DANVILLE — John Mazunda has been in the United States several years, but he hasn’t forgotten the plight of the people in his home country of Malawi.

Mazunda, who attended Danville Area Community College, spoke recently to Delta Kappa Gamma, a professional society of women educators. The women collect money at their monthly meetings to send to Marion (Ill.) Medical Mission, which digs wells for safe drinking water.

At present, many residents of Malawi drink water just as they find it. They do not take the time to boil it, as it would be time consuming to collect firewood.

Mazunda’s goal is to complete his education and return to Malawi to help his people. He’s completing his master’s degree at Purdue, and sometimes returns to stay with the Roy Christison family when he is in Danville during the summers.

Mazunda lived with the family while attending DACC on a full soccer scholarship in 2005. After graduation, he attended Purdue to seek a bachelor’s degree in ag business. He was named an outstanding international student, and received an international fellowship for tuition. He also received pledges from members at First Presbyterian in Danville.

Mazunda shared many interesting facts about his country with the professional women’s group, such as the fact that it is about the same size in square miles as Pennsylvania, and is a democratic nation with 50 different dialects of English and Malawi. Its main religions are Christianity and Islam.

Some electricity comes from Lake Malawi and hydroelectric power, which allows some to have running water, but Mazunda recalls there are often power outages and it is only available to about 4 percent to 5 percent of the population. Aquaculture is growing, as there is only one season of crop farming. The once-per-year crop is during the rainy season from November to April. Most of the people there own less than a hectare, which is less than a half-acre, so most farms are not highly profitable. Work is done by hand, as the cost of machinery is cost prohibitive for one-half acre.

Some of the crops grown there include corn, soybeans, bananas, coffee, tea, tobacco and cotton. The government subsidizes fertilizer due to the high cost. Due to excellent grassland there is the availability of products such as pork, poultry, and rabbits. Fishing for tilapia is often done in hand-carved canoes on Lake Malawi. Fish is usually sun-dried and smoked, to keep longer. Mazunda told the group coffee, tea, and sugar are fair trade crops, meaning the farmer gets a fair price. Tobacco is taken to local markets to be sold.

Unprocessed foods are moved by truck to canals because there are few rail systems in the area. The nearest port is Mozambique, and there is an airport in Malawi.

Schools are not ideal as there are never enough teachers or supplies. There are about 80 students per classroom who sit on the floor and share books. There are no libraries. Students can attend school for 13 years with primary education being free. Many students are sent miles away to boarding school at a young age in order to obtain a better education and eventually attend universities, which is what Mazunda experienced as a child. The universities have an established quota system in which they select students from not just one area, but several areas.