That's all folks!

our amazing accommodation at the lake for Thanksgiving



a long climb



a long down, zoom zoom!



first and largest river crossing of the day



looking back down one of the long (rough) climbs



the victim receiving some amateur physio - his cramp was so bad he could not walk, nor get back on his bike, for over an hour



changing a tyre, luckily the clouds were reducing the power of the sun a little on this occasion



3rd river crossing of the day



riding down a dry river bed



finally crossing the mighty Shire river, the end was in sight



Rach and I in our traditional clothes - my shirt was made from a chitenji by one of our guards who is also a tailor.



the two men, one is the groom, the other a 'fake' (who also seems to be what western weddings would call the 'best man')



exchanging chickens



L-R The groom, the bride's uncle (holding a cockerel), the groom's uncle (holding a chicken), the bride.



Goodbye AYISE meal




This will be the last post from Malawi! (unless something goes wrong with our travel plans on Thursday…fingers crossed!) The photos show our last couple of weekends:

- Thanksgiving at a private cottage on the lake 2 weekends ago
- Bike ride to Majete last Saturday
- Attending the engagement ceremony of one of our colleagues last Sunday
- Goodbye AYISE meal

Thanksgiving was very relaxing, for me at least – as somehow I had managed not to be assigned any cooking duties! Drove up to the lake through intense heat on Friday afternoon, and arrived to one of the hottest evenings I have ever experienced. It was literally impossible not to sweat all the time until…around 9pm the heavens opened and we danced in the downpour! Saturday we played a variety of ball games, swam in the lake, collected Rachel who had just got off the bus from leaving Claire in Lilongwe, chilled out and generally tried to live up to the modern spirit of thanksgiving. What a spread, great food, and so much of it! A great weekend, thoroughly relaxing (although I do suspect I got whiplash from a tackle during our attempts at Aussie Rules Football).

Our last week at work was filled with lots of tying up loose ends. For Rachel that meant visits to the women’s groups she had started, to the group for youth with disabilities, giving a speech on gender related violence for the International Day for the Elimination of Violence Against Women on Thursday, and generally being a do-gooder! I was completing the website (now updated and ready to view here – www.ayisemw.org ), annual reports, the Environmental Policy, funding applications, and also meeting with an environmental funding organisation to scope out resources for a project which I also proposed. Quite a productive week, all in all!

On Friday we headed to a braai in Blantyre, which was a culinary delight – homemade hummus and beef filets…need I say more!? We then stayed over at L’s place, ready to get an early start the next morning for an epic 60km off-road bike ride down the escarpment to Majete.

The ride dropped 1500m and gained 750m, so it was not all zooming downhill, but there was a good amount of that. Unfortunately there were also a lot of punctures and one case of crippling cramp, so despite our relatively early start (although not as early as I would have liked) we were still riding through the heat of the day and arrived at the destination at 2pm (for the front group who had gone on ahead), and 3pm (for the back group including me, who had helped get the cramp victim back to a village where he could wait to be picked up later). I don’t think I have ever sweated quite so much, and I’ve sweated a lot here! Changing punctures in the full glare of the sun, 40 degree heat, miles from anywhere, with sweat dripping in my eyes and onto the tyres…good memories! No, seriously, I really enjoyed it, although it was somewhat epic. The cramp victim had a particularly bad day though, as once he had been picked up and brought to the lodge which was our final destination, he wanted to shower before getting in the pool…slipped and broke his wrist! Not a good day for him! In the spirit of the season we sang Christmas carols on the way back to Blantyre.

Rachel had declined the bike ride in favour of a Society of Malawi trip to see the only castle in Malawi. The place was built in 1912 and has served as a prison, a barracks and a police training camp – however it is now abandoned and crumbling, but looked lovely. Her trip finished at lunch time, so she had a relaxing afternoon back at L’s before we arrived back and headed out for a meal and a bit of a dance.

Sunday we, along with most of the volunteers went to the engagement party of one of our colleagues. It was a very interesting traditional ceremony, whereby the rough outline of events is as follows:
- Two men are brought out, covered in chitenji cloths, and the family of the bride must identify which one is the groom
- Dancing and throwing money (the Chichewa word for throwing money means ‘the gift which keeps on giving’)
- Two women are brought out, also covered, and the groom must identify which one is the bride (on the first occasion, neither were – I got a bit lost at this point)
- Dancing and throwing money
- The bride and groom, having been identified, stand in the middle and people dance around and give money:
- Different groups are invited to dance at different times, friends of the groom, friends of the bride, family from one village, family from another village, etc etc
- The groom puts a ring on the middle finger of the bride
- The family of the groom give the family of the bride a cockerel
- The family of the bride give the family of the groom a chicken
- Refreshment break – at this point we left to get home before dark.

