Poor. Not these Malawian women.

Having travelled quite a bit in the last 18 months, mainly throughout the developing world, I am often amazed by how much strength and hope I am met with. This has led me to ask myself what really is poverty? How does one define it? I met a group of women living with HIV in Malawi last year, by my western standards they had nothing. We in the west would describe them as being 'absolute poor', I think this particular group of women would be insulted if they knew this. The reality was each and everyone of them was rich with hope, and determination. They spoke over each other, in a rush to tell me their stories, in the hope that I would return back to the UK and tell the world about their plight. These women, were an inspiration, actually they had a lot, they realised the power within the stories they had to tell. Having never been educated, life's lessons had taught them that what they do have is a voice, and that their voices have more power as a collective than individually, and when an opportunity comes their way, (perhaps on this occasion in the form of an English girl passing through) they must speak, and if they keep speaking, their change will come.