Seasons Greetings from Malawi

As we come to the end of another year we can look back over the last twelve months with some degree of satisfaction with the bridge successfully providing safe access throughout the rainy season, the ground breaking ceremony for the school and the beginning of construction of the classroom blocks. It has been a somewhat difficult road but we are on the way now and hopefully next year will see the classrooms filled with students.




We are extremely grateful to our friends in Singapore for their very generous donation of £10,000 which is coming our way. This will enable us to forge ahead with the construction - yewo chomene!



We are now in the rainy season and this morning when I looked out of the window this was the view – very reminiscent of home with the mist – but thankfully it dries up quickly and the sun comes out again.

It is strange to be thinking of Christmas when there are blue skies and temperatures around 34 degrees, cooler when it rains, but the reminders are there in the shops with the Christmas musak, the Christmas trees and the decorations. The contractor is finishing up this week for the Christmas and New Year holidays and we are taking a break too until 4th January 2010.

All that remains is to wish everyone a very happy Christmas and all good wishes for a Prosperous and Successful New Year.

At long last - it's officially a building site!

At long last the school site is now a building site!

The project board has been erected at the tarmac and site preparation is underway with the laying out and digging of foundations.

The soil being dug out is used to make the soil stabilised bricks (SSB’s); an environmentally friendly method of producing bricks as they are not burnt meaning no trees are cut down to fire the brick ovens.

Making the SSB’s: the soil is mixed with cement and put into a press and the brick is formed. Bricks are then laid out in the sun to dry and then stock piled under cover to prevent them getting wet.

The foundation for the first classroom block has now been completed and work is underway on the second block. The next stage is for the concrete slab to be laid and after that construction of the walls will begin.

While this is going on the pit latrines are being dug out. This is done by hand – no machines here – and digging is to a depth of 4 metres. These will be lined with concrete blocks before the upper walls are constructed.

With the start of the rainy season it is now a race against time to have the walls up and the roof on the buildings under construction so that work can be done inside to finish the buildings. The completion date for this first phase is 25th January 2010 but I’m not optimistic and expect some delays. A two bed roomed staff house is also being constructed but only the foundations have been dug out for that as of now.

With the exception of the foreman and technical staff all the workers on the site are local people, men and women who are benefitting financally.  There's a great atmosphere on the site and everyone is working very hard.  They have a visitors book and anyone calling at the site must now sign the book with their details and the reason for the visit.  We try to visit once per week to check on progress and we're always welcomed.

Mulhako wa Alhomwe - Journey to revive culture, tradition

All work and no play makes for a dull life but last weekend I was the guest of my good friend Anna Kachikho, Minister of Tourism and Culture, as we joined the Lhomwe Tribe to celebrate the groups first anniversary of the revival of the Lhomwe culture and tradtion in the presence of Ngwazi Dr Bingu wa Mutharika, President of Malawi.

Anna dressed me from head to toe in traditional dress - yes even the shoes were made specially for the occasion - and I had no problem entering into the spirit of the day.  Everyone was wearing the cloth specially designed for the function.  This is a tradtion in Malawi and the men have jackets, shirts, hats made and the women dresses and headgear so I blended in well.
After the opening speeches it was down to the business of the day and the dancing began.  A raised podium had been constructed so that everyone had a good view of the dancers.  There was a break for lunch and afterwards the dancers returned - it was quite a spectacle with all the different colours and styles of dress, the constant drum beat and the whistle blowing.

 By the time the turn of the Phalombe women from Anna's home village came around I was ready to take part.  I had been coached in the style of the dance and as we took our place on the podium there was a huge cheer as the crowd realised there was a msungu dancing and we had to do a second round much to the satisfaction of the crowd. I heard later that this was reported over the radio but thankfully they didn't know my name.  But, of the only two pictures to be published in  The Nation, yes you've guessed it ,there's one with the msungu!  It was a long way to travel but I thoroughly enjoyed the day and look forward to next year's event.
Now back to work......................

Construction underway

It's been a week since we visited the site and as you can see from the photos work is now well underway.  The foundations for the two classroom blocks are being dug out and the concrete blocks to be used in the foundations are being moulded.  These are laid out to cure and have to be frequently watered to prevent cracking.

There is no water on site and a brick tank, concrete lined, has been built to hold the water used for construction.  The water is fetched from the river some 2kms away.  Local women have been employed by the contractor to collect and carry the water from the river to fill the drums loaded on the contractors truck.  They then drive back to the site and off load the water into the water tank.  This task is carried out several times per day.  It should perhaps be mentioned that this is the water source for people living in the area as there are no boreholes or access to piped water, this is the water used for cooking, drinking washing etc.
We are making some progress in our search for a suitable engine to drive the maize mill so hopefully that will be up and running in the near future.

   This weekend I'm off down south to Mulanje to a function with lots of traditional dancing so should be some interesting photos for next week!

