So what exactly will I be doing in Malawi? A lot of you have been asking me that, and I'm not a very good person to answer the question, since I don't completely know! What I do know is I'll be working with Concern Universal (CU) in Malawi in the water and sanitation sector. Concern Universal's website is on the link list to your right, and for the really eager their annual report on their Malawi activities is at here.

Part of the challenge of my placement will be figuring out how I can add value to Concern's organization, but I do know I'll likely be focusing on the monitoring and evaluation of their projects. Brett Stevenson worked with CU last year, and there's a great description of her work here. I love how part of her work was encouraging CU to measure development as more than just the number of latrines built or wells installed, but as the positive impact it can have on people's lives. I'm very excited about continuing with CU, and about being in Malawi! It's a small country of about 12.6 million people, (BBC country profiles) and all the volunteers to Malawi I've talked to say it's a beautiful country. It certainly looks like it, judging by the pictures from Kim's blog:I'm looking forward to telling you more soon!

Raffle Time!

Part of being an EWB long-term volunteer is fundraising a small part of what it costs EWB to send me overseas ($500). I want my fundraising to let people know that I'm going overseas and get you coming to my blog so that you'll visit again once I start posting stories. (See the post below for what I'll be doing overseas!) So don't worry if you can't or don't want to donate, just come back in the new year for more stories! If you would like to donate, then I'll enter you in a raffle draw for these fabulous prizes!

*drumroll please*

You have the chance to win one of two malongs, which are wraps from the south of Mindanao island in the Philippines, or a bar of Fair Trade chocolate!

I'm asking for a minimum donation of $5 a ticket, but really I appreciate whatever you can donate! I'll make the draw by January 7th and get the prizes to you!

You can donate in three ways:

1. Donate online (send me an email afterwards so I can tell EWB your donation should go towards my fundraising)
2. Deposit online to my bank account (I'll email you the numbers on request)
3. In person! (Send me an email and we'll meet up!)

Thank you for reading and I'm looking forward to having a lot more to tell you in the new year!