August/September 2011; Vanishing blogs, the first pilot modules, visas and walks on the wild side

After my first few blogs got stuck forever in cyberspace when blogspot jammed, it has taken a while to get a new blog up and running. Still, while the IT boys were baffled by the whole blogspot thing, training in the Kasungu MicroLoan Foundation head office has been carrying on regardless.

The first pilot modules
After we finished the first few modules, the team decided that they needed more training and coaching on training methods and so the trainer and facilitator guide was written. The first and most important learning point was the difference between presenting, training and facilitating – with far too much of the first going on at MLF at present, we need much more of the second if we are to move towards using the third.

The team spent the day trying out new training and learning techniques, discussing how they might use them more effectively in the next few modules and focusing on making the training process as interactive as possible.
Innocent, Allen, Mary, Menace, Samuel and Mike are all working incredibly well together – in spite of the odd mock disagreement over who has eaten all the biscuits!

Visas – an ongoing saga
The tricky thing about doing volunteer work in Malawi is what type of visa to get – most short-term volunteers come in on a 90 day tourist visa, other people manage to get the complicated and pricey temporary residence permit. My visa debacle after 3 months meant a quick trip back to the UK, interviews with VSO and a bit of a wait… I will keep you posted.

A walk on the wild side
A great bonus of volunteering in Malawi is that it’s really close to some other great countries and you’d be nuts not to grab the opportunity to skip over the border to check them out. During the recent protests in Malawi, foreign NGO workers were encouraged to leave the country for a few days so it seemed the perfect time to check out Lusaka and Victoria Falls.

Victoria Falls are amazing and we had a fantastic time trying not to get soaked in the mist. The best bit of the trip was walking with lions – they are 8 months old, and raised in a game park. Next year they will go to an enclosed park and never see a human again. For now, they think that humans are lions…

by Mel Harbinson