Moments That Shaped My Life: Life of an Ordinary Malawian Boy

By Nathan Banda

Moments that shaped my Life challenges the reader to appreciate and utilize the chances however small they may be. It is a story of determination in the midst of challenges.

From a tender age of seven, when his family moved into a new neighbourhood, Nathan slowly adjusted to the demands of the new community. His family was a typical Malawian family living on meagre resources in a small house. His parentsin particular his dadhad very high expectations for him, since he was the firstborn son of the family. He had to live up to these high standards constantly.

Things turned sour for him towards the end of his primary school as he struggled with vision problems. He moved into a new school in desperation. He then experienced the big disappointment of his lifea test that he struggled to contend with.

This is a story of determination, hope, perseverance, the power of love, and faith in God in overcoming the prevailing challenges and circumstances at various stages, even in a life of a young child. Expect some thrills and suspense as you follow through the moments that shaped his life at home, at school, and outside school to the very end of his primary school.

• Language: English
• Publisher: WestBow Press
• Release date: Jun 19, 2013
• ISBN: 9781449798666

Nathan Banda

Nathan Banda was born and raised in Malawi, Africa. He is currently based in Alberta, Canada, with his family. He is a registered nurse working for Alberta Health Services in Drumheller, Alberta. Outside of work, Nathan enjoys being with his wife, Lillian and their three sons, Chikondi, Temwani, and Talandira. His hobbies include writing, playing chess, gospel music, and evangelism. He is actively involved with depression recovery seminars and voluntary work in palliative care and grief support in the local area.

Book preview

Moments That

Shaped My

LIFE

Life of an Ordinary Malawian Boy

Nathan Banda

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Copyright © 2013 .

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ISBN: 978-1-4497-9867-3 (sc)

ISBN: 978-1-4497-9868-0 (hc)

ISBN: 978-1-4497-9866-6 (e)

Library of Congress Control Number: 2013911155

WestBow Press rev. date: 06/18/2013

Contents

Preface

Acknowledgements

Chapter 1:       The Move from Chilinde to Area 25

Chapter 2:       Early Days in Area 25

Chapter 3:       School Life at Kabwabwa

Chapter 4:       Home Life Away from School

Chapter 5:       Roller Coaster at Kabwabwa

Chapter 6:       No Fees: the Turning Point

Chapter 7:       Gaining Heights: Exciting Times

Chapter 8:       More Highs and Lows at School

Chapter 9:       Tour of the Airport and City Centre

Chapter 10:       Trip to the Village

Chapter 11:       Holiday in the Village

Chapter 12:       Last Days at Kabwabwa School

Chapter 13:       Move to Demonstration School

Chapter 14:       Adventures at Demo

Chapter 15:       Down But Not Done

Chapter 16:       Learning from Disappointment

Epilogue

Preface

Nathan Banda’s Moments That Shaped My Life does not only constitute a microcosm of a typical African home but also a skillfully composed autobiography. The realities that story presents capture one’s full attention from the first page until one is done with the text. The highs and lows as presented in the story carry you on a roller coaster of emotions as you face the realities and challenges of an average boy growing up in an average African home. You not only sink with the character once he’s down but also rise with him as he achieves hard-earned life’s victories.

The story is a multifaceted tool that can serve as a good work of art for literally criticism in schools; a good teacher of the Queen’s language as it is written in easy everyday language; a good teacher of how to harness success under very challenging circumstances; and a good life’s coach.

Having read the story as an African who has lived in similar circumstances, I undoubtedly think it is a useful piece of writing for anybody in search of answers to life’s questions. It makes good reading and a must read.

Sande Ngalande, PhD

Linguist and Lecturer in Linguistics and African Languages at the University of Zambia

Lusaka, Zambia.

The book Moments That Shaped My Life is an inspiring testimony of the parental impact on a child and the reward of hard work and determination. The reader will find that a journey of life is a mixed bag of ups and downs, achievements and tears of disappointments. Sweet success awaits those who learn from these experiences and move on to tackle challenges until life dreams are realised.

