Dude...Where's your placement?

So I'm at the training house in Toronto, a tiny two story townhouse currently home to 26 eager volunteers from across the country. After arriving on Sunday, the last two days have been packed full of all kinds of workshops and discussions on a variety of topics ranging from how to actually define poverty, to why it is important to integrate into the communities we are going to be working in, to case studies regarding how to respond in situations that might compromise our safety and security. The ideas being thrown around will provide much food for thought, which I have a feeling I'll be digesting all summer.

With regards to placement details, I've been holding back until I got a little more concrete information, which I got a bit more of today....SO:

I'll be working with an organization called RUFA (the Rural Foundation for Afforestation) in Northern Malawi, about one hour outside of Mzuzu, a larger northern city.
In Malawi tobacco is a major cash crop, the curing of which requires a lot of firewood. This has lead to major deforestation in the area, and surrounding environmental issues.
This organization was actually founded by a local community member who realized the consequences of the reliance on this source of livelihood, and was able to garner a lot of local support. The organization has been running for 8 years now without formal funding for full time staff, and has achieved all of its successes due to the volunteering efforts and dedication of the community members, something I find very inspiring. I'm very excited, and consider myself to be very privileged to be able to work with such a passionate group of people.
From what I understand so far, RUFA focuses on diversifying livelihood options, to include things such as sustainable timber production and beekeeping, reducing the dependence on firewood, as well as food security projects, and the reforesting of the area.
I'll post more about my specific role in this and what I hope I can contribute in a future entry.

In terms of the district, this area of the country is actually made up of the Timbuka Tribe, so not only will I get an opportunity to learn Chichewa, the language spoken throughout the country, but I'll also hopefully be able to pick up some Chitumbuka.

I'm really excited to hear that Dedrah, the director of a women's group in the community has extended me an offer to stay with her family for the summer. She is married with three children, two boys and a girl. I am anxious to meet my family for the summer, and learn more about this exciting new culture.
BUT FIRST... another 5 days of intensive training to make sure I'm as ready for this experience as possible.

I'll update again as soon as I get a chance. Hope you are all well, chat soon