Letters from the Linns of Lilongwe: A Peace Corps Volunteer Family Odyssey, Malawi 1973–1975

By Linn Family of Ashland OR

How do you think your family would react if you told them youand theywere going to serve in the Peace Corps in Malawi? Do you think theyd be excited to make such a move? Do you think you and your family would be able to make a positive influence on the people of Malawi?

In 1973, the Linn family of Ashland, Oregon, did just that. In Letters from the Linns of Lilongwe, DeVon Wayne Linn, his wife Fae, and their three children, Jennifer, Jay, and Douglas recount their experiences serving in the Peace Corps in Malawi, Africa. Their travels, day-to-day experiences with schools, and service in the Warm Heart of Africa are shared through 155 complete letters and numerous letter excerpts to friends and family. DeVon Wayne Linn, the father, gained in-depth professional knowledge from his experience as Malawis Chief Fisheries Officer. Fae A. Linn,
the mother and wife, worked as a volunteer in a health-care facility in Lilongwe and cared for their home and children. Their three children attended private schools with Malawian and other international students.

Letters from the Linns of Lilongwe: A Peace Corps Volunteer Family Odyssey, Malawi 19731975 provides unique insight into a foreign nation and the influences people from one culture can have on those from another.

• Language: English
• Publisher: iUniverse
• Release date: Mar 25, 2015
• ISBN: 9781491756423

Linn Family of Ashland OR

The authors of this book are a Peace Corps volunteer family who served in Malawi. The family, DeVon Wayne Linn, Fae A. Linn, and their three children Jennifer, Jay and Douglas, all contributed to the contents. Wayne and Fae’s volunteer biographies are included in the appendix.

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Copyright © 2015 By Linn Family of Ashland, OR.

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be used or reproduced by any means, graphic, electronic, or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, taping or by any information storage retrieval system without the written permission of the publisher except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles and reviews.

All the letters and aerograms were reproduced in type format as they were written originally, with mistakes in English, spelling, grammar, and composition preserved. No attempt was made to correct them, thereby retaining/reflecting their originality/authenticity. The original letters written by the Linn family are currently held at the Peace Corps Archives Repository of the John F. Kennedy Presidential Library and Museum in Boston, Massachusetts.

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ISBN: 978-1-4917-5641-6 (sc)

ISBN: 978-1-4917-5643-0 (hc)

ISBN: 978-1-4917-5642-3 (e)

Library of Congress Control Number: 2014922433

iUniverse rev. date: 05/12/2015

Contents

Preface

1 Getting There, Settling In, and Adjusting to Life in Malawi

2 What We Adults Did

3 What the Kids Did

4 Holiday Time and Travels

5 Arriving and Living in Lilongwe and Malawi

6 Living Day to Day in Lilongwe and Malawi

7 Where Our Letters from Lilongwe Went

8 Letters to Southern Oregon State College

9 The McLeans—Special People and Responsibility— 1973 Correspondence

10 January 1974 to July 1974—The End of Our First Year in Malawi

11 Beginning Our Second Year in Malawi

12 1975—Six Months to Go

13 Letters to Minnesota

14 Letters to the Linns of Lilongwe from Jenni and Jay at Boarding School

15 A Brief Summary

Epilogue

How To Help

References

To the many Christian and other humanitarian organizations and people, and to the Peace Corps, who are committed to trying to improve the lives and well-being of the less-fortunate people in the developing and emerging nations of the world. See the article entitled How to Help just after the Epilogue at the end of the book to find ways in which the reader can assist.

Preface

Since there were so few families chosen as Peace Corps Volunteers, I felt compelled to document our experiences in Malawi (1973–1975) for the Peace Corps Archives Repository at the John F. Kennedy Presidential Library and Museum in Boston, Massachusetts. As the letters from the above referenced Library and Museum at the end of this preface show, the manuscript was well received, although it was sent piecemeal over the three years I was writing it. I signed a consent form (deed of gift) for all our Malawi materials—memorabilia, documents, letters, pictures, and most of all my twenty-six steno notebook journals—plus this manuscript to be part of the Peace Corps Archives Repository.

