Turning Dreams into Action How One Volunteer Transformed Lives in Malawi

Ensari Caymaz’s (33) biggest accomplishment lies in his transformative impact on the communities of Malawi over the course of eight years.

By Razi Canikligil

Ensari Caymaz, a Turkish volunteer whose dream and dedication have sparked a wave of change across villages in the East African nation, has made a difference in the lives of many by leveraging the power of social media to mobilize support. From his first aid mission of distributing slippers to building schools and houses, he has helped reshape lives across Malawi.

How did you become a volunteer in Malawi?

Africa has attracted my attention since my childhood. At that time, helping Africa was my dream. After completing my education, I started working as a muezzin. My father persistently wanted me to become a mosque imam. I learned that a foundation was taking a volunteer Quran teacher to Africa and I applied immediately. My application was accepted, but my family did not allow it. The dilemma between my dreams and my family made me very sad. But I didn’t give up on my dreams. My brother, with whom I shared my sadness, applied again a few months later and told me to go, and we convinced my parents to let me go for a few months. The source of their greatest fear was the Africa they saw in the media.

My 8-month journey to Malawi for an education project started on February 17, 2016. Thanks to the project, I started to learn about the sociological situation of the Malawian people and observe the difficulties they experienced. I saw the Africa that I and many people were wrong about. I was sharing my observations with the photos I shared on Instagram. In a post in 2018, I asked my followers for help with 27 slippers for children on the street. By sharing my post on Instagram, 367 slippers were sent. A lot of people wanted to help thanks to the videos and photos I took and shared, and I distributed thousands of slippers.

I was instrumental in delivering various aids from philanthropists. My belief in the changes I wanted to make in Africa increased and I was able to increase the number of projects with the support of philanthropists. The adventure I started for education grew to include financial needs.

What kind of activities do you carry out?

I independently establish ‘’Dreams of Children Family’’, one in Malawi, and the World Children’s Activities Humanitarian Aid Association, in Turkey, and carry out my projects with the help of donors. After my observations in Malawi, where I lived for 8 years, I started teaching new fishing techniques to the villagers instead of giving them fish. I am currently working on education and sustainable projects for children and women. In order for the project to be sustainable, I am trying to centralize a village that we call ‘’Hybrid Village’’. First, I opened a primary school in this village. We have nearly 183 students. This school provides completely free education. We started the project of vocational workshops for those over primary school age.  These people are generally illiterate. Currently, boys are producing soap. The soaps produced are either sold to markets or our donors can donate soap to families in need. A sewing workshop is currently being established for girls. We will try to establish a similar production network here. We will continue to establish vocational workshops in different fields like this.

‘’I distribute dairy goats and chickens to families for livestock’’

Of course, since we are in a rural setting, the most important areas are agriculture and animal husbandry. We are especially fortunate that Malawi’s soil is fertile and water can be extracted easily. I distribute dairy goats and chickens to families for livestock. Families benefit from both milk and eggs, and at some point they will be able to raise livestock for their livelihood. In the field of agriculture, we have made projects for many fruit trees growing here. We also created space for fruit gardens in the village. Since these projects are in rural areas, everything is progressing a little slowly, but I have formed a good team with the people here, and I think we will achieve good results.

Apart from these projects, I also undertake initiatives such as providing medical supplies establishing a clinic in the village, distributing meat, slippers, and clothes, as well as constructing water wells.

What does your daily routine look like ?

Life here follows the rhythm of the sun. Life begins with the first light of the day. My daily life starts accordingly. I haven’t had much breakfast in the 7 years I’ve been living alone. As I changed my habits, I started to resemble these people. I plan my day first thing in the morning. The weekend doesn’t matter here. We work every day. If I don’t work, there isn’t much I can do. Things are much slower here than you can imagine. Their perception of time is different from ours. Since I am used to the perception of time here, it seems strange that people act in a hurry and try to get somewhere when I travel back to my country Turkiye. It feels like time will never end here. But since I came to build a better future for them, it wouldn’t be right for me to stop. As soon as I make the plan, I set off towards the villages. Along the way, I am accompanied by the voices of children who see my vehicle and call out Ensari. I work on projects all day long. However, since it is very hot at noon, there is usually a 2-3 hour break. I stay in charge of all the projects I undertake. I usually stay in the villages in the evenings and return home every two to three days. If there are no guests, I live alone. Life ends here when evening comes. I usually reach out, share, and return to messages.

