Big Interview: Jacqueline Kouwenhoven
Jacqueline Kouwenhoven is Member of Parliament (MP) for Rumphi West. She originates from The Netherlands, but has fused with the rural community in the northern part of the country to become one of them. In a world of hostility towards women, Jacqueline has managed to penetrate local politics to serve her constituents who have in turn, entrusted her with the responsibility to be their voice in the august House. I speak to the first white woman Parliamentarian.
Q. Tell me about yourself.
A. I was born in 1959, the seventh of eight children and the daughter of a farmer. I met my husband John Fox in 1983 in Cameroon and since then we have been living mainly in Africa; and living in Malawi since 2000. Africa has always been my biggest interest, especially the rural development aspect.
Q. What is your educational background and upbringing?
A. I followed a normal high school programme in The Netherlands and continued my vocational education to the point where I graduated as a State registered nurse. I worked as district nurse for some years in The Netherlands before leaving for Africa in the early 1980s. Later on, I studied classical homeopathy, which is a form of complementary medicine.
I was encouraged by my parents to value education, but also learn practical and useful skills. The two things go hand-in-hand and I don’t think I could have achieved what I have without this healthy combination.
Q. How did you decide to serve Malawians?
A. Before coming to Malawi, I worked as a nurse in West Africa (Cameroon and Mali) for eight years. I wanted to use the experience and knowledge I gained in those countries to do something useful in Malawi. So, I came here in 2000 to set up a health and rural development centre, the Eva Demaya Centre in Luviri, Rumphi.
Q. What drove you to such a decision?
A. Nursing is a vocation: you feel called to serve, to use the talents you have been given. So you could say I felt called to come here and do the work I have been doing these past 14 years. Of course, it also helped that Malawians have a reputation for being warm and welcoming!
Q. What exactly do you want to do for your constituency?
A. I will do my best to bring even more development to our area, especially in healthcare, orphan care and related priority fields. And we will continue to do what we are already doing at our centre. For example, we are currently building a junior primary school at Kasongwe, we are constructing bridges and other local infrastructure projects throughout the constituency to help people get about more easily and are carrying out many other initiatives as part of our mission to improve the living conditions of the people in our locality.
Q. How did you come to the country?
A. After a number of preliminary visits to lay the groundwork, I came here and set to work building up the Eva Demaya Centre from scratch. As I said earlier, my purpose was to use the talents and knowledge I have to help people in the area enjoy better health and general living conditions.
I think everyone has the right to adequate healthcare and so I am more than happy to use my abilities to help bring this goal nearer to reality for the people of our catchment area. In the same way, it’s very gratifying when you can play a role in helping a young person learn a useful trade such as tailoring, carpentry or tin-smithing, which is what we do at our vocational training project for teenage orphans.
Q. Are you a citizen of Malawi and here to stay?
A. Yes, I am a Malawian citizen and proud to have my Malawian passport! And, yes, I am certainly here to stay.
Q. How did you manage to interact with the locals and mingle?
A. I am very interested in culture and feel a strong affinity with cultures that have kept large parts of their rich traditional heritage, as Malawi has done. I can identify with many of the traditional African values and feel totally at home in rural environments such as the one we have at our centre. All this makes it easy for me to interact with people here and share their concerns. And I’m sure it helps, in a country of so many farmers, that I myself am a farmer’s daughter!
Q. Tell me what you have been doing prior to your election?
A. For the last 14 years all my energies have been devoted to setting up and then running the Eva Demaya Centre. It’s a registered Malawian non-governmental organisation (NGO) and we carry out seven major projects, many of which have a number of sub-projects in healthcare and rural development. One way in which we are different from most Western-funded organisations is that we are actually embedded in the local community and listen actively to what the people we serve have to say about their needs and hopes.
Q. How does it make you feel to be the first and only white MP in Parliament?
A. Well, I’m the first white woman to be elected to Parliament and naturally I feel very proud of that. Proud and of course, very, very grateful! It tells me that the people who elected me were more interested in my capabilities than in the skin colour.
Q. What is your comment on Malawian politics?
A. I would prefer to first see it operating at first hand before passing comment. I will go into the political arena with an open mind, willing to learn and ready to participate where I feel I can make a useful contribution.
Q. I understand you are also a traditional healer. Did you learn the trade in Malawi?
A. I am personally NOT a traditional healer. I am an academically trained nurse by profession. I’m also a qualified homeopath. But, yes, I am very interested in and know the elements of traditional healing. I dance the Vimbuza, which is a traditional healing dance known especially in the Tumbuka culture.
Q. When did you learn Vimbuza?
A. I learned the Vimbuza dance over a period of two years (2001 to 2003) in Rumphi.
Q. Any last words?
A. I’m proud and grateful to have been elected as a woman MP. I think the country would benefit greatly by having a lot of strong, motivated women in positions of responsibility as this country strives to consolidate its development gains. That’s why I would like to use this space to encourage girls to persist in their education – education is their best chance of improving their lives.
And I hope the further emancipation of women will gather pace, but it should in my view come about in an inclusive context where both men and women can benefit.