I was eighty years old in 2010 when I started this project. My intent was to make sure our Peace Corps information and materials were somewhere they could be accessed by anyone looking into the history of the organization. In addition, with changes over time, some researchers may be interested in the historic and cultural aspects of Malawi in that time period, ten years after independence. I was also concerned that such materials and information could be lost on our death. Therefore, I was motivated to record our experiences and gather into one manuscript the letters we’d sent to family and friends during our tour that documented our lives and travels at that time. The letters themselves are now at the John F. Kennedy Presidential Library and Museum.

Although the letters are a significant part of the original submission to the John F. Kennedy Presidential Library and Museum, I added descriptions of many aspects of our lives and travels to that submission to more fully detail our experience. Fortunately, most of our letters were saved by the recipients—especially by Margaret and Cliff McLean, who kindly agreed to act as our Power-of-Attorney while we were out of the country. Photocopies of many of those letters were included in the original submission. Words cannot adequately express our appreciation to the McLeans for their friendship and support in handling our stateside affairs and saving our letters. We wish to thank all who saved their letters from us during that time.

Malawi, in spite of being one of the poorest nations in the world, impressed us with how well it is managed and how well the people manage. They are humble, self-reliant, and work at living the best they can. It did not take us long to appreciate them, and our affection grew over time for those people who live in the Warm Heart of Africa as Malawi is rightly called. We gained an insight into how hard life is for people in a developing nation, as compared to our lives in the United States; yet they didn’t realize what they lacked and they showed warm gracious generosity, which we admired. As the Chief Fisheries Officer I replaced said, You will get out of Africa, but you will never get Africa out of you. So true, and we are glad of that.

The country is dotted with small modest Christian churches (larger and grander ones are in the cities). Such Christian spirit was reflected in the lives and value systems of many of the people in such ways as respect, honesty, courtesy, gratitude, and friendliness, once again reflecting the Warm Heart of Africa. This blessed and enriched our lives and service. We learned a lot and gained more than we gave.

It was not my purpose to produce a published book, but a local writer and a Returned Peace Corps Volunteer with the Peace Corps Writing Group encouraged me to explore publishing through iUniverse. So I did, and I was further encouraged to provide a manuscript so it could be evaluated and processed by professionals. Since I know nothing about preparation and publishing of a manuscript, I was guided through that process by the editorial staff of iUniverse. I would like to also thank Cyndi Dion, a computer competent discerning neighbor and friend, who was the guiding force with many hours of fresh insight into the final editing of the manuscript.

This material may be helpful to readers going into or considering going into the Peace Corps. Hopefully, any reader will enjoy being with a Peace Corps Volunteer family in Malawi as much as I enjoyed reliving our experiences in the writing of this manuscript.

Finally, I would like to thank those who wrote and lived those letters—our family, including my wife, Fae, and our children, Jennifer, Jay, and Douglas. We are the Linns. My heartfelt appreciation goes to each of you for your willingness to go on this sabbatical adventure of a lifetime. Thank you with my love, Dad and Husband.

December 5, 2011

D. Wayne Linn

Ashland, OR 67520

Dear Mr. Linn:

I have received in the mail the latest accretion to your personal papers, namely, materials from chapter 11 of your Peace Corps memoirs. Thank you very much for donating this latest installation to us. It is my understanding that you wish to add these materials to your existing collection of Returned Peace Corps Volunteer materials held at the John F. Kennedy Presidential Library. We are most pleased to accept them.

I can see that you are making great progress on your memoirs and we are very grateful that you wish to house these and other Peace Corps-related materials here at the Kennedy Library. Your papers will be of great interest to those interested in the real-life experiences of Peace Corps volunteers. Thank you for helping to document this important part of history.

Please let me know if you have any questions, and again, many thanks for your ongoing contributions to the Returned Peace Corps Volunteer archives at the John F. Kennedy Presidential Library.

Best wishes,

Karen Adler Abramson

Chief Archivist

[e-mail]

National Archives and Records Administration

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NATIONAL

ARCHIVES

JOHN F. KENNEDY

PRESIDENTIAL LIBRARY and MUSEUM

24 April 2012

D. Wayne Linn

Ashland, OR 97520

Dear Mr. Linn:

On behalf of the library, thank you very much for sending us the most recent accretion to your collection of Returned Peace Corps Volunteer material: the fifteenth and final chapter of your memoirs. It will be added to the file containing your other manuscripts.

