My blogs

Mzungu in Kasungu

About me

Location	Kasungu, Malawi
Introduction	Welcome to a slice of Malawi life as seen through the eyes of a MicroLoan Foundation volunteer! (More about MicroLoan at www.microloanfoundation.org.uk.) For reference ‘muzungu’ means visitor or white person, and Kasungu is where I’m based. It’s a medium-sized town around 1.5 hours drive north of the capital, Lilongwe, and the site of MicroLoan’s head office. My name is Daniella Hawkins and I’ve been in Malawi since October, getting to grips with how microfinance generally and MicroLoan specifically work, meeting new people and encountering all manner of new experiences. Having left behind a job in London with a grant-making organisation, it’s exciting to have the opportunity to see how grants are actually put to use in the field. I’ve long been fascinated by microfinance but wanted to get beyond the newspaper articles, books and donor reports, and understand in detail how a microfinance organisation operates and what microfinance really means to women and their families living in poverty. It’s been an inspiring journey so far and I hope you enjoy the rest of journey with me (no doubt with the occasional bump in the road!).

Location

Kasungu, Malawi

Introduction

Welcome to a slice of Malawi life as seen through the eyes of a MicroLoan Foundation volunteer! (More about MicroLoan at www.microloanfoundation.org.uk.) For reference ‘muzungu’ means visitor or white person, and Kasungu is where I’m based. It’s a medium-sized town around 1.5 hours drive north of the capital, Lilongwe, and the site of MicroLoan’s head office. My name is Daniella Hawkins and I’ve been in Malawi since October, getting to grips with how microfinance generally and MicroLoan specifically work, meeting new people and encountering all manner of new experiences. Having left behind a job in London with a grant-making organisation, it’s exciting to have the opportunity to see how grants are actually put to use in the field. I’ve long been fascinated by microfinance but wanted to get beyond the newspaper articles, books and donor reports, and understand in detail how a microfinance organisation operates and what microfinance really means to women and their families living in poverty. It’s been an inspiring journey so far and I hope you enjoy the rest of journey with me (no doubt with the occasional bump in the road!).