LETTERS FROM JENNIFER...

Part One:

Hello Everyone, My Malawi adventures have begun!!  I spent a week in the capital, Lilongwe, and then headed home to Chitipa.  It took two days - which is the norm.  We spent one night in Mzuzu, which is lovely - on a plateau and then arrived in Chitipa the next evening.  I moved into my large - 3 bedroom house last Sunday.  I even have a separate worker's living quarters in the back.  It is in need of a good paint job and some cleaning, but will be very nice soon.  Lots of space for visitors (hint, hint!)  I have hired my night watchman, Maurice.  He is the father of 4 with another on the way.  Alongside his watch duties he slashes my grass (no lawnmowers here), sweeps the gutter and may help a bit when I start my vegetable garden.  He is paid quite well for our area (2,760 k watch/per month - roughly $27/month).  This seems appalling low by our standards but is high and the set VSO rate.  They say if we pay more than it will be hard for them to adjust once we leave.  I am back in Lilongwe this week for motorbike training and we just finished our test - we all passed. Needless to say it has been lots of laughs, a few tears and craziness ten bikes driving in convoy through the capital city.  Travelling home tomorrow.  The views on the way back are beautiful - up the plateau down to the lake and then back up a bit to Chitipa.  On the travels I have seen a few baboons and monkeys - just watching the cars go by on the side of the road.  Everyone has been very kind and are excited to see me on my travels to the market.  The market is an experience with loads of people, and lots of veggies to choose from.  I have been practicing my limited Chitumbuka and they are thrilled to hear me try.  Hope to hear from you soon.  E-mail will not happen unless I am in the capital.  My address is Jennifer Jefts, Chitipa District Education Office, P.O. Box 91, Chitipa, Malawi.  My phone number is 0112658509456.  Some of you have received text from me - if you sent one sorry I have not replied.  Text from the US have not been coming through.  Hope all is well.  Take care and talk to you soon.      Love, Jen

Part Two:

Hello Everyone, I am back in the capital again.  We had a meeting of all of the teacher development center volunteers with our employers so it is my chance to connect with all of you.  I am not sure if I mentioned this in my last note, but I will actually be working with 11 teacher development centers. Each center represents a number of schools so we have 330 primary schools in the district that I will be assisting indirectly - much bigger job than I thought. I had the opportunity last week to visit five of those schools. For one visit I went 40 Km (math whizzes you can change it to miles) on the back of someone's motorcycle and for another visit going 60 Km on my own motorcycle. Some of you would be very impressed with my motorcycle skills!! For bike enthusiasts it is a Yamaha 125DT. Each school was different, but all lacked enough teachers.  A few schools had forms (long desks which sit 3 students) and in others students just sat on the concrete floor. Many classes had between 80-100 students.  All of the schools had blank walls. Some students had textbooks, but most of the time it was teacher lectures and students copying from the board - even in lower primary.  One school I visited the fourth grade teacher had been ill since January so the students had not been taught since then - however, they still came to school everyday and sat quietly in class.  That would surely never happen at home.  Since my district does not have a mobile special education teacher I have been elected it.  So every school we visit they bring the special education students to me and basically want me to "fix" them.  I have tried to give them a few basic ideas such as moving the student with visual problems to the front of the room, etc.  It is hard to give larger ideas for students with developmental delays considering the teacher has a class of 100 and classes are only 30 minutes long!!  It was great to see the schools and all of the students were quite surprised to see me hop off the bike. Easter weekend a bunch of volunteers are getting together at Nkhata Bay (on the lake) for a relaxing weekend.  I am sure I will hop in the lake - snails or not.  Apparently Bilharzia is easily treatable and does not really cause any great harm.  Everyone says the lake is irresistible and from the little bit I saw I can see why.  This past weekend we had a northern regional volunteer meeting.   As part of the meeting we visited Vwaza Game Reserve, and the group split for a walking or car safari.  Of course all of the new volunteers (4 of us) and our program manager elected for the walking safari maybe a bit naive on our part.  As we were eating lunch we could hear the hippos chilling in the water - they sound like a deep low laugh.  Luckily they do not come out of the water during the day.  During our walk we saw a few in the lake and one even gave us a big yawn.  As we rounded a bend we came across a small herd of elephants heading to the water.  When they got to the water our guide said we had to move quickly to get behind them before they left the water.  We started walking fast through the high brush at which time the land rover drove up and scared them up towards us.  Our guide stopped abruptly and said go back fast.  The warning noises that the elephants were making certainly quickened our pace.  We got back to basically where we started and were walking along the lakeshore when one of the bulls stepped out from the brush staring straight at us.  He was flapping his ears - not a good sign.  It became scary when our guard cocked his gun and we realized it was the elephant or the lake with hippos.  The guard clapped his hands and basically said shoo and the elephant backed down.  It would have been a great picture, but I was to scared to move.  I certainly didn't want to spook him.  After that encounter we were happy to just see the smaller animals - which we did.  We came across baboons and impalas (like small antelope).  It was a great experience, but next time I might stay in the car.I have received a few letters from home and they are greatly appreciated.  I have sent some so we will see how long they take.  I have received one text from the US and I think it depends on the cell phone carrier.  If I left someone off this e-mail list, please forward the message to them.  They can send a message to my dad at richard.jefts@cbs.fiserv.com and he will add them to the list. I updated it quickly before I left, but my last few days in the states were quite crazy.  Hope all is well.  Take care and will try to write again soon.