That evening, AYISE threw us a going away dinner in the compound, which was lovely, but (typically) 2 and a half hours late starting! Luckily we are now aware of this, and had eaten a pre-dinner to keep our strength up.

Last night we did our last Hash, for which we were given generous amounts of beer. The run, luckily enough, was one of the best that we had been on – despite the fact it was completely unplanned and had to be set up last minute by 2 guys getting a 10 minute headstart on the pack. A great way to end our running careers! After, we went for a curry with an Irish friend of ours, who we will be sad to leave, but hopefully we’ll catch up again somewhere in the world.

Which brings us to today. We plan to have a braai at Bangwe this evening, but looking at the clouds out the window I suspect there may be torrential rain. Last Wednesday we had the largest downpour I have ever seen – it was heavy and lasted from about 2.30pm to around 8pm! Rivers flooded, burst their banks and fields were swamped. Lets hope we just get a heavy shower today!

Then tomorrow we must pack, before our flight early on Thursday morning.

In some ways it seems a shame to be leaving – we are starting to feel like we can be slightly productive here, and we are starting to make really good friendships. But I guess it’s best to leave on a high. We are both definitely in need of a holiday. In Malawi the amount of effort required for any piece of work seems to be roughly 5 times the effort that would be required in the UK, so although we have achieved fewer goals than we would have liked, it has taken more strength and emotions than we could have anticipated. To all our friends and family out there, and here in Malawi, we want to thank you for your continued support – without which we would have really struggled to complete our time here with anything resembling sanity.

Love to all, and we look forward to seeing you again soon.

PS – I will probably keep updating the blog with my travels around New Zealand and the U.S., but there will be no more posts from Malawi (all going well).

past couple of weeks

waiting for our lift - me doing my porter impression, Claire traveling light



our massive pile of bags - 9 porters! bigger than Hunt's Everest expedition!



a 'fireball' flower



steep and hot



another Chambe Peak sunset photo



looking down to the hut and Elephant's Head - now green with new shoots of grass after the first few rains



a scramble to the summit of Nandalander



on top of Nandalander



negotiating the cave on Nandalander



leaving Tuchilla hut on Sunday lunchtime, with Nandalander Peak visible behind on the left (Khuto Peak on the right)



Rach dancing with kids before the event.



Fatima giving a speech on the causes of disability (surprisingly, it's not actually witchcraft...who knew!?)



a group of deaf people dancing to music. The young woman in the turquoise top and dress is also a plumber.



A wheelchair bound individual demonstrating some of the tailoring he has done.



Rach delivering her inspirational speech, with Rex in the wheelchair (bottom right of photo) translating into Chichewa

Weather: pretty hot, but not unbearable most of the time. Hot in at night too, but luckily we have a fan in our room. Bangwe is quite high in Malawi though, and the rest of the country is sweltering! We have had one fantastic tropical downpour, but that was 2 weeks ago and we’ve not had much since, so we’re just not quite into the rains yet. We were told that when it rains it doesn’t get much cooler – not true, luckily!

News: in my last update I linked to an article showing the criticism levelled at the government. Well, Bingu has responded to this like a petulant child, avoiding really answering the questions and stubbornly twisting ‘facts’ to suit his agenda. This article seems to cover it - http://www.nyasatimes.com/national/bingu-speaks-on-pastoral-letter.html . I am very pessimistic of this criticism having any substantial effect, especially so far away from the next election (2014), despite the fact it has come from one of the most respected groups in the country. If the all powerful catholic church cannot have any effect here, then who can? Maybe we need Mr Ban to come back again as he did for the ridiculous and inhumane treatment of the homosexual couple.
http://www.nyasatimes.com/columns/malawi-needs-more-than-%E2%80%98fresh-generation-of-leaders%E2%80%99.html is an interesting article, with an un-Malawian standard of critical thought, relating to the African tendency to have aging leaders.

Work: I have finished the website. Woop woop! Now we just need the code to upload it onto the live web…however, for some unknown and inexplicable reason the person supplying this code has decided to use the oh-so-reliable Malawi Postal Service to send the code to us! He might as well have tied it to a rock and thrown it in our general direction, we’re about as likely to ever see it! I will pester him by phone and email if it doesn’t arrive next week (our last week of work!).
Rach has been handing over to her replacement and getting more involved in the things she really wanted to do when she came here all those months ago. She has been instrumental in the organisation and success of a Disability Awareness event held on Monday in the sports grounds of a local school. Her speech on equality was inspirational – maybe she’ll circulate it at a later time. She has also been guiding and inspiring Women’s Groups which formed after her Gender Awareness event a month or so ago.

