Amazing Quest: Stories from Malawi | Somewhere on Earth: Malawi | Free Documentary

[Music] [Music] [Music] somewhere on earth is off to malawi in southern africa this little-known country overshadowed by its larger neighbors mozambique tanzania and zambia is one of the poorest places on earth malawi a land of plains and highlands is also home to an immense lake that covers 20 percent of its territory gaspar 27 years old is the proud owner of an amazing one-of-a-kind guitar he earns his living thanks to his instrument and his passion for music now after 11 years on the road he's on his way back to his native village [Music] freddy's realm is the sky this young dane grew up in tanzania and learned how to fly in south africa freddie always ready for adventure loves africa and is now a full-fledged bush pilot teresa a determined young woman is a champion runner year after year she has won one of the sport's most challenging events an extreme half marathon up the slopes of mount moulanje malawi's highest mountain when i have an attack of malaria i run and it just goes away running is my medicine [Music] and despite the hardships in malawi he has managed to live his life to the upbeat tune of his music this trip is a return to his roots when his brother died 12 years ago it changed his life he decided to leave everything behind and let his music take him where it would as a way of exorcising the sudden tragedy that struck his brother gaspar's story is also the story of a land whose musical heritage goes as deep as its people's roots [Music] how is awesome i always travel with my guitar i meet a lot of people on the road when i play it makes people happy people love to dance here i'm on my way back to my native village i'm traveling from incata bay on the lake that's where i've been living for the past 11 years i'm going home i'm going to see my family in france [Music] traveling in malawi means walking in an african land where time smothered by the heat slows to a crawl this country is situated at the southern tip of the great african rift valley in the local dialect malawi evokes sunlight sparkling on the surface of the water and the glimmer of flames the immense lake of the same name covers a fifth of the country making this reservoir of fresh water africa's third largest lake [Music] [Music] are you ready to dance i'm the man with the sounds i'm going to say hello to the elders then later we'll get down to the business of dancing come on kids this always happens when i come into a village first the children tag along with me then little by little the adults gather round the people here love music i'm just doing a little publicity while waiting for the sunset i've come along with my guitar and it's going to get very lively here dominion this one i play and the villagers give me some money that's how i make my living first i sing for free and then if you want me to keep going you have to give me some money it's my sole means of support [Music] i can even do it in two minutes [Music] now it's okay [Music] [Music] uh [Music] is [Music] [Music] out in the bush or on the shores of the lake there are very few leisure activities here so whenever gaspar comes around it's an event he has the gift of communicating his love of music his energy and passion no need to warm up the house as soon as he starts playing the whole village comes under the spell of his music [Music] [Music] [Applause] [Music] despite the extreme hardship a smile and a warm welcome are sacred and agile by the grinding poverty another reason why malawi is also known as the warm heart of africa [Music] so so [Music] the people here earn their living from the lake but the only way i can make money is with my guitar as the fishing is not very good right now they can't pay me we're all in the same boat if they don't catch any fish they don't pay me and me i can't buy anything not even soap to wash it's a vicious circle in southern africa malawi is the land of the lake this lake an ocean of fresh water is where gaspar lives [Music] gaspar designed his first traditional guitar with his brother who passed away suddenly so before making the trip back home to his village he puts together a new instrument an old oil drum zebuhide electric wire and a piece of wood the idea of this guitar just came to me it's a gift from god nobody ever taught me it all comes from me i'm not copying anyone when i was younger i traveled a lot between blonde tire and the long way one day my brother had a revelation he decided to make a four-string guitar an acoustic guitar it's an acoustic and we found a third person to make up a band so we started playing and little by little people got to like our music my brother and i would go from one village to the next that's how it all began you have some room for me in my guitar [Music] thanks to his music gaspar has managed to make a name for himself in malawi but that's not the most important thing for him [Music] gaspar's music is a way of celebrating life and keeping alive the memory of his brother who passed away at an age when one's adolescent dreams are still taking shape [Laughter] [Music] [Music] the central region of the country the highlands not far from the zambian border this is where gaspar grew up [Music] [Music] and i hope they'll be glad to see me [Music] [Music] there used to be houses here they must have collapsed a lot has happened in 11 years things have changed here caspar