November 2025
Greetings to All Friends of Malawi
Notes from FOM President Andrew Guest:
When we sent our last bi-monthly newsletter back in September we were anxiously awaiting news of Malawi’s September 16th presidential election. While things remain precarious economically, Malawi’s people did themselves proud in conducting another successful transition of power. Chatham House, the independent policy institute that is a respected voice addressing global challenges, even wrote in October that “former President Peter Mutharika’s return to power through democratic elections is a model for peaceful transitions elsewhere.” While Malawians still face many challenges, their ability to model democracy in the region provides an important moment of hope.
On the Friends of Malawi front we are also happy to share here in this newsletter a few smaller examples of hope in the form of stories from Malawi connected to our membership and our origins with Returned Peace Corps Volunteers. We are particularly pleased to report that Friends of Malawi small grants are again supporting current Peace Corps volunteers in the field, and that we are having great conversations with the current Peace Corps Malawi office about all their new initiatives.
While the post-COVID version of Peace Corps Malawi is still building back its reach, there are now 15 volunteers serving across the country and they are planning for another larger group of health and education volunteers to arrive in 2026. We will continue to provide updates on the good work Peace Corps is planning going forward as they are available, and can share that the Peace Corps Malawi office recently launched a substack site where they plan to provide direct updates from the field for all to read: https://peacecorpsmalawi.substack.com/.
Below in this Friends of Malawi newsletter you will also find complementary stories from previous generations of Peace Corps, including from former volunteers Ben East (who served in the late 1990s) and Virginia Henderson (who served in the early 1960s).
Finally, and as we approach the end of another calendar year, we hope that you might consider supporting Friends of Malawi in your year-end giving. We are an all-volunteer group of people who donate our time to be supportive of Malawi in whatever ways we can, so any money donated goes entirely to small grants in Malawi and efforts to build community for Friends of Malawi (including our affiliation with the National Peace Corps Association). If you are able, and would like to support our grassroots efforts, please do consider a donation through our website at https://friendsofmalawi.org/campaigns/ (or through a contribution sent directly to our FOM Treasurer at 1 Washington Square Village apt 13S, New York, NY, 10012)
Grants Update: Supporting Grassroots Impact
As noted above, we are very pleased to report that with the return of Peace Corps volunteers to Malawi and the support of the Peace Corps country office our Friends of Malawi small grant funds are again going to support volunteers in the field. The funds from our members are primarily being used as “micro-grants” that enable collaborative projects that benefit from support that can be given quickly and efficiently. In recent months these have included the following project highlights shared by the Peace Corps country office:
- Health and Nutrition: Anissa Forster’s permaculture skills training (in Chitedze) and Pamela Williams’ soap-making workshop (in Kasiya) have equipped community members with practical skills, enhancing food security, health, and economic opportunities.
- Environmental Conservation: David Minnick’s Teen Missions camp (in Salima) and Andrew Flach’s Mudi Tree Nursery project (in Blantyre) have promoted reforestation, biodiversity, and sustainable development.
- Community Empowerment: Ken Machi’s community field day demonstration has inspired broader community engagement, knowledge sharing, and leadership development.
Stories of Malawi: Peace Corps Bonds
SoftPower/FulStories is a “new podcast that heavily relies on Peace Corps voices launched on September 5th.” One of the October episodes features Ben East (who was in the same 1996-1998 Peace Corps Malawi education cohort with current FOM president Andrew Guest!), and it is a highly recommended 23 minute listen. Many of our members may appreciate the mix of exhaustion and elation Ben describes in recounting his arrival in Lilongwe after a 48 hour journey from DC to Amsterdam to Johannesburg to Bunda College of Agriculture, and the mixed emotions of encountering a world traveller on Mt. Mulanje who only finds himself passing through Malawi without really understanding much about what it means to really be in the place.
And for an even earlier Peace Corps Malawi generation, we are so appreciative of Virginia Henderson sharing her stories (and photos!) from the early 1960s! As Virginia writes:
“My husband at that time, David H. Koehler, and I headed over to Malawi in 1962, after preparing (well sort of) for the adventure at Syracuse University. We taught at Henry Henderson in Blantyre (at first a primary/middle schools, and then an added high school). At that point it was being run by a religious group—thus the church was an essential element on the campus. Our group was among the first Peace Corps Volunteers to be sent overseas by the U.S. Federal Government, and the school community started school each morning in the church. All employees were housed close to the school in comfortable 1-bedroom small houses next to the school.
It was a very small school, with many students in each class. In fact, the evening program usually had at least 60 students in each class, with many sitting on window sills, and anywhere else they could find a place to sit. We had a pretty small blackboard, and scrounged around for chalk. Among other things, we put together a soccer team that usually beat anyone they played, including the team from the Blantyre British school with students whose parents worked in Malawi before and after Independence. And they did this bare feet, since most didn’t own any shoes.
We were able to travel a lot with an old car we purchased in Blantyre—see photo).
A truly wonderful experience that I will never forget.”
Thank You for Being Part of This Community
Founded in 1987 by Returned Peace Corps Volunteers, FOM remains a nonprofit rooted in friendship, solidarity, and grassroots partnership. We’re proud to be affiliated with the National Peace Corps Association and grateful to each of you for your continued support.
Do you have a memorable story about your time or work in Malawi? We’d love to post it and share it with our members! Please send your stories to us at [email protected].
Please look forward to ongoing updates—and we invite you to stay engaged as we continue supporting projects and volunteers in Malawi.
As always, we are unable to support projects or continue our work without the generous donations of our members. If you would like to give, you can do so through friendsofmalawi.org.
Tiyeni patsogolo—let’s keep moving forward.
Zikomo,
The Friends of Malawi Board