Rachel's update - busy busy!

(sorry no photos - didn't see any lions this week, so left the camera at home, however...)

In summary:
What a week!! Am SO pleased to say that productivity levels went through the roof and I have spent the past week zooming around the country. From 'Malawi Malaise' to clashing with Ban Ki Moon, from an expat birthday party to being in the capital city trying to meet with government officials on the day the Malawian Government dissolved the National Youth Council of Malawi (bear in mind my charity is called Active YOUTH initiative), the past 10 days has had plenty to keep me going and boy, have I enjoyed it! Oh yes, and did anyone hear about a couple of gay malawians?!

In full (and it really is very full, apologies for leaving it so long and therefore having too much to cram in):

The lowlight of this week has been my first bout of 'Malawi Malaise' which has seen me feeling a touch dodgy for a few days...but it didn't stop me!

I finally managed to hold meetings with the necessary colleagues to work out what I had to do and then I could finally really get on with it all! Hurrah! I have therefore spent much of this week
writing and delivering letters to local companies asking for donations (food, materials, drinks) for the workcamps (one of my roles is to organise projects over the next few months called workcamps, which are supposed to have volunteers from around the world and will last from 2 weeks to 4 weeks and be on a range of projects: including building classroom blocks, renovating parts of Lake Malawi National Park and painting educational murals at the Bangwe Youth Centre.);
'ringing' organisations around the country trying to get them to help me recruit volunteers for said camps; and
meeting officials to get their support for volunteering more generally.

I have to deliver letters by car as they take 2 weeks to get to the neighbouring town! I say 'ringing' as phones are pretty unreliable in this country! They rarely manage to reach the number you dial and when you do finally get through you usually have to yell down the phone and then it cuts off before you manage to complete the conversation. I can see why face to face meetings are still favoured here! Although my experiences of such meetings on Friday left a little to be desired...

I went to Lilongwe (the capital city) with my boss and a colleague on Friday to meet officials from the Ministries of Youth, Tourism as well as Wildlife and Parks and UNESCO. What a day it was. Some highlights:

*I had spent the week trying to make appointments to see the Directors of each of the above ministries but had the problems of phoning as outlined above. Therefore had only one appointment booked. In Malawi, this isn't really an issue as it is quite standard to turn up and request to see someone unannounced. We started at the Ministry of Youth (and sat for 45 mins before giving up, getting some mobile numbers to try and moving on to UNESCO). After a productive meeting with the Assistant Secretary to the National Commission of UNESCO, my colleague called one of the numbers that we had been given by the Ministry of Youth. After much negotiation by my colleague, an official agreed to meet us in 40 minutes. Slightly strangely though the official insisted that we meet exactly where we were at that moment, which was....a petrol station in the middle of town?! My colleague suggested maybe the official's office would be better, but he was having none of it. Luckily there was a fast food outlet where we could sit and wait...and wait...an hour went past and when my colleague called, the official apologised for the delay and said he was just finishing his meeting. So, we waited. After another hour, my colleague called again to be told that the official had just been reminded by his boss that he was to be in the delegation to meet Ban Ki Moon that afternoon so couldn't meet us. Best excuse ever for being stood up! I couldn't stop laughing. Who forgets they are meeting Ban Ki Moon?

*Turned out we were in town the day that the Malawian budget was going to be heard in Parliament. It meant that all the Directors of the Ministries were in Parliament hearing it, but we did have some useful meetings. For example, with the Assistant Director of Wildlife and Parks who agreed to lend us the ministry's minibus for transport for one of the camps at Lake Malawi National Park.

*Another implication of Friday's budget is the immediate disolution of the National Youth Council of Malawi - an organisation with which I had a very useful meeting just the day before! The biggest implication of the Council's disolution is that 500+ youth organisations have immediately lost their legal status. In the UK youth org's such as AYISE would be registered as a charity, but here they are registered by the Youth Council. Their loss of legal status could well have implications on their ability to access funding. Luckily, AYISE is one of 6 Youth Organisations that is also licensed under the Trustees Incorporation Act, so should be fine....although our Director will no doubt be tied up this week lobbying the government. This does now illustrate why the official stood me and my colleague up though - he thought we had got wind of the budget before it was announced and were there to lobby him.

Other excitement from the past 10 days, in no particular order:

*The journey to Lilongwe in which I got to hear from my boss about his upbringing - incredible! Some particularly striking bits are that he got his first pair of shoes aged 14 and an order of catholic nuns paid for his private education at a boarding school, but he couldn't afford to go home during the holidays so was there for fours years solid!

