Scots and Malawians are working together to build a better world - Susan Dalgety

People walk on a road swept by flood waters in Chikwawa, Malawi in 2022People walk on a road swept by flood waters in Chikwawa, Malawi in 2022
People walk on a road swept by flood waters in Chikwawa, Malawi in 2022
I met my fellow Evening News columnist Angus Robertson last week at an event in the City Chambers to celebrate Scotland’s links with Malawi. Also there were the First Minister John Swinney, one of Edinburgh’s best-kent politicians Sarah Boyack MSP and my old colleague the Lord Provost, Councillor Robert Aldridge.

Also there were the First Minister John Swinney, one of Edinburgh’s best-kent politicians Sarah Boyack MSP and my old colleague the Lord Provost, Councillor Robert Aldridge.

As a trustee of the Scotland Malawi Partnership, which has for the last 20 years supported civil society links between our two countries, I was delighted to see such political heavyweights taking time out of their busy schedules to learn more about how Scots and Malawians are working together to build a better world.

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As the First Minister said on the night: “These connections help every day to change lives and transform communities.” Connections like the Turing Trust which every year ships thousands of unwanted computers and mobile phones to Malawi schools. Or Malawi Fruits, which uses Scottish agricultural expertise to help subsistence farmers, mainly women, to grow their farming business. Or the MalDent Project which is helping transform Malawi’s dental service.

So I was disappointed the next day to be met with some nasty comments on social media about Scotland “wasting” money on helping people living five thousand miles away. “What does this have to do with Scotland?” was the gist of the remarks.

I would argue everything. No country or society exists in isolation. Climate change, which actually kills people in Malawi, doesn’t recognise borders. Scotland and Malawi are both in thrall to the ups and downs of the global economy. What happens in the Shanghai Stock Exchange affects us here in Edinburgh, just as much as it impacts on businesses in Lilongwe, Malawi’s capital.

And, as author and broadcaster Zeinab Badawe argued at the book festival a few days ago – “We are all Africans” because human life began on the continent. I would go further and say we are all Malawians, as recent research suggests that human life began on the northern shores of Lake Malawi. But whether humanity’s story began in Kenya or Malawi, we remain bound by our shared history. The future of Malawi has everything to do with the future of Scotland, and I am very proud that Scottish politicians, from all parties, are committed to the partnership between us.

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