Reading Time: 3 minutesWhen I was a boy living at Nkhoma Mission, I was inquisitive about how a light bulb worked. The house we were living in, like almost all houses at the Mission, had wire gauzes fitted to the windows to prevent mosquitoes getting in. One day, my brother and I became a little mischievous. We removed […]

Reading Time: 3 minutesIn Africa we grow up surrounded by others, who become an integral part of our existence. Nobody lives an isolated life. In all that we do the community to which we belong is considered or expected to be considered supreme. As somebody put it, “I am because we are.” This is a philosophy called uMunthu

Reading Time: 3 minutesBenjamin Carson, whom I featured some three articles ago, remains one of my heroes. The African American neurosurgeon has achieved a number of firsts in his life. He was the first human being, for example, to successfully separate conjoined twins in 1987. He has since then successfully conducted a number of such operations including the

Reading Time: 3 minutesThe population of the whole world is around 8 billion now and it is expected to climb to 10 billion by 2050. The land cover will remain the same as it is now, which poses a great challenge in terms of feeding the burgeoning population. We just do not have the land on which to

Reading Time: 3 minutesI get wakened up in the morning by the singing of birds that have built their nests in some cavities in the walls of the house. There are about two or three bird species living in the vicinity of the home. Living at Kongwe Mission in Dowa and later at Nkhoma mission, on the eastern

Reading Time: 3 minutesSeveral articles ago, I extolled some black people that have made significant contributions to modern day civilisation through their innovations or outstanding abilities. Among them was an African American lady called Katherine Johnson who turned out to be a “human computer”, making the calculations that helped NASA propel man to the Moon and back to

Reading Time: 3 minutesHistory is replete with individuals who have achieved great things but, almost without exception, with the help of others. If anybody thinks they are so good that they will make great accomplishments on their own, they deceive themselves. A great Chichewa proverb goes, Tiwiri tiwiri n’tianthu, kalikokha n’kanyama (You are somebody when you are surrounded,

Reading Time: 3 minutesA Nigerian man called Femi Odeleye came up with a special design of a tractor intended to be used by small scale farmers. This was way back in 2007 but now the design has been turned into a real product, which is being marketed to Nigerian farmers. It is called a Tryctor. It is a

Reading Time: 3 minutesThe month of February is set aside to remember the black people who have done remarkable things and have contributed to the well being of society. We often think that all the inventions that have been made, particularly in the world of technology, have been made by white people. That simply is not true. Take

Reading Time: 3 minutesA few years ago, a clip showing a Malawian man of God displaying his recently acquired affluence  – away from home – went round on social media. One of the points raised in the said clip was that the man of God was being welcomed by mzungu (a white man). I find it difficult to appreciate