Malawi

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Arriving in Malawi was an experience to say the least! Firstly, the Travelex at the airport didn't take card payments for currency and my visa debit card didn't work in the ATM's outside. Whilst trying several times at the ATM, I had 5 or 6 taxi drivers all shouting asking where I want to go. I'm trying my best to ignore them as I have to unpack my rucksack to get to my credit card to see if that works in the ATM. Thankfully, it did and I've got in the first taxi I see. Then there's a big argument lasting up to 15 minutes, pushing and shoving, and taxi drivers doing tug of war with my rucksack all arguing as to who is going to take me. I took a taxi to the nearest town called Limbe which was the most expensive part of the journey and from there I've opted to take public transport, a mini bus to a town called Zomba and transferred to another bus to Songani, then a bicycle taxi to the orphanage where I was due to be staying. The journey took 4.5 hrs overall, the roads are good but the buses get stopped by police every so often and each stop takes 10 minutes or more. I feel quite safe on the busses, totally different atmosphere to Kenya and certainly more friendly.

Upon arrival at the orphanage, all the children run over to me and sing a welcome song which nearly had me in tears. There is one long term volunteer also to greet me and show me to my room, a dormitory room with two bunk beds. The building is basic with a further 12 rooms and Outside showers and toilet. There are 13 volunteers staying here who are all away for the weekend visiting lake Malawi and not due back until early hours Monday morning.

Sunday I've taken a walk around the village and met a few locals, one of which is the village Chief. He's asked me back to his house to meet his family and have dinner with them. I accepted the invitation and was made to feel very welcome. The area is dominated by the view of mount Zomba which looks like a great days hike. The chiefs son has offered to guide me and we've arranged the climb for Wednesday but a storm came over at 7am which put a stop to our plans.

My first day at the local school which is situated within the orphanage grounds, is interesting. There is usually one volunteer sent to each school but as it's my first day, I'm sent with another volunteer. The other volunteer does nothing to help with the children and sits at the back of the class all day. The lessons are very structured, the teachers are very competent and the children are exceptionally well behaved and so I haven't been able to give much input to the day, other than serve the kids their porridge at 11 but enjoyed the experience nonetheless.

I've not met the other volunteers until our evening meal on Monday evening. Most are in their 20's and don't offer much in the way if conversation. All the volunteers put money in the kitty for food and cook on a rota basis but my first meal cooked by another volunteer (rice and soggy bread) was possibly the worst meal I've had since being in Africa. So I've volunteered to cook and am immediately told "we had an old person cooking for us once before and none of us liked the food". The 'old person' they were talking about is a pensioner who looks after the crops for the orphanage, a nice man who has been here for 6 months and said his stay with other volunteers for the first four months was the best time of his life, but sadly the refresh of volunteers have not made him so welcome and he has been forced to go home early because if his treatment by them. Some nights they cooked and didn't leave him any food. It doesn't make my stay here a positive experience and it's not long before I'm wanting to move on.

The children from the orphanage eat late at night sometimes at 8pm and are served in the dark. There is a solar panel which supplies electricity to the building but the battery needs replacing. One evening a child fell asleep at the dinner table and was locked in for the night because nobody saw her in the dark. A battery costs £30 so I've paid for a battery to be installed and I'm told the electricity will be back on within a day or two.

The Schools are run very well and I've enjoyed my weeks here. On my second week, I've visited 3 schools and all are pretty much the same as the one at the orphanage and none of the volunteers do anything and I don't feel useful enough to be there. One week I've found 2 teenage boys to canvass the village with me to see if I can get a group of children to come and play some sports games, I've spoken to at least 60 children all of which said they were interested. I've bought 6 second hand footballs, I had a rounders bat and ball with me, so 6pm on Monday evening I'm sitting waiting to see who turns up. Only 1 turned up and that was because he thought I had sweets. I've tried again for Tuesday and again only 1 turned up. With this in mind together with not wanting to stay in one place, I've opted to go and find another volunteer project. I've found 3 all within a couple of miles from each other approximately 180 miles away. One is teaching in a newly opened school, the other is conservation and recycling education to local children (not running during March) and one is craft work with the community members for them to sell which is one day per week.

I'm not sure how long the journey will take so I've packed up by 9am on Wednesday and left Tikawande village. Not before giving some clothes and shoes to the local women's group and also gave some shoes for the chiefs wife as a thanks for the food they offered.

