She told me about how she was married and how she was scarred by that marriage. She said that she was so badly wounded that when she looks at other men she believes them all to be as heartless as the one she ‘loved.’ I was scared, were you beaten? I asked. My first inclination was to believe that the abuse she hinted at was physical. No, she responded it wasn’t violence, it was women. Her husband had taken up with all sorts of women and finally she sat him down to beg that he changed for her sake and for the sake of their children. My husband, she pleaded, if you keep this up then you will die [of AIDS] and I will die and who shall look after our children then?

He  responded – ‘ndinachokela kwa mkazi ndipo ndizafela momwemo.’ (I am pretty sure that my spelling is atrocious!) I didn’t stop her explanation but it was clear that this response was huge. It broke her spirit destroyed any wish she had to try to make the marriage work. She packed her bags collected her children and left. When asked why she had abandoned her marriage she repeated that statement to the ankhoswe (marriage advocates) and to her mother. And they all understood.

I hesitated, but I had to ask, what does that mean? loosely translated her husband had retorted that he was borne of a woman and so it is only fitting that he die as a result of women [womanizing]. he had no wish to change or to show her any chifundo as his wife.

I asked her if she thought that Malawian men were loveless. After thinking about it for a second, she said she did think so. That the problem with Malawian men (in her opinion) was that they were  ankhanza (harsh or cruel) and okonda akazi (womanizers) and for that reason she would say yes, they are loveless. (On the contrary, I think that her opinion established some sort of expectation of ones partner, an expectation linked to love? Or is it merely an expression of the colonial, clerical and certainly patriarchal ‘love’? I shall have to read and see.)

When I asked her how she had married her husband (traditional ceremony? court? church?) she said that they hadn’t gone to church – although the church would have blessed the dissolution of their union based on his chigololo (whoring) – they had merely done everything required by their families. He has since married several times but each marriage has failed because of his love for women.

Now this is a one-sided account. And my reason for the conversation was not to delve into the rights or wrongs of their marital dispute. But to show what had caused them to marry, to live together, to start a family… I realized several things straight away. firstly my language is limited - I don’t have a definition for love! (But that is okay because I do not seek to define love but rather I want to understand the emotional connections that may lead people to throw all sexual caution to the wind). However, I do need some word/feeling/thing that can be used to ask the right questions. Could that be chifundo …

is chifundo greater than love

ชนะการแข่งขัน, Mafilika จะเข้าร่วมในฟอรั่มเยาวชนโลกที่จัดโดย World Bankสถาบันและพันธมิตร 26-28 พฤษภาคมในกรุงบรัสเซลส์ประเทศเบลเยี่ยมของ ภายใต้แนวคิดของการกำกับดูแลที่ดีและการต่อต้านการทุจริต, ประชุมสุดยอดจะนำมารวมกันกว่า 50 ผู้นำเยาวชนจากทั่วโลก ตาม Jeunesses Musicales ผู้ประสานงานระหว่างประเทศ Kate Declerk, Mafilika เกิดที่ดีที่สุดต่อไปนี้กำลังอยู่ในข้อความของเพลงในเรื่อง"ช่วยให้หยุดการทุจริต." "เพลงส่งข้อความที่มีประสิทธิภาพการพูดถึงการทุจริตในทุกรูปแบบและผลกระทบที่มีต่อบุคคลที่ทำลายล้างของมันครอบครัวและชุมชนและชาติ ในขณะเดียวกันก็ยังดำเนินการข้อความของหวังเรียกร้องให้เยาวชนเพื่อประกอบในการต่อสู้ทั่วโลกต่อความเสียหายต่ออนาคตที่ดีกว่า"เธอกล่าวว่า

