Introduction
Purpose of the trip
Two intrepid ARI staff members spent over three weeks traveling through Zambia and Malawi to meet ARI graduates in their local contexts. We went there to see, and better understand, the communities our graduates work with, in all their beauty as well as their struggles. We wanted to learn how our graduates engage with their people, and how they are bringing their ARI training back home. This is crucial in keeping our curriculum relevant to the needs of grassroots rural leaders and ensuring we are fulfilling our mission of preparing these leaders to serve their communities. I think you will agree that the best way to learn the intricate details of a people and a culture, is by being there, spending time in conversation over a meal of stewed goat or on a long car journey across the African landscape. These personal interactions build strong relationships between ARI and its alumni, and also strengthen networks among graduates throughout the region. Also, they are super motivating! Seeing what comes “after ARI” energizes us in our work and hopefully you, whoever you are reading this travel log, will get that same sense of excitement, that what ARI is doing in this world is truly something good.
Note: there were two parts to this trip:
August 1-18 – Travel through Zambia and Malawi to meet ARI graduates (sponsored by ARI)
August 19-24 – Regional Convening of ARI graduates (sponsored by the American Friends of ARI); this took place in Mponela, Malawi in tandem with an agricultural conference organized by ECHO East Africa
Stats
3,160 Kilometers traveled through Zambia and Malawi (about 2,000 miles)
23 Number of graduates we met – 10 in Zambia, 10 in Malawi, and 3 at the graduate convening (11 joined the convening)
18 Video interviews with graduates
5 Homestays and home visits with graduates
10 Meetings with local communities (these were amazingly fun!)
10 Discussions with sending bodies and potential new sending organizations for recruitment (not to mention all the cool people we met at the conference!)
3 Face to face meetings with applicants for the 2025 training program
Gratitude
Everywhere we went, we were warmly welcomed by ARI graduates. They introduced us to the communities they work with and eagerly showed us their activities. We felt truly cared for as part of a big ARI family and are especially grateful to John and Judy Nyondo for hosting us for several nights at their home/organization the Ecumenical Development Foundation AND for driving us far and wide across Zambia and showing us the best spots in this country that you can’t find in guidebooks. We also want to thank MacDonald for hosting us in his home, caring for us when we got sick, and driving us to graduate locations all over Malawi in his trusty Toyota! This trip would not have been successful without the help and generous gift of time of our graduates! We also want to thank the American Friends of ARI for organizing the Graduate Convening mentioned above and sponsoring Kai’s international travel to attend. It was full of rich moments of sharing, learning, and solidarity among ARI’s hardworking graduates!
Follow-up
After we get home, we plan to…
…share the stories of ARI graduates, so others can also know of their dedication and service to their people, and the long-term impact of ARI’s Rural Leaders Training Program. We are now preparing a blog, a photo exhibit, and will work with staff on other forms of content and methods for delivering it.
…continue to build the “ARI family” network of graduates in this region and keep the energy generated from this trip going strong.
…inform ARI curriculum about current issues in Zambia and Malawi and share about aspects of ARI training that are being employed by its graduates and how, to assist in keeping ARI’s curriculum relevant to the needs of the rural people in these regions.
…follow up with new recruitment opportunities that opened up.
Continuity mismatch
Just a small warning that past, present, and even future move incongruously throughout these pages. Some parts were written at the moment and others many days later. To the probable horror of my freshman composition teacher, I am not going to “correct” this. It feels more real.