Lots more photos on the main construction site!

Update From Malawi Thursday 15th October

Janet wrote

Hello everyone from Malawi,
Well you can see that construction has now started but we have no water on site yet so the contractors are building a large water tank that the local women will fill. They will be paid for this work by the contractors but it is not much fun in the blistering heat and the rough road surfaces! This is a very short blog to you all as I am travelling South to see friends and meet contacts who can maybe help move the project along. A few days respite recovering after the 3rd of October is welcome!
Enjoy the Photos!

Janet

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Official Opening of Ubale Bridge & Ground Breaking Ceremony.

The 3rd October 2009 a very special day in the Chesney Trust calendar and what a day it proved to be - fantastic! The ceremonies were due to begin at 09.00am but in true Malawian style it was some time after 11.00am before we were underway.  The purple and white cloth of Chesney Trust, Tshirts, purple and white balloons much in evidence.

The ceremony was attended by several cabinet ministers including Hon. Goodall Gondwe, Minister of Local Government, Inkosi Mtwalo (the chief of Mzimba region), Inkosana Lazaro Jere our local chief, the District Commisioner, the Divisional Education and District Education Managers, Village Head Men, and local dignatories - a long list.
The bridge was officially opened by Hon. Catherine Gotani Hara M.P., Deputy Minister of Gender, Children and Community Development.  The ribbon was cut and the plaque unveiled to much cheering and dancing by the local community.  We then walked across the bridge with the TV cameras, radio and press journalists recording the events.  It was then into the vehicles for the drive up the hill to the site for the school.
When we arrived the contractor was still busily trying to have everything in place - they had from the 3rd September to get organised but hey this is Malawi where time is not important - "don't worry Madam, we'll be ready " is phrase I hear all too often but my some miracle we always seem to get there and in the end everything was ready and the guest of honour donned her white protective coat and proceeded to dig up several shovel fulls of earth and the ground breaking was completed.

The contractor had a display board with the plans for the school and drawings of the buildings and he anwered many questions from the M.P's and others.  Hon. Gotani Hara was particularly interested in what hostel provision would be in place and was delighted with the planned hostel accommmodation.  Hon Goodal Gondwe was concerend with the water supply and has now promised to assist in providing piped water to  the area.  This will benenfit the school and also the local community who presently obtain their water from shallow wells.  The Education Managers wanted know about pupil selection and were very happy to learn of our plans to include hearing impaired, orphans and poor children who would otherwise be denied an education.

Interviews were carried out by all the press in attendance and sometime this week it will be on TV Malawi news with a possible documentary on the work of the Trust in the area.
With the formal part of the occasion over it was off to the football ground at Engcongolweni for the entertainment and speeches.  The children from the two local primary schools performed dramas, recitations, dancing and the choir sang a thank you to the Chesney Trust for the project of the school, for the bridge and for the maize mill.  Hopefully we will have this on the website in the near future .
With the speeches over it was time for lunch and then off home to relax.  Relaxation didn't come easily as I think I've been running on adrenalin for the past week but it was such a rewarding day and the culmination of two years work at this end and some very hard work fundraising in Scotland.
We have started ..................so we'll fininsh and we will be updating regularly on the construction that will soon be underway - the contractor is currrently measuring out and marking the foundation lines so watch this space...............................
Janet

Janets Latest News 23d Septmber

23rd September 2009


Hi from Mzuzu.

We are delighted with the new website and the opportunity to keep everyone up to date with life and work in Malawi. Blogging is a new experience for me and although I can ‘talk a lot’ I’m not sure how I’ll cope with this but here goes……………………

After all the efforts by our trustees and fundraisers we have now reached the stage where construction is about to begin and we will soon be sending photos of the buildings as they go up. The site was handed over to the contractor on the 3rd September in the presence of the architect, Mike Lwanda and Mr Matundu, Treasurer and Trustee of the Malawian Board. The site drawings and plans were duly signed by the contractor and the handover completed.

The site for the school is in a rural area and access initially was difficult as the bridge over the river had collapsed. This had to be reconstructed and will be officially opened on the 3rd October. Now with just over a week to go to the opening ceremony for the Ubale Bridge and the ground breaking ceremony for the school we are in the final stages of preparation for the functions. The name plates for the bridge have been made and now have to be attached to poles and cemented in place. The commemorative plaque recognising the donors who funded this bridge is also ready, a pillar will be built, and the plaque cemented in to it to be unveiled on the day. Two or three days before the opening the railings will be painted and the area cleaned and swept.

It promises to be a colourful day with local men and women and the local primary schools providing entertainment, choirs, traditional dances and dramas. Chesney Trust will donate books to the three primary schools as a thank you for their participation.

We will post photos of the event and keep everyone up to date with our progress……………………..till next time.

Janet