Congratulations on completing the writing stage! That is a great accomplishment. Good luck with your continued work on the appendix, and I hope the editing process goes smoothly.

Thank you again for your contributions to the Peace Corps historical record!

Sincerely,

Christina Lehman Fitzpatrick

Archives Technician

[e-mail]

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CHAPTER 1

Getting There, Settling In, and Adjusting to Life in Malawi

Where is Malawi? was my first reaction to a phone call in early 1973 from the Peace Corps in Washington, DC. As a professor of biology anxious to take a sabbatical, I had signed up with the Smithsonian Institution as a scientist willing to travel. My hope was to get an assignment as a gofer or go-getter for some ongoing project or person somewhere in the United States, doing something less demanding after four years as chairman of the Biology Department at Southern Oregon State College (now Southern Oregon University).

I had been teaching and doing research in an academic environment for ten years and needed a change. I had reached a point where I did not care as much as I should, and did not care that I did not care. It was a sad state of affairs, so I wanted an easy, leisurely, non-demanding sabbatical year anywhere else. But this particular anywhere else surprised us. It wasn’t going to meet my hopes of an easy out, yet it did prove to be something I could do with pleasure and delight at being of service in my career field.

The current Chief Fisheries Officer in the country of Malawi in East Africa was an expat (a person living in a country other than their own) from the United Kingdom. He read my curriculum vitae in the Smithsonian list of scientists and knew I would fit the needs of the country. Malawi, like all other African nations after independence, was trying to nationalize all its government positions and put locals in charge. The current Chief Fisheries Officer (CFO), who had been in fisheries work in Africa for twenty-five years, knew he was too paternalistic (and I admired him for that insight) to train an African to take that position, which was how it was supposed to be done. He knew the mission and reputation of the Peace Corps, so he went to the US Embassy to see if they could help recruit me—hence the telephone call from the Peace Corps. My family and I were hooked.

You see, my background is in fisheries. After earning a BA in biology and chemistry, I achieved an MS in fish and game management, with an emphasis on fisheries, and eventually received a PhD in fisheries biology. That’s the field that interested me, and that’s where the research money was available. In conjunction with those degrees, in my early career years I did research on the effects of the chemistry of transport waters on hatchery-reared rainbow trout to be released in the wild, the effects of uranium-mill wastes on stream biota, and the effects of radium on goldfish blood as a biological indicator of the effects of radioactive wastes on fish, plus various water-quality projects in southern Oregon. I was a project leader in field research in Alaska on the life history of salmon for three years. In all those areas, one deals with budgets, personnel matters, supervision, and administration, requiring the same skills needed by the chairman of a department in a university.

Before we received the invitation to Malawi, we had been at Fae’s sister’s home in the Bay Area for a New Year’s Eve party and had a casual conversation with a returned Peace Corps Volunteer couple from Malawi, of all places, though we did not know the significance of that encounter then. After our call from the Peace Corps, we contacted that couple, and we also did our own library work to find the answer to our original question—where is Malawi?—and all the other questions that followed.

We were to become part of a team being recruited to return the Peace Corps to Malawi after earlier volunteers had fallen into disfavor with the Malawi president through their Americanism and ideals. Our team consisted of two MDs, two nurse tutors, two road engineers, a conservationist, a park planner, and a clerk of works to oversee construction of government buildings, plus others already there or to come. The Peace Corps was taking some volunteers with families, and we were one of those, with three children.

In this endeavor, Fae and I sought the support and willingness of our children—our daughter, who turned fourteen during our transition, and our two sons, aged eleven and almost five—because they would have to pay a price of two years away from the comforts and conveniences of the United States, and even be away from us parents at times. When they proved to be up to the adventure, we completed the necessary paperwork; went to Washington, DC, with our daughter for an interview, assessment, and some training; and then made all the necessary arrangements to leave America for Africa.

Those preparations included the acquisition of passports, visas, proper shots, and international driver’s licenses for Fae and me. In addition, we had to have the proper documents for our children to enroll in English-speaking schools in Malawi. Then there were the personal matters of renting our home, storing our personal belongings, arranging powers of attorney, making out our wills, deciding who would take our children if we adults died, and disconnecting from our current attachments—schools, church, organizations, bank, utilities, subscriptions, friends, and family. Last but not least, in addition to the proper shots for our WHO [World Health Organization] yellow booklets, we needed documentation/records of other vaccinations and health care as well as some health advice from our primary-care physician. Fortunately, the Peace Corps helped underwrite some of these expenses, for which we were grateful.

