After spending a couple of wonderfully relaxing days up at the plantation, Tanya & I headed out to Chisala to see the primary school she built as part of the Build Malawi project. The drive from the plantation to the school was absolutely stunning – the scenery here is so dramatic – vast rolling mountains covered in trees and jagged rock faces that brightly reflect the sun. On our way to the school we passed through Mzuzu – the closest town to the plantation. It is a little town with small, low-built, simple concrete buildings – I’m told the market here is pretty good – will try to check it out at some point. The streets are lined with those wonderful purple Jacaranda trees and although the town is quite poor it does have a charm about it.

Eventually we have to turn off the main road onto the dirt tracks that lead to Chisala. As we draw closer to the school, the locals begin to recognize Tanya “Tanya!” shout the children as they smile and wave. It warms the heart so much to see how much love these children have for her. She has given them a glimmer of hope, a chance at life. These children are so beautiful – seeing them smiling up at me really touched something deep within me. I think I’m going to spend a few days up here at the school – I’d really love to at least try to contribute something towards the future of these little children.

In order to build the school it has been up to the community to make the bricks – this project has been about trying to teach the locals to help themselves, rather than simply relying on aid from the West. However, it seems the community lack the drive to continue to develop the project further – the teachers in charge seem to be having a hard time motivating the locals to make more bricks, thus meaning the school has been slow to continue developing. Having said that, they have been making efforts to maintain and repair the school – it has recently been completely redecorated & the teachers seem to have a desire to see the project continue and grow.

After the visit to the school we continued on to spend the night at Tanya’s house in the middle of a tea plantation. The drive there was absolutely splendid – miles and miles of tea fields, set against spectacular layers of mountains. The colours are so vibrant – the rich greens of the tea fields set against the reds, oranges and deeper greens of the trees, the grey and purple hues of the majestic mountains and the deep copper red of the ground. So many times we’ve turned a corner and my heart has skipped a beat at the sight of the beautiful landscape around me. It is so humbling to be in the presence of such natural beauty.

The following day we paid another quick visit to the school to drop off some Kindles that were donated. Upon returning my desire to come back and spend a few days here grew even stronger. I’ll definitely be returning after the weekend. We then drove on to Nkhata Bay to the Butterfly lodge for a joint birthday party. It was quite a messy bash – the bay is fondly coined The Bay Of Decay because of the amount of drinking that goes on here…and I’m told quite this party was pretty tame compared to Butterfly’s usual party standards! Almost everyone from Lake Of Stars was there, it was wonderful to see them all again. The following day we set off to have a spot of lunch at Makuzi – a wonderful lodge on the lake shore. It was extremely picturesque – the lake is so vast up here it looks like an ocean – and there was hardly anyone around, so Tanya & I virtually had the whole beach to ourselves. After lazing around and dozing on the perfect white sandy beach we set off for Kande to spend the night with 2 of Tanya’s friends who run horse riding stables. We enjoyed a tremendous steak dinner with them, complete with a salad made up of entirely home-grown produce – oh to be able to be as self-sufficient as these guys – practically all the vegetables they eat are grown on their land. That’s the way to live – forget Tescos! The desire to be able to grow my own produce is getting stronger with each passing day I spend out here. My brain is ticking away, thinking about relocation options after London. But closer to the future for now…tomorrow morning I’m up super early for a horse ride in the forest & along the lake shore. I can’t wait.

Huge thanks to Isya for the amazing horse ride. My horse was an absolute beauty called Scoobs – she was so chilled, I had a great time riding on her. We trotted through the forests, cantered across open plains, ambled through little settlements – I witnessed some villagers carrying piles of bricks – yes bricks – on their heads. We even rode through swarms of lake flies, which was an interesting experience! These flies are harmless (they are actually featured in an episode of Planet Earth) and once a year, when the rains come, the larvae float up from the depths of Lake Malawi & hatch. They come out in their millions (thankfully the swarms we encountered were in their thousands rather than millions) to mate – and then they die. The largest swarms are to be found over the deeper waters of the lake – when you look at it from afar it literally looks like a big grey smoke cloud rising up out of the lake. The locals were all out in force, catching the flies in baskets. It is a local delicacy to cook up the flies and eat them with nsima (ground up cooked maize, similar to polenta) and crushed peanuts. I probably swallowed a fair few as we rode through the swarms – and plenty got stuck to me! Scoobs was not impressed by them – she couldn’t wait to get away! We rode the horses onto the shores of the lake, took off their saddles and our shoes and then rode them into the lake bareback. As I recall the experience a huge smile is breaking across my face. I absolutely loved it – to be sitting on Scoobs as she splashed through the lake, playing and cooling herself off after the long ride was utterly divine. Please do go to Kande Horses for a ride whenever you decide to head to Malawi! http://www.kandehorse.com/