Mafilika ซึ่งเป็นมาลาวีผลิตภัณฑ์ที่โดดเด่นของเพลง Crossroads Amos Mlolowah (21), Ernest Ikwanga (25), จิมมี่แอนดี้ Lingani (26), Paul Chabinga (28), และซามูเอล Mkandawire (24)."เรามีมากกว่ากว่า ดวงจันทร์กับเพลงนี้เรามีความสามารถและการทำสัญญาเพื่อดำเนินการต่อมาลาวีภูมิใจ"กล่าวว่าวงดนตรีของผู้นำ Mafilika Mkandawire. เพลง Crossroads áÁ · ¸ ÔÇÊì แห่งชาติ cordinar Mfune กล่าวว่าเขาไม่แปลกใจที่กลุ่มได้ทำมันอีกครั้งสำหรับมาลาวี "โปรดจำไว้ Mafilika เป็นกลุ่มเดียวกันซึ่งได้รับเลือกให้เป็นตัวแทนประเทศในฮอลแลนด์ปีที่ผ่านมาเป็นระยะเวลาสองเดือนเพื่อความสำเร็จในทางแยกเพลง. พวกนั้นได้ดีในฮอลแลนด์และพวกเขาจะกลับมาในปีถัดไป."ดังนั้นขอจับมือ ในการแสดงความยินดีกับกลุ่มที่เก่งและประสบความสำเร็จตามบัญชีนี้ของเราธงและแสดงให้เราได้ดีในงานระหว่างประเทศ"เขากล่าวว่า

ตำแหน่งที่สองไป Katya Emmanuel ของ Goma, สาธารณรัฐประชาธิปไตยคองโกที่มี Agakan (23), Fonko Dji (16), Katya Vinywasiki Emmanuel (26), และ Ndungi Githuku (32) กับรายการวิดีโอของพวกเขาว่ากลุ่มฮิปฮอป long.Palestinian '1 เสียง Invincible'ของเบรุต, เลบานอนซึ่งมีคุณลักษณะ Yasin Qasem (21) และ Mohammad IL Turek (20) ที่สามที่มากับวิดีโอรายการของพวกเขาเอี่ยมป้องกัน Fair Play — การต่อต้านการทุจริตเสียงเยาวชนได้เก้า (9) ทูตเพลงจากประเทศบังคลาเทศ, บุรุนดี, แคเมอรูน, โคลัมเบีย, เลบานอน, มาซิโดเนีย, ฟิลิปปินส์, เซียร์ราลีโอนและซิมบับเวและเป็นผู้ที่ริเริ่ม Global เยาวชนต่อต้านการทุจริต Network, เครือข่ายทั่วโลกขององค์กรภาคประชาสังคมร่วมในการต่อสู้กับการทุจริต .

Wawa Development Project

Wawa Malawi believes in Development, the government alone cannot pull this off. Therefore to encourage Malawians and their dormant innovative ideas, we are running a project known as ‘Wawa Malawi New Business Development Project’.

Many Malawians face extreme financial difficulty as well as support when it comes to setting up a new business. The initial investment it takes to start up a business means only individuals with a large financial backing stand a chance to success, the result is the rich stay rich whilst the poor lose hope and stay poor. Our job here at Wawa Malawi is to help give opportunity back to those who need it, the ripple effects of this strategy are phenomenal; new businesses will mean more jobs, more jobs will result in further training and competition, more competition means more competitive product costs, and high supply and demand in products and services will mean a greater Malawian economy. Wawa Malawi will be selecting individuals from any age, location, background, disability or sex, we are an equal opportunities company and therefore believe everyone deserves a chance to fulfill their true potential. Our investment to all these new businesses is our time, extensive skills, technological facilities, and our network of partners. This translates to approximately MK1,000,000 per new business. The project is the first of its kind in Malawi, our objective is to prove that individuals can bring those business dreams they’ve had, to life.