Lots of Love from Malawi, Jen

PART Three:

Hi Everyone,

Travelling again - this week I am in the capital for a disability toolkit
meeting and then HIV/AIDS conference.  After that it is off to the lake for
3 days - not fun, work (I swear!!).  We are headed to Cape Maclear for an
education peer support meeting.  Since I will be here all week, I most
likely will check my e-mail again and would love to hear from you
(jjefts@msn.com).  Life has not been all that exciting - same old, same
old.
 Yes you even get into a routine in Africa!!  I have a new volunteer
colleague that arrived in February so we are trying to plan workshops, and
organize a few projects.  The rains have been great this year - which is
good for the maize crop, but bad for motorcycle rides and electric/water
supplies.  It should be slowing up soon since the rainy season technically
ends in March.  Luckily, I avoided malaria and am hoping to escape Africa
without getting it - may be pushing my luck.  My parents surprised me last
month and announced they will be visiting for 3 weeks in August.  They will
be getting the whirlwind tour of Malawi and we will end with a 4-day safari
in Zambia.  It will be the dry so we should see a lot of animals - giraffe,
zebra, lions, leopards, hippos, etc.  I have a large house if anyone else
wants to visit!!  Well, better run but looking forward to reading your
e-mails if you get a chance.

Love,

Jen
 

PART Four:

