Day 12: In Blantyre and emotionally drained

I am still feeling emotionally drained. The hotel in Blantyre where some of us are staying is very nice, and I like the wireless hot spot, even if I have to get a wireless card and sit outside to use the Internet.

We had a wonderful discussion with another staff member of Church's Action for Relief and Development, Milton. Milton is a font of wonderful information about Malawi. After I get back to America, I will be able to use Milton's information in the blog entries that I will be making after I return, so stay tuned.

We went and visited a piggery, that is an income generating activity formerly sponsored by GAIA. It was depressing because one of the pigs was very sick. After that we went to see some home-based-care patients in a nearby village. Gertrude (35), her 13 year-old son Samson and her six-year old daughter, Stella. All are on ARVs. Gertrude was smiling and full of joy. She had an infant of unknown age on her back who, thanks to new drug treatments is HIV negative. Her husband, who was off in the fields is also HIV+ and is on ARVs. When they need more ARVs, they have to walk many kilometers to the nearest clinic.

After lunch in a food court in a shopping mall in Blantyre, some went to an infant orphanage. I went back to the hotel with a couple of the others. I needed some more down time by myself. Much needed. And a nap. I felt emotionally recharged at the end of the day.

Tomorrow we drive back to Lilongwe and to Wendel's and to free Internet access. The photographs are scenes from one of the villages we visited today.

Day 11: In Blantyre

Some of us are at a hotel, on the expensive side for Malawi, but it has a wi-fi hot spot and I purchased a card from the desk clerk. I was very homesick and this opportunity presented itself. I decided that it was worth the extra expense to be able to connect to the internet.

We had the morning off, and many slept in. We were not due to leave to go back to Blantyre until 10:30 AM. At the last minute, we ended up stopping at a Baptist Church that really was about 10 minutes away from the sugar plantation. We stayed for about 45 minutes. The singing and music was wonderful and we were warmly welcomed. We got to Blantyre about 2 PM.

Don and Mary and another couple, Tim and Jane went to an orphanage run by the Baptists, about one hour off the main road. Luzu talked to them just after we arrived, I don't know if they had gotten to the orphanage yet. Anyway, tonight we are having dinner with another baptist pastor in Blantyre. The young people and our food treasurer, Margo, went to the local grocery store to buy them food. Luzu is going to help by suggesting food that we can purchase for them.

By the way, I just adore Luzu. He is very special. And another saint.

Addendum

Don, Mary, Tim and Jane arrived in Blantyre around 5 PM. They were very moved by the orphan project that they visited. We had an absolutely wonderful time with Fletcher and Clara Kaiya. Fletcher is the Baptist Pastor I wrote about. I felt very refreshed by the warm welcome we received, I felt at home. The Kaiya's have about 16 children living with them under the age of 16, only one is their own child by birth, Mildred. Pastor Kaiya told us the Mildred considers the others her brothers and sisters. All or most of the other children are orphans. Two of their older children, both young men, are living with them as well. One Jonathan, is a bicycle racer who wants to race in the Tour de France. I have no doubt that he will make it. The children sang a couple of songs for us after dinner. They were delightful! The evening and the very warm welcome we received from the Kaiya family went a long way to alleviating my homesickness.




Top: the Kaiya children
Bottom: Fletcher and Carla Kaiya

Day 10: to Mindanti and then to Sugar Plantation

Today is the day that we are to visit Mindanti. So far, this is the first place that we will visit that is not supported by GAIA. We drove at least one hour south of Blantyre on a paved road before we met Emmanuel, who introduced himself as a warden with the Anglican Diocese in this district. I am pretty sure that Emmanuel is a lay person. He is our guide and interpreter. Another 5 to 10 minute drive takes us to the dirt road to Mindanti. The road gets more rutted as we drive further away from the paved road, crossing over many bridges. One of the bridges has wooden planking. It is dry season, so all the streams and the river that we pass over are dry. One of the bridges crossed a River that is now dry, we go down a hill as we approach the bridge and up a hill after we cross the bridge. Along the way, we pass many villages.

I have heard from my Malawian friends, and from my friend Tom Gebhard that the road is impassable during the rainy season. It is easy to see why. And today, the day when we go to what I consider to be the remotest villages to date, it is raining. So, it would seem that even in the dry season, there is the occasional day or two when it rains. Fortunately, it is a light rain, as rains go. We pass perhaps two small stores and a sign for a Ministry of Education project that is 3 km away. I have no idea what this project is. Perhaps it refers to a primary school in one of the many villages that we pass.