I have to say, the image of the villagers carrying their bricks really stuck in my head. These people are seriously hardcore. When you see things like that in such close proximity it really hammers home how pathetic us Westerners can be sometimes. We moan when our closest supermarket is further than a 10 minute walk away, we get angry when shops shut early because it’s a Sunday. Some of these people have to walk for miles just to get some water. For me there’s a massive difference between watching how these people live through a documentary and actually seeing it in the flesh - in the here & now. It has definitely taught me a lesson that will make me think twice now before taking my life for granted.

After the horse ride, Tan & I headed back to Nkhata Bay, where we would part company for a few days. Ever since arriving I had wanted to do some diving, so I headed straight for Aqua Africa for a spot of diving with Rob, the utterly fabulous dude of all that is diving. My goodness, it was an absolutely awesome experience. The scenery in the watery depths of the lake is so spectacular. Enormous rocks jut out from the bed of the lake forming dramatic and jagged ridges – I swear the animator for Lion King had a swim down in this lake before they drew the landscape for the film. Table Rock? It’s down in Lake Malawi, I tell ya! We encountered hundreds of the most beautifully coloured tropical fresh water fish – yellows, blues, even purple and black stripes (yeay the purple!) – so stunning. We came across the belly-up fish that literally spends its entire life belly up, swimming on its back. In the darker alcoves formed by the rocks we found some nocturnal dolphin fish. They are blind and hunt using electromagnetic waves so they came right up to us – incredible. Crabs scurried across the rock surfaces (I couldn’t help but think of the crabs from Nemo and chuckled away to myself as I remembered them). In the sandier waters there is a breed of fish that fashions craters in the sand. If a shell accidentally gets washed into the crater, the fish hurriedly swim into their crater & throw it out – OCD fish, gotta love them! At one point I turned my head to the left and the bed of the lake dropped down into a deep, black abyss. Breathtaking. The lake is 700 meters at its deepest – the deepest we went was 10 meters. I absolutely loved every second of the dive – and Rob was a wonderful instructor. I’ve definitely developed a taste for diving…I can see myself doing many more dives in India for sure!

It was a full moon last night & I was lucky enough to see it rising up over the mountains, big and pink. I spent the evening sitting on a secluded beach under her silvery light. Of course I’m in the Southern Hemisphere now – and the man on the moon looks like a proper sad smiley (I think I actually prefer this dude to the one we have up north!) The moon was so bright we couldn’t see a single star and all that could be heard around us was an orchestra of crickets and the odd bat. Wee little fireflies blinked past us as we sat listening to the waves gently lapping against the shore.

The following morning I headed back to Chisala School to do some volunteer work for a couple of days. My transport options were a taxi – or a bus (and we’re not talking air conditioned National Express coaches, rather over-packed & slightly run-down minibuses that have no particular timetable, but go whenever they’re full) and then a 7km walk down a very hilly dirt track with my not-so-light (thanks to my laptop & my enormous India Lonely Planet Guide). Before you jump to any conclusions I was actually seriously considering the bus & walk option…but then in the sweltering afternoon sun I must admit I chickened out & went with the taxi. I figured I’m going to have to take the walk / minibus option when I leave the school, so for now I’d treat myself to a taxi. Once I arrived at the school I had a meeting with Mr Banda the headmaster to discuss what I can do while I’m here. On the schedule is teaching an English class to the Level 8 students (age 12-16), training the teachers on how to use computers, helping out at the under 5 clinic tomorrow morning, making bricks and playing netball (probably extremely badly).

Sitting in on a staff meeting I slowly came to understand some of the serious difficulties these teachers face. Because Malawi is such a poor country there is limited funding from the government – much of the budget for education and health generally comes from donors. However, bad relations between donor nations due to human rights issues has caused many of the countries to withdraw aid pending certain changes from the Malawian government. Malawians and expats alike are concerned that the president & government is alienating the donor community who fund over half of the country’s expenditure in education, health, infrastructure & development. There have been riots expressing this concern for the government’s general lack of understanding and there have been many issues from the poor rural farmer to the highest top-ranking government officials, many of whom have been removed from the political scene due to their beliefs that may conflict with the president’s. The president was even on the BBC recently stating that all is well in Malawi, but many people I have spoken to believe that quite significant change will be required to get Malawi back in its feet.