The average small shop in Malawi sees approximately 100 customers per day with the average rental cost of MK60,000 per month this excludes all other overheads that should also be considered. Each shop also has its opening and closing times that could mean a huge loss in potential purchase. Wawa Malawi would set up the exact replica of the business on its website (an online shop), this shop will have everything added to it, images of products, detailed description, and interactive enquire forms, meaning an online shop automatically saving cost on rent, overheads and has the advantage of being open 24/7, 365 days per year as well as run from anywhere in the world (imagine a business that can follow you wherever you go?) – this enables potential buyers sitting at home to shop online and still purchase. With over 26,500 visitors per month, the Wawa Malawi website means, it has an almost equivalent number of potential shoppers visiting the online businesses and gathering information or products, as a regular small shop in Malawi.

To that we also guide new businesses with techniques such as market research, promotions, e-marketing, sales and utilizing social networking services such as facebook, Hi5, myspace, bebo etc.

Check out Esau & Johan performing Julia from their debut album on monday night’s episode of Craig Ferguson’s Late Late Show. I would’ve loved to had caught this live.

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At least one guy I know did well. Adam, in this photo number 3, finished in third place for the championship division. He is one of a group of young Malawian golfers who were trained in a development group by a previous consulting golf pro from Zimbabwe. These guys do not have a lot of resources, will still work as caddies, gladly accept any extra golf balls or gloves to help keep them going with their game. But they do get to play a lot, and some of them can hit the ball a mile. Or a kilometer in local lingo. Adam had shot in the 80s the first day, but the first day the course was brutal, crazy pin positions with lightening fast greens. Adam did not have a pair of golf shoes that day, so I gave him an extra pair I had, and must have helped. He shot 74 and 73 the next two days. That first round was what hurt him. But Adam won a Blackberry, plus a new driver for winning longest drive. The guy certainly made out and very happy for him!

Well, now we’ll have to wait for next year. There are other tournaments, we are in prime season, but really need to get the game in order.

Fairways and greens, fairways and greens…

Very Best – Kamphopo (Official Malawi Pride Video)

'Wawa Malawi'

Wawa Malawi Advert

Wawa Malawi Advert

Wawa Malawi Magazine Advert

Wawa Malawi has begun it’s advertising campaign with partners across the UK. The campaign will slowly move into Malawi in June 2010.

'Malawi's Information and Communication Highway'

July 2010 will see the expected launch of the Wawa Malawi Group website as well as it’s services. The campaign will raise awareness to the Malawian general public, travel agencies across the globe as well as all commercial sectors within Malawi.
The campaign is expected to reach over 2 million people, through a variety of promotional mediums within the first month. The Wawa Malawi Group and it’s partners will work across Malawi encouraging and show casing the benefits both Malawians and businesses will receive from the services offered.
All subscribed companies and individuals would as a result be indirectly getting promoted as well. The free publicity will generate a greater understading of Malawi and Malawi businesses thus increasing trading.
The concept is simple, Wawa Malawi’s aim is to literally create a single trading port accessible from anyway in the world. This port will both be targeted at Malawians as well as tourists visiting or emigrating to Malawi. The tourist problem is information, whether it be product or communication, this as a result opens the opportunities for businesses to offer their services online 24 hours a day 7 days a week. For the Malawian individuals, Wawa Malawi offers the opportunity to buy and sell products or services such as employment, again from a single interactive online port.
The facilities will be highly interactive, to ensure enquirers receive all the vital information needed to pursue a deal. This in turn should increase forex within Malawi as well as trading.

TO VIEW PICTURES ON MALAWI CLICK HERE

Madonna and Mercy Go To Malawi: Brick Laying at a New $15 Million Girl’s School

“It pains me to see children denied their most basic needs to survive because they were born into extreme poverty,” Madonna said.

She has donated millions of her own money to the country. “It is my aim to see Malawian girls get the right education,” said Madonna, who was raised and schooled in Michigan. Economist Jeffrey Sachs, Special Advisor to UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-Moon, also addressed the audience. Four in ten citizens in Malawi subsist on less than a dollar a day, and the life expectancy is only 41 years.

