Reading Time: 3 minutesI was once deeply saddened to see maize crops weltering by the shores of Lake Malombe. Drought had taken its toll that year, but these crops were not like other crops in the country. They were so close to a huge water body. It only required some innovation to bring the water to the crops […]

Reading Time: 3 minutesIn a certain village one man got up at night and, looking through the window, saw flashes of fire in the distance whirling around for some time and later receding further into the black night. He was gripped with such fright that for a moment he froze and began to shake vigorously while sweating profusely

Reading Time: 3 minutesIt is true that as a nation we shy away from anything scientific. Our participation in innovative scientific or technological projects is, to say the least, dismal. I know there are some among us who are deep into science but such people are few and far between. I remember meeting somebody a few years back,

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,