Atheism - a first world solution?

I was more than a little curious how Africa would affect me this trip, coming back after so many years out of the church and in the non-religious environment that is London. Africa, which brought me back to Christianity every time I tried to leave it; Africa that shows all the best and worst of religion at its most raw; Africa where humanity began and yet ends so early, so painfully for so many.

Sitting in the nurses station where my friend works, I could overhear the fervent praying - shouting - pleading with god to bring down the "fire" and heal a sick person. One sick person among so many strewn across a crowded room. One of the patients in H2U, which in London means higher percentage of nurses, closer monitoring, strict visitation, all of the things you associate with intensive care...and here means a subset of the main room, separated by a sheet, with as much more attention as they can give, which is often not much. What kind of god that can help, ignores that desperate belief? What kind of god is worth knowing if they can't help?

Yet on the other side of the picture, how do you look someone in the eyes and tell them that after they struggle through this life, after they watch their loved ones die young, after they suffer themselves, that that was it? There is nothing to look forward to, no heaven where they will meet their family again, no healthy body waiting to replace the broken one, no reward for all the hard work and belief? It's easy to sit in a comfy flat in London, enjoying my comfy life and think, if this is it, at least I'm happy and living a good life. But most of the world is not so lucky. It doesn't really change what I believe, but certainly makes me more accepting of religion's place in the world. 

**it took me a while to decide to post this, wrote it while there and just now, two weeks later, putting it up!

Madonna and child(ren)

Today I went to the infant home near here at 7:15 to help feed the babies. I'm not sure how much help I was - first off, I am not a baby person, and second, I don't speak the local language. But most people speak English, even if they kids don't really yet, so it was fine.  And turns out, shoving a spoon of porridge at a baby's mouth isn't that tricky, because they don't care if it gets all over their face, and I had an all-covering apron over my clothes so I didn't really care if it got all over me, so we were good. The bottle feeding was pretty easy too. And I picked up a couple of ridiculously tiny, malnourished babies and moved them from feeding area to changing area without any heads falling off, so that overcame my fear a little bit, which was good. One of the little girls about broke my heart though. Such a sweet smile and so little substance to her!

It's really cool what they do here - bring in children who are either abandoned or their families can't afford to raise them because the mother died, and formula is just too much for many families. Then when the children are 2 years old, they try to integrate them back into their family and community, and have a really high success rate. At that age they can eat most things that the rest of the family eats so it's not such a burden to look after them. Plus they can go to nursery school, and the charity has been building these and also continues to support the poorest families financially with raising the kids. Sometimes it doesn't work and the money doesn't get to the child or the family is clearly not looking after the child when they re-visit, so they come back to the home. Then often they try again later, or sometimes the child ends up in foster care - a 'mother' has a house with her own kids and 4-6 more children so they have more of a family environment. Later in the week I'm hopefully going to teach a little boy with mild cerebral palsy some piano/music lessons, he's in one of the foster homes.

What was interesting to learn is that it's this charity, or one just like it (she definitely visited this home), that Madonna adopted her first Malawian child from - hence all the controversy. Like most of these kids, it was just supposed to be temporary that he was in the home until he could go back to his family and community, but in swooped Madonna and now he's being raised the child of a major celebrity. I think all parties have come around to the situation, but it's interesting to understand the complexity of it a bit more. Especially crazy that she did the same thing three years later. And what I really don't get, is why she needed one that had a family. There are many that are straight up abandoned so don't have a family to go back to at all, especially the ones with HIV/AIDS. But I don't think I'll get anywhere trying to understand the mind of one of the most famous pop singers in the wold. :)

Malawi

I haven't blogged or journalled in way too long. So when I found myself wanted to blab all over facebook or email or text message everything I'm feeling, I knew it was time I did at least one of the two. I don't have a notebook or journal of any kind available, but there is a computer here, so blog it is!

Just getting down the factual occurrences of the past few days:

Friday lunch with Palesa and Kundayi, a nice reminder of how well we all get along and what cool people they are.

After scrambling to finish up the rest of my work day from home, at 5pm I started off to Heathrow! Flight to Addis Ababa was really smooth and I had taken care to hydrate myself well so I didn't have any of the ear pressure or vertigo problems I had occasionally been getting since surgery/radiotherapy. Addis Ababa airport was an immediate YOU'RE IN AFRICA moment - so totally different to anything in Europe/USA. Shops, colours, people, signs, all a very foreign experience for the senses. No wifi, no chain restuarants, and the duty free shops were more like street markets than retail outlets.

After about an hour it was time to join the long, crowded queue to get into the gate area where my flight would depart from - then once in that area, about half an hour later, another queue to get on a bus to board the plane. The flight goes from Addis Ababa, stops in Lilongwe to drop people off/pick people up, then goes to Blantyre and does the same, then goes back to Addis Ababa. I disembarked at Blantyre, which is a tiny airport! - and waiting with the taxi drivers for Kate to come pick me up. It was warm and dusty and sunny and I could see the palm trees and the vegetation that is so unique to this part of the world, it was amazing. All the feelings I find so hard to put into words for why I love this place so much came flooding back, I was just grinning. Kate picks me up, we drive back to her place, I have a shower and put on a sundress and suddenly I'm sat on the veranda looking out over the lush back yard with the weaving vines, sipping a cup of tea, loving life.

 

We ate dinner at home that night and packed for the trip leaving early Sunday morning - Mulanje mountain! Left at 7am, arrived just before 10, hired a guide and porters to carry our stuff, and off we set up the mountain. I did not know quite what I was in for, but it was so amazing. 4 hour hike to the hut where we were staying, a small cabin with one room for sleeping and one room for eating/fire. Nipped down to the natural pool of water for a swim, then settled in to have some wine, listen to music, make dinner on the fire, and go to bed early - so knackered from the journey and had another early morning on the cards!

that tiny shiny roof was our hut where we spent the night 

Up at 5:30am, left just after six to head up the peak - that was a grueling trip straight up mostly rocks, it was difficult but so worth the amazing view from the top! I couldn't believe I'd really done it - it was such a quiet but beautiful moment, realising just how lucky I was - lucky to be alive, lucky to be able to work and afford this trip, lucky to have such an amazing person as a friend who lives here and lets me come stay and organises such an excursion, lucky to appreciate this moment to its fullest.

Then it was time to head back down - possibly scarier than heading up, but I found myself handling the descent better than expected, and was leading the pack most of the way. Something about being on the brink of tumbling down a mountain heightened the senses and brought out the best of my coordination! I kinda loved it. Everyone hates going downhill, so I guess it makes me the oddball, but that's okay, I'm used to it :)

We got back to the hut and dashed straight into the pool again - this time didn't even bother changing, dived in with my sports bra and pants on, then just let them dry out in the hot sun on the way down. One of the group had stayed behind and made breakfast - French Toast with bacon - such a luxury! I was so hungry after hiking nearly 4 hours on just a cup of coffee and a couple biscuits (oh and of course the Haribo sweets we had with us, and the apples the guide brought for us that were picked fresh from a tree on the mountain). After a quick turnaround to close up and lock the hut, we headed back down the mountain. It was slippery, being the end of the wet season, which made it tricky, but we were moving through it pretty well. Got back to the cars about 3:30pm, and omg did it feel good to take my shoes and socks off!! Drove off the tea plantation and got pizza in the town, wolfed mine down in record time.

Finally home about 7, took a shower, Kate got back a bit later because she had to go into the hospital to take care of a couple things. We all crashed for bed pretty early! Was such an amazing start to this trip.