The motto “Dare to Dream,” as well as “Raising Malawi Academy for Girls,” was inscribed on the brick. Malawian education officials and curious villagers attended the ceremony. It was held at the school site in the village of Chinkhota, located approximately 9 miles from the capital city of Lilongwe. Madonna also pumped fresh water into a bucket in front of both her daughters as well as local inhabitants, who appeared delighted. Madonna, however, chose instead to drink what appeared to be Coca-Cola. She normally drinks Kaballah water, a symbol of devotion to the religious movement she follows.

Madonna has a historic association with the Mchinji district of Malawi. Her adopted son David Banda, 4, was born there. The visit is the singer’s first since the controversial adoption of a second Malawian child, daughter Mercy James. The Material Girl has been accused of using her material worth to circumvent residential laws pertaining to adoption. Foreigners are normally required to be a resident in Malawi for 18 months before adopting a child. Banda’s adoption in 2006 was opposed by Yohane Banda, his biological father. He later complained that he had only seen his son once since the adoption.

Filed under:
• Good News

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• Highbrow Celebrities

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• Music News

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• Madonna

CEO and Founder

Firstly my name is Sukhi Sohal, a Malawian born on August the 22nd 1980 in Blantyre, the commercial city within Malawi. I’d personally like to be the first person to welcome you for visiting this blog. As the founder of the upcoming Wawa Malawi Group, i am very pleased and proud to be at the forefront of encouraging development in Malawi, through innovative and strategic thinking. Malawi is a beautiful country, filled with a mass of potential. A good example would be……Did you know that Lake Malawi is the 8th largest lake in the world? Yes?, ok…Did you know that Lake Malawi has more species of fresh water fish than any other Lake on Earth??
The above is an example of many traits the country has that even the locals don’t know. Tourists visit countries for a few main reasons; memories, uniqueness and value for money. 3 areas that Malawi has.. Introducing it to the world is very exciting for me, bearing in mind, they say seeing is believing, well if that’s the case then I would like to invite the world to Malawi to experience first hand why it’s known as ‘The Warm Heart Of Africa’
In time i hope that the input Wawa Malawi Group will have on Malawi, will encourage enthusiasm from everyone within the country and abroad, to know and understand that governments don’t change countries, but individuals do.. and belief is an amazing tool…….

I hope you will support the cause, as I’m 100% sure that sometime during it’s life time you will use one of the Wawa Malawi Group’s services. Why am I so confident in my statement? Well it’s because i know when the time comes that you require certain valuable information, whether it be about the country, businesses, products albeit selling, buying or just research, the only place it’ll all come together will be found on http://www.wawamalawi.com…;

TO VIEW PICTURES ON MALAWI CLICK HERE

ONCE THE PHOTO GALLERY OPENS PLEASE CLICK ON THE BOTTOM RIGHT CORNER OF THE PICTURE TO FLIP IT OVER.

'Malawi's Information and Communication Highway'

`Wawa is a Chichewa word with a few meanings mainly used as a greeting or a sign of respect`

Wawa Malawi is the first ever online, website designed for individuals and companies to promote, buying and selling of services and products through a highly interactive system. The other aspect of the site is to distribute and project vital tourist information, to people all over the world and thus increase the flow of communication and business within Malawi.

Malawi being a land locked, third world country, has meant the flow of communication and business has been a struggle, a struggle which in turn has minimised the true potential of what the country has to offer. Malawi highly relies on a constant flow of tourism, however, from a tourist point of view, trying to access all the vital immigration or country information is very difficult. Information on schools, hospitals, security, resorts, entertainment, costs etc can be found, however only by someone who knows how to carry out detailed internet searches. Wawa Malawi brings all this information to one easy to reach information port.