After a bicycle taxi to Domas works (1/2 hour) a bus to Mongachi (3hrs) and a pick-up truck to Monkey Bay (2 hrs), and a bus to Lisangadzi (3/4 hour) I've finally arrived at my destination. I've found a house that I can rent for 2 weeks, the cutest house ever. No furniture, just a concrete floor. It's somewhere to sleep and I've been told I can use the shower at the nearby orphanage.

I've decided to help in the newly opened school for the first few days, just a 20 min walk from my house. The school has only been open for one week and a lot of the community don't know it's opened yet so they are waiting for numbers to grow. It was built for the local 6 villages to use and approximately 60 children will attend here. Only 6 children turn up on my first day.

One Friday there is no school so have some time to go out and about. I am situated approximately 2 hrs away from Cape Maclear, a popular tourist destination so I took the bus to the lake for the day and was blown away with how beautiful it is. So much so, I decided to stay for the weekend. A comfortable dorm is approximately £1.50 per night which is on the lakeside. The locals are friendly and very helpful. Although I'm harassed to buy souvenirs the first day of arrival, I'm left alone pretty much after that. I met some great people over the weekend and enjoyed relaxing in the sun with a beer or three.


I've left Cape Maclear at 5 am Monday morning to enable me to get back to the school for 9am. Although I got in the bus at 5am, the busses drive around the local area and don't leave until the bus is full to the brim, 25 people squashed into a 15 seater. Most carrying fish to sell at the market so the smell wasn't pleasant. We've eventually left Cape Maclear at 6.30. Because of this I've missed the first bus back to the village so don't arrive back to the school until 11am. The school is closed and there's nobody is in sight. I can't find the coordinator / teachers and ask the local families why the school is closed. Nobody seems to know so all I can do is wait until tomorrow. The following morning I've found the coordinator and he's told me that the school has been closed due to poor attendance until after the holidays, which is the whole of April.

The following week I've decided to travel to Sanga Bay. I don't know what's there but it's a small town on the lakeside and half way to the airport. The transport for most of this journey is a on the back of a pick up, a common form of transport. The pickups take deliveries and fill the back with as many people as possible to help pay for the heavy cost of fuel. The fuel stop is at a small village and purchased from a supermarket from a 5ltr water bottle. After 4hrs and another bus, I arrive into Sanga Bay. There is a lodge nearby 'Cool Runnings' that looks comfortable. They also run some volunteer projects from here, recycling and conservation, sports projects and transport to the local hospital for people to give blood. Although my last few days in Africa are to relax. Sanga Bay is a small fishing village with very few tourists. At 7pm, all (approx 30) the fishing boats are full and ready to go out night fishing. During the day, large nets are cast out into the lake and pulled back in from the shore. It takes approximately an hour for 6 men to pull the net in. Considering how big the net is, I'm surprised they only fill a small bucket. They repeat this about 6/7 times a day and at each point, you can see women come down to the shore with their pans to purchase the fish.

The British army are also staying in the same accommodation as me. 6 Welsh Guards are here to train the Malawian Army. They arrived the day before and are here for 5 weeks. I've enjoyed a few drinks with them and accepted an invitation to join them one afternoon to the military base to recky a route for a map reading training excersise. An opportunity to see a bit more of Malawi and with men in uniform 😊.

Although most families struggle, the Malawian people seem to be very self sufficient and able to feed themselves and their families. The land is covered with maze crops in every direction. Their homes are built to a good standard and they are clean. The children seem happier, better behaved and better cared for than in Kenya. They're never far from their mothers and are just as friendly. The men work just as hard as the women, planting crops, fishing, washing clothes and selling in the market. The men drink a lot of alcohol and can be seen drinking from 7am at some bars along the shore.

Although my time volunteer time Malawi has been very bitty, I've enjoyed the travelling around more so. The freedom of travelling around in various forms of transport has been an experience. I've felt very safe, relaxed but most of all, enjoyed the beautiful landscapes and the friendliness of Malawi. A real high point from my time in Africa.

From my travels in Africa, it's hard to say which has been the most enjoyable experience because I've loved them all. Kenya for experiencing the culture of the Massai, South Africa for the fun and caring for monkeys and the beauty of the landscape and people of Malawi.

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