September 2025
Greetings to All Friends of Malawi
As many Malawi watchers await news of the September 16th presidential election, we write with our own bi-monthly newsletter as a way of keeping up on the grassroots efforts of Friends of Malawi. For the election, we are hoping the spirit of democracy again prevails whoever the victor. And here in our newsletter we share some examples of good work in Malawi both today and from decades past thanks to our membership. Below you will find a brief update on our small grants program, and a longer “short tale” of Peace Corps service in Malawi in 1967 (written and submitted by Jim Friedlander)!
As we start to wind towards the end of the year, we also want to encourage all friends of Malawi to consider our grassroots efforts in your giving plans. Our Friends of Malawi board is an all volunteer group of people who’ve had some affiliation with Peace Corps Malawi over the years, and throughout the challenges of the COVID-19 pandemic and disruptions in the communication platforms of the National Peace Corps Association we’ve worked to continue our mission of sharing information about and small grants with the people of Malawi. Because of some of the challenges of recent years our donations have declined some – though we are fortunate to still have many generous members, and continue to work to be good stewards of those resources. 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/
Grants Update: Supporting Grassroots Impact
Working with one of our most reliable Malawi-based partners, Mudzi Connect (which is the Malawian version of the global World Connect organization founded by former Peace Corps volunteers), we were able to provide funds for the completion of the Namalimwe Community Based Child Care Centre in Mangochi District. The project summary shared with us described the project as follows:
“Led by the community, the Namalimwe Community Based Child Care Centre constructed Namalimwe Integrated Early Childhood Development (ECD) Centre at Makupo Village, Traditional Authority Jalasi in Mangochi District. The Centre serves over 200 children aged 3 to 5 years, providing early learning opportunities, healthcare, nutrition, and a safe environment for holistic child development. It also functions as a Youth Resource Hub, offering discussions on Sexual Reproductive Health, Life Skills, and remedial classes for primary school students. Additionally, it serves as an under-five clinic where children and pregnant women receive health care services.”
[Mudzi connect also shared the above photos of the Centre in progress]
Stories of Malawi: Peace Corps Bonds
A Short Tale of Peace Corps Service in Malawi in 1967 written and shared by Jim Friedlander
PCVs bond. During training. During arrival. During serving. During conferences. It’s one of the aspects of Peace Corps life which is positive for all of us. We bonded with each other; we bonded with those PCVs we found in the country. Fortunately, those bonds made it easier for each of us to find our feet in a country whose traditions, culture and people were so different from our backgrounds. We soon were bonding with our students, teaching colleagues and our local communities.
One of the best ways to discover Blantyre for me was to walk around the area in which I lived. Both in the bush (there was bush around Blantyre, the country’s largest city) and in the town. On Saturdays, the town was alive, loud, colourful, musical and busy. Markets were full of people buying and selling, talking, laughing, with their children tied on their backs or running circles around their parents as kids are wont to do. There was a flow to the city each Saturday, each of us being part of the blood flow of the town.
LOTTERS HOME IN MALAWI
How different it was on Sundays. The town was quiet. Few people were around. Many were at church, evidenced by the lovely harmonies that one could hear from every Malawian congregation. Those hymns and songs still resonate with me to this day. In the quiet of a Sunday Walk, one could see all of the town, bare, barren and broken, yet beautiful in its simplicity. Those were the days that I took some of my best photos, of the town, of the flora, of the architecture of Blantyre, and of the few people I saw. And photos of my little home, lingering at the far end of the campus of my school.
Malawi had its traditions. But so did the Peace Corps. One tradition I found in Malawi made the Peace Corps bonds even stronger. That tradition began in June 1965, when Will Lotter, the new PC Director, his wife Jane and their four boys, were in their fifth month in Malawi. Their oldest son, Don (14), was the instigator. After cooking pancakes for the family one weekend, Don proposed that the family have “pancake breakfasts” every week, and that PCVs should be invited. It was time to bond.
The ingredients for the pancakes were available at Kandodo. Baking powder, butter, eggs, flour, milk and sugar blended with Don’s special touch. Even maple syrup was available from time to time (there were shortages in those days for those who forgot). Along with the pancakes were strips of bacon and hot cups of coffee. Those were the days.
We serving in Blantyre, mostly teachers, and the Peace Corps staff from head office, were the lucky ones. We could pancake up every Sunday morning. For up country PCVs, attendance at a Lotter pancake breakfast was a unique memory. These Volunteers were given special treatment. They revelled in the pancakes, along with good humour, much carousing and hugging of dogs. All recorded in Jane’s 2002 book entitled To Africa with Spatula.
LOTTERS FAMILY PICTURE
When the Lotters finished their tour in March 1967, the new PC Director Monroe McKay, wife Lucy and their (eventually) six kids continued the tradition. Peace Corps Malawi bonded on Sunday pancakes.
Covid lockdowns began in London in March 2020. Every day I walked in a park as I had nothing else to do. After weeks of nothingness, a friend suggested I write short stories about my international life and adventures. All I had written for years were contracts, which only my clients cared about. I decided to write one story, Cholo Adventure, which was based on the first project outside of teaching that I did in May 1967. When I shared this story with friends, they encouraged me to write more. As lockdowns continued and then beyond, I had time to write enough stories to fill a book, which I have called Smatterings. This book is now available on Amazon. Eleven short stories, many about Malawi in 1967/68, when we Malawi Xers roamed the country.
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