The second problem has always been trying to sell or buy products and services all over the country. Limited service providers have meant the local Malawian has to pay an arm and a leg to access these services or get the best deal. A good example is the property and vehicle industry. Property prices for a third world country are extremely steep and so are vehicles sold within Malawi. One of the main contributions to this is again access to the information from a variety of competitors. An increase in competitor information would encourage sellers to decrease costs and as a result increase purchases. Apart from the property and motor industries Wawa Malawi will also offer information on jobs, events or entertainment, the community, legal advise however if you can’t find it, you can ask for it by posting up an advert.

Wawa Malawi simplifies trading and gives the options back to the consumer, increasing buyer and seller opportunity. Individuals can search or choose who they want to deal with, and sellers can also make money knowing this online business highway attracts not only all Malawians but tourists either visiting or emigrating from their countries of origin. Individuals can also start their own online business through Wawa Malawi by giving themselves a business name and selling a variety of products, this in turn is cheaper and more controllable than renting an office in Malawi. A seller on Wawa Malawi can be guaranteed to have a vast amount of people visiting their shop and purchasing. Alternatively anyone can sell and offer services on the site. The Website also gives sellers and buyers control over their purchase or enquiries through private messaging and secure money transfer options.

Another great opportunity Wawa Malawi opens to the country and its citizens is the prospect of freely advertising for jobs wanted, NGO’s and other non profit making public services may also advertise freely. If you don’t have the internet, or are not computer literate, however believe that our services could help you advertise your product or services, just visit one of our offices alternatively post the advert and cheque and we will post it onto the website.

If you have any enquiries, concerns or suggestions, please email us at wawamalawi@africamail.com

We are hoping to launch Wawa Malawi by June 2010, bookmark us or follow us for future updates.

http://wawamalawi.wordpress.com/

His wife, wrinkles prematurely sculpted onto her face and the mop on her head greyed not by age but too much labour and deprivation, had her ear outside, as Malawians would say. She promptly rises from her mat and hurries to open the door. The man staggers in, the stench of beer and rarely brushed teeth in his wake, and heads for the stool by the wall. He sits, his back leaning against the mud plastered wall and waits for the wife to prepare fresh food for his dinner.

Considering that it is way past midnight she shouldn’t be doing any cooking but her husband wants his dinner freshly prepared. Like the majority of African men, he’s a firm believer in the wisdom that beating a wife is what glues a marriage together, that it’s the ingredient required to make ‘till death do us part’ a reality. Over the years she’s been the unwilling recipient of various physical chidings and has the scars on her person to remind her. Thus, she has learnt that no matter how late (or should that be how early?) her husband staggers in, he has to have his dinner freshly prepared.

As she cooks, she has to feign interest in his drunken monologue, punctuated by hiccups, occasional smelly belches and her muttered acknowledgements. Otherwise, he will tattoo new memories onto the living canvas that’s her body. Mind you, she has to maintain this feigned interest because he jabbers on even as he eats.

The woman takes away the dishes before following her husband into the bedroom. But wait, her day isn’t done yet. She has to suffer one more chore, arguably the most important one in her life as a typical African woman. You didn’t think she would sleep without giving the husband his marital desert, did you? Please understand that there can be no headaches in her bedroom life. Absolutely none at all.

Thankfully for her, there’s no foreplay so it isn’t long before she has rocked, jiggled and gyrated the husband into satiated sleep, a big smile on his face. A symphony of snores soon bears testimony to the depth of his sleep even as his hand subconsciously continues to play with the beads around her waist, and a river of drool cascades its way down his left cheek.

An African woman’s feelings don’t come into the equation. She doesn’t even think about them. She’s been schooled to pleasure her husband. And to procreate. A bigger brood silences derisive whispers about barrenness from her in-laws.

Just a couple of hours or so later, long before the sun thinks of getting out of bed and glaring at her part of the world, she’s already taken her passport-size bath (involving washing the face and a gargle or two) and is up and about. Last night’s dishes have to be done; the kids have to be woken up, their beddings taken out to dry, bathed , given breakfast and packed off to school. All this before she goes to the family patch of land for a bit of farming. Her hangovered husband will follow later. Much later after he has taken his own passport-size bath and breakfasted.

