Malawi Memories: 50 Years On

Dennis Hawkes went to Malawi, Central Africa, as a volunteer with Voluntary Service Overseas in 1965. The normal period abroad with VSO at that time was one year but he stayed for eighteen months teaching engineering in the University of Malawi Polytechnic. The country had gained its independence from Britain in 1964 and changed its name from Nyasaland to Malawi. In the following year the celebrations were held in Blantye stadium. Apart from teaching at the University Dennis was involved with Likhubula Bible Institute and briefly with Malawi Broadcasting Corporation. Free time saw visits to Lake Malawi and Mulanje Mountain. This little book contains some memories of that time with VSO prompted by a reunion held in December 2015 and aided by a diary and old slides. The diary was kept during a period helping with the first Malawi Census when the author was in the north of the country. The old slides were digitised, despite some colour loss over the years, and these prompted other memories of the time in Malawi. The book was published with no charge in case it helped others looking into the early history of Malawi. Those who visited the country in those early days will no doubt also find some of the accounts of interest.