Of course, there were the necessary travel arrangements, packing, and travel to get to our destination in Malawi: first Blantyre [then the commercial center of Malawi] and eventually Lilongwe [became the capital of Malawi during our residence there]. Our families and friends would be getting Letters from the Linns of Lilongwe.

Before we made it there, we did lots of explaining to friends and family. We had a bout of mumps before leaving the United States, and that meant some rearranging of departure and travel plans and arrival time. Once we arrived in the country of Malawi, we quickly discovered that the Warm Heart of Africa was a well-deserved motto.

Since we were expats (a term used to describe foreigners, who were often moneyed people), we were expected to have servants. Even before we moved in, we had to maneuver through that need because several potential cooks/housekeepers—always men—were waiting for us. Fortunately, the junior finance officer from the Fisheries Department, a Malawian, helped us out. He chose Khulasan Kamanga for the job, and we had a harmonious relationship.

Khulasan communicated well, speaking five local dialects and English, which helped us overcome language hurdles. The house we occupied came with separate quarters for Khulasan and his family. We became close to that family because Khulasan was our cook, housekeeper, and on occasion, babysitter. Thirty-five years later, we still communicate with the Kamangas.

As we were settling into Lilongwe, another series of adjustments had to take place: learning the layout and function of the house, yard, garden, neighborhood, and town; making arrangements for utilities and paying for them; finding out where to shop for what and when; getting a car and arranging for its care and repair; learning about banking and the use of money and checks; and investigating where to seek medical help and medications (fortunately, having Peace Corps MDs solved our healthcare needs). So many of the things we take for granted in our culture become difficult in a foreign land. One of the things I did in Malawi as I had done in the United States, was buy a bike and ride it four miles each way to work and back. The Malawians were astonished to see an American use a bicycle for commuting, even though Malawians used bicycles daily.

Another key adjustment was for the children to get into school and the school system, which was established by the British. Fortunately, we came at the beginning of a school year, so other new students would be coming into classes with them. The most difficult part was for our daughter at fourteen (and we were grateful for her maturity in this matter) to go away 220 miles to a boarding school, St. Andrews, in Blantyre. The school had a mix of children, mostly with parents who were professionals in government, education, foreign affairs, business, missions, and humanitarian and international agencies.

We were thankful that our daughter met the same-age daughter of another new fisheries biologist in research with the United Nations Development Program [UNDP]. They were from California, and our families became lifelong friends. The two girls went off to school together and were supportive friends throughout those two years.

Meanwhile, our sons attended an English-speaking school in Lilongwe, Bishop MacKenzie, with a similar mix in its student population. Our oldest son would go on to the boarding school with his sister the second year. The youngest entered a rigorous class at what would be considered the kindergarten level, but he was ready for it. The three R’s—reading, ’riting, and ’rithmetic—were all strongly emphasized.

All our children would find the classwork and expectations demanding. The two at the boarding school had structured homework hours at night before going to bed. The youngest always had homework also. One interesting requirement when using lined paper or exam notebooks provided by the school was that they could not skip a line or leave a blank line without penalty. This was one of the patterns of frugality that existed in this poor country. Further descriptions of life in Malawi will emphasize the attitude and necessity of frugality there.

In addition to classwork, students were required to participate in sporting activities. These events would be like intramurals, with the classes divided into teams (called houses at the boarding school) that would compete with each other on what would be called Sports Day throughout the year. The games and sports would include track, swim, cricket, and relays. These contests were popular with the parents and were always festive occasions with big crowds, not unlike some competitive sporting events in the United States.

By now, we as a family were settled into the country, our house, and our community. Our children were in school, and all of us were getting acquainted with the culture, routine, expectations, other volunteers, other families, and new friends. What next?

Appendix—Chapter 1

DEPARTMENT OF STATE         NOVEMBER 1971

REPUBLIC OF MALAWI

BACKGROUND NOTES

Population: 4.4 million (1971 est.)

Capital: Zomba

Malawi is located in southeastern Africa and encompasses 45,747 square miles (about the size of Pennsylvania), of which approximately 20 percent is covered by Lake Malawi (Nyasa). It is bordered by Tanzania, Zambia, and Mozambique.