As midday approaches she accompanies her husband back to the village. On the way she has to stop at the well to draw water for her husband’s full-body bath. While the husband takes his bath, she dashes back to the well to draw more water. She makes two more trips before going to fetch firewood. Afterward she has to go and gather some wild vegetables that are the main ingredient in the sauces that accompany the family’s starch heavy meals.

She prepares lunch in time for the children’s return from school. After lunch, the husband disappears with the boys and the children go out to play. This gives her the opportunity to take her bath. Of course, she has eaten. Many an African woman is of necessity a Mulyawima. She has learnt to eat on the go as she butterflies from one task to the other, day in day out.

Mid-afternoon, after a short respite, the woman goes to join her colleagues to practice song and dance. A big political honcho is coming to the community to launch the tree planting month. The women will put up a show for the guests, distinguished or otherwise. The women love these practice sessions. They provide a welcome diversion from the dreary routine of their lives. They also offer a perfect opportunity to catch up on the village gossip.

“Nyamusangechi’s husband is marrying a second wife.”

“Nooo! Why?”

“Need you ask? She can’t bear any more children.”

“Only three children, imagine. How sad.”

“I understand it’s her choice. You know these educated women.”

“Maybe she wants to start prostituting herself.”

Regrettably, the practice session comes to an end. Some of the women have to attend a meeting for their income-generating group. The women took a loan from a micro- lender and the monthly payment is due. Speaking of which, the woman is deeply worried that her family will lose the few possessions it has. You see even though her only education has been obtained by seeing, listening and experiencing, she’s the treasurer of her group and therefore the custodian of its cash. Unfortunately, one fine day her husband discovered the hidden coffer and had helped himself to a pay day he had never had in his life.

Many were the drunks who sang his praises that day.

She prepares the evening meal for herself and the children. Once the tired kids retire to their mats, dirt and all, she goes to join her colleagues in the village compound to pound and winnow the kernels of corn that will be milled into flour after a few days of soaking.

Two women, each with a pestle, alternately pound into one mortar with the precision of a juggler. The processed kernels are emptied onto a big mat, the mortars refilled and the pounding resumes. Afterward, the twelve women sit around a big mat and winnow the chaff from the broken kernels. Like the pounding, the winnowing is very musical.

In one evening, corn for four families is processed. This not only lightens the burden on the women but also provides a forum for gossip mostly about their men. The moonlit night resonates to the sounds of gossip woven into beautiful laments sung to the rhythm of the pounding and winnowing. The pounding and winnowing done, the woman walks back to her house. She lies down and drifts into some light sleep. She has to keep vigil until she hears the drunken voice of her husband call out through the opening in the wall.

Oh, the numbingly routine life of an African woman. It would be worse were it not for church or mosque services, weddings, funerals, dances and political events that server to break the monotony of her life.

Yet this is the life she’ll bequeath to her girl children unless politicians stop working for their own aggrandisement and instead channel their collective energies towards plucking these children from the suffocating embrace of ignorance and poverty. I hope African politicians make commitments for 2010 to do something before these girls are serenaded into a never-ending tango with this two-headed beast.

As were their mothers.

Studiocare help make August Forest Party a success

Once again, Studiocare’s Hire Department were chosen to supply PA, lighting, staging and power for the 2009 Secret Forest Party, presented by Chibuku and Lake of Stars. As expected, all the tickets were hurriedly snapped up for the event, described as the kind of event that rarely comes up once in a lifetime, with clubbers being treated to a top notch party featuring DJs such as Alex Metric, Lewis Boardman and Six AM. The event helped raise funds to support the Lake of Stars Festival, held annually in Malawi, which promotes Malawian music and tourism as well as raising funds for local charities.

