Just wanted to compare these three pictures of peoples houses in Malawi. This is how life is like in Malawi
Mutharika's house in Ndata
Malawian kids playing outside their home.
some of the houses belonging to ordinary malawians.
Showing posts with label life. Show all posts
Showing posts with label life. Show all posts
Tuesday, September 6, 2011
malawi president's personal house vs a citizen's house
Just wanted to compare these three pictures of peoples houses in Malawi. This is how life is like in Malawi
Mutharika's house in Ndata
Malawian kids playing outside their home.
some of the houses belonging to ordinary malawians.
Tuesday, August 3, 2010
Unfair World
I see them everyday at my work place selling different kinds of things. As young as seven, who can hardly give you the right amount of change, are selling us bananas, cooked maize and sugarcanes. They wake up very early and walk to various areas to sell the things sent by their parents.
Some have even stopped going to school because of various reasons but mainly their parents too poor to take care of them. So they are sent to sell these foods to find their daily needs. I have managed to talk to some of them who narrated very sad stories about their families. Life is unfair.
The word 'unfair world' keeps coming to mind when I see them everyday. I always try to engange them in conversation to hear them out. They all have stories to tell. Even their parents are able to tell me why they send them to the streets. They are convinced that that's the only way.
One example is of a thirteen year old girl called Maggie who has just started selling cooked maize near our office. I talked to her several times. She has just written the Primary School Leaving examinations and in search for money to pay for secondary education, her parents sent her to do business. She seems to like this idea.
But the streets are not a safe place for a 13yr old who has to travel a long distance to her home in the evening. We read in papers of 8yr olds who are raped right in their homes. What more with a 13yr old who is looking money to make ends meet? Life is unfair.
I feel sorry for them everday. I try to help where I can but they just keep coming. You can see it in the way they dress, the food they eat and the life they live.
Some have even stopped going to school because of various reasons but mainly their parents too poor to take care of them. So they are sent to sell these foods to find their daily needs. I have managed to talk to some of them who narrated very sad stories about their families. Life is unfair.
The word 'unfair world' keeps coming to mind when I see them everyday. I always try to engange them in conversation to hear them out. They all have stories to tell. Even their parents are able to tell me why they send them to the streets. They are convinced that that's the only way.
One example is of a thirteen year old girl called Maggie who has just started selling cooked maize near our office. I talked to her several times. She has just written the Primary School Leaving examinations and in search for money to pay for secondary education, her parents sent her to do business. She seems to like this idea.
But the streets are not a safe place for a 13yr old who has to travel a long distance to her home in the evening. We read in papers of 8yr olds who are raped right in their homes. What more with a 13yr old who is looking money to make ends meet? Life is unfair.
I feel sorry for them everday. I try to help where I can but they just keep coming. You can see it in the way they dress, the food they eat and the life they live.
Friday, August 21, 2009
WHO CARES?
To them that’s how life is like. There is nothing they can do to change their present situation. Life to them means struggling to find basic needs. They just came to accept this fact. Every five years they vote for people who they hope will bring change, but nothing changes. Who cares?
Every morning they wake up from their sleeping mats to be greeted by the sight of their poorly dressed and hunger stricken children. At times one meal per day strategically prepared to cover all the three meals does the trick. Not that they are too busy to eat but availability of food to be prepared thrice.
Farming, yes, the God given talent is all there is to give them the much needed food. But with the prices of fertilizer that they cannot afford, they harvest very little from a large piece of land. Subsidies are there but they target a few people who have connections.
Who cares what they dress? As long as they cover their nakedness, fashion to them means nothing. There is no money to buy the latest Pierre Cardin suit. Freely they walk in tatters and some second hand clothes sold cheaply at various trading centres.
Education, yes their kids need to be educated. Thank God primary school is free, but that’s where it ends. Secondary schools have become very expensive for them. To buy uniform, pay fees, and buy other needed resources for learning is a big burden to them. Even those that are lucky to have finished their secondary school are still expecting to be fed by them. Who is going to give them a job? Forget about college. It’s a luxury very few can afford.
This is what life means to them. Days turn to months and months to years with little changes. Only governments change but sufferring remains. Young men turn to fathers at a tender age catching the virus in the process. Girls as young as 15 become wives and mothers. Children suffer from malnutrition and other related diseases.
On paper, policies, strategies and goals are made but very little impacts the poor masses. They continue suffering every day of their lives. There is no better explanation to this kind of life. Who is wrong or what should be done to change this? Poverty is here to stay if nobody cares for these fellow country men.
Pictures taken by Caitriona Rogerson and Natasha Fitzpatrick in Blantyre, Malawi
Every morning they wake up from their sleeping mats to be greeted by the sight of their poorly dressed and hunger stricken children. At times one meal per day strategically prepared to cover all the three meals does the trick. Not that they are too busy to eat but availability of food to be prepared thrice.
Farming, yes, the God given talent is all there is to give them the much needed food. But with the prices of fertilizer that they cannot afford, they harvest very little from a large piece of land. Subsidies are there but they target a few people who have connections.
Who cares what they dress? As long as they cover their nakedness, fashion to them means nothing. There is no money to buy the latest Pierre Cardin suit. Freely they walk in tatters and some second hand clothes sold cheaply at various trading centres.
Education, yes their kids need to be educated. Thank God primary school is free, but that’s where it ends. Secondary schools have become very expensive for them. To buy uniform, pay fees, and buy other needed resources for learning is a big burden to them. Even those that are lucky to have finished their secondary school are still expecting to be fed by them. Who is going to give them a job? Forget about college. It’s a luxury very few can afford.
This is what life means to them. Days turn to months and months to years with little changes. Only governments change but sufferring remains. Young men turn to fathers at a tender age catching the virus in the process. Girls as young as 15 become wives and mothers. Children suffer from malnutrition and other related diseases.
On paper, policies, strategies and goals are made but very little impacts the poor masses. They continue suffering every day of their lives. There is no better explanation to this kind of life. Who is wrong or what should be done to change this? Poverty is here to stay if nobody cares for these fellow country men.
Pictures taken by Caitriona Rogerson and Natasha Fitzpatrick in Blantyre, Malawi
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