What kind of reactions do you get from your social media posts?

I receive so many messages of congratulations, thanks and prayers. One of the things that motivates me in these messages is that I receive messages of support from many different groups. The work I do is a universal work, and getting support from different groups in this work means achieving universality. This was actually something that was among my goals. Of course, apart from them, there are also a lot of bad messages and comments. Since social media offers people freedom, they try to lynch you rather than criticize you, even if they have no knowledge. Some people blame me for everything they come across in the video. In the video, a child is crying and they are sending me a message saying how unscrupulous you are and not taking care of the child. There are a thousand children in the video.  In summary, social media is a complicated place. I try to review the criticisms, positive or negative, without getting too hung up, and I do what I can within the possibilities in Malawi.

Do you have people who care about you and send help or come to assist you?

Unfortunately, there are many people who do not offer assistance due to trust issues. This places a responsibility on me, and I am cautious not to disappoint. There are many volunteers who wish to come here, but they are unable to do so due to the high costs involved. I also welcome guests who are able to visit. They come to help and observe these areas. However, the primary concern of these visitors is often the issue of ‘trust’. As they witness the situation firsthand, they inspire those around them and facilitate aid distribution.

What do you need?

There is a significant shortage of experts in their fields here. Unfortunately, I’m starting everything from scratch and it  takes time. Since their concept of time differs from ours, they are not in a hurry to learn. People who come here also experience an adaptation process, facing language and time-related challenges. People who come here have to stay for a long time to change things. Improving the quality of educational materials and providing educational toys for schools are also significant deficiencies. Unfortunately, the education system in Malawi is not sufficient. Mechanization is one of the most important needs here, but the lack of electricity prevents this mechanization. One of my future goals is to mechanize and produce in agriculture. Receiving investments in these areas will greatly accelerate progress. In fact, we are doing a little mechanization with our sewing workshop. We can also carry out mass production in this area in the future. In the future, we must transition to mechanization for mass production in the soap workshop.

What do you see as the main problems?

One of the main problems among people is their lack of self-confidence and goal. People are insecure due to colonialism and are very timid towards white people. Unfortunately, there are remnants of cultures stemming from slavery. A person raised in this culture tends to work for someone rather than working for himself. We can say that he does not work for big dreams for himself.

Of course, another thing that makes it difficult to dream is the limited resources and the effect of hunger. A person who faces hunger cannot improve himself in any field for a long time. We can’t say why you didn’t make a big initiative when people are working daily and saving their days.

Lack of mechanization is a similarly big problem. Progressing with human power wastes a lot of time.

How do you impact the lives of those you help?

Even when I pass by a child here and smile at him as a white person, you make a huge positive impact. But I have been working on sustainable projects in a village and its immediate surroundings for about 4 years. Now the people here started to welcome me normally. They are not as timid as they used to be towards white people. Donors who come here can observe this very easily. Many are surprised by it. The difference in self-confidence between the children in our village and the children in other villages is now truly visible. This is actually my influence that I cannot reflect on social media.

Can you describe the dreams children share?

Most children want to help people around them because they see it from me. When you get involved this much, you become a role model. They think that I do all the aid I provide here because I am very rich. Their dreams are now shaped in the projects we undertake. There are children who want to open a market selling soap. There are people who want to become construction masters because they constantly see that we are building houses. Sometimes we have health-related projects and they love doctors very much. There are people who are interested in cars. But what they all have in common is that if we become very rich, I will help those around me.