Nathan Banda’s life is an illustration of an insatiable quest which challenges every person not to let life’s defeats kill your unfulfilled dreams. The punch-line in Moments That Shaped My Life is that people and circumstances are meant to shape and propel us to greater heights.

Pastor Wenson L Masoka, PhD

Berrien Springs, MI

USA.

When a seed is planted along the riverbank and it quickly germinates, grows, and becomes fruitful, there is no shortage of theories to explain how and why the seed has flourished. However, when a seed is planted in the desert and flourishes in like manner, explanations of how and why the seed has flourished are hard to come by. More than the narrative impressions of a tourist travelling into the heart of Africa, Moments That Shaped My Life takes you into the inner world of the author’s lived experiences as he grew up in Malawi and makes the reader to perceive how subjection to extreme negative conditions can still facilitate positive development.

While the sciences have produced theories to predict the likelihood of how human life will develop when subjected to conditions of extreme difficulties, this life story of a young Malawian boy is one of those stories that illustrate the dynamism of human potential. It defies human knowing. Moments That Shaped My Life builds in the reader the human virtues of hope, faith, patience, resilience, determination and ultimately victory in the face of adversity. When you read this story, you will be amazed, amused, and inspired.

Khama Chibwana, MA

Child Development Specialist, University Of Malawi

Victoria , British Columbia

Canada.

Acknowledgements

Dad and Mom, your love, determination, and encouragement have made me who I am today. Indeed, you are the centre of Moments That Shaped My Life. You never faltered or gave up on me, even in the most challenging of environments. Your hard work will forever be my best object lessons of life. I thank you from the bottom of my heart for your great love for me.

To my son, Chikondi, who was the peer editor of this book, I give special thanks. Your curiosity in tracing my childhood was to a large extent my motivation for writing Moments That Shaped My Life. There was no better way to answer your probing questions. Over the course of this project I have watched you study these moments of what it was like in the dusty streets and pathways of Lilongwe, so distant from your own base. Your ability to analyse material at the young age of eleven amazes me. What a blessing it has been to have you actively involved in the creation of this book. Our family is very blessed to have you as our firstborn son. Keep it up, Chikondi!

To my two younger sons, Temwani and Talandira, I am very proud of you. I am indebted to you for your patience and cooperation as I worked on Moments That Shaped My Life. You are the joy of our family!

I thank my lovely wife for believing in me and encouraging me to take my work to this level. Lillian, you are the pillar of this book. Without your encouragement and confidence in my abilities (which, most of the time, I am myself unsure of), Moments That Shaped My Life would have died a natural death.

It will be a pity not thanking Moses Makaika of Lilongwe, Diane Tanner and my wife, Lillian for the images. You energised the Moments That Shaped My Life.

Above all else, I thank God, from whom all blessings flow, for the gifts of life and family, and all that comes with them.

For My Parents

I dedicate Moments That Shape My Life to my parents, Mom and Dad.

Chapter 1

The Move from Chilinde to Area 25

On theTuesday evening, two days before Christmas in 1980, Dad came home from work a little late.

I had a busy one today. I had to finalise our transportation arrangements for tomorrow, he reported.

Did you manage to get a truck? Mom asked.

But I was not paying attention to their conversation. My focus was on supper. It had been a long day; we had spent most of it finishing our packing—although, being only seven, I was not much help. Auntie Cathy and Mom had done most of the work of putting our things into boxes. I spent most of the time playing with my little sister Rachel. The baby, Esmy, had been strapped to Mom’s back. Our family was a unit of six individuals: two adults and four children. Besides my parents were my auntie, Catherine, who was in her teens, my two sisters, Rachel and Esmy (only weeks old at the time), and myself.

It was right in the middle of the rainy season. I had just finished the first term of the 1980/81 school year. The school year consisted of three terms. The first term usually ran from September and ended in December, a week or two before Christmas. The second term ran from second week of January and ended at the beginning of April just before the Easter Holidays. The final term started towards the end of April through end of the middle of July.