sees his daughter anes he sent her to this village here two years ago so that she could be raised by his family do you remember me [Music] [Music] gaspar's older brother tobias is one of the first to welcome him home they quickly get over their initial nervousness and in a few minutes the entire village is there to greet the musicians [Music] she lives in the village here with her grandmother i love my daughter i'd like her to come with me where i'm living now i wish it were possible today she's my first child and my last [Applause] the people are glad to see me and i'm glad to finally be back some of them have aged they may have forgotten me but i haven't forgotten them you don't forget your roots there's a saying here the snake always finds its way back to the bush [Applause] [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Applause] so in accordance with tradition the elders of gaspar's clan accompany him to the village cemetery they're going to visit the grave of ukali gaspar's younger brother i'm your brother i've come to pay you a visit maybe you thought that when i left the village i had forgotten you but you've always been there deep in my heart because all my talent comes from you khali there's still sadness in my heart i say goodbye now but i too will end up here i'm only i have air in my lungs now but i will go back to the earth that's what i wanted to tell you when gaspar came back to the village he realized that a lot of things had changed when he left there was only one village here now there are eight as for me i become the chief of nairobi our village my heart is filled with joy i'm just so happy that my little brother is here it's a miracle we can thank god really [Music] we love dancing here it's a great day and it calls for a celebration [Music] [Music] is [Music] recharged by the energy drawn from his roots gaspar can take to the road once again he has chosen the path of music the beating heart of malawi [Music] hi [Music] [Music] freddy could be a pilot 8 000 kilometers from here in his homeland denmark but he has chosen to fly the skies of africa [Music] i think flying is the best way to travel anywhere not just in africa but uh as you say the roads are very bad in malawi it can take 10 12 hours to get somewhere where it takes two hours to get in the plane so that's what i do i bring people from a to b quickly and efficiently and safely [Music] i've always had an attachment to africa since i was four years old my parents used to live in africa so i sort of was brought up in i lived four years in tanzania in south africa i did my training then i came here i don't know it's exciting it's always every day is an adventure you know [Music] can be a little hard to see but this is an aeronautical map of malawi malawi is this part here this is lilongwe the tme area and what we're basically doing is flying from the long way down to monkey bay which is just there and that's where the hospitals that we're going to visit today so it should be approximately 40 minutes flying and then we'll come over the lake and then from the lake we'll go around cape and clear and we'll land from the north overhead the uh the lake so it should be a very nice flight uh now it's getting bumpy we're coming over the the hills here so i better put this map away so i can fly the plane [Music] 210 from the long way to uh monkey bay we're currently approaching uh came back here from the west northwest descent through 3 500 feet we'll be doing a precautionary inspection of the field and doing a left circuit stance zero one [Music] yes i win they're killed [Music] we just fly over so they could go away you know so the runway will pick here when we get back i hope [Music] monkey bay is a small isolated town on the south shore of lake malawi its airstrip is used more as a playground by the children than for landing airplanes [Music] [Music] good afternoon how are you doing fine my name is freddie yeah nice to meet you guys some medicine we have some soap here as well maybe you can just check see what is inside this the big one here maybe we have anti-malarial yeah i'm i'm sure you'll find use for all this huh [Music] every day is new you go different places if you're an airline pilot in europe you always know your schedule one month before here i don't know what i'm doing the next day you know sometimes we're flying uh businessmen sometimes tourists sometimes we're flying people who are sick sometimes we fly medicine sometimes we fly school supplies many different things that's what i think makes it fun [Music] there's so many kids around you know so you have to be very careful because they don't understand the danger with the propeller you know so they think it's all funny and now they're standing there laughing but when you start up and you're taxi and take off then they'll start running you'll see everyone away [Music] there are only about 20 planes like this one in malawi here more than anywhere else the sky is a realm of freedom that belongs only to those who venture there it has its challenges like the weather is probably the main one the rainy season is from the end of november to about april and um it can be especially in small single engines like this um it can be quite hard because of uh we can't go as high as the turboprops so we have to weave our way through the clouds thunderstorms high winds torrential rain so that's what makes it exciting and challenging at