The main way this can happen is through creating more of a manufacturing / exporting base which will create more foreign exchange for the country. Over the last 4 years, the standard of living and quality of life has generally increased and there are now many more middle & upper class Malawians than there were before. This is reflected in more cars & more imported foods (becoming more of a consumer society), thus requiring greater imports. However, Malawi does not have the income from an exporting infrastructure to support this demand. There are regular fuel shortages because the government cannot afford to purchase it. Because of the shortage of foreign exchange, businesses are unable buy the goods from abroad needed to sell in Malawi, therefore general business is suffering. Escom (the mainline electricity) has just introduced a shed-loading between 6-10 hours a day in the main cities for power sharing, but with the fuel shortage generators are difficult and more expensive to run, therefore making business not viable.

Looking to the positive, the government is in talks with the International Monetary Fund to come to an understanding on further funding, but this does prove that Malawi still needs aid money to see it through at least for the time being. With donor money withdrawn, education and health in particular have taken a knock. As a result, payment of teacher’s wages have not always been timely, and the standard of education requires much attention. Much-needed medication is not reaching the clinics and hospitals and funds and resources are not being given to the schools.

Some students at the school are struggling to keep up in class & it seems the proposed solution is to drop them back a year until they catch up – but how is this going to help these students? The teachers at Chisala seem at a loss as to finding plausible solutions and I must admit I found it quite disheartening to witness teachers unable to come up with any feasible ideas. Eventually the suggestion of creating an extra class a week for those students who are struggling was proposed and most of the teachers seemed to think it was a good idea, although some were reluctant to put in the extra hours. From one perspective it is difficult not to get upset over their seeming lack of care - the future of these children’s lives depends on these teachers in so many ways. However, when one considers what these teachers have to work with it is a miracle that they are able to function at all. For sure the teachers could all benefit from better teacher training, but this is just one item on a huge list of problems that need to be addressed.

This afternoon I taught an English class of 12-16 year olds. My task was to teach them to write a business letter. Sounds simple enough, right? Wrong. It was such a challenge - a far cry from my familiar teaching grounds of the University Of Westminster. To be honest with you I had no idea it was going to be this difficult – the students were hard to control, they lacked focus and I doubt if half of them actually understood what I was saying to them. It brought me down to earth with a thud and left me totally humbled. I felt hopeless and useless – and so very sad for these children. Upon marking the work I had set for the children my heart sank even further. Some of these children really do need special tutoring to bring them up to speed. This experience has opened my eyes more than I could have ever imagined.

This evening after dinner an evening of dancing took place. One of the teachers set up a small stereo in the library and the teachers and some students gathered around and danced to local Malawian music. The teachers have a fun and friendly relationship with their students – they have obviously formed very close bonds. It was great to see teachers and students dancing together – and some of these children – even the little ones, can seriously dance! One little girl who couldn’t have been more than 8 was giving it some serious bootay shakage – go on girl! I felt completely inept dancing with these children and probably for the first time in my life I remained fully glued to my seat. It was fun to just sit, observe and admire yet more amazing local dance moves.

Whilst here I have been staying with one of the teachers called Luckness. She is a young teacher who is an absolute delight. She is taking very good care of me and getting to know her has been a pleasure. She has such a beautiful disposition, so humble and a little bit shy, but friendly and so gentle. I have also been fed some local cuisine – I finally got to sample cassava – it is the staple food here and looks like a cross between a sweet potato and a yam. It has many uses – it can be eaten raw, in which case it has a similar consistency to a carrot and is quite sweet. When it is cooked it smells strange – quite sour and musky – there’s no mistaking the aroma when you pass a house that is cooking it! The taste is odd, smokey and musky - like nothing I have ever tried. The cassava is also soaked, dried, then ground up into a flour and cooked with water to form another type of nsima…which has the same strange smell & taste of the cooked cassava. I can’t decide whether or not I like it.

Today my day began at 5:30am. Every day for Luckness and the other teachers and students here at Chisala School begins at this time. After breakfast, at 7am, it is time for assembly. The children all gathered outside in their assembly area and the deputy head lead them in their morning song. Mr Banda then introduced me to the school and I am greeted so warmly it brings a lump to my throat.