After about 45 minutes, we get to Mindanti. We see the uncompleted building that is to be the maternity clinic. An American Episcopal Church funded the construction of the clinic. Unfortunately, they ran out of funds before they could finish. It is a large building, as buildings in Malawi go. It lacks doors, windows, and a roof. After the clinic building is completed, the plan is to staff the clinic with a government–paid nurse. We do not see any sign of the well on this visit and Emmanuel thinks that the well has yet to be drilled. However, Emmanuel is careful to refer all questions to Father Patrick, the Anglican Priest who is working in this district.

I get a couple of pictures, but it is raining lightly, so I put my camera away. I stand under a tree to keep dry and watch Julie, Margo and perhaps one or two others dancing with the village children.

According to Emmanuel, World Vision constructed many of the buildings in the village, a Church and at least some of the residences. There is one building, not a World Vision building, that is to be a Church that is without a roof.

Emmanuel says that Father Patrick is waiting to meet with us, and will be able to answer our questions. He says that he is a short distance away. A short distance away turns out to be a 30 minute drive over many bridges, passing many villages and one more small store on rutted dirt roads.

When we arrive at the village where Father Patrick is, the villagers are singing a song of greeting. It is still raining and we go into the Church where they are just getting ready to celebrate the Eucharist. Father Patrick invites our leader, Don to introduce his group. We each stand up and introduce ourselves. He invites one of our group to give what he calls a testimony at the end of the service. Julie offers a very good and moving testimony.

The Church is a simple structure that appears to be made out of mud with benches made out of mud. This is truly a holy place. The singing is very joyful. Everyone in the group feels that the Church service made this long drive on a rutted road to this remote church worth the drive.

The rains seemed to pick up a notch while we are in the service. At the end of the service, Don speaks privately to Father Patrick. It seems best not to intrude, so we stand outside waiting for him. His visit is not long, and we start the long drive back to the main road.

I admit to having some anxiety because of the rain and the bad stories that I have heard about this road. Our van driver, Luzu confirms this.

On our way back, we drop off one guest from Mindanti back at the village. Emmanuel is riding with Don and Mary. I expect that Don, probably through Father Patrick, has confirmed that the wind–mill powered water project is currently under construction. We see the wind–mill that is being constructed, but I decline to get out and take a picture. It is raining, and I can not get a good picture without getting my camera wet.

We drive to our hotel at a Sugar Plantation. More on that in tomorrows blog. I am emotionally weary and very homesick. The homesickness eats away at me. I know that others our homesick as well, cropping up at times that I least expect it to. We have some down time this afternoon and tomorrow morning. A welcome respite by all.







From top: Mindanti, inside uncompleted maternity clinic in Mindanti, Anglican Church where we worshipped, note the "mud" pews and the thatched roof, sugar plantation.

Day 9: Zomba to Blantyre

After an early breakfast, we went for a walk in a botanical garden adjoining the hotel. The grounds were beautiful. As we entered the gardens, I noted that there were signs indicating the species of a couple of the trees. Unfortunately, time did not allow me to stop and learn the names of these strange and majestic trees. We quickly got to a beautiful stream surrounding by what appeared to be bamboo and other foliage that I did not recognize. We climbed up a short, somewhat rocky hill, to a bridge that crossed the stream. There, in the interest of knee health, I decided to pause while the others went up to a meadow. Jane was kind enough to sit with me while the others hiked up to the meadow. Silly me for not wearing my knee brace! The pictures do not do this justice. It was daytime, so we did not have to worry about the skitters!

Our first stop was the Lydia Foundation Skills Training Center, Tailoring Workshop. For a fee, women are trained to be tailors. This is another GAIA funded group, as all of the groups that we have visited so far are. There are three grades, each lasting three months, basic, intermediate, and advanced. When they are finished, they either get a job or work from home. When the graduate, they get a loan for 5,000 kwachas (local currency) that they can use to start a business. The idea here is that this is a women’s empowerment program.

Jane demonstrated, using a teddy bear, how the chintje cloth is used by Malawian women to carry a baby.