*Had our first social engagement when we received a personal invitation (rather than the group activities that we have tracked down online and gone along to thus far): a 30th birthday party of a girl who was at her first hash on the same day as us. Had a lovely evening last night at a VERY swanky house that she is staying in. Had drinks and a fantastic BBQ - prawns, steak, homemade burgers!

*I also went with a colleague on a site visit to where we will be building two classroom blocks at primary schools. Sadly I did not think to take my camera. At one school the classroom block is currently made of what look like grass mats, which are broken, falling over and obviously let rain in. At the other, the block is nonexistent - the children sit outside. Was good to get an insight into the importance of some of the work I will be overseeing. Was also interesting to get an insight into Malawian education: as far as I could gather, in January the government has a nutrition program, in which all primary school kids receive a portion of porridge a day. The schools therefore see an influx of students in January/February, who then drop out to go back to work/home to help in March. And this is primary school!! The lack of classroom facilities is also a huge issue for drop outs - there is little incentive to sit in the rain/scorching sun. Hopefully, the construction projects will help to alleviate this latter issue...but the porridge seeking issue is somewhat trickier and beyond my remit!

*The verdict and then pardon of the gay couple has obviously attracted a lot of attention and yes, really 'annoyed me', to put it politely (not the pardon obviously!)! I have thankfully had some faith renewed by the chats with colleagues and other Malawians that leaves me hope that there are those who understand the awfulness of such oppression and recognise that such laws (which incidentally the Brits are responsible for implementing) must be changed. Sadly, the numbers are just too few at the moment to be heard. One of AYISE's programmes of work is around Human Rights and so indirectly they are trying to get their countrymen to recognise the concept of 'equality'. As you may recall from an earlier email, the concept of 'gender' as different to human physiological characteristics is still foreign to most Malawians... sexuality is yet further away. But I and my Malawian colleagues live in hope.

As Andy said in his cycling blog post "what doesn't kill you..." Infact I think that line sums up a fair bit of my time and emotion at the moment. I am not actually close to death but I definitely feel that a stronger Rach in so many ways will emerge at the end of these 8 months. On that note, I will thank you all again for your emails - please keep them coming.

R

PS from Andy - Other interesting points: one of Rachel's taxis in Lilongwe ran out of petrol, and she has been fully instructed on how to hunt mice (for eating, not sport).

A busy week!

Rachel was dressed smart, but not this smart…read below for details!

This week has been great. All change from the slow start of the last couple of weeks. Both Rach and I have been in and out of external meetings, in the car getting out to people, getting decisions made and getting things done.

I am working on a funding proposal for waste and composting collection in the township, where there is currently no waste collection at all. I had a very encouraging meeting with a very high heid yin representative of the City Assembly who was excited by our proposals and even suggested we could hook up with a bloke making ‘biofuels’…of course I’m fully aware of the controversies of biofuels, so I will have to thoroughly check that it is being sustainable produced, but it’s a good indication of the level of deep support I hope we can expect from this representative of the City Assembly. Incidentally, I got smartened up in the ‘office’ clothes I bought at the market the other day. This is the first time I’ve been in smarts since March, and it felt a bit odd – but perhaps that was down to the cheap Chinese made shoes (already falling apart) and new cheap trousers. However, I’m reliably informed that I looked smart, so that’s all good.

Since then I have also had really exciting meetings with a local Environmental Youth group and the Executive Director of AYISE, who has been in the office an unusual amount this week. We have 2 or 3 new avenues of funding applications to make so we have been brainstorming for ideas for new projects. Additionally, in my spare moments I’ve been crafting a new Environmental Policy for the organisation, writing up a process for the compost operation, reading up on ‘Group formation and dynamics’ to assist me in the creation of an Environmental Youth Group to run the Compost project, and finalising the budget for the Compost project

One of the funding streams we are investigating is for Human Rights – and so the area that springs immediately to mind is the treatment of homosexuals by the judicial system. However , the E.D. , although recognising and agreeing that this is a significant issue of human rights abuse in Malawi, was cautious against this area because it would alienate us from all areas of Malawian support and political leverage (which we regularly rely upon for lobbying meetings on other topics) and the level of funding was not sufficient. He suggested the analogy of a battle, and stated we would not have enough resources to be able to safely complete the battle – we would therefore be sacrificing the organisation on the battlefield. It’s a tough moral call, but there you go – it’s his organisation, I can only give him my opinion.

