Malawi Sports and Teaching

Malawi is a small and beautiful country in East Africa, renowned for having some of friendliest people and a huge diversity of scenery. Malawi has it all, from palm-lined beaches to remote wilderness and safaris. The country is dominated by Lake Malawi, stretching 500km down the Eastern border, estimated to take up about one third of Malawi's size. To the east and southern edges it borders Mozambique, to the west Zambia, and to the north-east, Tanzania.

The history is similar to that of many nations in Africa, its proximity to the coast both enhancing and encumbering it's development where early Portuguese settlers established trading routes, enabling the western settlers to exploit the locals into the slave trade.

Malawi became a British colony in the late 19th Century as European settlers competed to exploit the local resources. In the middle of the 20th Century, power returned to the local people when Dr Hastings Banda took over as Prime Minister. Banda was an oppressive dictator, who censored other ruling parties and escalated economic problems. It was only in the early 1990s that the opposition to his rule became strong enough to introduce a multi-party voting system. Banda finally lost power in the middle of the 1990s.

However, Malawi is still suffering from their politician's unfulfilled promises. There is poor access to health services and facilities, constant food uncertainty, high levels of malnutrition and high birth and dependency rates. In addition to this, more than 25% of children work to supplement family income, which adversely affects their school attendance. Malawi is amongst the 10 countries most affected by the HIV/AIDS endemic, with the average life expectancy at just 39 years old.