Volunteers 2010

Hard on the heels of our first group Little Heath Group 1 arrived.  They spent 3 days on site and produced at total of 2012 bricks.  They experieinced the problems and difficulties of the local community, particularly with access to water but they took up the challenge and fetched and carried water from the nearest borehole some 700 metres from where they were making the bricks.  They did try to carry the pails on their heads like the local women but had to give in to that method!     Their last day was spent going to church with the local community in the morning, enjoying a lunch prepared for them after the service and then in the afternoon taking on the local team in a game of football.  The game proceeded at break neck speed with the locals showing their flair and coming out winners in the end with a 2-1 score.  This group had carried out a laptop computer from Outlook Expeditions to be donated to the Trust and this was duly handed over to our visiting trustee from Scotland, Lyndsey McLennan.  After what they all agreed was a far too short visit they headed off for their safari in the south of the country but not before handing out 'goodies' to Baxter Gondwe, head teacher of the local primary school for the children at the school and the sewing kits that had been donated by the school for the womens tailoring classes to be run by the Trust.

Having said goodbye to the group we then welcomed our final group, Little Heath Group 2.  The buzz of excitement generated by this group was electric!  They had been given such good reports from their friends in Group 1 that they were most anxious to get to the site and get started. They were determined to beat the number of bricks made by their fellow group and did in fact make 2052 bricks (from memory so they will no doubt correct me if I'm wrong!).  I found them thoroughly enjoying trampling in the mud, singing as they worked and obviously very happy.  The photos say it all!

On Sunday, their last day, they went to Church in the morning and then joined Elias and his family at their home for a traditional meal.  They enjoyed rice and chicken with vegetables - rice being offered to the guests.  Normally it is nsima that Malawians eat.  This is prepared with maize flour (cornflour) and although filling provides no nutrional value - I have to say it is an aquired taste!  After the meal the group presented hand made cards to Elias, Watson and Henry, thanking them for showing them how to make the bricks and welcoming them in to their community.  It was then time to go outside for a demonstration on making nsima.  Once prepared of course everyone had to try it and they were again served up with a plate of nsima and vegetables and to their credit they consumed the lot!  So, well fed they set off down the hill to the village for what has now become a tradition - the Sunday afternoon football match.  Before the match the group presented me with sewing kits and an assortment of small toys.  The sewing kits will be for the tailoring classes and the toys - well more about that next time.

We are extremely grateful to each of the groups for all of their efforts, bush clearing, cleaning the maize mill brick work, filling in drum holes (huge potholes) in the access road and moulding over 5000 bricks.  The bricks will be stock piled for future use as we will require to build a security wall around the hostels and the classrooms.  Their participation was total and they all integrated well with the local community and joined in with the activities prepared for them.  Each of the groups camped at the local primary school where there is access to boreholes and clean drinking water.  Baxter Gondwe, head master, had organised bathing facilites African style for them and gave an animated demonstration of both the use of the 'showers' and the pit latrines.  He has a block of pit latrines kept specially for visitors which he emphasised time and again.

Everyone involved has given positive feedback with our volunteers experiencing the hospitality of the Warm Heart of Africa and giving our Malawian friends, as they put it, stories to tell their children of the time we spent with the visitors from England.

So to everyone involved, yewo chomene!