Rachel has been out hand delivering begging letters for materials (such as building supplies and paints) for the volunteer projects she is organising. She had to hand deliver them as post takes around 2 weeks to get just 15 minutes down the road here! She also had a meeting today (for which she also got dressed up smart – maybe I should have got photos of these outfits…) with the National Youth Council of Malawi where she presented ideas to them on strategic development, and was applauded afterwards! Tonight she hopes to head off to Lilongwe to meet the National Secretary for UNESCO among other esteemed individuals. On top of all of this she is juggling various logistical arrangements for the (very fast approaching) work camps she is organising, along with fielding a host of questions and queries from interested parties – with some explanations being frustratingly lost in translation, and having to be repeated and repeated…

Anyway, this is just a quick note (while I wait to be summoned for another meeting) to say that this week has been really satisfyingly productive and we hope for many more like this!

The week of the cake and the cycling...

Photos are in reverse order - I'm still not a pro at this blogging lark!

Rachel's dusty legs

The final push on tarmac, Mulanje mountain


Tea fields and a hill called Milanje in Mozambique, near the border

The village crowds around

Going down...

Going up...

Mulanje massif from the track to Phalombe

Our start and finish point

Cake:mark1

This week Rachel succeeded (twice) in making fantastic sponge cakes with no electric mixers, no cake tins, no power (for some of the time), no recipes and no measuring facilities to use even if she did have a recipe. That both cakes have turned out to be total taste-explosions is down to some significant skills, and quite a bit of good luck (but mostly skills, I’m reliably informed…)

We are just back from our 2nd evening with the Blantyre Hash House Harriers. For those who haven’t heard of the ‘Hashers’ they are a very social running club who meet once a week (Monday evenings here) with some odd beer-and-song-related-rituals which serve as great ex-pat social clubs in many areas of the world. Apparently there is a group in Edinburgh, so we may investigate that when we get back – perhaps it will be full of travellers to Edinburgh. The emphasis is more on the beer and less on the running, so that suits us just fine! It has provided a much needed service of allowing us to hang out with other white people and not feel like aliens/celebrities/walking dollar signs for a while, and has allowed us to meet some really friendly and interesting people Additionally, it is a great place to hear of other events, such as the camping trip we may be taking this weekend (stay posted for updates on that!).

Last weekend we had our (now) usual trip to Blantyre on Saturday which was quite nice. The coffee shop was open this week, so we had some real coffee and good (but expensive) chocolate cake. Then we headed to a MayFair we’d been told about at the international primary school. We watched some incredibly acrobatic dancing which seemed to have an east-Asian theme to it, while kids rode petrol powered go-karts, or played in the foam slide, played 5-a-side or ran around shooting eachother with BB guns. There were many stalls and we gravitated to those selling cakes and books. We both came away with a veritable library of new reading (I got 3 old copies of National Geographic) and some coconut ice to keep us going on our Sunday bike ride…

Around 6.20am we were picked up by R, a Dutch ex-pat in a Landrover Defender 110 (the epitome of savannah transport but outnumbered by Toyota Hilux’s here). R had scrounged 2 extra bikes from other members of the Mountain Club of Malawi for the trip we were to undertake, for Rach and I. The route was a round trip from Mulanje town around the Mount Mulanje Massif, 113km in total, only 30 of which were on tarmac’d roads!

The start was inauspicious, riding off almost silently into the mist (after R had acquired his first of several punctures that day while his bike was in the car…very bad luck for him, but it did slow him down to almost human pace!). 8 of us rode off sweatily, even although it was only 7.30am, with at least 2 of us wondering why we were doing this, saddle sore already and tiring quickly of the almost continuous shouts of ‘asungu!’ from the constant strings of villages and hamlets we rode through. We were in Tea country and most of the people we saw would work in the tea fields. I’m sure they’ll have seen white people regularly before, walking the many paths of the mountain, but yet young and old still delight in shouting ‘white person!’ in Chichewa with the excitement a kid might shout ‘ice cream van!’…this will take some getting used to...

Fairly underwhelmed by the start, and feeling much slower than the main group who we hadn’t seen since about 7.35, Rach and I decided we would head back slowly once we had met up with the others at the agreed waiting spot of Phalombe, 35km further on. Around 10am Rach and I arrived in Phalombe, the mist had cleared from the lowlands by this point but was still clinging stubbornly to the massif. We were more upbeat at this point, and knew that the next section was over the Fort Lister Gap – this had the attraction of 12km of downhill, once you had slogged up 8km of uphill. And on the other side, R’s wife, A, would be waiting with cold water and a picnic. Well, as Rach and I are so ruled by our stomachs, and not wanting to shirk the challenge of the Gap, we decided to abandon our plans for a shorter day and just get on with it. We pedalled and pushed up through the gap, sweating profusely. The pushing gave us a great opportunity to speak to M, the youngest member of the trip, who is sitting his AS levels at the moment and had an IT exam the next day. Great conversations were had, and before we knew it we were at the top (again surrounded by people acting like we were Madonna – for all they knew we could have been! Unlike Madge we decided not to adopt any of the scruffy little kids.) Instead we zoomed off down the other side. The downhill was really fun and long, rough double-track road with large rocks and water worn runnels to avoid – great fun, and time to stand up out of the saddle and give the bum a bit of a rest!