Unlike most of the countries in this part of the world, our classes were ranked not by grades, but rather standards. So instead of grade 1 through grade 12 for elementary and high school education, we had standard 1 through 8 for the first 8 years of elementary school. This was to be followed by four years of secondary school education. At secondary school we did not go by standards anymore, it was now forms 1 through form 4. It was mostly after form 4 that a student would go for tertiary or vocational education.

I had not yet gotten over the thrill of having topped the class that term. There was nothing as exciting as the last day of school when the class rankings were revealed. Here I was in term one, on top of the class in Standard 2! I still remember how quickly I ran home to show my progress report to Mom. It was a precious moment.

Weeks ago my parents had announced that on December 25, during the scheduled two-week school holiday, we would be relocating from Chilinde to Area 25, some fifteen kilometres or so from the centre of Lilongwe old town. Dad had talked about moving on numerous occasions, but I had not taken it seriously. Dad was a bricklayer by trade. He had quietly but steadily been preparing for this moment for a long time now. We had been renting our current home for more than two years. It was a small one bed-roomed house. Dad was tired of renting. His goal was to get us a house that we could proudly call our own. Mom and Dad and Esmy slept in the bedroom. Rachel, Auntie Cathy, and I slept on one reed mat in the living room. It was a blessing that we did not have a lot of furniture, for there was little room.

In Area 25, Dad bought some burnt bricks from some locals and started clearing a plot of land. There were many trees to uproot and clear. He must have hired some local young men to do this for him. After the groundwork was completed, he started digging the foundation for our new home. I do not know how long it took him to build the rest of the little house, but he must have closely supervised the work to make sure everything was done as he planned.

I don’t want to go! I had cried when they told us of the impending move.

I cannot clearly remember how Dad responded to my cries. He must have expected them. It is very common for children to be anxious in situations like that. Even older people might have a hard time with moves, especially permanent ones over great distances.

I did not know what our new home would look like and who our neighbours would be. Would the yard be bigger or smaller than the one we had here? What about my playmates? What would life be like without all my neighbourhood friends and the boys and girls with whom I went to Chilinde Primary School? Then there was the issue of school. Would it be very close to home, as it was here? It was just a ten-minute walk away, so we did not have to get up too early to make it to school on time. These were the many questions swirling in my little head at the time.

Yes, I managed to get a small one-ton truck.

There was no need for a large truck as we did not have many possessions.

It will be here by six o’clock early in the morning tomorrow. We will load it up and be on our way as soon as we are done.

All we had were basic household items, including a dining table and four chairs and Mom and Dad’s mattress. We had few personal belongings. There were no television sets, computers, freezers, or laundry machines, so a one-ton truck was enough for us.

How long is it to Area 25 again? Mom asked.

About forty minutes. It may take longer since the truck will be fully loaded up, Dad responded.

We need to get to sleep early, then, Mom said.

Right, Dad agreed.

We finished our supper and said our prayers before going to sleep. Before eight o’clock that night, we children were on our mat, asleep.

We woke early the next morning. Mom, Dad, and Auntie Cathy started the hard work of carrying the boxes outside. Soon, we saw the truck that would take us to Area 25 approaching. It looked small to me, but I knew that Dad knew what he was doing. It must have been big enough for the task.

The driver was very helpful in assisting us with loading the truck. The task did not take long; we were done in less than one hour. Mom sat in the cab, in the passenger seat next to the door, with Esmy on her lap. Rachel and I shared the remaining passenger seat in the middle, next to the driver. Auntie Cathy and Dad sat at the back of the pickup truck with all of our stuff.

There were a few clouds in the sky as the sun came out from the eastern horizon. Although the farmers would appreciate rain at this time of year, it would not be good for us. We were travelling in an open truck; rain would soak not only the boxes, but also Dad and Catherine. This was the rainy season, though, and the weather could change in a moment. Dad was least concerned about the weather. He had for a long time waited for such a time like this.

We started out for Area 25. As we left our old house, tears rolled down my cheeks. Our neighbours stood against the walls of their houses watching us as the truck carried us away. They raised their arms, waving good-bye to us probably for the last time. My playmates were also crying. Leaving the four other families in the compound was painful. We had become one big family. What a sad occasion this turned out to be! It might have been slightly