Designed by Scotland’s tartan guru, David McGill, the Malawi tartan has become de rigueur for the Malawi diaspora in Scotland and across the UK. Since around 1700, special patterns have become associated with the clans and families of Scotland but, until recently, it was rare to find one associated with an African country and it marks the strong relationship between the two countries.

The Malawi-Scottish connection really started with the arrival of Dr David Livingstone on the shore of Lake Malawi just 150 years ago this year. The famous missionary explorer may be associated with other countries in Africa as well as Malawi but it is Malawi that holds him in especial esteem. He it was who led the fight against slavery and, through his philosophy of Christianity plus commerce, set in place a significant portion of the country’s economy and trade. Travel along the shore of Lake Malawi and it is sometimes difficult to find a tree that he didn’t sleep

under! But while much is myth and legend, the Livingstone fig tree (where he tried to negotiate the end of the slave trade in 1861) still stands in the grounds of St. Anne’s
Mission at Kota Kota (now Nkhotakota). Livingstonia, the graves at Cape Maclear and St
Peter’s Cathedral on Likoma Island all bear witness to Livingstone and his followers.

Malawi’s commercial capital, Blantyre, is of course, named after Livingstone’s birthplace outside Glasgow. This was one of the very first towns in this part of Africa. It is in Blantyre, Malawi, that the great church of St Michael & All Angels, designed by David
Clement Scott and dedicated in 1891, stands as a memorial to Livingstone’s work in Malawi. The oldest surviving building in Malawi, Mandala House (1882), was the home of the Moir brothers in Blantyre. It was they who started the African Lakes Corporation and with their fellow Scots, introduced commerce and many new agricultural practices to the region. The educational pre-eminence of Livingstonia was a Scottish inheritance.

The influence of the Scots in those early years has been continued by the many Scottish families who later came to make Malawi their home. What of today? Perhaps the most
important date is 2005 and the G8 Summit meeting of world leadersat Gleneagles in Scotland. A major outcome was the stress laid on the world’s wealthier countries providing aid for Africa. Scotland took up the challenge and made the momentous decision that, as a relatively small country itself, it would concentrate its resources on assisting just one African country and, because of the historical connections, that should be Malawi.

In the November of 2005, a Conference was held in the new Scottish Parliament. Opened by HRH the Princess Royal (a staunch supporter of things Malawian), it was
attended by Scotland’s First Minister and the President of Malawi. Speakers were drawn from members of the Malawi and Scottish Parliaments, from the Malawi Diaspora in Scotland and from experts from various fields. I was privileged to be asked by the organisers to speak on economic diversification and associated matters. For me, this brought together my Scottish roots (my family’s Scottish connections can be traced back to the twelfth century) and my rather more recent Malawi connections, including membership of the Scotland-Malawi Partnership.

Since 2006, millions of pounds of aid have been channelled from Scotland into various development schemes in Malawi. Most of this has come from Scottish government funds but, increasingly, much now comes from a multitude of privately funded initiatives. Schools, church bodies, small communities, universities and large industries have all made and continue to make, their contributions. It never ceases to amaze me just how many groups are involved.

Much of the funding is channelled into health and education. Some projects are grand, many more are modest but, in aggregate, none the less influential. The adoption of a school, the installation of a village water pump, volunteers working in a clinic, advisors in agriculture, all play their part in carrying forward the essential philosophy of Gleneagles.

An educated awareness of Malawi is now at a remarkably high level among the Scots. Things Malawian get prominence on Scottish television and generally in the media. It is not an exaggeration to claim that Scots are the best informed people on Malawian matters of any outside Africa. But, knowledge apart, it is the bond of friendship that has been forged that really matters. David Livingstone really started something we can
celebrate 150 years later!

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