Dr. Van Kornegay, a professor in the School of Journalism and Mass Communications at USC, with his daughter Sydney, a senior at AC Flora High School and a cub reporter for The Columbia Star. When a college friend asked Van Kornegay to accompany him and his family to Malawi, Africa, he was a bit reluctant. While he had traveled extensively to places like Kosovo, Albania, and French Polynesia, Africa had never been on his list of must–see places. Kornegay consented, however, and soon found himself “ambushed by Africa;” so much so that he decided to take his entire family there the following summer.

Friday, February 10, Kornegay gave the Greater Piedmont Chapter of the Explorer’s Club a taste of the country that had left such a strong impression on him. His video and photos depicted a country rich with history and natural beauty, yet staggering beneath a crisis of AIDS and poverty.

On his two trips to the small, sub–Saharan country of Malawi, Kornegay discovered a country that had been heavily influenced by European colonialism. Scottish missionary David Livingston was one of the first Europeans to explore Malawi in 1859, and while his missionary work was ultimately a failure (he had only one convert who later rejected Christianity), he helped end the slave trade and paved the way for the Scottish Presbyterian Church. The country came under British control in the late 1800s, but gained its independence in 1964. The effects of the Europeans are still evident today, especially through the influence of the Presbyterian Church, which has more followers in Malawi than it does in the US.

Kornegay was as equally impressed with the country’s natural beauty as he was with its history. Its landscape boasts Africa’s third largest freshwater lake, which is home to over 500 species of tropical fish.

Kornegay and his family spent three days kayaking and snorkeling on the lake, where they enjoyed its diverse aquatic life, turquoise–blue waters, and white sands.

In the south, the lake gives way to the Shire River, which runs through Liwonde national park. Here, Kornegay took a boat tour that provided close–up views of elephants, hippos, crocodiles, and impalas.

In the far south, Malawi’s rolling hills gave way to staggering mountains, and the landscape looked something like the American west.

Kornegay and his family were able to experience a variety of ecosystems as they hiked up Mt. Mulanje, the tallest mountain in Malawi. They passed through tea farms, pine forests, cedar trees, and alpine–like climates on their six–hour trek up the mountain.

Yet despite its natural beauty and abundant freshwater resources, the majority of Malawi’s citizens live in poverty. Thus far, the country has been unable to utilize its freshwater lake for irrigation, and Malawi struggles each year to feed its people during the dry seasons.

The country’s poverty has been aggravated by the AIDS epidemic, which has wiped out a large part of the country’s most productive population and left children and elderly to fend for themselves. This was one of Kornegay’s reasons for going; while he was there, he worked with an organization called Ministry of Hope that provides care for AIDS orphans. He was impressed by the children’s resiliency and fortitude in the face of hunger and AIDS.

Photographs shown during the presentation showed smiling children playing with paper airplanes and a bright yellow parachute. Members of the Explorer’s Club even got to hear a band of Malawian orphans, whose instruments were made from gas cans, nails, and wires produced an impressive song.

See Into Africa on page 16.