a day in Malawi

A wagon rolls by, two cows yoked as a man whips them, spurring them to go faster. Pigs graze to my left, to my right a tree serving as a parking lot for bicycles enjoying it's shade. In front of me i see we are gathered under a shelter made with wooden poles and covered with grass straw. The leaders of the community are facing me, chiefs, coordinators.... They're here as a community to move forward, to make decisions together...as a family. Babies sucking at their mother's breast are uninterested, children look at me, the azungu, expectantly. Teens are here, young adults, parents, and gogo's. Women and children sitting in front in typical "L" shape, men in the back, to my surprise, sitting with their arms wrapped around their knees. The wind blows softly through the leaves of the talking trees. Behind me a child pumps water from the borehole for another child needing a drink.