This scene offers a glimpse of Malawi’s love for football, which is especially pronounced in its children. While Manchester United appear to be one of the favourites, the young striker shown here proudly displays the colours of Barcelona and will surely be over the moon that his team were crowned UEFA Cup champions yesterday!

In Malawi, getting engaged is quite different from the one-kneed question-popping and ring-exchanging of many Western cultures. Here, two people are considered officially engaged only after completing a traditional engagement ceremony, known as Chinkhoswe in the central and southern regions of the country and Malowolo in the northern region.

As a developing country in Africa, Malawi faces a lot of challenges, especially when it comes to the development of its rural communities. One of many effective ways to tackle some of the challenges, though, is through volunteer assistance, channelled through the tourism industry. In support of this, The Responsible Safari Company, the whl.travel local connection in Malawi, has partnered with local community-development organisations to create an exciting range of voluntourism opportunities.

Malawi-based The Responsible Safari Company (TRSC) just got even more responsible. A partnership with the United Nations Millennium Villages Project (MVP) in the country’s southern Zomba District has created a unique ecotourism program that lets visitors experience firsthand how the UN’s Millennium Development Goals (MDG) are being implemented.

Every month, we delve into the travel experiences of people in the extended WHL Group network. This month we talk to Kate Ward and Chimwemwe Siyabu, both of whom work for The Responsible Safari Company, the whl.travel local connection, based in Blantyre, Malawi.