are Christian groups for bible study, prayer, and worship, but Geoffrey didn’t elaborate too much on them. It is from these groups that they establish village banks. This makes a lot of sense because the most important aspect of village banking is establishing trust. Geoffrey is also careful to keep the members centered on the Gospel, rather than money. In 2021 they had to stop their activities due to Cyclone Freddy but could restart in 2023. Geoffrey has a strong interest in OVOP, stands for One Village One Project. This is an approach to business done (or tried) in Japan and Thailand (and probably other places) in which each village produces and markets its own unique product. It is an interesting model, and I have heard of successes and failures attached to it, but since it exists only as an idea in Geoffrey’s head at the moment, I won’t go into it more. He also mentioned the concept of “trading centers.” These are meant to be like markets, except that products are sold at a fair price. He is trying to think of ways of keeping food prices down for people, but MacDonald was quick to point out that farmers also want and need a fair price. This set Geoffrey to thinking.

They are keen to send staff to ARI, to get the agricultural training needed to quickly develop their land. Furthermore, they see ARI’s leadership training as closely fitting their approach of “Empowering to Empower.” We wrapped up the visit with a group photo, together with grandpa. I am still trying to imagine what his eyes have seen in the 91 years of his life.
We arrived back at MacDonald’s house on Lake Malawi after sunset.

Written by Steven Cutting (Graduate Outreach Coordinator)
Travelling with Kai Shinoda (Admissions and Recruitment Coordinator)

Click here to read the series of articles

Vol.0 【The African journey to visit ARI graduates Prologue】

Vol.1 【The African journey to visit ARI graduates Day 1-2】

Vol.2 【The African journey to visit ARI graduates Day 3】

Vol.3 【The African journey to visit ARI graduates Day 4】

Vol.4 【The African journey to visit ARI graduates Day 5】

Vol.5 【The African journey to visit ARI graduates Day 6】

Vol.6 【The African journey to visit ARI graduates Day 7】

Vol.7 【The African journey to visit ARI graduates Day 8】

Vol.8 【The African journey to visit ARI graduates Day 9】

Vol.9 【The African journey to visit ARI graduates Day 10】

Vol.10 【The African journey to visit ARI graduates Day 11】

Vol.11 【The African journey to visit ARI graduates Day 12】