After assembly I head to the clinic where I spent the morning helping out nurse Eliza and her assistant Christine at the antenatal and outpatient clinics. These nurses are absolutely astounding – they care so much for their community. Eliza shows me around the clinic which is running, but not fully functional. The maternity block cannot be used as the plumbing is yet to be completed and the ward itself needs interior building work finalised. Eliza has been pushing for the ward to be finished, but the government is slow to respond. Until it is completed, women in labour have to get themselves to Nkhata Bay to deliver their babies - which is a good half an hour’s drive. Fine if you have transport, but few, if any, of these women do - so if they want to deliver in a hospital or clinic they have no choice but to make the journey on foot – in labour.  As a result, many mothers choose to deliver at home, resulting in a high number of deaths, both in the mother and baby. Some of the expectant mothers I saw today are as young as fifteen. Many in their early twenties already have two or three babies, and some of them are HIV positive. Christine explained to me that the HIV virus only gets passed from mother to baby during delivery. If the mother is HIV positive and delivers in a hospital or clinic, a drug can be administered to prevent the transferral of the virus. If delivered at home however, nothing is done to prevent the transfer and the disease is passed on to her baby. During the outpatient clinic a mother comes in with her baby. She is HIV positive and had a home birth and now her baby is very sick – he has HIV. I literally had to hold back the tears as I saw the little baby in front of me. He will live until 18 if he is lucky. Most HIV positive children do not make it past the age of 12. The experiences of this morning have left a very deep impression upon my heart for sure. Despite the many documentaries I have watched, and the cases I read about, I never really ‘got it’ until I actually sat in front these people and had a glimpse of what they go through with my own eyes. Eliza and Christine are doing all they can for these people – they are administering contraceptives and giving educational talks in an attempt to try to educate the community, but they need so much more.

After lunch I was to switch teacher mode back on – but this time I was to be training a couple of the teachers in basic computer skills. Teaching the teachers here is much, much easier than teaching the students - I hope what I have taught them will help ease the burden and make their jobs a little easier. I was then summoned to come and see how the students make bricks. This was a really fun experience. They make the bricks out of the massive termite hills that are dotted around the site of the school as this particular type of soil results in stronger bricks. The boys dig up parts of the termite hill with a hoe as the girls gather water from a nearby stream and carry it in buckets balanced on their heads up to the termite hill. The water is mixed in with the soil to create a malleable mud and wooden brick-shaped moulds are then dampened with water and sprinkled with sand so that the soil does not stick (a bit like buttering and dusting a cake pan I guess). The mud is then placed into the moulds, levelled off and then the moulds are carried to the drying site, carefully placed upside-down on the ground and then lifted off to reveal the brick-cakes. These are then left to dry and once dried all the bricks are gathered and placed into a structure that has two large holes in the bottom of it. Wood is placed into these holes and a fire is started. The fire then heats the surrounding bricks, thus baking and setting them, transforming them into strong building bricks. The children love making their bricks – to them it is a chance to play in the mud. I got stuck in too and in the process made a few new little friends. One little girl even came up to me and asked “Lizzie, can I be your friend?” I’m sure you can all guess what my reaction was.

After we had finished making bricks we headed to the football field where some of the villagers were dancing and playing drums, whilst the football team played a match. It was great to see more of the village, meet more of the locals and see them socialising. I caught the dancing and drumming on video. As soon as I have an internet connection fast enough I’ll upload it.

And that almost brings my stay at Chisala School to a close. I will be sad to say goodbye to everyone here just as I have started forming bonds with them. The 7km walk was an experience – and the minibus journey to Mzuzu was entertaining to say the least. I’m now back with Tanya & for the weekend we’re heading to beautiful & isolated Usisya to spend the weekend relaxing and doing beachy things. These past couple of days have really taught me a lot. I am so grateful for being given the opportunity to have this experience.

If any of you would like to volunteer at the school, or if you are a nurse or doctor who would like to volunteer at the clinic, they are always looking for people. You will be provided with accommodation and all utility bills will be taken care of – all you would need to pay for is your flight out here, plus food. When I return from India I will be doing some fundraising to try to raise £10,000 for the school and a further £10,000 for the clinic. Until then, if you feel like you would like to donate funds – either for the school or for the clinic, please do so via Tanya’s charity, Xpand. Your money will be guaranteed to go directly to where it needs to go. http://www.xpand.org.uk/donations.html