Blogs from Malawi, Africa - page 24

Friday 21st - Sunday 23rd We drive through Salima, a prosperous looking town on the west side of Lake Malawi to Cool Runnings, a site opening onto the sand in Monkey Bay. We're right on the beach by the lake, which looks like a sea, stretching to the horizon with gentle waves lapping on the sand. To the left is the fishing village where the men mend their nets; to the right women do their washing in the lake and spread things to dry on the sand. More boys than girls splash in the water, though some do, and four of them came to chat to me. Aged 15 to 21 they say they're not ready to marry yet, unlike the village girls who marry at this age. Two of the girls are at Secondary school, ... read more

8th September to 29th September It is my first Aid Camp International trip, and it won't be my last. This is Aid Camp's first time in Malawi too, and they are working with the Landirani Trust (a local Non Governmental Organisation supporting orphans) to build a Community Building Chidren's Centre (CBCC) about 30 km from Lilongwe. The Centre has been built using a newly recognised method of construction, 'rammed earth' which is actually a traditional method. Brick-made buildings have been used for a while, but brickmaking uses a lot of wood for firing the bricks and deforestation is becoming a problem. Brick-built houses use only one thickness of brick, which is not very stable, and does not keep out the cold or the heat. 'Rammed earth' is done by ramming earth of a certain damp consistency ... read more

It is hard to believe that I am almost at the end of my first week - I have done so much and the time has flown by. On Thursday I travelled with Vasco and Rev Jeleky Kachipanda to the site where the Bible was first translated into Chechewa in 1923. Christian faith and following the teaching of the Bible is very strong here and many pilgrimage to this site. There were three young women (20/21) there at the time, they had walked three days carrying all that they needed and were staying for three nights to pray. I felt very privileged to have visited on only me second day in the country and be taken by car. On the journey, as we headed out of the buzz of Lilongwe City into the countryside, small villages, ... read more

Lilongwe, Malawi, 15 August We arrived at the Mabuya Camp at 5.00pm which was well appointed with pool (too cold today), bar, WiFi, plenty of showers and toilets and shade trees. The camp was 5 minutes out of Lilongwe city CBD. In the city we went to the ATM which ‘ate’ Tom’s card. Fortunately the bank was opened so we could retrieve it. We stocked up on snacks and drinks. We went to 4 shops and all the shelves where wine was, were empty. We didn’t find out what has happened. We have, however, read in the newspapers that there is a real shortage of Kwacha notes, the local money so banks are offering 36% interest for investers and charge 40% interest for loans. Some economists are saying that businesses are suffering badly and the whole ... read more

Thursday September 6 All day we chased the sun. Leaving at 06:30 we chased it high into the sky and then all afternoon until it set around 18:00. It's funny how much quicker it seems to rise at dawn and fall as it sets and if you're not ready with the camera, it's a whole 24 hours until your next chance... ---------- Monday September 10 We spent three nights at Kande Beach on the shores of Lake Malawi, followed by two more nights further north at Chitimba. While four worked their butts off in an effort to complete the PADI certification (they stayed at Kande one extra day so as not to spend their stay in Zanzibar doing it there), the rest of us perfected the art of relaxing. Okay so four went out to the ... read more