Hunger, disease and envy...the three worst enemies of Malawi

26th - 31st July... Blantyre!

This week I came down to Blantyre to work with the NGO's Hygiene Village and Water for People. Hygiene Village is an extremely small organization with a big heart! The work they do with so few resources and little funds is incredible! (Talk about effective management!)

Hygiene Village Project is a local NGO based in Blantyre, and works mainly in the per-urban areas of the city, Ndirande and others. I got to walk around Ndirande and see the kind of work that they do. They promote hygiene to the people living in the area and are starting to create a demand for properly constructed latrines. Hygiene is a major problem in Ndirande and other areas, and with people using the alleys or rivers as toilets there are severe health reprocussions such as chloera and other disease outbreaks.

There are two main types of latrines which they promote: Skyloo and VIP latrines.

The Skyloo is perfect for small spaces (such as overcrowded Ndirande). A pit does not need to be constructed as the latrine slab is elevated. There are two sides of the latrine. After use, one handfull of ash and two handfuls of sand are thrown into the latrine. It is amazing..there is virtually NO smell! Once one side of the latrine is full, people switch to use the other side. The full side is left for 6-9 months for decomposition of the waste product, and the end results is fertilizer! Amazing!

The VIP latrine is an improvement from traditional latrines with the addition of a vent pipe to redirect fumes. This latrine has a 1-1.5m pit which is properly lined with bricks and cement, and when full needs to be emptied (either manually [yuck!] or by vacpump trucks). The issue of emptying the latrines and dealing with the waste is still a huge concern in developing work.

Hygiene Village Project is expanding its work all the time, and the impact they are having is clear to see. Owners in Ndirande take great pride in their latrines, and make certain to properly care for and maintain the latrines. HVP also works on providing some clean drinking water stations for schools and communities.
One of the major problems when working in Malawi is Jealousy between communities, or families. If one community is seen to be favoured with the provision of a drinking well (for example), another community will often vandalize the well and break the taps, pumps, or whatever else they can. This behaviour can really devestate the efforts of organizations!

Water for People is a USA NGO which works in many countries. In Malawi, they are partners with HVP and other NGO's, and focus on capacity building for these organizations. They are an amazing organization with dedicated people who go out of their way to help others!

Proper waste management is an issue world wide, whether you live in Canada or Malawi. Canada runs out of space in the landfills even with recycling and composting. Garbage in Malawi lines the streets and clogs the rivers as there is virtually no garbage collection, pickup or processing. HVP and WFP want to start incorporating waste management into their porfolios. This is such a complex issue, and there are so many problems involved. There is no 'solution' for waste management, but looking around Ndirande it is clear that something must be done. As the population worldwide grows there will be an ever increasing need for us to process our waste properly. I have to ask, what are we waiting for?

I can honestly say I've had a fun and interesting week poking around in latrines!

Tomorrow I'm off to Mozambique, then Zimbabwe, and South Africa on holiday! I'll keep you updated on interesting stories, but 'work' for me is done for the summer - phew! Enjoy the day where ever you are, and I'll be seeing some of you back in Canada in under three weeks!
Cheers mates!

P.S. My sisters wedding is in 23 days! :)