Rach and Marc

So we’re now really excited about seeing everyone again. We’re also pretty excited at the thought of real food again and I think Rach would like a few hot baths so that she can show her feet in public again. She keeps complaining that they’re “disgusting”, but they look the same as everyone else’s round here (i.e. black). We’ve both been really busy but I guess I’ve had the more interesting time lately. By interesting I really mean intensely frustrating, but am not complaining. I have spent the last 5+ months at Kachere trying desperately to get some running water and finally, at 4.30pm on Monday - just as I was tucking into my first lovely cool beer at the local lodge - the team arrived. I quickly cycled the 10kms required and helped them withdraw ... read more

Hello everyone, So as usual, all is well in Malawi. The rains held off for a week so it got pretty hot again, but a big storm last night has sorted things out again. We’re sort of on a wind down now. Rach and I are the longest stayers in camp at the moment and we’ve just had 5 more volunteers arrive in the last few days so it’s back to work after an excellent Xmas and NY break. I saw about 90 patients in clinic yesterday morning - Malaria and Dysentry probably accounting for 90% of them - but was lucky enough to get a lift home from the centre with Collins. I can’t actually cycle at the moment because I had a little accident with my penknife in the garden ( a frog jumped ... read more

Hello Everyone, Well Christmas is drawing near and we are beginning to wind down and have a little break from our schedule. Things are pretty low key here, so much so that the staff wanted their Christmas Party on the 25th December! We have insisted that they should probably spend the day with their families, but they are still trying to convince us that it’s a good idea. We have arranged our meal for the 25th. Reuben is looking into a variety of different animal options. Reuben and Harry (the cook) had a long and involved conversation yesterday about how they would prepare and cook our Christmas lunch. I walked into the kitchen with two men peering thoughtfully into the wood stove discussing the dimensions of the oven and the logistics of cooking us a roast. ... read more

Blog for Ripple Africa Well we’ve been here for nearly 4 months now so I guess it’s probably about time we told you where all your hard earned donations have gone. You’ve probably already seen from the website the sort of things Ripple are doing here. Essentially, they split their work into 3 sectors: Health, Education and Environment. Probably the least well funded for a variety of reasons is the Health projects, but that’s mostly because it’s very difficult to fund projects here that are ‘self-sustaining’, i.e. they wont require ongoing funding or ‘hand-outs’ in the future. Ripple have painted the local health centre and kitted it out with mosquito nets, mattresses, security, etc. They have also installed a water tank and pump and built an incinerator plus placenta pit for clinical waste. Several volunteers here ... read more

The next installment from Malawi. It is so hot, we think we might just melt away at the moment! Temperatures have been soaring into the high 30’s with high humidity and it’s really making all our walking more difficult. We walked 10kms yesterday in the heat of the day to do the Under 5’s Clinic and spent the rest of the day recovering. We have been assured that the rains are on the way, and it rained all day last Sunday so I am thinking of getting Marc out to do the rain dance every morning, for all our sakes. We ventured out last weekend to Mushroom Farm which is near Livingstonia sitting very high in the mountains above the lake. It was absolutely stunning views and we really thought we were sitting on top of ... read more

Well my Mum and my sister Kristie arrived from Oz last week for the adventure of their lives which was very exciting. They landed in Lilongwe quite jetlagged but wide eyed and bushy-tailed for the fun ahead. We left Malawi behind for five days and ventured to South Luangwa National Park in Zambia last week. It was well worth the 3 hours drive over the worst possible roads in the worst possible car. But once we arrive the Wilderness Camp was incredible and nothing but 5 star service all the way. We did 6 game drives in total and the wildlife we saw was incredible! On the first day we had seen a pride of lions and a leopard on our evening drive. I quickly informed mum and Kristie that this was very lucky and not ... read more