Malawi

Because of its abundant natural riches and welcoming population, Malawi is a desirable African nation. Despite its diversity of ethnic groups, the nation maintains a stable political system that supports multiparty democracy. Due to the lack of significant industrial, processing, or manufacturing operations, the majority of people reside in rural areas. The small-scale agriculture industry plays a significant role in the economy. However, the tourist sector is growing steadily as a result of the national government's and other non-governmental organizations' successful marketing campaigns for the game parks and safaris.
Numerous obstacles to the nation's economic development are brought on by the rising population. The young people who complete high school and tertiary education migrate to the urban areas in search of economic opportunities. The high rural-urban migration causes social problems because only a few individuals secure employment. The other people who do not get jobs resort to living in the shanties that have poor housing facilities, insufficient access roads, high crime rate, and poor sanitation. Insufficient economic opportunities result in low levels of economic development. Therefore, most households in Malawi live below poverty line (McKeever, 2015).

Various international stakeholders are actively involved in addressing the economic challenges in Malawi using volunteerism and philanthropy approaches. The Malawian youth and international professionals volunteer with international organizations like the Red Cross to provide goods and services that enhance the standards of living in the country. These youth volunteers offer basic services like teaching in rural areas, distributing relief food, providing vaccination services in rural areas, and supplying clean water in the slums.

Just like Malawi, the United States has numerous volunteer opportunities. The only major difference is that the American philanthropy is worth billions of dollars every year because multinational corporations and high-net-worth individuals contribute to charities and provide grants to college students and research centers.

Discussion

Malawi is the African country that has been selected for discussion. The country is located in the southeastern part of Africa. The country is landlocked. Therefore, it has to depend on important imports from the ports of Tanzania and Mozambique. It is one of the least developed nations globally. Majority of the population live in rural areas because its national economy is heavily reliant on small-scale agriculture. A lot of infrastructural and social developments in the country are made possible by foreign aid. The government of Malawi has the task of spearheading economic development amid the huge challenges posed by a high population growth and a high rate of unemployment. A lot of effort is required in enhancing the welfare and the quality of the Malawians through the sufficient in the education, health, and industrial sectors of the economy.

The size of Malawi is approximately 118,000Km2. It has three major urban areas. The capital city is known as Lilongwe. The other two critical urban centers are Mzuzu and Blantyre. The country has an estimated population of 18 million individuals. The high population growth rate implies that the country will be overpopulated in the future. The important natural resource is the Lake Malawi that occupies approximately a third of the total size of the country. The territorial integrity of the country is safeguarded by the Defense Force that has the navy, air force, and the army. It is a politically stable country that embraces multiparty democracy. In recent years, there have been peaceful transfers of political power in elections. The current president and head of state of the country is Peter Mutharika. He became president in 2014 after defeating the first female president of the country, Joyce Banda. The country is pro-western. Therefore it supports the foreign policy strategies influenced by the western superpowers like the United States and the United Kingdom. The nation is a major player in international relations as illustrated by the presence of global agency branches in the major towns, for example, the United Nations, the African Union, and the Commonwealth of Nations (Banik & Chinsinga, 2016).

Volunteerism and philanthropy in Malawi are different from that in the United States. Philanthropy in Malawi is mostly focused on achieving the basic needs of the people. For example, in the major towns, many people live in slums or shanties. The philanthropy organizations usually focus on improving the shelter conditions with access to clean water and sanitation facilities. Also, the organizations provide food subsidies to make the costs affordable to most people. Philanthropy in the United States is mostly focused on improving the quality of life by enhancing the investments in the health and education sectors of the economy. For example, high-net-worth individuals contribute billions of dollars every year for university education sponsorship and university or medical research purposes (Hall, 2005).

Volunteerism in the United States is done by professionals in various sectors of the economy. For example, an Oncologist can volunteer to participate in a university research project aimed at finding an effective and affordable cure for cancer. Volunteerism in Malawi is drive by youths who are unemployed. For example, a university graduate can volunteer to teach in a rural school due to minimal employment opportunities in the urban areas (Payton & Moody, 2008).

Volunteerism and philanthropy are important in improving the quality of life of the vulnerable members of the society. Volunteerism is useful in both Malawi and the United States during emergency situations. This is because people offer their services to assist the needy people who have been affected by extreme weather conditions or fire disasters. Philanthropy improves quality of life in both Malawi and the United States. For example, thousands of students in both countries get the opportunity to pursue graduate studies because of education grants offered by various individuals and organizations.





















References

Banik, D., & Chinsinga, B. (Eds.). (2016). Political Transition and Inclusive Development in Malawi: The Democratic Dividend. Routledge.

Hall, Peter. (2005). Gifts of Time and Money. New York: Rowman and Littlefield.

McKeever, B. (2015). The Nonprofit Sector in Brief 2015. Urban Institute.

Payton, R. and Moody, M. (2008). Understanding Philanthropy. Bloomington: Indian University Press.