When we got to the village at the bottom of the hill we met A and regrouped with a wonderful apple cake, fresh pineapple, and an attentive audience consisting of pretty much the whole village (see photo). R had by this point acquired 2 more punctures on the decent, and his front tyre was still leaking air. As he rides so much faster than us, and we were beginning to get fairly wierded-out by the odd celebrity attention we were getting from the villagers, Rach and I decided to head off. Next stop, the Mozambique Border!

It was shortly after this that the worst part of the trip happened, for me at least. The track was almost continuously lined with closely spaced houses and occasional markets. We were being constantly ‘asunugu’ed, but no more than previously. Then some bloke who may have had mental disabilities but we think was probably drunk tried to block us from getting past. We got through but he continued shouting incoherently at us in Chichewa and trying to grab us. Several rude words were exchanged (in both languages, I’m sure!) and as much body language as one can muster while still trying to cycle along. Eventually he gave up, having decided that we weren’t worth running after – or maybe forgetting why he was chasing us in the first place. The fact that this bloke was obviously not representative of the community (one of them severely reprimanded him) helped to calm us down, but it I was furious at the time.

This section of track to the border was long, hilly and rough. It was the heat of the day and we’d already covered 70km, so understandably we were a bit irritable. However, I do think the character of the ‘asungu’ing we got on this road was far less easy going and far more ‘give me money’. Not a fun situation, and we got through it by mirroring the people (asking them for money when they asked us, but trying to get in there first with a nice ‘how are you’ in Chichewa to steer the conversation away from their predictable impolite demand for funds – nobody says ‘please’ here at all…). On the positive side, the area is truly beautiful, with tea fiels, small villages shaded by mature trees, banana crops and views across the vast plains in nearby Mozambique. Once we got to the Border (by this point having been caught and passed by R, M and the gang once more) we fueled up on soft drinks and sandwiches and prepared for the final 35km of beautifully tarmac’d road back to Mulanje.

This section was enjoyed the best, although we’d been told to fear it for it’s long hills. The hills are long, but the tarmac is sweet relief after 80km of dirt tracks, there are very few villages - so no ‘asunugu’ing, and there is a camaraderie among the local cyclists who outnumber the motor vehicles 50-1. One kindly soul who was going along at our pace helpfully advised us of how far we had to go, and on hearing of our day’s activities said ‘you truly know cycling’…well, perhaps!

We staggered in to the pizzeria in Mulanje at 5.30 in a power cut. Luckily they cook on a stone, wood fired kiln so pizza and beer were had all round.

A tough day, emotionally and physically, but we’re glad we did it – what doesn’t kill you…

Love to all,

A & R

Zomba Mountain and the weekend

Warning, this post is a long one!

a camera-shy monkey

Rach and Doctor walking down the road (with Doc's stolen plant from our lunch spot!)

A dead tree among the dense forest of the edge of the plateau

Large flower on the plateau

quite high up the potato path

at the bottom of the hill, walking past girls rolling down fire wood logs

the view of Zomba town and surrounds from halfway up the path

Doctor getting his breath, as Rach drinks in the view

the potato path

This blog is beginning to reflect only our ‘tourist’ activities. Sorry! At some point soon I will try to get some photos of real life and do a wee note on that (which I’m sure you will all await with baited breath…ooh, honey and banana sandwiches, exciting!)

This weekend just past (our 4th in Malawi, time is fair flying!) we had a practical day around Blantyre on Saturday involving grocery shopping; failing to find the guidebook to ‘day trips around Blantyre’ by the Wildlife Society of Malawi, which is apparently fantastic; failing to get good coffee as the good coffee shop was closed as the bloke who runs is had decided to go up to Mangochi; succeeding in finding Doogles guest house, and being allowed to eat our sandwiches by the pool and getting instant coffee to assist with our curry bellys from the night before –

An aside on the night before: Ross’s last night in town, so we met up at Martins again for a few Stouts and then headed next door to Bombay Palace. Sitting next door we could see when it opened, and so we headed in about 15 minutes after opening, only to find it was already well populated with a few other groups. We sat down and Andy munched his way through most of the dips and nibbles (which didn’t help his belly the next day). We ordered a fish dish, chicken dish and mutton dish. All were absolutely delicious! We were then presented with a pile of sesame seeds, which again, Andy devoured. We ordered a couple of authentic dishes for pudding and were pleasantly surprised to receive a sort of icecream type of pudding, along with Rachel’s milkshake type pudding. All in all, delicious! – now back to the weekend!

