Portraits of people happen to live in Malawi, Africa - No more tricks

"You remind me of Tom and Jerry."

(Mzuzu, Malawi, 2015)

Portraits of people happen to live in Malawi, Africa - The best fish

How do I know which fish is good and which is bad?

"You can tell it by its colour."

Kauma , Lilongwe 2015

Portraits of people happen to live in Malawi, Africa - Wildlife

"E. President Peter Mutharika, as none of his predecessors before him, has tied his name, his position, his authority to the issue of conservation, fighting poaching, fighting wildlife trafficking. I was delighted to hear that he has been honored with an award for his role during his recent visit to the US.We need him to champion the topic.

 I would still like to commend him for his intention to burn the ivory confiscated in Malawi.

There is no legal way to sell the tusks – this I want to tell all Members of Parliament who think the poorest country in the world could make some money out of it. You don’t sell confiscated heroin or cocaine either. Instead the burning would give Malawi tremendous international media coverage.I can only say: Go for it. 

The wholesale price of ivory on the black market in East Asia has risen from about € 3 a kilogram to about €1,500 a kilogram in 25 years."

(Peter Woeste, German Ambassador in Malawi, Lilongwe 2015, http://www.malawiwildlife.org/iwt-review-launch-speech-from-german-ambassador/) 

Portraits of people happen to live in Malawi, Africa - Secondary school

“In secondary school I had the time of my life.

I was in a boys school, far away from town. Once a year, we had a sports event and the students from a mixed school joined us. 

The cool kids of us dressed up like those famous American rappers. Of course they attracted a lot of girls. So in the evening when they were dancing closely together to RnB music, the rest of us made the DJ play fast rock music, just to pay them back. It was war.“

(Lilongwe 2015)

Portraits of people happen to live in Malawi, Africa - Madonna

1) Do you drive a lot of famous people?  

“Sometimes. The second time Madonna came, this place was going crazy. There were journalists from all over the world staying in Lilongwe. I drove people from Reuters and the BBC. 

It was a race.  

 We were not allowed on the site of the hotel, so we waited in front of it for hours. Then suddenly, there was this story, that she will be in Blantyre the next day. We drove there, but she never appeared. I told the photographers to give me some Kwachas, to get an accommodation for the night. They said, 'You took care of us, we take care of you'. 

So I stayed with them in a three star hotel.

As others, I was wondering why Madonna choose Malawi, why Lilongwe and why these specific children. When I had the chance to ask somebody from the organization, this woman just said: 'That’s none of your business'. And then I thought about it and I really think she’s right.“ 

(Clifton, Driver - Lilongwe, May 2015)