Part of the Great Rift Valley traverses Malawi from north to south. In this deep trough lies Lake Malawi, the third largest lake in Africa. From the south end of the lake issues the Shire River, which joins the Zambezi River 250 miles further south in Mozambique. East and west of the Rift Valley the land rises to form high plateaus, generally between 3,000 and 4,000 feet above sea level. In the north the Nyika Uplands rise as high as 8,500 feet; south of the lake lies the Shire Highlands with an elevation of 2,000–3,500 feet rising to Mts. Zomba (7,000 feet) and Mulanje (10,000 feet). In the extreme south the elevation is only 200–300 feet above sea level.

Rainfall divides the year into a May–October dry season and a November-April wet season. During the wet season, the climate along Lake Malawi’s shore can be quite humid. Elsewhere, however, the climate varies with the altitude. In the highlands it is equable and healthful, and at altitudes above 3,000 feet extreme heat is unusual. In the Shire River Valley the temperature can reach 115° F. in October and November.

Malawi’s flag consists of three horizontal stripes—black, red, and green—with half of a red sun in the center of the top (black) stripe.

THE PEOPLE

Malawi has an estimated population of 4.4 million, with an annual growth rate of between 2.5 and 3 percent. Average population density is 108 people per square mile, although in some parts of the heavily-populated southern region density may exceed 300 persons per square mile. Zomba, the capital, has 20,000 inhabitants, while nearby Blantyre (the major commercial and transportation center and site of some government offices) has approximately 170,000 inhabitants. Lilongwe, a city of 40,000 in the central region, has been designated the future capital. Several ministries of the Government are scheduled to move to Lilongwe in 1972.

The Chewas constitute 90 percent of the population of the central region, while the Nyanja is the major tribe in the south. Other important tribes include the Lomwe, the Yao, the Sena, and the Tumbuka—the latter being the predominant tribe in the north.

A majority of Malawi’s population probably adheres to traditional African religions, with the remainder being Christian and Moslem. Official languages of the country are Chichewa (spoken by the Chewas and Nyanjas) and English. Literacy is estimated at 6 percent for Malawians more than 21 years of age.

HISTORY

Malawi derives its name from the Maravi, a Bantu people who crossed Zambia from the southern Congo and entered Malawi centuries ago. On reaching the area north of Lake Malawi the tribe split, with the ancestors of the present-day Chewas moving south to the west bank and the forbears of today’s Nyanjas moving down the east bank. By 1500 the two divisions of the tribe had established the Maravi Kingdom stretching from the Dwangwa River (north of present-day Nkota Kota) to the Zambezi in the south, and from the lake in the east to the Luangwa River in the west.

Although the Portuguese were the first Europeans to reach the area now known as Malawi, the first significant contact with the West dates from the arrival of David Livingstone (a Scottish missionary-explorer) at Lake Malawi on September 16, 1859. After his death in 1873 the Church of Scotland and the Free Church of Scotland established missions as memorials to him––one at Blantyre (named after his Scottish birthplace, Ballantrae), and the other at Livingstonia, first located at the southern end of Lake Malawi but later moved to the north. During the entire part of the latter 19th century Malawi was the scene of constant turmoil as invading tribes ravaged the land in search of slaves.

There were no means by which the missionaries could obtain supplies or services except by trade. To relieve them of this commercial burden, a number of businessmen, mostly from Glasgow, formed the African Lakes Company in 1878 as a transport and trading concern to work in close cooperation with mission activities. One of their objectives was to help abolish the slave trade by demonstrating its economic unsoundness in face of legitimate commerce.

These pioneers were followed by other European missionaries, traders, hunters, and coffee planters. In 1883 a consul of the British Government was accredited to the Kings and Chiefs of Central Africa. In 1891 the British established the Nyasaland Protectorate.

Beginning in 1953 Nyasaland was joined with Northern and Southern Rhodesia to form the Federation of Rhodesia and Nyasaland. By the late 1950’s pressures were being exerted within Nyasaland for independence. This movement was spurred by the arrival in July 1958 of Dr. H. Kamuzu Banda, who in his long absence from Malawi had resided in the United States; the United Kingdom, and Ghana. Dr. Banda assumed leadership of the Nyasaland African Congress (shortly thereafter renamed the Malawi Congress Party). On April 15, 1961, a year after a constitutional conference took place at London, elections for a new Legislative Council were held in the protectorate. Under the leadership of Dr. Banda, the Malawi Congress Party won an overwhelming victory and later gained an important role in the new Executive Council as well. Within a year of this election, the Malawi Congress Party ruled Nyasaland in all but name. In a second constitutional conference held at London in November 1962, the British Government agreed that Nyasaland would become self-governing the following year.