On Sunday (while Ross was still travelling, having set off on Saturday morning!) Rach and I headed to Zomba. This meant getting a minibus to Limbe (we were kindly picked up by some local folk to save us the 10 minute walk along the dirt track), and then sitting in a minibus at Limbe market observing…nobody at the bus ‘stations’ has any sort of clothing to indicate their roles but we identified a few roles:

• Driver (obviously)
• Conductor who rides in the bus and collects money, and communicates with the driver
• “Fakes” who sit on a bus which is trying to fill up so that it looks more full, and therefore closer to leaving – thus making people believe they will not have long to wait if they get on that bus – then get off the bus before it travels to sit on another empty bus
• And “ground staff” who advise travellers of which bus to get on for certain destinations

Our bus driver was pretty fast, which would have got us there in very good time if it weren’t for their ridiculous system of rules to break and rules not to break. Outside Zomba is a fairly permanent police check – certainly it’s been there the 3 times we’ve been through at weekends. The bus had too many adults in it (apparently children don’t count towards the total) for the number of official seats, so about a mile before the police check 2 young men got out of the bus. The bus then approached the police check, got through fine (without being asked for any ‘gifts’ – see Cape McClear post) and drove on until it was out of site of the police. It then waited for the 2 young men to walk through the police check and catch us up – a ridiculous waste of time given that we were about 5 minutes from the final destination. It seems customer service does not exist in Malawi, you get what you’re given, there is no effort to provide a good service in any aspect of Malawian culture (except perhaps the restaurant and bar industry).

On arrival in Zomba (which was the capital of Malawi until the 1970s and has a fanstastic building called State House for the President when he visits – the building has turrets and an army barracks near by!). We were accosted by a bloke ‘Steve’ wanting us to use his Taxi to get up the mountain. When we explained that we were crazy asungu and wanted to sweat our way up through the jungle he took us to meet his mate ‘Doctor’ (“Doctor by name, not profession”). It is advisable to take a guide if you are white to avoid ambush and extortion – a rare occurrence but worth avoiding. After 5 mins of haggling we got Doctor down to a reasonable price and headed off with him (via his house to get his donated Merrell trainers, and the army barracks to drop off the car he was borrowing from his soldier boss). Leaving the barracks we headed up a newly tarred road and onto the ‘potato path’ – so called as locals grow potatoes on the cool, damp Zomba Mountain Plateau, and bring them to Zomba market by the fastest route. The path was beautiful, and the weather perfect – mixed sun and cloud, not too hot, a cool breeze at the top. Doctor was a former guide, who now just drives for a living, so was somewhat out of breath but still managed a fair pace. I guess he wanted to put in as little time for his money as possible! (perhaps I’m being overly cynical). He was nice company, not talking too much but providing fairly knowledgeable answers to our questions. We walked through lovely vegetation of long grasses, large flowers and huge trees. The upper reaches of the slopes were very rainforest-like. At the top there is a very expensive restaurant with purportedly great views, along with all sorts of ‘traditional’ tourist tat and some fruit sellers. We managed to avoid all of these by walking on with Doctor, who by now had got the idea that we were not wanting to spend money, and heading to a great view point in the gardens of a cottage on the edge of the plateau. After speaking to the landlady we were allowed to eat our lunch on her steps, while looking out at the wonderful view (you could see across the plains, back to the Blantyre hills and across to Lake Chilwa and Mount Mulanje). I’m sure the views could be even better, as we had quite a hazy day. We decended by a combination of the tar road and the potato path – all in all a lovely walk with lots of butterflies. We also saw a troop of camera shy monkeys on the outskirts of town! Back at Zomba we jumped in another minibus and the fun began again…Safely back though, and more knowledgeable about the minibus business, we had home cooked popcorn (very cheap here) and beer on our patio. Good times!

work

Hello all,

Some of you may have got the impression that we are just holidaying about out here, so I thought i'd explain what work we are doing (sorry, no photos!).

