Life on the Shire River

Shire River, Liwonde, Malawi

In Liwonde, the Shire River provides life sustaining fish to those willing to work its waters. It is also a place for bathing, washing clothes/dishes, and siphoning water for crops. On the eastern banks lies Liwonde National Park, home to a vast array of wild animals… many of which can be seen at one time or another drinking from the shores of the river. You almost can’t go ten feet without running into a hippopotamus or a crocodile, or watching the elephants on the distant plains.

Fisherman here take pride in their tools… canoes they have dug out themselves, nets for casting, hooks and line attached to sticks. Up at dawn, out until they can feed their family and hopefully more. Not phased by the hippos and crocodiles, they get the job done.

A scene that exemplifies so much of life here in Malawi. The boy commanding an audience in order to sell his wares. The little girl whose clothes are too small, an example of the sweeping poverty. And the teen mother with her baby… young marriages and multiple pregnancies are the norm. The t-shirt that says “He ain’t heavy, He’s my brother” emblematic of the many who practice Christianity here. Bicycles, the main mode of transportation. The older boy walking hand in hand with the younger one, taking care of each other. And all too obvious, no one of middle age. Almost an entire generation is missing in Malawi due to HIV/AIDS.