After a series of implementing administrative amendments to the existing constitution, Dr. Banda became Prime Minister on February 1, 1963. Certain powers were retained by the British in the fields of finance, security, and justice. A new constitution came into effect in May, along with a governmental structure based on the British ministerial system and providing for virtually complete internal self-government. On December 31, 1963, the Federation of Rhodesia and Nyasaland was dissolved, and on July 6, 1964, Nyasaland became fully independent as Malawi and as a member of the Commonwealth of Nations. Exactly 2 years later, following adoption of a new Constitution, Malawi became a Republic with Dr. Banda as its first President.

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Shortly after independence a group of younger cabinet ministers challenged Dr. Banda’s leadership and, failing in their efforts to secure changes in certain of his policies, left the country. Since that time there have been no serious threats to the Government of President Banda.

GOVERNMENT & POLITICAL CONDITIONS

The Government of Malawi is a greatly modified version of the British system. Under the 1966 Constitution, the President is to be selected by the Malawi Congress Party (MCP) officials and tribal chiefs every 5 years. However, this requirement has been waived in the case of Dr. Banda, who was acclaimed President for life in 1970 by a unanimous resolution of the MCP convention. In the event of the death or resignation of the President, executive powers would be exercised by a three-man presidential commission until a successor had been chosen by an electoral college, comprised largely of MCP officials, and approved by the electorate. Malawi has no vice president. The Cabinet, whose members are either drawn from or become members of the Parliament, is appointed by the President.

Malawi’s unicameral National Assembly (usually referred to as Parliament) is composed of 60 elected members and 15 other members who are appointed by the President; they serve 5-year terms. In the past, President Banda has named representatives of Malawi’s small European and Asian minorities and also several women to fill these nominated seats.

Malawi has essentially two judicial systems: the Magisterial Courts, headed by a three-member Supreme Court, and the Traditional Courts, created in 1970 and based largely on the local courts system introduced by the British before independence. Unlike officials of the earlier local courts, however, a majority of the members of the Traditional Courts are chiefs and they have jurisdiction to hear any class of criminal case, including homicide. There are no appeals allowed from courts in the traditional system to courts in the magisterial line.

Local government is carried out in 24 Districts and three Subdistricts which are administered, respectively, by District Commissioners and Assistant District Commissioners. These officials are appointed by the Central Government.

Malawi has only one authorized political party, the Malawi Congress Party. The most recent National Assembly elections were held in April 1971.

ECONOMY

With the exception of one known bauxite deposit, Malawi lacks significant mineral resources. The economy is almost entirely agricultural, with 90 percent of the population engaged in farming. Four cash crops—tobacco, tea, peanuts, cotton––constitute nearly all exports. Recently Malawi began to export sugar and has also introduced a number of light industries.

Gross national product (GNP) in 1969 amounted to U.S. $272 million, while per capita income was about $63. From 1965 through 1970 the annual GNP growth rate averaged 4.7 percent. Exports in 1970 amounted to $59.1 million, while imports totaled $85.8 million and included manufactured goods, machinery, transportation equipment, construction materials, and pharmaceuticals. Major trading partners are the United Kingdom, South Africa, Rhodesia, and Zambia. In 1970 Malawian exports to the United States totaled $1.9 million while $5 million worth of U.S. goods were imported.

Since independence Malawi’s budgetary deficits have been covered by grants and loans from the United Kingdom. In 1971, however, it was decided that this type of assistance would end by 1973. Malawi’s balance-of-payments deficit in 1969 amounted to $32 million while official reserves were $21 million.

In addition to the United Kingdom, which remains the largest source of assistance to Malawi, aid donors include Denmark, the International Development Association (IDA) of the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development (IBRD), South Africa, the United States, and the Federal Republic of Germany. In 1970 the African Development Bank granted its first loan to Malawi, a $3 million credit to finance a hydroelectric scheme.