Andy:

• helping out the Executive Director with writing funding proposals for various projects (currently working on one to AusAID to support refuse collection and composting)
• assessing ongoing programmes against their stated aims and outcomes, and feeding back to funders
• developing an environmental policy for AYISE
• updating the website "creatively"
• writing up annual report(s)
• representing AYISE at meetings on an ad hoc basis, when required
• Develop a tree nursery initiative and participate in the coordination of environmental work camps
• Help in developing AYISE’s HIV and AIDS as well as Gender Policies
• Handover (with any required training) all responsibilities for ongoing work before leaving
• Ensure AYISE systems of work are appropriate in both a local and international setting

Rachel has a bit of a double role:

The role of Volunteer Coordinator involves coordinating the work of all international volunteers and the local volunteers involved in international placements and workcamps, including coordinating the World Heritage Volunteers project. The specifics of this role include:

· Communication with volunteers and partner organisations, including:

i. Lead on communication with all potential volunteers prior to workcamps/placements and ensure effective communication with prospective international volunteers on the conditions and situation of each specific camp.

ii. Regular communication with all local and international partners interested in workcamps

· Organisation of practical arrangements before and after workcamps, including:

i. Identification of work outlines for each camp and/or placement

ii. Together with the programme Officer for Workcamps assess all the workcamp sites and prepare the communities and the local volunteers that will be involved on each camp.

iii. Assisting in sourcing the material needs of each workcamp
iv. Training of host homes on the expectations of international volunteers
v. Ensure most needs of international volunteers are addressed including conflict resolution
vi. Carry out evaluations of all the workcamps.

The role of Policies advisor includes:

· Help in developing AYISE’s HIV and AIDS as well as Gender Policies
· Ensure equal opportunity considerations in all the camps
· Handover (with any required training) all responsibilities for ongoing work before leaving

Assisting staff responsible for gender programmes with their work when required.

So that's what we're doing! At the moment Rachel is trying to organise volunteers for, and a visit to one of the sites of the first volunteer placements, which is a couple of primary school construction projects near Majete (down in the Shire valley, about an hour from Blantyre).

Back to work now!

Love to all.

Getting sweaty in Majete...

spot the elephant...

zebra and impala

the falls, with Rach and N

A swarm of hippos

more elephants

Adansonia Digitatus (Baobab tree) with Adamsonia Digitatus infront

First, I’d like to write a word for our sponsors:

Mr R M Ward Social Enterprises unlimited (and associates N&H incorporated) were the very kind sponsors of our weekend of luxury, details below. We are incredibly grateful to them for their unlimited kindness, and would like to thank them for the best weekend yet in Malawi (and introducing us to a great coffee shop!).

Additional sponsors who helped us to get here include all of our lovely lovely friends and family in the UK and abroad, as well as the South Down Trust, and Fisher and Donaldson - Bakers and Confections of Excellence.

Now for the update:

We met up with R and his colleagues at a coffee shop in the suburbs of Blantyre, and had our first fresh coffees since arriving in Malawi…mmm…yummy! It was so good to just sit and catch up with R, relaxing on a Saturday morning in the shade of the trees outside Mandala House (the oldest building in Blantyre – possibly Malawi). The level of excitement was increased further when R produced not just the requested Saturday Guardian newspaper (which we are savouring still) but also wonderful chocolate based gifts and notes of support and encouragement from the Edinburgh gang. THANKS!

When the coffee was all drunk (N had paid for it before we had a chance, very kind!) we headed into town in search of a place to change dollars into MK and various other errands including purchase of maps. The Department of Maps was closed, but apparently it was also completely out of all stock, so we didn’t miss out, and should go to a book store instead. The bank wouldn’t change our $10 notes, only denominations of $50 or larger…which would have required a wheelbarrow for all the MK notes! We popped into a small Forex (foreign exchange) place instead, just as it closed, and got a much better rate – so all good indeed!

After such hard bargaining we decided we were in need of food, so went to a place D had recommended. The food was largely good, although the chambo was a bit on the underdone side, and the portions were very generous. R refused to let us pay, which was really kind of him.
After that, a trip around town looking for map shops etc and a wee excursion to the (by this point very hot) Blantyre market. All of which required a bit of a sit down, so we headed to R’s accommodation, and sat with our feet in the pool and drank a lovely MG&T (Malawi Gin & Tonic). Again, R claimed ‘your money’s no good here…’ drat...

Tired and content we headed home to sit and read the paper by the light of our head torches, as there was a power cut again. Very nice way to chill out at the end of a hot, sweaty day.

The next morning we met R, N& H and were whisked off in their big hired truck to go to Majete wildlife reserve (hence the photos above). We saw elephants near and far, they even strolled past while we were eating lunch. We drove around a small corner of the reserve and saw hippos, kudu, impala, warthogs, lots of butterflies, and some incredibly rough roads! Majete is down on the banks of the Shire, and contains the major waterfalls (Murchison Cataracts) that prevented any vessels from making an unbroken trip up the Shire from where it meets the swollen Zambezi near the sea, straight up to lake Malawi. (incidentally, for any paddlers out there they looked paddleableish, probably grade 5 or 5+) Lunch at the lodge, with elephants and warthogs going about their lives close by was a wonderful experience. A really fantastic trip, which again R, N &H would not let us contribute towards financially, which was incredibly kind of them - thanks so much for a lovely day!