Rachael Fielder, the founder of the Lydia Project explained what she meant by women’s empowerment for Malawi women later in the morning over tea at her house. She said that the goal of the Lydia Project, the tailoring workshop is under its umbrella. She said the Lydia Project is about women’s empowerment. She was widowed and lost everything after her first husband died. She wants to help Malawi women like herself. The idea here is that through Lydia, women can find themselves, and not be “trapped in marriage.” In most cases, the women will stay married, but the important thing about Lydia is that they will be economically empowered. That is Rachael in the middle of the photograph with Julie on her left and Jean on her right.

The Lydia Project also works with income generating activities (IGAs) where some of the proceeds is used to help fund orphans in the women’s villages along with home–based care and secondary school fees. We visited a piggery in one village and a small roadside stand in a second village.

I will remember Rachael. She is an awesome woman, and I will write more about here after I return to America.

After leaving Rachael, we drove towards Blantyre where we stopped and visited Churches Action for Relief and Development (CARD), another GAIA funded group. The director is a very impressive and well spoken man, Jones Laviwa. He talked about CARD’s work in villages near Blantyre: work with orphans, home–based care for those living with HIV, HIV counseling, and the like. He told us of the very hard work he and his first coordinators did to earn the trust of the people in the first villagers they worked with. At that time, admitting to living with HIV by a Malawian, meant living like a second class citizen and being shunned. So, earning trust was a long road, something they accomplished through health care talks that including HIV issues. It wasn’t until the anti-retroviral drugs were introduced in Malawi in August of 2005, that this stigma began to lift.

We left CARD, and drove into Blantyre to our lodging for the night. As we drove into Blantrye, I was impressed by the sight of car dealerships, including a Subaru dealer (I have a Subaru, other auto dealerships, a Carlsburg Beer plant, and a divided highway. I am not sure, but it appeared to me to be Malawi’s largest city. I’ll have to check my facts on this and revisit that point after I get back to America.

Today was also the day that homesickness and the crazies hit. Not that I was acting out crazy. I was slightly crabby most of the day because I was homesick, missing my friends and loved ones. And depressed. Spending time writing, listening to some soothing classical music, and reading some meditations that I brought with me helped. As did sharing about this with some of the others from my group. It turns out that many of us were feeling the same thing.

We ended the day with dinner at a fabulous Indian Restaurant called The Bombay Palace. And yes, we had our requisite power problem, this time it appeared to be a problem with the electrical supply within the restaurant because only a portion of the restaurant was darkened and there were lights outside.

And our wonderful van driver, Luzu, helped get Don’s rental car out of a very tight parking spot.

Day 8: To Zomba

I don’t believe that I have mentioned the blackouts are not infrequent here in Malawi. Up to and including today, we have had five or six power failures. At Wendels and at Hippo View, they had a back–up generator, which quickly kicked in. I don’t recall if they had a back–up generator at Carolina’s, but the staff quickly supplied us with candles at our dinner table. This power failure lasted only a matter of perhaps twenty minutes. We had candles in our room at Carolina’s, but no matches. There were candles and matches in our rooms at the Hotel Masongala in Zomba where we are staying this evening. We did have a black–out during dinner this evening that may have delayed our dinner even longer than usual. We ordered dinner a little after 7 PM, I took my Malaria pill at 7:30 PM. I am supposed to take my Malaria pill at the same time every day with a meal. The power went off sometime shortly after I took my Malaria pill. Food did not arrive until several minutes after the power came back on at 9 PM. Just when I was ready to go back to my room and get a cereal bar.

Anyway, back to this morning. After breakfast, we went for a boat ride on the Shire River for a little over an hour. I saw some Hippos in the water. Or more accurately, I saw their heads. I was not close enough to get anything resembling a decent picture, so you will have to trust me. We saw some storks, and a species of eagle that the Malawians call a fish eagle. It resembles a bald eagle in America, and I do not know if it is the same bird with a different name. The boat driver steered the boat where we could watch it flying and soaring overhead before it landed in the grass. This was the closest that I have ever been to an eagle and it was beautiful.

There were lots of men in boats fishing. Luzu thinks that reason that we did not see any Elephants –– they did last year –– is because all the fisherman scared away the elephants.

I snapped a picture of a baobob tree.

After returning to the Lodge, we stopped at St. Lukes Hospital, which I think is affiliated with the Anglican Church. Jean Richardson, who specializes in HIV prevention at the USC Med School, gave a presentation to the hospital staff. It was very informative and she did an excellent job of questioning the staff to be sure the her presentation met their needs.

