Malawi Aid Camps

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We took turns to help the cooks, Sinai and Kinessa, two women from the local village, with the lunchtime meal for all the workers. I was ok at chopping onions and tomatoes, and then went with one of the women to the borehole 500 yards away. We waited our turn and pumped the lever up and down to fill the large bucket, then Kinessa helped put it on my head. I had a small scarf to twist into a circle to hold it steady, which wasn't nearly big enough. The village woemn can carry water this way, often without holding the bucket, but i needed to hold it. Water was slopping down my back, and once water starts slopping, it's difficult to keep it steady. Other village woemn ran out of their houses to laugh at me, as did the children from the local school. Halfway i had to stop to give my arms a rest. The local women make it look so easy, carrying large baskets and bundles on their heads, often with a baby strapped on their backs as well.

Digging is difficult too, the ground is baked hard and I can't dig for long. We work for about four hours a day, then have lunch, and with the hour long journey each way, I'm glad to get back to the camp to have a wallow in the pool. Lunch consists of some vegetables and seema, (possible not spelled correctly) which is maize flour boiled until it has the consistency of playdoh, but with less flavour. Sometimes we have rice, which is more palatable to the westerners.

On Thursday 13th we went to watch the handing over ceremony of a solar panel that Landirani has donated to a local school. This will enable the children to work later using electric light instead of kerosene lamps and will able to use the internet. The ceremony is lengthy, all adults are introduced by Fixon, the community liaison officer and local chief, who is the master of ceremonies, and the children sing, dance and enact a play.

The school has a blackboard up listing all the children who have passed the government exams to go on to secondary education, though not all of them can afford to go - primary education is free, though not compulsory, but secondary education needs to be paid for. Some children are sponsored by westerners, Landirani pays for 10 pupils each year to continue their education. Like in the Uk in former times, less cultural importance is given to the education of girls, who are often kept out of school to mind younger siblings.

In the afternoon i sorted through the pile of pink marble stones that had been brought in by the villagers. We needed large stones for the foundations of the verandah, and smaller stones nearer the top.

Friday I nailed wire mesh over the ventliation holes in the walls, to keep out the insects. The wooden frame round the plastic pipes that provide the ventilation holes, is very hard, and the nails are of dubious quality and often bend. My finger and thumb hold the nail until they're getting bruised , then a screwdriver pressed against the shaft of the nail holds it straight. The head of the nail bends easily and if the mesh stretches too much it slips off the nail. I think with longing of the bag of masonry nails at home in my tool cupboard.

On Saturday we visited another project of Landirani's - 20 single women supporting 64 children, had asked Landirani to lend them money to build pigsties and pigs which they could rear and sell to support their dependants. Unfortunately the first litter had died of swine flu, so they needed more money to vaccinate the second litter before they could pay back the loan. We gave them some money and they sang us songs of thanks. Tnhen we visited another feeding station at a school where the children entertained us with songs and dance, and we entertained them by playing netball with them on the dusty play area. the dust is universal - the wet season, badly needed is due to start in November, when a lot of the tracks become impassable.

The birds are busy beuliding nests at this time - weaver birds in the trees at the hostel, and two small wren-like birds with crimson breasts are building a nest in the thatch or our chalet. They are very bold and hop within three feet of me picking up dried grass and straw. There are few birds at the project site; not enouhg trees which have been cut down to fire bricks, and boys are adept at killing them with stones and catapaults.

Sometimes i feel we're doing a worthwhile job at the project, other times i thikn we're in the way of the proper builders. This Aid Camp is different from usual apparently. Normally Aid Campers live near the project so they real;ly get to know the locals. We drive away to hot (mostly) showers and a pool, albeit strewn with falling leaves, and electricity.

Sunday is a day off and Toni and I visit a local posh hotel for the day to sit on a comfortable lounger by a large sparkling pool.

Heather, Landirani's chairman wants the children to sing a song at the opening ceremony using signing so Toni and i visit the school to do so. We want to do it wih a lot of the childrten, particularly the young ones, but the teachers were incredulous that the younger ones could do it, and made us teach the choir, who are all at least 13 years old. They hijacked the tempo and the melody so it sounds completely different. Toni and I give up and sing the song with any of the children who want to join in. Many of them do, but there favourite song is 'Wheels on the bus' and they favourite part where 'the children on the bus go Waaa, waa, waa'.

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