Fun Stuff: Claire arrived 10 days ago, and Rach went to find her in Lilongwe. The next day we had a few of our Blantyre friends up for a braai (BBQ), and trip to our local pub – quite the township tour! Rach worked the beginning of last week, then spent Thursday and Friday down at Majete where temperatures were pushing 45 degrees C. Luckily they got a localised storm overnight, which cooled things right down to a sleepable temperature. On Saturday a big group of us went to a hut on Mulanje for the night. The large group and reluctance to have an early start meant we suffered somewhat when we started walking at 11.30am…right in the heat of the day! Temperatures were definitely over 30 degrees the whole walk, possibly pushing 38 at times in the full glare of the sun (although luckily our walk was reasonably shady). It was the kind of hot where you can feel the air is unusually hot when you breathe it in – a bit like a sauna. Sweat-fest though it was, it was also a good sociable group of a mixture of very new people, old-timers, returnees, and us – so lots of sharing of experiences. A beautiful sunset at Tuchilla hut (yes, the one with the rats – although they were far more timid this time due to the large group), and a night of chilli and wine was just the ticket. Next morning some people climbed Nandalander Peak behind the hut, while others lounged around at the hut waiting for our spritely return. Fortunately we did not set off down from the hut until after 11.30 again, otherwise we may have faced temperatures under 30 degrees C…can you imagine?! A long hot walk down was motivated by the thought of pizza and cold beers. A pool in one of the rivers provided a brief wallow – more for hygiene purposes than genuine cooling, but it made you feel better afterwards.

On Monday Claire came along to the Hash with us again (having joined us the previous week too). The route was very urban and traffic ridden, so good training for her London Marathon run next year – although perhaps the weather will be a little different…perhaps not!

On Wednesday Rach and Claire headed up to the Lake. I gathered by text that their journey was so fast that they got there in time to kayak across to stay on Domwe Island a night earlier than planned – I look forward to hearing about that, such a beautiful place. Tonight I think they are staying in the village at Cape Maclear, then Friday they head for a night in Lilongwe before Claire’s departure on Saturday. On Sat Rach will head back to the Lake to join a big group of us who have rented a private cottage there to help our American friends celebrate thanks giving. It’ll be expensive, but hopefully the good company, food and wine will make it worth it. I guess I could say that I am paying for it with the compensation money the bank have paid me for their inability to set up a direct debit for my credit card. They mucked up twice, and have paid me compensation both times, so that should cover this weekend nicely. Good times ahead!

On a final note tomorrow (Friday 19th) is World Day for Prevention of Child Abuse, and next Thursday (25th) is International Day for the Elimination of Violence Against Women. Worth a thought…

controversey in Malawi

The link below is from an independent online newspaper (the editors of which have had to seek asylum in the UK because of persecution in Malawi). Regardless, every newspaper in Malawi is printing this story. The Catholic Church has sent a "strongly worded letter" to the President, condemning many of his actions. This is a major step in a country where nobody speaks out against the government, or authority of any kind. I guess they feel they are protected from on high. Anyway, I think it gives a good summary of what's going on in politics here. Please take the time to read it. Democracy? Pah!

http://www.nyasatimes.com/national/catholic-bishops-pastoral-letter-in-full.html

Halloween etc

Evil Hunter and Nelly the Roadkill Elephant


the hashers pre-run



using my blunderbus(sp) gun for it's original purpose, as a Vuvuzela horn



a Swedish mime artist



descending a steep bit on the hash at Michiru



Hunter and his quarry



Nelly and Evil Hunter



Newly christened Nelly



Mime artist, Andy the volunteer, mime artist too?



Corpse Bride, and Don King



Nelly, Disco Ball, Mario, Luigi, Evil Hunter



Nelly and Chibuku (a type of horrible maize 'beer')



kitchen dancing with a bloke in a dress...pretty scary in Malawi!



The kingfisher this morning

I’m currently trying to get the last bits of mango fibres out of my teeth…mmm…yum! Best mango I’ve had here. Previously we’ve been munching on the big ones (size of my hand) but we’ve just experimented with a small fruit which was about the size of an apricot. It turned out to be very small but incredibly delicious mango! Yum!

Of course, Rach couldn’t enjoy them as she’s currently got a bout of Bangwe Belly and is staying off anything fibrous/from the market. I had to enjoy the mango enough for both of us – I think I did a good job! And at 5 kwacha (about 2p) for 2, what’s not to enjoy!

Weather update:

Surprisingly amenable temperatures. I mean, it’s hot, don’t get me wrong, but it’s not unbearable. Probably gets up to high 20s or 30 most days at Bangwe, probably a couple of degrees warmer down in Blantyre City centre. The ‘dry season’ is about as reliable as everything else in Malawi – it has rained on us a few times recently, but not spectacularly so I don’t think we’re into the ‘rains’ yet.