Perhaps the most important GAIA activities in Malawi are income generating activities or IGAs. The purpose of an IGA is to provide a financial means for the village to continue the work that GAIA funds started: working with orphans, home–based care, paying secondary school fees. Those participating in IGAs also get to keep some of the profits for themselves. Today we saw three IGAs: carpentry (that is Julie in the picture demonstrating one of the beds the boys built), a piggery, and dairy cows. The boys in the carpentry project were building wooden beds that they sell. They buy the tools themselves and have no access to electricity. They do a good job. Here the boys are also being trained in a skill that they can use later to either get jobs or to be able to make and sell furniture.

Zomba is a very nice town, with a couple of Colleges and Universities. So there is the feel of a college town. It used to be the capital city and there is a vague Victorian feel to the town. The Hotel Masongala was built in 1886. I’m sorry that I did not get a picture. The grounds are beautiful. And we are next door to a botanical garden. Tomorrow morning after breakfast we are going on a walk in the botanical gardens after breakfast and before we depart for Blantyre.

Day 7: to Liwonde

Today was a travel day. We began today with a meeting at the Malawi Ministry of Health where Jean Richardson, an expert in HIV prevention gave a presentation. After our meeting we drove to Liwonde with a planned stop for a lunch at a village that did not work out.

Highlights of the day included:

Driving on a road that was literally on the Malawi–Mozambique border. Malawi on our left and Mozambique on our right.

Beautiful scenery with mountains in the background, some of the mountains had large rock formation. We passed a couple of fields with what looked to me like glacial erratics, rocks left by glaciers. Of course, I have no idea how far south glaciers got in Africa or if they even were any glaciers in Africa.

A drive down a beautiful, windy road with a view of Lake Malawi in the distance at one point.
Luzu, our driver, losing and then finding the keys to the van. He promised to tie the key to a string around his wrist.

Stephanie eating the tomato gravy for dinner that came with the chicken that Margo, Julie, and I ordered. It was better than the tomato soup she ordered to save money.

It was Rachel’s birthday. Julie, Margo, Stephanie, and I were sitting at one table. We ordered her a piece of chocolate cake for Rachel to celebrate her birthday. We had to order a second piece of cake for her after we ate the first one. Don said that we were "flashing our impulsive pathologies.



Pictures from top: Luzu with an animal skin trying to scare us, Stephanie and Tyler, scenes on today's drive.

Prelude to day 7 in Malawi

Saturday, June 23, 2007

As I write this post meant as a prelude to day 7, I am a day behind in my entries. This is something that I hope to rectify this afternoon. I found last week that uploading pictures to my web blog took a little time. So, for the sake of brevity and to keep things simple, my plan is to post only the written journal entries when I get back to Wendels on Tuesday. I urge those of you who want to see the pictures that will go along with these entries to check back here three or four days after I get back to America on June 29

The next six days

The next six days will probably be without internet access. We come back here to Wendels on Tuesday, June 26. If I am able, I will post a brief comment from an internet cafe. If it happens that we have good internet access from one of the places where we are staying, than I will be able to post a longer entry. Note that Don, our trip leader, had to make other arrangements than any of those listed for Blantyre. A long story and one I won't go into here. We will be staying at another Church sponsored guesthouse in Blantyre, one whose name I don't quite remember.

So, I am posting the itinerary that I have on my computer, sent to us by Don about a week before I left the U.S.

June 20, Wednesday
Lilongwe to Liwonde. Jean Richardson makes presentation on Compliance Issues in HIV/AIDS Prevention through Ministry of Health. Drive to Liwonde, leaving mid-morning. Lodging at Hippo View Lodge, Liwonde (near Shire River).

June 21. Thursday
At 8 a.m. Shire River boat ride into Liwonde National Park to see wildlife for 1 to 2 hours. Drive about 1 hour to Malosa to visit St. Luke’s Hospital, and to see GAIA villages IGA’s and HBC patient. Discussion and conversation about ARV compliance with Dr. Jean Richardson and St. Luke clinicians. Picnic lunch. Drive to Zomba. Lodging at Hotel Masongola.

June 22, Friday
Zomba to Blantyre. Early morning walk after breakfast through the Malawi Botanical Gardens---not to be missed! Morning visiting with Rachel Fiedler and Lydia Project
In the afternoon we travel to Blantyre. Dinner in town at a great Indian Restaurant.
Lodging at Kabula Hill Lodge or the Assemblies of God Guesthouse.

