Collegedale, Tennessee is about a two hour drive from Atlanta, Georgia, where I usually begin my international adventures. Traveling on KLM, it was a 8 hour flight to Amsterdam where I changed planes for another 8 hour flight to Nairobi, Kenya. Even though Kenya was not my destination, Nairobi is a good place to get connecting flights to other major centers in Africa. Unfortunately my layover in Nairobi was an awkward 12 hours. Too long to hang around an aging airport yet hardly long enough to be worth the expense involved for the visa, taxis and hotel for the short amount of sleep one would get. By the time I got settled in it would almost be time to make my way back to the airport. I had seen sleeping rooms at this airport the last time I had come through and was hopeful that I may be able to secure one of these rooms. Unfortunately, they were all taken by the time I made it in at 9:00PM and I realized I was going to have to have to do the best I could at whatever I could find in the airport. After making several inquiries, I was delighted when Kenya Airways was kind enough to let me into their "premium lounge", based on my gold member status with one of their partner airlines, Delta. Here I was able to curl up in a corner with out too much danger of any of my gear being stolen while I dozed. I managed to get some sleep in the lounge that is I did until the rowdy group from the 4:00AM flight from Bangkok stormed the room, turned on the lights, and proceeded visiting loudly. There was no sleeping after that.

My thoughts began to turn toward my destination. Malawi has long been called "the warm heart of Africa." It gains that reputation not only from the weather, beautiful scenery, and location in the continent, but also from the friendliness of the people. It has been nearly 10 years since my last visit to Malawi but I still recall the warm reception that I received and the friendly smiles of the people.

Too bad friendliness could not be cashed in for wealth and prosperity. A landlocked country that has been subjected to many years of poor leadership since it's independence in 1964, Malawi is rated as one of the world's 10 poorest countries. The United Nations estimates that 70% of the 12 million population is "nutritionally at risk". Part of that assessment has to do with the fact that the staple food in Malawi is a kind of porridge made from maize (corn). In Collegedale we might call it, "grits". As corn is a crop that can easily fail if the rains are not right, a failed season can be devastating to the people of Malawi. However, beyond the issue of the people's dependence on corn, I believe that a significant message that can also be taken from this UN assessment is that millions of people in Malawi are not able to grow enough food or make enough money to provide themselves and their families with enough food each day to live a healthy life. For at least four or five months out of each year, a large percentage of Malawi goes hungry.

Last year the concerns of the UN were realized when rains failed and the maize crop in large sections of Malawi failed. As a result, many have feared that Malawi is in danger of slipping into a famine, where many people can starve to death. This is one of the reasons ADRA Canada has asked me to visit Malawi, and report back on the situation that I find.

9:00 AM found me sitting on a plane ready to leave for the last leg of my journey. As fate would have it I found myself sitting next to a project director for the Malawi offices of CARE, another organization that is doing relief and development projects around the world. I ask him about the situation in Malawi. He said that it has been a very difficult year, but that they have a lot of hope for this year's growing season. So far, the rains have come, and Malawi is washed in green. I am relieved to hear this good news and look forward to seeing for myself.

Waiting at the airport for me in Lilongwe, Malawi's capitol city, is the assistant ADRA Director, Hewitt Samuel, and Kingston, the driver. They are here to send away visitors from Sweden and to pick me up. It seems that it is not only Canada that has concerns about the situation in Malawi. In the last few months they have received many visitors for various donor offices of ADRA. Throwing my gear into the back of the jeep, I prepare myself mentally for the last four hours of my journey. Blantyre, the industrial and commercial center of Malawi is about a four-hour trip from the Lilongwe airport. It is also where ADRA Malawi has its offices.

As we began our trip I happened to ask in passing if ADRA has any projects near the lake. Malawi has one of the largest lakes in Africa and it is a favorite stop for world travelers. The two other times that I had visited Malawi I had not been able to get up to the lake. This time I want to do my best to see it. No sooner had I expressed my desire then my new friends decided to take a route home that would go by the lake. An hour later we drove into the Dr Livingstone lakeside resort. Apparently this part of Africa was a favorite "stomping ground" of the famous 19th century explorer. The 15 minutes that we spent on the beautiful lakeshore only whetted my appetite. I hope that one day I will be able to go back and spend more time.

Back on the road I took a few shots out the window as we drove. As the sun went down the images became as blurred as I felt. I had been on the road now for 35 hours and been awake for the better part of 45. But, just as I started to feeling sorry for myself I thought of how long it must have taken Dr. Livingstone, and other early explorers of yesteryear to arrive here. I closed my eyes with thankfulness for the convenience and swiftness of modern transportation that can take me from Collegedale to Blantyre in a mater of a couple of days instead of months.

I am looking forward to my visit here and hope that you will stop back here again and travel with me as I explore Malawi and a couple of other interesting destinations on my trip to Africa.