Christopher and Ndaziona Kachingwe of Ng’ombe in Malawi’s Machinga district were having problems in their family when an HIV-prevention project was first introduced in the area five years ago. Now they are happier, healthier and better informed on how to remain so.
Photojournalist Denis Liwasa was among a group of reporters that recently visited Zomba district in central Malawi to get the scoop on the ongoing voluntary medical male circumcision (VMMC) campaign. Inspired by his interviews and experience during the August media tour, Liwasa decided that he, too, would undergo the procedure.
One by one, the learners come to sit near the podium. They are escorted by their teacher, not because they cannot walk on their own, but because these students are blind. Upon arriving at the table, the learners are given a piece of paper. A look at the piece of paper shows no text for the learner to read. There is not a single letter, no sentence, no paragraph. However, a closer look at the paper shows something else—colorless, raised dots, or braille.
On the edge of the Zomba plateau in southern Malawi, just as the land begins to slope up into an imposing peak, is a pretty patch of land covered with indigenous forests. Past the grass and into the trees there are signs of a careful intervention: a small irrigation canal and a meticulously kept stone wall. A few hundred bees are buzzing.
July 2014—When you ask Judith Phiri, a Standard 3, or third grade, teacher about her students, she breaks into a beaming smile. Teaching her hearing impaired students how to read was an uphill battle for years. She lacked resources and was constantly searching for ways to help her students. But now, things have changed.
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