June 23, Saturday
Meet with Global Aids Interfaith Alliance (GAIA) leaders Jones Laviwa, Alice Mbumbve. GAIA villages and IGA’s.[I think that IGA refer to GAIA funded projects where people are involved in income generating activities. Meet with Nursing students ??? Lodging at Kabula Hill Lodge or the Assemblies of God Guesthouse.

June 24, Sunday
Travel to Chikwawa. Church Service
Visit Chikwawa Hospital, Baptist and Presbyterian AIDS`orphan work, Anglican Clinic and Water Project (this is the village that I wrote about.) Dinner and lodging at Sucoma Sports Club in Nchala.

June 25, Monday
Return to Blantyre. Visit Fletcher and Clara Kaiya’s orphan care project. Meet with Fletcher Kaiya, Baptist Convention of Malawi. Lodging at Kabula Hill Lodge or the Assemblies of God Guesthouse.

June 26, Tuesday
Blantyre to Lilongwe. Drive to Lilongwe Mua Mission enroute to Lilongwe??? Sleep at Wendels Guest House in Lilongwe.

Despair and poor sanitation

The photos of smiling children mugging for the camera that I posted earlier hide the despair and sorrow of the unbelievable poverty that they live in. I would be untrue to what I have seen to only post pictures of happy children. The last project that we visited today was in a remote area of rural Malawi about 45 minutes from Lilongwe Malawi.

I will always remember one little boy. His eyes were those of one who had no voice, no joy, and no hope. I shook his hand in greeting. His hand was limp. There were other children who looked like he did. Some smiled and mugged for the camera and were eager to see the image on the digital camera. Someone pointed out later, that as soon we left, the look of hopelessness returned

Most of the huts are made from hand made bricks that are not kiln dried. These bricks will wash away during the heavy rains of the rainy season. While I was off doing something else, someone from our group looked in one of the huts. There was nothing in it. Nothing. Think of all that we have in America that we think are essential to our lives. To see nothing in their huts, not even a change of clothes or a sleeping mat is a haunting image.

The roof of the pre–school has holes in it. It will cost $200 to fix the roof. This is a drop in the bucket by American standards, but an astronomical cost by Malawian standards.

The water source was not a well or bore hole with a hand–powered pump that I have seen in our travels. It was a hole in the ground with water. Water that is not safe to drink. The volunteers working with the pre–school boil the water before the children drink the water in the pre–school, and use it to make porridge for the little ones. But what of those in the village, what do they do? I doubt that they boil the water. I suspect that the women fetch the water and use it as is. At least the women do not have far to go for the water. Perhaps a three–minute walk from most of the village. But that is very small comfort.

The little kids are dirty, and many look sick. There is no water to wash with.

The toilet is a hole in the ground, literally. At least there is a shack around the hole.

Day 6: The children at KASO

Day 6: Kanengo AIDS Support Organization

This morning we visited two sites of the Kanengo AIDS Support Organization (KASO) in Kanengo, a town not far from Lilongwe. At both sites that we visited, they run a pre-school program where in addition to pre-school activities, they also provided a meal.

The first site was not far from Lilongwe, perhaps 20 minutes. The second site was about a 20 minute drive from the first site along a dirt road that grew more rutted and dusty as we got further and further into the countryside. The director of the program is a wonderful man named Richard.

At both sites they had a few children's books, some in English, some in Spanish. It did not seem to matter. A book is a book. Just as I was wondering how they teach mathematics ideas to the preschoolers, I glanced at the blocks. So, I asked Richard, who was standing near me, they use the blocks to teach counting? He said yes. At the second site, and I'm sorry that I was unable to get a picture of this, they had a poster (from UNICEF?) with very simple pictoral multiplication ideas.

Note the boy with guitar in front of the table of books. I asked him to play some music for me while I took his picture.

Beauty in Malawi

There is incredible beauty in Malawi. As demonstrated by these photos from gardens at a restaurant near Wendels where we had lunch this afternoon.

Contrast these pictures with images of dry and sometimes dusty vegetation because it is the dry season here in Malawi (April through November)

Day 5: Back to Lilongwe

After breakfast at Carolinas where they served us local fruit, bananas and papayas, on the house, we drove back to Lilongwe. On the way we were scheduled to visit two programs.