the same time [Music] the airplane is perfect for crossing the lake but the locals can't do without their boats this passenger cargo ferry calls at the major cities on the lake the ilala has been doing regular runs between malawi and mozambique since 1955. this boat is the emblem of the country it's early morning and there's a stiff breeze on the lake the boat's captain is worried rip away the landing duck [Music] the problem is not the wind i'm more afraid that the boat could tear everything apart the cables are stretched too tight especially the short one there really dangerous we could definitely have problems the captain decides to cast off two hours ahead of schedule it's too bad for the passengers who missed the boat they'll have to wait a week for the next one [Music] up in the sky the weather is hardly any better freddie is heading towards the north of the country he's aiming to land on the chalinda airstrip in the heart of the nica national park up in malawi's highlands the most difficult place to access in the country okay so we're going to start our decent now into and we'll be leaving 10 500 and uh we should be on the ground in approximately 10 minutes and yeah we should be able to see that below us weather permitting anytime soon you can see the plateau through there over there landing could be very tricky in these conditions freddy is trying to spot the airstrip [Music] it's always the pilot's decision whether he wants to fly or not um you make your own decision and you you use your own judgment call and um you just use your common sense to make the right decision regarding the weather this is the life of the bush pilots [Music] it's uh brisk windy weather was bad but uh luckily we made it huh and uh now we're just gonna pack up the uh the plane and then we're gonna make our way down to the camp i think and see what's going on the park rangers are waiting for the pilot in order to carry out a surveillance flight morning how are you doing nika is the country's oldest natural reserve a protected area since 1964 this section here is the zambian national park okay we have officers also there sure london officers so the headquarters of the rangers is here in tulinda and have you had any bad instances of poaching recently we had about 10 porsches came through from the eastern side what kind of animals were they approaching this guy they go for the big islands okay all right yes at the moment i think we do also have a problem with orchid poaching orchids like the flower yes so let's hope for the weather to clear up and maybe we can be on our way what do you think about that it would be beautiful [Music] [Music] the nika national park is situated between 2 000 and 2 600 meters above sea level it was discovered by scottish missionaries in 1890 who came here to flee the malaria epidemics that was the beginning of british colonization in this region of africa [Music] we were hoping that it was going to clear up overnight but unfortunately it looks like it's even worse now um you can see the fog has rolled in maybe visibility is 50 meters and we need i need at least at least two kilometers to be able to take off so uh as of now we're grounded so we're just making sure the plane is ready to go when when when the weather clears so you really have to be very careful yeah i think safety is paramount up here for sure nica is the country's largest wilderness area a haven of nature silent and unspoiled [Music] over 400 different animal species have been recorded here among which the plain zebra and the large rhone antelope it also has one of the largest populations of leopards in southern africa you know you're working in the morning and in the afternoon you're on a game drive i don't think many people get to do that so it's nice it's one of my favorite places i don't get to go here as often as i want if i could choose i'd be here every week but you know that's also makes especially only come here now and again not all the time so it's i mean we're in the middle of nowhere here you know it's uh although we're close to civilization if you think about it you fly for one and a half hours and you're in the biggest city in malawi but up here you feel alone you know it's 3 100 square kilometers of wilderness and uh only animals no one else around really so it's nice to to get out of the city and have a break you know [Music] the fog has finally lifted freddy and paston will be able to make their surveillance flight over the park in many ways a buzzer soaring above is the ultimate form of flying you know without engines but that said birds can be very dangerous as well for for pilots especially buzzers like that they weigh four or five kg you know if you get one of them through the front windshield you can crash easily so you always have to remember you are flying in africa where thing there are wild animals and things can go from from good to bad very quickly if you're not 100 focused [Music] hello guys [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Applause] [Music] so we have some pens some pencils and some notebooks for the kids so much but i hope it's just a little token gesture it's very difficult as we have a lot of kids that are coming from four families improvised some are orphans some don't have a father or a mother so usually we have to provide books for them and at least feed them once a day keeping the surroundings clean [Music] [Applause] all right dustin