Blogs from Northern, Malawi, Africa - page 8

Often the most precious moments in life are not those that cost a lot of money to see, or are surrounded by hype but rather the simple things are those that really take your breathe away. I've played pool with a Masaii, drunk beer with corrupt police, been within meters of a wild lion, seen the largest mountain in Africa and sun bathed on the golden sands of Zanzibar... and although its been a journey of a lifetime none of these experiences would make it to my top ten moments in Africa. Why? Because i've learnt that it's the small, unique moments that really make you stop and think.. wow life is bloody awesome! One afternoon after a marathon beach soccer game as I was retiring to my chalet, i was stopped by one of ... read more

Day Six Today I fired Mr Banda the electrician. I've never fired anyone in my life. I once threatened a sub-contractor when I was 6 months out of university and he laughed in my face. This time, with over 14 years of project experience under my belt, I was a little more assertive. On Saturday morning, at 11am, I had asked one of the KALIYA group to check that Mr Banda had managed to get the keys and that he was happily working. He was nowhere to be seen. With no way of contacting him, the runners were sent out again. He was found at home, blind drunk, having been out on a bender with the money I had given him on Thursday. This all sounds really tragic and sad - it is. It's depressing to ... read more

Day Four The distant rumbles continued all night until finally, at about 7 this morning, the storms abandoned Mozambique, swung west across the lake and twisted and crashed into Njaya, scattering table cloths and pepper pots and flooding the restaurant floor. Given that the my path up the mountain is actually a stream bed and the lakeshore was already starting to turn brown as floodwater tumbled from the hills, I decided to postpone the hike up to the village. I have an image of Mr Banda, Gilbert's translation of my direct warning ringing in his ears, trudging through the storm with his trusty green-handled screwdriver while I am sat making notes in the house, serranaded by the soft rhythmic sound of water dripping into buckets, pans and vases as the roof of the house finally gives ... read more

Day Two I woke up early thinking about holes in tin roofs and wondering whether the Fisheries vehicle would ever turn up. 9am at the earliest I thought to myself as I wandered over for a casual breakfast. I could hardly believe it when, at 8.05, a pickup pulled into Njaya and a beaming Mr C strolled into the restaurant where I was just finishing my coffee. "Let's go!", he grinned - I hadn't seen him looking this pleased with himself since he appeared on the back of a bicycle taxi after finding a mechanic at 6am in Kasungu in September. A well-briefed Njaya staff team rolled into action and the two wheel drive pickup was soon creaking under a 240kg load of batteries and a pile of solar panels and cables. How many people does ... read more

Internet Free Zone ! Am safe and am now back in Malawi abd currently running round like a headless chicken trying to get more equipment up from Lilongwe to Nkhata Bay. I'd forgotten just how slow and expensive internet access is - really involves a 2 hour round trip to Mzuzu. So, just wanted to let everyone know that I'm fine, that me and Katherine are settling into Njaya Lodge, that things will calm down with work as soon as I start training on Friday and that the rains arrived last night - on the exact day that everyone told me they would arrive ! I'm told the mozzies will be out and about by Friday - oh good ! Will try and write some offline blogs and post as soon as possible. ... read more