The first one took us off of the main road and onto a rutted dirt road for 30 to 40 minutes, one way. I was riding shotgun in the car Don was driving. We have both a car that Don drives and the van that Luzu drives. Anyway, this gave us a chance to see what life is like in rural villages in Africa. Lots of traditional round huts with thatched roofs. When we got to our destination, there were some women and children who greeted us. I think that the person that we had hoped to see was not there that day.

So we drove back to the main road, this time I was sitting in the van. We ended up missing our visit at our second destination because we had the wrong directions. We meet the director of this program for dinner, we bought him and his wife dinner. He is a very nice and intelligent young man. The kind of man who can help Malawi in the future.

We got back to Lilongwe. Don's wife, Mary and I had an adventure walking around a two block area of Lilongwe, crossing streets three times. Crossing streets is almost like taking your life out of your hands. But we both came out the other end, so to speak.

Those of us who are staying at Wendels, got to Wendels and immediately went off to our rooms to hook up to the internet to write home to friends.

I am late to breakfast at the start of day six, so I'll sign off for now.

Saints

All of the staff at Bottom Hospital -- physicians, midwives, clinical officers, RNs, laboratory staff, administrative staff -- are saints.

I especially want to thank the OB/GYN who took the time to meet with us that day, Dr. Medguid.

Dr. Medguid, I will never forget you.

Day 4 in Malawi: Our Lady of Fatimas RC Church and Senga Bay Baptist Medical Clinic

Our day started with breakfast at 7 PM. Then we were off to an 8 AM service at the nearby St. Fatima’s Roman Catholic Church. It was a festive and joyful service, with lots of singing. The music was wonderful and at least a couple of us were sorry that we did not have a tape recorder. The fact that most of us could not understand the language did not bother us. For there was definitely a wonderful and loving spirit in the place.

Afterwards, one of the Sisters (there is a convent with four Sisters) prepared tea and popcorn. Fresh popcorn right off the cob. It was wonderful. Later we met with a local group that uses parish space, the Salima Parish Home Based Care Organization. The volunteers and some of the clients again sang us a song of welcome. One of the things that this organization does is that they fund a student fees for teenagers to attend the local secondary school. In Malawi, every child goes to primary school, up through eighth grade for free. Those who wish to go to secondary school must pay, and many can not afford the fee. We met Augustine, who is in form 3 in secondary school, funded by the Salima Parish HBC. I got to talk with him for a short time. He was a very nice, soft spoken young man. His favorite subject is geography.

What struck me by the presentation given us by volunteers working with the Salima Parish HBC is that those who live with HIV are: “very happy, we are not worried about being HIV positive because we are alive and are happy.” They also run a children’s care corner that sounds somewhat similar to the one we saw yesterday run by SOSA. They emphasized that they work as a team with Our Lady of Fatima RC Church.

We had a nice lunch at a four star hotel on Senga Bay and spent an hour or so visiting the Senga Bay Baptist Medical Clinic. We met with Lawrence, one of the staff who is the HIV Coordinator and works with community development. They have three programs: home–based care programs, voluntary counseling and testing, and a program emphasizing preventing mother–child HIV transmission. In addition, they have a new dental clinic and a maternity clinic with 10 beds. There is a private room adjoining the maternity clinic for woman requiring isolation. The delivery room has three beds.

Lawrence has also done a lot of work with local communities to educate them about drinking safe water and improved sanitation. These education programs have led to a reduction in the cholera rate.

Then back to Carolina’s where I am catching up with my blog entries. When we get back to Wendels, I will post this one and the one I wrote yesterday.

In closing, here are my observations from today’s van ride:

An ox cart traveling the other direction on the road.

A pickup truck stuck in a ditch with a group of people trying to get the truck unstuck.

A small airport.

Stopping to let an ox cart pass.

Stopping to let cattle cross the street.

Something that looks like a factory with a smoke stack.

A communication tower.

A couple of houses in town with a TV antenna on the roof.

Day 3: Lilongwe to Salima Bay

We left Wendels for Salima Bay, one to two hours north of Lilongwe, not far from Lake Malawi.

Observations in van ride:

Two oxen pulling cart accompanied by two teenage boys.

Nice road

Group of residences, little boy playing with old tire.

Goats, lots of goats

Several villages with round houses with thatched roofs.

Catholic or Anglican Church.

Another Ox Cart.

Small roadside stands

Boys with bamboo displays

Women at well pumping water

Sudden stop for goats crossing road.

Small market areas, businesses in individual stalls.

Cattle grazing along side road.

