Zomba, Malawi
Malawi, a small country in Southern Africa, is home to some spectacular natural beauty. National parks are home to the infamous safari Big 5: elephants, lions, leopards, rhinos and buffalo. The remanants of long dead volcanoes, calderas and lava plugs, rise from the tobacco fields. Hundreds of species of fish can be found only in the waters of Lake Malawi.
But in spite of the environmental richness of the country, the impacts of climate change, deforestation and globalization are all wreaking havoc. Deluges from tropical cyclones flood towns and villages, killing people and destroying crops. Water runs down mountainsides, eroding away the land and no longer filling the rivers people use as water sources. Single use plastic has brought about piles of litter and trash, which may be burned for disposal. Each of these aspects of environmental degradation, and more, have profound effects on people’s health.
In the spring of 2019, community members out in public were approached and asked if they would like to participate in a project highlighting the connection between the environment and health. They were asked to photograph something in their immediate surrounding that they saw as impacting their health, posed for a portrait to go along with the image they created, and gave a short explanation for their image.
“When a tree is cut it affects the soil.. when this happens people plant crops and those crops don’t do well because there is no trees.”
“Rain falls where there are more trees because trees help in the formation of rains … in geography we see that trees are very crucial for a good environment.”
“We have got this type of beer which is very hazardous to our health and even to the environment it means it’s just worse. So I think it’s just too bad for our health.”
“When it comes to waste, we try our best to take care of this area so that this place looks sanitary given that this is our place of business. We do this to make sure that the waste shouldn’t bring diseases. If we don’t take care of the waste it would bring some foul smells and customers would stop coming to us because they would be afraid of contracting diseases such as cholera.”
“The Zomba plateau has trees, snakes and other things in nature. We also find water in the mountains and other physical features . Sometimes we have flash floods from the mountains which can be quite destructive and result in loss of life.”
“ I see littering and this is waste coming from food, organic waste. Everyone throws whatever waste that they have made right where they are. Every place is a dumping ground, from what I see. I think the main challenge of this is in the long term, especially these organic foods, they can cause things like cholera and things like bio-diseases and everything.”
Collaborators
This iteration of the project was supported through translation work by Bosco Chinkonda and Laeticia Pemba. Deep gratitude for their support in making this possible.