The PA system consisted of eight JBL SRX 718S subwoofers, four JBL SRX738 cabs and four JBL SRX715 cabs powered by four Crown iTech 6000 amplifiers to make sure there was plenty of volume throughout the event area. Two CDJ1000 Mk3s, two Technics SL1210 Mk5 G turntables and a Pioneer DJM800 mixer were specified with two SRX715 cabs acting as monitors. Various lights and effects were chosen including a Martin Lighting Atomic 3000 strobe and several Martin Lighting MiniMac moving heads.

If you would like Studiocare to supply equipment for your next event please contact our Hire Team on 0151 236 7800 or email hire@studiocare.com.

Further information about this year’s Lake of Stars Festival can be found at www.lakeofstars.org

“I want to take care of her, and I’m capable of taking care of my baby,” James Kambewa told CBS’s The Early Show in an interview airing today, the same day the court will hear Madonna’s appeal of the rejected adoption.

“Mercy, she is a Malawian, so (I) need her to grow as a Malawian … with our culture,” he said.

Today’s hearing in Madonna’s appeal case will be led by the head of the judiciary in Malawi.

James Kambewa told a US TV station that he would be able to look after four year-old Chifundo “Mercy” James, even though he had never met her.

He said that he wanted the little girl to be raised “as a Malawian”.
The trash musician, material girl finds the real world!!!

I think the first point that matters is my parts (although I have always believed that I am more than the sum of my parts!) or categories or labels or personalities. It is obviously key that I am Malawian. To mean this entails that whatever work I do must ultimately be for the betterment of my country. I am a woman, and that gives me some(?) power to speak on behalf of womanhood. We can debate that later. I am a wife and I am always redefining and rethinking my love. I am a mother, and that makes me keenly aware of my mortality and makes me question the emotional legacy that I pass on to my child. So when I think about the world, I think about it in relation to how I wish it to be for my son. And how I want my son to interact with that world. And whether I have any impact in the matter. I have traveled and that has opened my mind to the different ways in which life can be led. I am educated again, highly debatable! But that has filled my head with loads of stuff and nonsense, enough to keep me awake and questioning far into the night. My parents are highly educated and have raised me to value and question cultural ‘norms’ but not necessarily at the same time. I come from a large extended and tightly knit family, and I am always aware of how my conduct affects those around me in that matrix. I have married into a different racial family and that has flipped almost everything I have been socialized to ‘know’ onto its head!

I am sure that there is so much more that is of direct relevance to my investigation of love – my past work, the number of AIDS-related deaths that I have witnessed, I could go on and on. Also, I am sure that if you asked those close to me why I would follow such a path they might have a whole different list of categories. I think I will probably add as I go along. That being the point of this self-situation journal. For that is what this is.

At this stage, I just want to recount what led me to the research question or, to be more precise, to this line of questioning. One person expressed surprise that a legal mind would come up with an examination of love. But I think that the two are not mutually exclusive. I was actually thinking of love in an extremely contractual sense when I decided to start the blog.

I reflected upon the different, but very real, expectations that I attach to my personal experience of love. And I wondered where on earth I had learned to think that way? I know that my firm belief that love entails monogamy is the result of what I have seen in Malawi. And then I started thinking that surely love would imply the use of a condom if ever one strayed – you would ‘love’ your partner enough to want to keep them and yourself HIV free? Or you would ‘love’ them enough to admit the risk factor? Or allow the use of protection within a marriage to be a discussion that is not likely to end in domestic violence. Please note that none of this is a reflection of my personal experience within my marriage – this is just the snowball effect of thinking about love.

Thinking about love led me to thinking about AIDS. This may be a futile or misguided line of thought but so far the process has been very exciting, excruciating and revealing. I urge you to read through the posts that people have contributed, and to take their interpretations of love and think about them in the light of HIV and AIDS.

I will update this research journal as my thoughts change the direction or the methods of this study.