More woman pumping water from well or bore hole.

Roadside stand with tomatoes for sale.

Police checkpoint, they stop a van ahead of us and let us through.

Another market area, people selling various goods, bamboo furniture, fruit, cabbages.

Electric wires. Are the villages able to afford the cost of the hook–up? Probably not.

Another girl pumping water.

What could be charcoal for sale.

The smell of smoke.

Someone on a motor cycle.

What could be a grain elevator? Or was it a water tower?

Burned grass: Luzu said that they burn grass to scare out the mice. They eat the mice, or sometimes sell mice on a stick to passersby.

Electric substation.

A large tree, approximately two feet wide, that has been cut down.

Salima Aids Support Organization: Started by a nurse in 1993 to increase AIDs awareness in community. Programs include youth outreach, home based care, work with orphans, voluntary counseling, and testing. One of the goals is to break down fears of AIDs. Before someone with children dies, they are asked to identify a family member who can care for their children so they are not orphaned.

They have what they call a children’s care corner every Saturday. As we were there on a Saturday, we got to meet the children, most of whom were under the age of fourteen and many of whom were orphaned. SASO provides them with two meals, play time, share experiences, promote oneness and nondiscrimination. The children’s care corner meets on the grounds of a primary school. When we arrived, they were gathered in the school building singing us a song of welcome. It was very special to be greeted in a joyous musical welcome by a lot of smiling shildren.

Later I asked what they liked best about coming to SASO. Here are some response: shoes (he was the only one wearing shoes), children’s corner, education, games such as football (soccer), and food.

As we were talking with some of the adult volunteer workers, I took a snapshot of a group of children gathered nearby. They were excited by the camera, and even more excited by seeing their pictures. They were laughing as the pushed to get a glimpse of the small photo on my digital camera. I had to move because the kids and I were making too much noise. So, I tried to take more pictures and they kept waving their hands in the air. It was hard to get them to stop moving for the picture as they wanted to move forward closer to the camera.

The final stop of the day was to visit one of the home–based care patients that SASO is working with, a young woman, aged 28 with two children whose husband walked out on here after her HIV diagnosis. She walked out to meet us, because their was a funeral going on in the village. It touched us all deeply that she did so, because she was so small, frail, and voiceless.

More observations from the van:

A village or church school with 2 VIP latrines

Two women carrying large metal pails on their head. Are the pails filled with water.

Man on a bicyle carrying a load of firewood tied on a rack on the back of the bike.

We are staying tonight and tomorrow night on Senga Bay, near Salima, Malawi, in a place called Carolina’s Beach Resort. I am sharing a dormitory with a very nice young woman named Stephanie. Senga Bay is on Lake Malawi, one of the largest lakes in the world. It is a bit windy as I write this and the waves are rolling in.

Day 2, Lilongwe Malawi

We spent some time together after breakfast with more introductions, a chance to share a little bit about ourselves, and taking care of business.

The first order of the day was a visit to the open market in Lilongwe. Very crowded, with stalls on either side of a narrow walkway. When we walked in there were three or four women sitting on the ground with baskets of three different kinds of beans on their laps. And more beans in baskets surrounding them. They were wearing brightly colored chitenje cloths. Chitenje cloth, are large brightly colored cloths that women wear as skirts or dresses, as well as to carry infants.

I purchased one to have when we visit rural villages where women wear skirts and not pants. And yes, I will wear one over my pants. It is purple.

There did seem to be an organization to the layout. We saw grains and beans first. A short distance into market there were many stalls where woman were selling chitenje cloth. There were crates and crates of live chickens for sale. Each crate had several chickens. Later was fish, lots and lots of fish, including sardines and chambo. What struck a couple of us was the decorative patterns that the fish were arranged in. And no ice. The vendors would sprinkle water on the fish. A short distance away were dried chambo.

After visiting the open air market, we had about an hour. I went and got some cash from the ATM with a couple of others from our group before going to a fast food restaurant called Nandos. I think that Nandos is a chain as one young woman in our group who has been living in South Africa for over a year reported about Nandos in Johannesburg. I stiffled the temptationt to order a burger and fries. I had a chicken wrap, mildly spiced, french fries, and a diet coke. No ketchup for the fries, but they did have vinegar.

After lunch, we went to the grocery store and I picked up some bottled water, along with some peanuts and cereal bars for those times when we are not stopping for lunch.