Work update:

I’m working away to overhaul completely the AYISE website, and to produce their 2009 and 2008 annual reports. I’ve also been managing (sort of) a Canadian volunteer who is a very experienced communications professional. She has come over for 2 weeks as part of a Canadian programme called Leave For Change, run through the World University Services Canada (although she’s not connected to any uni…odd). Anyway, it has been great to have an experienced professional in, doing what they do best. So many of AYISE’s volunteers are full of enthusiasm but with limited skills or experience to offer (and I’d include myself in that category), so to a certain extent they don’t offer much to AYISE, except for free labour and a limited degree of respect from other Malawian organisations. I have been working with the volunteer to help her find the right people to talk to (sometimes me) about various aspects of AYISE’s communications. She’s only looking into our external communications, as she only really has 10 days here, but it’d have been great (but ineffectual I suspect) to get her to work on AYISE’s internal communications!

Rach has been organising the recruitment of her replacement. She has been involved at every stage of the process, so that’s been great experience for her, although there are some significant differences between a Malawian job application and those in the UK. She has just let the lucky applicant know that he is starting tomorrow at 10am! Things can happen surprisingly fast in Malawi. The candidate is an internal one, and so it’s a bit of a case of ‘better the devil you know’, as we know this guy is not perfect, but he was the best of the applicants so what can you do? I think it’s great that Rach has finally got what she has been wanting for the last 6 months, which is a dedicated volunteer coordinator. Previously it has been tagged onto another role, and basically ignored/bodged. But this is Malawi, where customer satisfaction is not an issue, so it took Rachel coming along and showing them how unacceptable their current provision and commitment to volunteers was, to actually get some change. The level of the change she has requested should not be underestimated – AYISE at the moment is very strapped for cash, so taking on a new commitment for payroll is a sign of great respect for Rachel’s request.

And so to the non-work stuff! Just a short mention here for the fact that it is only just over 4 weeks until we leave! Really excited about that! I’m increasingly coming to the conclusion that there will be things I’ll miss ‘though. For example, this morning there was a malachite kingfisher just outside our window, perched on a branch of our orange tree – how often do you get to say that?! The guava tree is bearing fruits, as is the papaya tree still, and the peach tree is just coming into season. This evening I took a walk up to the market, and was gifted a smile in response to every greeting I made in Chichewa. The man who sells us rice and beans at the market asked after ‘your wife’ as always, and expressed real concern about her health and added that he was actually depressed that we were leaving. I wandered the market with my cap on, in shorts and sandals, with a rucksack on my back, basically looking as white as possible, with no fear of robbery or anything untoward happening to me. On the way back there was a swarm of bees (apparently, I think people were just hysterical) and so a young man, younger than me, escorted me around on the back alleys, and again I felt no worries (although I was ‘Asungu!’d a lot), and the bloke didn’t even consider asking me for cash after he’d safely escorted me around and back to the road – now how often would that happen in a poor estate (or anywhere else for that matter) in the UK? So good feelings at the moment.

The weekend, as you may have noticed from the photos, was Halloween. For us, this consisted of a Halloween hash run in the Michiru Nature Sanctuary (the observant among you will remember that Michiru is one of the 3 peaks of Blantyre, and also where I have set up a connection for environmental volunteers at AYISE), and then a party at one of our friend’s house in Blantyre. We thought long and hard about our costumes, and decided that Rachel’s best ever costume (the elephant – there’s a special photo somewhere which induces laughter at every viewing) should be re-enacted but with the cautionary addition of bloody red marks where her tusks have been removed by an Evil Hunter (me). I have to say, unsurprisingly, Rachel’s costume was far better than mine – however I have gone for silly facial hair as part of the Movember movement (see www.movember.com) (another of the party’s theme’s, other than just Halloween) to raise awareness about prostate cancer. Basically, if someone asks me why I wear such ridiculous looking facial hair I will talk to them about prostate cancer (I really need to learn something about prostate cancer I think). If you want to ‘sponsor’ me for my silly facial hair please give to Cancer Research.

At the hash, Rach was definitely the most dedicated dresser-upper, and as a consequence, and due to long and committed service, she was ‘christened’ Nelly. I’m not sure how much she wanted to be Christened, but I’m proud of her for her efforts at drinking beer through a trunk made of old toilet roll tubes! The run was really good, through the mopane forest of Michiru nature reserve. Starting at 3 we were worried it’d be ridiculously hot, but due to a delay we didn’t start until 3.30 by which time it was cloudy and the temperature was ok.

By this point Rach was already feeling unwell, and so I don’t think that was the cause of Bangwe Belly. Unfortunately we don’t really know what caused it but from about mid-afternoon on Saturday she’s been “not right” with regular toilet trips. She had to leave the Halloween party very early and then spent the whole of Sunday in bed, where I joined her and read interesting passages from “The Scottish Enlightenment” to her…I think the academia helped a little…