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Since 1994 Primary education is free but not compulsory. Most children start formal education at primary school at the age of six and most of them will not have attended any pre-school education.

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Malawi Stock Photos and Pictures | Getty Images

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Find the perfect Malawi stock photos and editorial news pictures from Getty Images. Download premium images you can't get anywhere else.

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Housing Poverty in Malawi: Fighting Diseases & Joblessness with Homes

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Poverty in Malawi is such that 4 in 5 families live in unsafe homes providing a breeding ground for diseases, joblessness and vulnerability to disasters.

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Malawians have a saying - 'chimanga ndi moyo' or 'maize is life'. For around 80% of Malawians, life revolves around growing enough maize to feed the family.

Maize seed is planted when the rains come. Two weeks later, after the first green shoots appear, the crop is weeded and fertilised. The plants grow to seven or eight feet before the cobs are ready to be picked.

An agricultural society

As a nation of growers, Malawians rely on fresh produce. Imported Western-style processed foods (such as cereal and cheese) are rarely found in the villages where the majority of Malawians live.

When you travel around, you see field upon field of maize. Most families grow maize wherever they can, in any spare patch of ground.

All members of the family, including the youngest children, help plant, tend, pick and process the crop. Droughts and floods, a common feature of the country's climate, can spell disaster for crops and a successful harvest is cause for great celebration and joy!

Some of the cobs are eaten fresh. But most are taken to the local mill for grinding into flour before it is cooked into a paste to create 'nsima', a thickly mashed, starchy meal that feeds the family in the weeks ahead.

Potatoes are sometimes used as part of the relish eaten with nsima. But they can also be found in town or city streets as a commercial food at a "chippie" stand. Here they are fried over a fire and sold in small bags to eat directly. Sound familiar?

Eating by hand

Using a tripod made of three supporting stones, women usually prepare the staple food of nsima.

This is a thick maize porridge which is moulded into patties.

It is served with ndiwo, a sauce or relish made with beans, meat or vegetables. The meal is eaten with the hands and families wash in a communal bowl before and after the meal.

Because most Malawians are farmers and need a lot of energy working in the fields, the carbohydrate element of any meal is the most important, with the relish only intended to add flavour. As well as the maize-based nsima, Malawians also eat rice, cassava and potatoes for their energy supply.

Fish on the move

Local delicacies

Local Malawians say 'you haven't eaten your fish until you've eaten its head!' They may also smile as they encourage you to try some of the more exotic local recipes based on insects, such as the patties mashed with lake flies which are caught in large quantities.

Around Lake Malawi, unsurprisingly the ndiwo relish is often based on fish.

Because Malawians are skilled in the craft of drying their catches, fish can be found throughout the country's markets. Locals particularly rely on a small fish similar to whitebait, which is called usipa and utaka. These can be seen drying on racks near many fishing villages.

Larger species of fish are also eaten, such as mpasa (lake salmon), batala (butter fish) and kampango (similar to catfish).

C hambo, a bream-like white fish, is probably the most popular and may be known to some Western diners as 'tilapia'.

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Malawians have a saying - 'chimanga ndi moyo' or 'maize is life'. For around 80% of Malawians, life revolves around growing enough maize to feed the family. Maize seed is planted when the rains come. Two weeks later, after the first green shoots appear, the crop is weeded and fertilised.

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The landlocked area of Malawi, in Africa, holds true to its culinary traditions of fresh seafood and corn used in a variety of ways. Discover some of the common dishes to the area.
By Reena Pastakia

Mwanaisha Phiri (pictured) is a Malawian nurse and has shared her recipes for Nsima (the staple dish of Malawi) along with five of her other favourite dishes.

Brendan Howard / Shutterstock.com
NSIMA
Nsima is the staple carbohydrate dish of Malawi. It is a thick starchy porridge made from corn, cassava or other starchy flour. There are actually two types of corn flours in Malawi:

Ufa woyera - maize flour which has had the outer kernel shell and seed germ pounded off, leaving just the starchy part of the seed)

Ufa wa m'gaiwa - the whole corn kernel.

The nsima porridge is formed into hamburger-size patties by scooping the porridge with a wet wooden spoon and flipping it onto a plate. The patty congeals in contact with the cool wet spoon and plate. Marble size pieces are broken off and rolled into a ball in the palm of the hand with the fingers. A final dimple is pressed into one side of it. It is then dipped in the sauce of vegetables or meat.

NDIWO
Ndiwo is a basic vegetable dish of chopped greens that is delicious when served beside the nsima above.