Food, glorious food!

Hello all,

As you will all be very aware, food is an absolutely key part of Rach and my lives, so how have we managed out here...?

Not too badly I think. Breakfasts started off with cornflakes, but these were a bit rubbish and pretty expensive, and muesli doesn't exist out here, so we have since switched to bread and honey and fruit (it's green tangerine season at the moment - sorry no photos - so we have about a tonne of them to eat , yum!). Honey is fairly expensive, but we have found it brightens any meal so it's a wee treat to ourselves.

Lunches at the moment are fantastic! Avocado, tomato and marmite sandwiches. Delicious! With more tangerines and bananas for pudding. Not the ubiquitous cheese which was the staple of our UK lives, but a great alternative while the avocado season lasts. Marmite too is fairly expensive, but again is a great source of flavourful yumminess. We believe the avocado season may be closing soon though, so we'll have to think about our alternatives. To keep our dairy levels up in the absence of cheese, we have a wee glass of milk at breakfast.

Tea is pretty varied. We were provided with some mince and chicken pieces in the freezer when we arrived, and we've had some dishes involving those meats, plus sausages from a supermarket (meat seems to be similar prices to the UK, so pretty expensive for here). We bought dried fish (tiny little ones in a bag) last night and added them to a tomato and veg sauce - it was quite delicious, so that may well happen again. We bought some 'curry' powder from the indian spice shop in Blantyre but it is all smell and no taste unfortunately - however we have some of the Malawian staple Peri-Peri hot sauce, and chilis in the garden, so we can make things as hot as we can handle. And for pudding, more fruit and honey - yum!

Fresh coffee is really expensive out here (around 5 - 8 pounds per bag) so my tastebuds are adjusting to instant again - it's not as bad as I'd feared, although I do still crave a big steaming cup of black gold occasionally.

Still haven't seen any of the fabled rat-on-a-stick yet...

The Bangwe Youth Centre

AYISE, with the help of AusAID (Thanks, mate!) built the Bangwe Youth Centre a few years ago (I’m not quite sure when, but I think maybe 2006). The centre (BAYOC) is staffed by young volunteers who are members of AYISE, who give up their time to enable the centre to provide a safe space for the youth of Bangwe to form healthy relationships and take place in sports, computer training, and other constructive past times. There are not enough facilities like this in the area, so BAYOC caters for a very large number of young people. So much so, that when the 'kids corner' was created for younger children the roundabouts broke due to overuse in the first few weeks. Despite this the centre is still a popular hang out for kids young and older.

BAYOC provides a free space, away from the prying eyes of adults, in which young couples can spend time together, without just hanging out on the streets (and the associated temptations/pressures of drink, drugs and unprotected sex). So to some it may seem like it's just a building and a few sports pitches, but it is actually a key tool in the fight against the spread of HIV/AIDS and in addressing poverty and unemployment by providing vastly discounted IT courses, and also positive mentoring from young men and women (mainly in their early - mid 20s I would say) who have managed to create a good life for themselves in the Bangwe area.

Cape McClear

This weekend just past (weekend of 1st May) was the Labour Day weekend in Malawi, and so Monday was a bank holiday. D (see previous post about Mulanje Medical camp) kindly offered to take us up to Cape McClear at the southern end of Lake Malawi. She was going to stay nearby with her family. Her family are building a home up there and have really strong links to the community of the area. The drive up was long and hot, and I had to drive for some parts as D’s youngest son (aged about 2 and a half) demanded motherly attention – but when we got to the beautiful lake shore we could see what all the fuss is about!

The area is stunning! We saw loads of Fish Eagles, all sorts of fish and a couple of Baboons. Baobab trees (as featured in Planet Earth a few years ago) are scattered over the savannah-like lands around the lake. The lake is at a lower altitude than verdant Blantyre, and so felt rather warm. The water was a perfect swimming temperature, although we didn’t venture too far due to stories of crocodiles.

By entering the water, or even showering in the accommodation next to the water, you are very likely to contract Bilharzia. Baically little bugs get into the soles of your feet and work their way slowly to your liver, where they can start to cause problems. To address this, simply take the relevant treatment 7 weeks after exposure – so we will be sure to do this!

The lake was too tempting not to get in, and after just the drive we definitely needed showers, so we were going to get infected anyway – so we thought we might as well make the most of it! We hired a canoe (pretty shoddy for the price, should have bargained harder) for the day on Sunday and paddled around the coast and the nearby islands. For those who know Glenuig in Scotland, it was rather like a beautiful day at the beach! The sun felt really strong, so we covered up fully, which must have made us look quite a sight – see photo!