Hi Everyone,

In the capital again this week - so I will have e-mail access until
Monday or Tuesday - if you want to drop a note.  I understand Madonna has
certainly put Malawi on the map - not sure if it is in a good way.  The papers
here have been carrying lots of stories but they certainly are not the most
objective and not sure how accurate they are in many cases.
I am sure you are sick of hearing it but we are making real progress on
the disability toolkit.  Tomorrow we will meet with the original
stakeholders from our meeting last year to review, change, ditch completely the
toolkit we have put together so far.  After that it is quick change time and
then deliver it to schools in December so they can start the school year
with it in January.
Right now it is super hot here and I am hoping the rain starts soon to
cool things down.  I spent this past weekend at an education peer support
meeting and it was at a forest lodge which was pleasantly cool since it is
higher in the hills.  I certainly can't say the same for Lilongwe or Chitipa.
It is hard to believe that Mom & Dad left almost two months ago.  We
had a great time and I think they really enjoyed the trip.  Dad even said he
would like to come back to Africa again sometime.  As they say it gets into
your blood.  I don't know if they have sent out a group e-mail yet so I will
fill you in on some of the highlights (some of you may have already received
this info in a letter - sorry just breeze over it).  Dad almost killed us
(might be a bit of an exaggeration ) shortly after picking up the car, b/c
he almost turned onto the wrong side of the street.  Yes, they do drive
on the opposite side of the road here.  Although, I must give him credit,
b/c he did very well overall considering the roads are very busy with
people walking, cows, goats, chickens, etc.  During their Chitipa visit they
both answered teachers questions about gender, race relations, schools, etc.
in America, and I took my Dad for a spin on the motorcycle.  Don't think
he will trust me to do that again!!  We visited my watchman's (Maurice)
new house and he presented us with a live chicken to cook up for dinner.
Luckily, he killed it and plucked it for us.  They were able to visit a
number of schools and tour the hospital.  I think the trip was quite an
eye-opener for them.
The safari was great and we saw everything.  The first morning I walked
out onto the chalet balcony to see 6 giraffes about 30 feet from our front
door.  We didn't actually stay in the park, but animals still came thru our
camp area.  In the middle of the night, hippos and elephants were eating
next to our chalet, and you weren't allowed to walk outside between 6 p.m. and
6 a.m.  One night we were eating dinner under an open air grass thatched
pavilion and the power went out.  The staff was working on getting us
some light and came over to say not to go back to the tents or the
bathrooms, b/c there was a herd of elephants right near us - maybe 10 feet from us. 
They showed us with their flashlights and they were very close enjoying
their own dinner.  On the games drives we saw lots of antelope (kudus, impalas,
waterbuck), crocodiles (including some eating an impala), hippos,
elephants, zebra, giraffes, and lions (we were 5 feet from one in an open vehicle
-quite SCARY).  We even saw a leopard (stalking some impalas) and hyenas
on the night drive.  The whole trip was grand except Sunday morning we
were being picked up for breakfast and Mom slipped down the stairs.  Luckily
we were leaving that day and they were leaving Malawi on Tuesday.  Monday
we spent visiting the doctor at the British embassy (who is great and the
VSO volunteer doctor) and running around town for her.  They put a soft
cast on it until she got home and gave her some blood thinning shots for the
long flight to prevent blood clots since her mobility was limited.  Needless
to say, she fractured her ankle and tore both tendons.  They put a
permanent plate in it with 5 screws and two long screws which will be removed
later this month.  Don't think she will forget Malawi anytime soon.  My
brother may have posted some of the pictures by now - so you can check them out
at http://efland.dyndns.org/pictures - go to the Malawi link.  I have also
attached a few in case he hasn't posted them yet.
I also get another family visit in January when my Great-Aunt who is in
her 80's will be traveling to Tanzania with a church group.  We are still
trying to coordinate travel schedules, but I hope to meet up with her during
her trip.  After that only a bit longer till I am back in the states.  I
now have my plane tickets - yeah!!!   I leave  Malawi on April 4th and
arrive on U.S. soil (Dulles Airport) at 6:30 a.m. on the 5th.  I should
arrive in Orlando at 1:00 p.m. if all goes as planned.  It is a direct
flight from South Africa to the U.S. with a fuel stop in Senegal which
makes it long, but easier since I don't have to go thru England.
Well better run and get some work done.  Hope to hear from some of you
this week.  Take care and talk to you soon.

Love,
Jen
 

Part Five:

Hi Everyone,

Since it is another year without sending Xmas cards - I wanted to send
my holiday wishes.  I hope everyone has a wonderful holiday season filled
with family, friends, fun, and food.
I am back in the capital till Wednesday morning and the rains have
begun!!!!
  In fact last Friday, Michelle (my counterpart) and I rode 20 miles in
pouring rain.  Not the most fun on a motorcycle and needless to say it
hurts when you get going above 15 miles/hour.  Chitipa has been its usual
welcoming self and we had a whole week with no power during the day and
no water at all.  I have gotten my bucket system down and even have been
thankful for the rain - the rainwater works well for washing dishes. 
The disability toolkit training started last week so it is off and running
in the pilot schools in January.  All the schools/teachers seemed excited
about getting and using it, but the real test is if they actually use it!!
Michelle leaves tomorrow for home and it seems my ending day is looming
closer and closer.  Hard to believe it is less than 4 months away.  I
am excited, but was also very aware during Michelle's leaving party how
much I will miss Malawi.  Even if I don't always like it.  I really feel the
last few months will fly by.  Xmas plans have changed a bit and I will be
staying in Malawi and tackle Victoria Falls in January on my way to Tanzania to
meet up with my aunt. It saves me some up and down travelling since I will
be in the capital at the beginning of January for my leaver's forum.  I am
even planning a white water rafting trip down the Zambezi while at the
Falls.
Hear it is unforgettable.  Then in early February a new volunteer
counterpart arrives in Chitipa.  So most of the month will be spent
doing handover and getting her settled in before I head out at the end of
March.
I am leaving Chitipa with plenty of time to spare in case of transport
problems.  I also have to stop by the doctors to pick up my deworming
pills- exciting huh!!  Consequences for swimming in the lake, but trust me
it is irrestible.  Well, better run.  If you have a chance drop a note today
or tomorrow.  Take care and SEE you soon.

Love,
Jen
 

TO BE CONTINUED . . . .