Show Me the Kwatcha

I spent months raising donations to come to Malawi. There were countless hours of trying to figure out how much I would need in order to spend a year living in this country. Now that I am here and settled into my daily life, I would like to take a moment and show you what the money I raised is going toward.

Some basic information to start with: the currency here is the Malawian Kwatcha. The Kwatcha is produced in 5s, 10s, 20s, 50s, 100s, 200s, 500s, 1000s, and 2000s. The exchange rate for the Kwatcha and the U.S. Dollar as I write this blog is about 730 Kwatcha for every dollar. Some quick math will show you, that means the largest bill here is the equivalent of about $2.75. Because of this, we are constantly carrying around large wads of money, not because we are rich, but simply because everything we pay for we use cash, and you need a lot of bills to purchase bigger items.  I have yet to use or even see somewhere I could use a credit card here in Malawi.

The money that I raised not only supports me, but it allows us to employ multiple people to work for us. This might sound strange to you, so let me explain. In this culture if you can afford to have others work for you, you do. By hiring someone to work for you, you have given them a job and a way to provide for their families. We employ a young woman, Verah, who helps us with things around the house, and multiple guards at night to protect our house. 

After we consulted with our Malawian advisors, we were told to pay Verah who works with us every day, 30,000 Kwatcha (about $41) a month. They also advised us to pay our guards (which we also share with the headmaster and his family) 18,000 Kwatcha (about $25) a month. When they first told us these figures, I thought they were joking. That amount was not even close to what these people deserve. They explained to us this was a VERY good amount, as most Malawians make about half of this, if not less, a month. All of the people we employ seem to love working with us and continue to tell us how happy they are, so our advisors were right, and we are very thankful and blessed to be working with these people.

Our other big expenses are food, gas and internet. Buying food here is interesting because things that would be more expensive in the states seem to be what is cheaper here. Things like fresh vegetables and eggs are so inexpensive because they are all grown locally. However anything that has been imported from another country is outrageously expensive. At the market the other day we got: a head of lettuce, a head of cabbage, 12 tomatoes, 4 green peppers, 6 carrots, 4 onions, a huge bunch of green beans, 4 cucumbers, and a pound of dried kidney beans for 3,000 Kwatcha (about $4). The same day we went to the grocery store and got some meat, soy sauce, and a couple household things, and ended up paying close to $40. Needless to say, we will be eating a lot of fresh vegetables this year!

Gas is currently 1,130 Kwatcha per liter. If you compare this to the price of gas in the States, it is very expensive. This is another reason driving is so unrealistic for most Malawians. Another big ticket item we pay for monthly here is internet. We use the internet for about an hour a day to talk to our families, upload pictures and of course post blogs! To us this expense is worth every Kwatcha for the ability to stay connected to home.

I am thankful for every Kwatcha that I am able to spend. Not just because I am fortunate enough to have the money, but also because I am loved and supported by so many people back home who gave me the opportunity to be here. Please continue to pray for the people without enough Kwatcha today, and be extra thankful and generous with the blessings of every dollar in your pocket.