On the way up we passed many small markets, and police road blocks where (as a white person who obviously has more than the average amount of money because you are in a motor vehicle) you may be asked “what gift you bring me?”…D skillfully got us past this with no agro at all by joking with the policeman and baffling him with an information overload in English, which is most people’s second language here.

The markets we passed were much like the one here in Bangwe, where live chickens are sold in rough cages, among fruit sellers, fish sellers, ‘curios’ sellers (tourist tat) and open drains. In these markets we get thronged by kids practicing their English on us and laughing at our appearance and our attempts at Chichewa. Rather rude if you think about it, but it’s cute at the moment. Occasionally in Bangwe we will be accosted by a young waif asking for money, but very rarely – and they don’t persist after you decline to pay, so it’s not too much hassle. However, at Cape McClear (a much more touristy place) we did feel like we appeared as walking dollar signs, with people young and old trying to swindle money out of us at any given opportunity.

However, and in keeping with the very friendly basic nature of most Malawians, when we didn’t have enough cash to pay for our accommodation (we’d mis calculated the fees, and the value of the dollar – and the nearest cash machine turns out to be about 90 minutes away by bus) they let us off with an I-Owe-You and a promise to come back. We got a (ridiculously over crowded mini bus – 25 people in a 15 seater) out of town early on Monday morning to meet D at her accommodation, and when we got off we borrowed cash from D and gave it to the bus driver to give to the hostel…hopefully it gets to the right place!

Tune in for more updates later!

A&R

Mulanje Medical camp

On Thursday and Friday last week we were whisked off by D (an ex Pat lady who has lived in Malawi for 12 years with her family, and is deeply involved in many charities out here, including AYISE) to help out at the Mulanje Medical camp. The camp provides free medical assistance to the rural areas around the town and mountain of Mulanje. The place was absolutely packed! Crowd control was a real issue due the massive popularity of the programme.

The camp is run every year by a Hindi charity which is based in the UK. They bring out supplies of various pharmaceuticals, as well as doctors, pharmacists and other volunteers who have given up their time and money to help the Malawians who cannot afford, or cannot access medical assistance.

The camp was down a long dusty track, which must have proved problematic for some of the less mobile patients. But come they did, in their thousands! Many walked, but some were lucky / rich enough to ride in on a bike/on the back of a bike taxi.

Rach and I have no medical knowledge really, so Rach was put to work in the kitchens serving the hard working volunteer staff, and then the pharmacy, and I was sent to use my recently acquired Chichewa to help register people for dental services (this proved slightly problematic, as people saw the dentistry registration as a short cut to become fully registered, and consequently get their free lunch and clothing…slightly stressful at times!). I then also helped in the pharmacy, dividing up bottles of paracetemol, handing out clothing, restocking, basic stuff, but necessary to the smooth operation of the camp. The striking thing was how simple some of the medical issues were. Almost every ailment was addressed with multivitamins, iron, and paracetemol – malnutrition is causing major problems for a lot of people.

The Hindi charity (I’m sorry, I cannot remember the name) worked tirelessly all week, we just turned up at the end. Donations to projects of this type make a real difference to the lives of those thousands of people who can get to these annual camps, and deserve our full support.

Our Accomodation

These photos show our accommodation.

We are in a walled compound, with 24 hour company from 1 or 2 friendly security guards who help to reduce any temptation for theft in the community, as well as providing peace of mind to international volunteers, giving lessons in Chichewa, and advising us on current market prices for food – priceless individuals!

We are the only volunteers currently, but when more arrive we will share our living room, kitchen and bathroom facilities (including a shower), but will still have our spacious double bedroom to ourselves, which is luxurious!

The compound is on a dirt road which I’m sure will become treacherously muddy during the wet season (which is just finishing – we had some cool wet weather last week, but this week is looking lovely), but at the moment is just dusty and pot holed.

We can hear reggae from the guard’s wind-up and solar powered radio, the chirping of many birds, crowing of many cockrels, kids playing and sometimes gospel singing from the nearby churches.

In the grounds there are papaya trees and green-oranges trees, as well as chillis growing – we are free to take from these as we please (the fruit isn’t ready yet, but we’ve already used the chillis).

The guards (and most of the Malawian population) cook up nsima for most meals, on an open fire. Nsima is corn (maize) flour, added to boiled water, to produce something that looks a bit like mashed potatoes, and doesn’t taste of much – but is very filling. It is the staple of the country and is eaten with your hands, and if you are lucky enough to have some veg or meat to add to it you have that on the side as a relish.

We are very happy with the accomodation so far, it is far better than we had imagined and is really very luxurious when power and water are both on (most of the time).

So far there are still not too many mozzies - fingers crossed it stays that way...!

A & R