Today was a long day spent at Mbidi School but much progress was made. Both Brian Westlake and Brian Edwards were in high gear as Carpentry Captain and Painting Crew Captain! Today I met up with some students from two years ago on my previous trip. It was good to see them doing so well and progressing through the primary grades. There were a number of differences from previous years. The school yard was being maintained and there has been a substantial increase in the number of students attending Mbidi specifically in the Standard 7 and Standard 8 classes. On the job sight the lock sets were being installed in the doors and the painting of the school blocks was ahead of schedule.

Lori and I took a number of the children and played Red Rover, Red Rover. That was rather interesting as it was a new game to the children and because Lori and I did not know the children’s names there was no surprise in who we where calling over as we had to  go up and ask them their name first. All in all it was good fun and great entertainment if nothing else.

This evening the crew is enjoying conversation and sorting through some donations to distribute amongst the various groups and people in Malawi that make these projects such a great success!

 

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Day 2 – Visit to Kuchere and Mbidi

Today was our first visit to Kuchere and Mbidi to have a look at the specific needs and complete a list of supplies needed to start working on Tuesday.

When we arrived at Kuchere the day program was already underway with the Ladies of Kuchere. The children were reciting the days of the week. Maureen had an opportunity to show the Grandmothers the kits that they were going to make and the Ladies of Kuchere were quite excited to start working on the project. After their lessons they played some organized sports like, What Time is It Mr. Who? Similar to What Time is It Mr. Wolf? and another game similar to duck, duck, goose. It was fun to see. After the morning activates the Ladies of Kuchere showed us their gardens and irrigation system that was built using gravity to maintain the flow of water. Mike and Dylan tried their hand at hoeing the ground and Albert and Rhonda tried carrying some sugarcane. I don’t know how the men, women and children carry the sugarcane for miles to the market. It was quite the workout!

At Mbidi the children were early waiting our arrival. At first instance it was very clear that there had been an increase in numbers since our last visit and the schoolyard was being maintained. The structure of the new school block had been completed and the construction was amazing! The school choir sang a song of welcome and there were a number of dignitaries on sight including the neighboring village chiefs and the school counsel, which consisted of parent volunteers from the community. Once we completed our list of supplies we gave the list to Edgar who was going to be our liaison for the project and the completion of the school build.

In the evening we had a very good round table discussion and it was nice to hear many of new comers chime in!

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Today was our first full day in Zomba were beautiful views of the mountains to greet us in the morning. We spent the day with Dignitas going to the meet the children in the Teen Program.

The Teen Program runs every Saturday morning and local teenagers who are infected with HIV attend be tested and educated on HIV/AIDS. Two years ago when I first attended there were 40-50 teens attending the program in one location, today there are approximately 500 teens attending the program and the program is held at various locations throughout Zomba and the neighboring communities. At the end of the class we presented the children with some soccer balls and frisbees and joined in with a few of the children teaching them how to throw the frisbees.

After the teen program we met up with Daniela and had lunch at Zomba’s favorite Italian restaurant Casa Rossa. An amazing view, with gracious hosts and a delicious meal. It was here that Brian E. was courageous or crazy (we will know by the morning) and decided to try the local water  🙂

Later in the afternoon we met Ben at the local market where there are a number of items to purchase new and used. Joyce and Brian under the guidance of Maureen tried out their carpentry skills before using them at Mbidi school and assisted a carpenter in leveling out a bench that they eventually purchased. Originally it was 1000 kwatcha but now that it was level the price increased to 1500 kwatcha! Brian was so happy that he also learned how to balance the bench on his head!

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