National development planning in Malawi is the responsibility of the office of the President, and Dr. Banda personally heads the National Development Committee. Malawi has a 3-year development plan which is revised every year in light of domestic requirements and changing revenue prospects. At the same time, Malawi is working on a 10-year program which will provide guidelines under which the 3-year plans will continue to operate. The 1970–73 plan projects an investment expenditure of $99 million, of which about 84 percent is to be obtained from external sources. Sectors receiving highest priority for development funds are transportation ($26.6 million), agriculture ($21.2 million), and education ($11.2 million).

FOREIGN RELATIONS

Under President Banda Malawi’s foreign policy orientation has been pro-Western. It maintains diplomatic relations with principal countries of the West but eschews contact with Communist nations. It is a member of the United Nations and several of its specialized agencies, the Organization of African Unity (OAU), the Commonwealth of Nations, and the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT).

Unlike most other African countries Malawi does not believe that policies of isolation, embargo, or violence will be successful in promoting racial equality in southern Africa. Malawi, therefore, maintains full diplomatic relations with South Africa and Portugal. In 1971 President Banda paid official visits to South Africa and Mozambique, the first leader of an independent black African state to visit either country in that capacity.

U.S.-MALAWI RELATIONS

The United States enjoys cordial relations with Malawi. From 1964 through 1970 the United States has given approximately $18 million in development funds, concentrated on projects in education, transportation, and public health. Additionally, it has a modest Peace Corps program which supplies skilled volunteers to fill specific jobs designated by the Malawi Government. A small U.S. Information Service (USIS) library is maintained in Malawi, and the United States supports an exchange program under which almost 60 Malawians have visited the United States since 1949. President Banda has visited the United States several times, most recently in 1967.

PRINCIPAL GOVERNMENT OFFICIALS

President; Minister of External Affairs; Justice; Works and Supplies; Agriculture and Natural Resources—Dr. H. Kamuzu Banda

Minister of Finance; Information and Tourism—Aleke Banda

Minister of Trade and Industry—John Msonthi

Minister of Transport and Communications—John Gwengwe

Minister of Education; Health and Community Development—M. M. Lungu

Attorney General; Secretary to the President and Cabinet—Bryan Roberts

Ministers of State, Office of the President—Albert Muwalo and Albert Chiwanda

Ambassador to the U.S. and U.N.—Nyemba Wales Mbekeani

Malawi maintains an Embassy in the United States at 2362 Massachusetts Avenue, N.W., Washington, D.C. 20008.

PRINCIPAL U.S. OFFICIALS

Ambassador—William C. Burdett

Counselor—John A. Buche

Political–Economic Officer—Herman J. Rossi III

Public Affairs Officer (USIS)—Eddie Deerfield

Director, Peace Corps—George S. Zabokrtsky

The U.S. Embassy in Malawi is located at Nyrho House, Victoria Avenue, Blantyre.

READING LIST

Debenham, Frank. The Way to Ilala: David Livingstone’s Pilgrimage. New York: Longmans, Green, 1955.

Oliver, Roland. Sir Harry Johnston and the Scramble for Africa. London: Chatto and Windus, 1957.

Pike, J. G. Malawi: A Political and Economic History. New York: Praeger, 1968.

Ransford, Oliver. Livingstone’s Lake. London: Murray, 1966.

Rotberg, Robert I. The Rise of Nationalism in Central Africa. Cambridge: Harvard University Press, 1965.

Shepperson, George, and Price, Thomas. Independent African: John Chilembwe and the Origins, Setting, and Significance of the Nyasaland Native Uprising of 1915. Edinburgh: Edinburgh University Press, 1958.

DEPARTMENT OF STATE PUBLICATION 7790, Revised November 1971

Office of Media Services, Bureau of Public Affairs

41008.png U. S. GOVERNMENT PRINTING OFFICE: 1971 O - 485-390 (65)

For sale by the Superintendent of Documents, U.S. Government Printing Office

Washington, D.C. 20402 – Subscription Price: $3.50 per year;

$3 additional for foreign mailing.

CHAPTER 2

What We Adults Did

What did we write about in our letters from Lilongwe or elsewhere in Africa? Like anyone anywhere, we wrote about what we did and what we did without. Of course, our first responsibility was for Fae and I to offer helping