all right that is [Music] i think africa offers a lot of possibilities with pilots that you don't get anywhere else but you also have to be committed to it you can't just say oh i go six months you have to and you have to do it for a while and then you'll have the opportunity to to build a lot of hours but you will never get rich that's just the way it is but it's good fun freddy feels right at home in malawi this wide open country with such a big heart and he's not about to leave it [Music] [Music] hello [Music] so [Music] somewhere [Music] out of the landscape [Music] teresa is a champion one of her country's top athletes she runs with determination in pursuit of her dreams of victory medals and a better life [Music] everyone [Music] sometimes when i run i reach a state when i don't feel anything anymore i surpass the pain i surpass myself my body relaxes when i'm training i think of other athletes all over the world i try to imagine the way they run i try to do the same thing i copy them [Music] teresa trains three times a week here at the foot of mount mulanje the emblematic mountain of malawi at three thousand meters it is the country's highest mountain [Music] running is my life if i'm sick i run and i feel better when i have an attack of malaria i run and it just goes away running is my medicine i started running when i was 12 so i've been running for 13 years now i'm one of the women who wear the colors of malawi i run so that people can know my country better and i would like to run in international meets my dream is to take part in the olympic games [Music] it's market day in mulanje the country's southernmost city [Music] [Music] okay [Music] [Music] [Music] when i finish running i come home to take care of my family i'm married and have a child my daughter goes to the daycare center when i'm not running i take care of the house i do the housework like all the [Music] i do the cooking living in such poverty one must stick together and fight for survival so teresa and her husband felix have founded a little track club they named it sapitwa after mulanje's highest peak every year they run in the porters race an extreme trail race of 25 kilometers teresa has won this event eight times in spite of her numerous victories she and felix earn a very modest living a few euros a month let me tell you our story teresa master and i met here at the track club i asked her if she wanted to be my girl she said yes and we got married we run with our club for us running is our profession now we don't have any other job teresa our club is becoming more and more well known and a lot of people come offering us help it's very encouraging and it gives us hope when people come i tell them we need shoes we need clothes we thank them for their help [Music] teresa 25 years old would love to become malawi's number one marathon runner so she trains relentlessly [Music] [Applause] thanks to running she can keep her dreams alive and better her everyday life here close to half the population is under 16. [Music] [Music] it's as if the young athlete were carrying all the hopes of the youth that dreams of outwitting fate in this country where three out of four people live on less than one euro a day [Music] let me know when you've caught your breath this is a good workout it's not hard for her she's used to it she has to rest now then we'll work [Music] so we're training for her to be able to go the distance [Music] [Music] [Music] yes [Music] that's why i like it when she runs well to prove to those people who think like that that they're wrong you have to surprise people she's my wife and i love her i'm very proud of her [Music] felix is my coach and my husband at the same time but i really prefer the husband the two of us make a good team we get along well i love him [Music] felix who is also a marathoner takes good care of his champion he encourages her to retain her goals since they've decided to found a family teresa and felix are motivated by the same desires and for some time now life has been treating them well [Music] for teresa running has given meaning to life and she still hasn't reached her limits her quest as a long-distance runner is far from over once a year the porter's race takes place on these twisting mountain trails when i was a child i used to come here to gather wood i would scamper all over the place that's how i got into training and that's how i got into running seriously 10 seconds every year [Music] [Music] this mountain called the island in the sky is also the home of legends they say that a bizarre creature half man half monster lives up on the summit anyone that looks into its eyes disappears forever teresa has never gone all the way to the top of mulanje [Music] why not come away with a gold medal [Music] it would be very important for malawi which has never won a single olympic medal if i could manage to do that it would put my country on the map and i would be very proud [Music] [Music] someday in malawi they may recount the legend of theresa master a determined young woman who dreamed of running the world over [Music] you

Channel: Free Documentary

Views: 975,208

Keywords: Free Documentary, Documentaries, Full documentary, HD documentary, documentary - topic, documentary (tv genre), somewhere on earth, amazing stories, amazing stories from Malawi, amazing quest, Malawi

Id: annA3NnStXM

Length: 52min 6sec (3126 seconds)

Published: Sun Sep 18 2022