Today God decided I needed to remember that Malawi is the warm heart of Africa. This came after I openly admitted yesterday evening sitting around the campfire that I wanted to go home. Malawi has changed drastically the past 6 months and is no longer the place I fell in love with. There are queues everywhere: the filling station, the atm, the bank. There are national blackouts, the water board continually turns off the water, the cell phone network is mediocre at best, and we’re lucky when a filling station receives a tanker of fuel.
Today’s story isn’t much different from those special experiences we have while in Malawi that proves how nice people are here from time to time. It is centered around thoughtfulness and willing to go above and beyond for a stranger.
Petrol has been scarce for the past week. Although we have 3 work cars, all have run empty and have been stranded at various locations. Saturday gave me a full day to find petrol and fill up. I found a station near my house that had received gas a few hours earlier and got in the line, approximately 50 cars long. We continually moved ahead and I sat reading my book as a distraction from the vendors walking by. As I approached the station with 4 cars in front of me the news spread: they had run out of petrol. By now the gas meter is significantly below empty and I’m worried about being able to drive home.
I found a few cars waiting at the gas station by my house. Perhaps news had spread that they would receive a shipment. With no other options, I parked the first car and walked home to collect the second. It’s in such bad shape that pressing on the fuel causes the car to shudder, but somehow it makes it. I made friends with the couple waiting in front of me and exchanged numbers before I walked to the nearby shops. I received a call from the woman letting me know a car in front of me had left and I needed to move the car. At 5 o’clock we found out the shipment wouldn’t arrive until tomorrow. Not sure what to do, I consulted my new friends. The husband decided he would sleep at the station and call if there were any problems.
Sunday Morning: I woke up from a worker tapping on my window. In my half sleep I understood that someone was at the gate regarding the petrol station. I quickly ran out to find the couple waiting at the gate, notifying me that the shipment of petrol had arrived 2 hours earlier. They waited while I grabbed my things and upon seeing them again, I asked a very direct question: how did you know where I lived? Their answer was not something I expected: we asked. I live in a community with walls 10 feet high and each house hidden from view. I couldn’t tell you who lived on either side. And there are 40 houses in my area alone. Somehow they continually asked for me until they found the right house, all after they had received petrol and could leave on their way. They had tried calling but my phone was off.
They took me back to the station, arranged with the station attendant that I should be next to get fuel since he’d been waiting all night, and helped me move both cars. He also offered to assist drive the vehicles back to my house so I didn’t have to walk but I graciously declined, he had already done so much for me.
And. He didn’t ask for anything.
He did all of this without expecting compensation in return. It is rare in Malawi to find people willing to help out without getting something in return, and here this man and his wife had gone above and beyond for someone who drives 2 rav4’s while he drives a small Toyota pickup that’s missing windows and a door handle.
As if I didn’t get the point that God was trying to give me, there was another example waiting to chat with me.
As I was receiving petrol a man nearby overheard me speaking Chichewa. He was very impressed and asked where and how I learned. I explained that I had come to Malawi as a Peace Corps volunteer (we have a reputation of great language skills because we spend so much time mastering the language before we start working) and have continued on working at the hospital. This man, named Happy, explained that he had been taught by a PCV years ago and it made a huge difference in helping him reach his goal of becoming a journalist, which he did. He was so enthusiastic about Peace Corps that he even wants to donate to the program and assist in any way possible.
I couldn’t help but feeling like this was the reminder I needed on why I have stayed in Malawi for nearly 3 years. While most days leave me frustrated and apathetic, a day like today reiterates how wonderful people here really can be and that perseverance is one of the most important skills to learn while working in Malawi.
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