MKHWANI with ground peanut flour
Another popular relish is mkhwani - pumpkin leaves. The leaves of the pumpkin vines are considered as good as the pumpkin itself and are ready to eat much sooner. This is an important consideration at the beginning of the harvest.

Shutterstock: africa924 MGAIWA PHALA (porridge)
This dish is eaten for breakfast and is usually served sweetened with the addition of sugar.

RICE PHALA (Porridge)
This is another delicious variation on breakfast porridge, but it is made with rice instead of maize.

africa924 / Shutterstock.com
MANDASI (Donuts)
These fried treats are commonly sold by women in the market or at the bus stations to earn a little extra income.

Mwanaisha is a hard-working nurse committed to helping people with hearing loss. Sound Seekers will sponsor her through an Audiology MSc in the UK, starting in 2015, and continuing through her eighteen months' clinical supervision until 2017

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The landlocked area of Malawi, in Africa, holds true to its culinary traditions of fresh seafood and corn used in a variety of ways. Discover some of the common dishes to the area. By Reena Pastakia Mwanaisha Phiri (pictured) is a Malawian nurse and has shared her recipes for Nsima (the staple dish of Malawi) along with five of her other favourite dishes.

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People and culture of Malawi, religion, music, art, crafts, carvings, jewellery, recipes, culture, languages spoken

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Malawi is a highly diverse country found in the continent of Africa; its diversity is evident from the many languages spoken in the country. Of the many languages spoken, English is the official language of Malawi while Chichewa is the national language. There are other numerous languages also spoken in the country. However, English which is more often a second language and remains an important language in the country due to the country's history as a British colony. On the other hand, Chichewa is a native language almost spoken by about half of Malawi's population.

Chichewa: National Language Of Malawi

Chichewa, also was known as Chinyanja, Chewa or Nyanja is the native language of about half of Malawi's population and is the country's official language. At present, Chichewa is the most common language spoken in Malawi mostly in the southern and central regions of the country. The government of Malawi further promotes active command and functional literacy of the language through media usage. A variety of educational programs and research activities are held, all under the Chichewa Board which is currently known as the Center for Language Studies.

English: Official Language Of Malawi

Being the official language of Malawi, English was first introduced to the country towards the end of the 19th century. The introduction was a result of the influence of the arrival of the British African Lakes Corporation, missionaries, explorers, and the colonial administrators who were present since the British Central Africa Protectorate was established in the 1890s. However, following the country's independence, the language managed to remain prevalent. According to Malawi's Constitution, English is the statutory national language. English is also the language that students in international schools are taught in, while in government schools they learn it as a second language.

Yao

The Yao which is a Bantu language in Africa comprises of approximately 2 million speakers in Malawi. Mangoche is the language's main dialect which is mostly spoken in the regions of Lake Malawi. The Yao language is also known by several other names including Jao, Ayo, Adsoa, Achawa, Djao, ChiYao, waJao, Hyao, Veiao among others. Most Yao speakers in Malawi live in the country's southern region.

Tumbuka

Also known as Citumbuka, Chitumbuka, or Tumbuka is among the native languages spoken in Malawi mostly in the country's Northern Region. The language is spoken by about 9.5% of the population of Malawi. Tumbuka lost its status as the country's official language following the one nation, one language policy implemented since 1968 by former Malawian president Hastings Kamuzu Banda. As a result, the language was removed from the print media, the school curriculum, and the national radio. However, efforts of returning Tumbuka programs on the radio have started again.

Other Languages Spoken In Malawi

Malawi, unlike many African countries that have hundreds of languages, has about 16 living languages. Most of these languages consist of very few speakers. The other living languages in the country include the Malawian Lomwe that have 850 speakers mostly living in southeastern regions of the country, the Nyakyusa-Ngonde language having about 300,000 speakers mostly living in regions around the north end of Lake Malawi. Other languages include Malawian Sena with 270,000 speakers living in the south and the Tonga language with an estimated 170,000 speakers mainly living in the Nkhata Bay District, on the shores of Lake Malawi. There are also smaller numbers of Malawian people who speak Zulu and Afrikaans which are among the two important languages spoken in the nearby country of South Africa. The rest of the languages include Lambya, Kacchi, Kokola, Ndali, Nyiha, and Nyika.

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Malawi is a highly diverse country found in the continent of Africa; its diversity is evident from the many languages spoken in the country. Of the many languages spoken, English is the official language of Malawi while Chichewa is the national language. There are other numerous languages also spoken in the country.

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Malawi is a poor country in terms of wealth, but a very friendly and welcoming one. Many Malawians rely on agriculture and times can be hard, especially following droughts or floods. Illnesses are a constant threat.