Another weekend in Lilongwe

After my last post, my roomate Heather's mom arrived in Lilongwe!
We made her dinner on Thursday night to welcome her to the AGQ house (that is what the Arntz-Gray and Quinn abode is known as).
It has been neat seeing how she has reacted to a lot of the things we are used to around here and makes me excited to show all of these discoveries to my mom when she comes.
On Friday night, Heather had her second birthday party (despite the surprise party we threw her last weekend, she had her own birthday plans...). It was a blast - we had a friend offer to host and another bring a rocking sound system.
Saturday was a day of relaxation for sure! Sunday morning we were up early to enjoy breakfast before heading off to the launch of the 25th anniversary of the AIDs Candlelight memorial. It was a fairly impressive event - many booths were set up - I can't believe how many AIDs organizations there are working towards different goals - from abstinence and condoms to nutrition and ARVs.
The president arrived and toured all the booths (during which time we watched him tour the booths from the stands...a little lacking in action I must say). Afterwards, the ceremony was opened, there were prayers from different religions...Catholic, Sheik, Muslim, Evangelical...
We then lit our candles and observed a moment of silence. It is a very different experience attending an AIDs event in a country where so many people have been affected by this tragic disease. After the moment of silence there were performances by many different groups - dancers, choirs, dramatic performances. I was intrigued by the drama groups - they use these groups to go into communities and perform with messages inside the performances. When I first heard the idea back in Canada, I wasn't sure what to think (were the performances lame?), but now that I understand a bit more about culture and communication here in Malawi, I can better understand the importance of this powerful tool. The audience paid close attention and reacted strongly - I could tell that the message was being received.
The theme for the Candlelight memorial was Never Give Up, Never Forget. It was a great experience attending a memorial like that in a place like this where a message of hope is so important.