Then it was time go to the Bottom Hospital, the free maternity hospital in Lilongwe. We meet with one of the OB/GYNs on the staff. One of two OB/GYNs. I do not think that I am ready to write about Bottom Hospital yet. All I could do was to think about my Dad, he would be horrified. They see 2.5 million woman a year, with 12,000 deliveries. And 2 OB/GYNs and 6 clinical officers. From what I recall from some reading that I have done, a clinical officer in Malawi has a couple of years of training and performs many medical functions, including, I think, minor surgical procedures. There are 2 to 3 midwives per shift. For 2.5 million woman a year.

And only one operating room.

Whole blood is only available from 8 to 4.

This is a humanitarian crisis. . . I felt the tears well up. And my words can not yet describe what I saw. I am not sure that my words ever will.

We left Bottom Hospital and drove through a residential area. Small houses, close together, some barely more than shantys. Some with pit laterines (out houses) some with indoor plumbing. And lots and lots of kids. Kids playing and laughing. Others just hanging. And the roads in this part of town, full of potholes. This makes the worst dirt road I have driven on in northern New England look like a newly paved highway.


We got to a home based care organization, Kabaso, that works in this community. Once a week a nurse comes with supplies for the AIDs patients, to their homes accompanied by volunteers from the community. On Friday afternoon Kabaso brings the children of those living with AIDs together. When we got there, they sang us a song of welcome, full of joy.

Their joy could not take away the horrors that I witnessed at Bottom Hospital. But it did provide a counterbalance.


I must say a few words about the very wonderful group of people that I am traveling with in Malawi. A wonderful group of people. And Don and Mary, our trip leaders, are doing a wonderful job of organizing our itinerary, including last minute changes as happened today.

Internet access and lack thereof

Tomorrow (Saturday June 16), I leave the land of easy internet access for two nights when we leave Wendels in Lilongwe for Carolina's on Senga Bay. We will back here at Wendels for two nights on Monday, June 18. Starting Wednesday, June 20, I will be without internet access for six days, until Tuesday, June 26 when we return to Wendels..

The plan is that, no matter what, I will write a blog entry each night based on that days activities, and possibly some thoughts and reflections. I will save these to my hard drive, and when I return to Wendels I will upload each entry to my blog. When I am at Wendels, I will post directly to my blog.

If I get to an e-mail or internet cafe on the days when we aren't at Wendels, I will post about what ever happens to be on my mind at that moment.

Day 1: First Images of Malawi

Flying into Lilongwe, I noticed decent sized areas that were bare of vegetation except for some grass, interspersed with groupings of trees. But not large groupings of trees.

I had read that much of the trees have been cut down for firewood. I wonder if people in Malawi sell firewood for income?

The international airport near Lilongwe is small, friendly, and manageable. A bus or coach met us at the plane to take us to the terminal. I would have welcomed the walk, my knees were stiff from all those hours on an airplane. But I digress.

I meet our driver Luzu, I liked him immediately. I am looking forward to getting to know them. I know that Luzu will be with us for the two weeks.

Driving to Lilongwe, we drive on the left side of the road as they do in Britain.

Observations from the van

We went past several patches of charred ground, blackened, as if there had been a fire. I wonder what that is about?

Many, many tree stumps, some covered with foliage, perhaps new growth where the tree stump is still viable and starting to grow.

Men walking to and from a factory. It turns out to be a tobacco factory.

A few solitary huts by the side of the road.

Men selling what seemed to be corn.

Hand made furniture, table and chairs by the side of the road. Are these for sale?

Women carrying baskets on their heads, or was it water? I couldn’t tell.

Two men slaughtering an animal, while another of the same species looked on.

Many people are barefoot.

Many people walking on dirt paths along the road, one or two on bicycles.

A really cool looking lizard crawling up a brick wall.

A petrol station.

A group of pit latrines or outhouses.

Some nice flowers, what appeared to be larger "bush-like" poinsettias

Two cattle walking on a dirt path.

First dinner as a group at Wendel's Guest House. Our guest was the Honorable Marjorie Ngaunje, Minister of Health (for Malawi) and Member of Parliamet. She is one awesome lady. And her daughter Grace, another awesome lady.

Sitting here in my mosquito netting writing this on my laptop.

Mosquito netting

A trip to Africa is not complete without, you guessed it, mosquito netting. This is a not so great photo of my bed at Wendel's complete with mosquito netting. I promised a picture of mosquito netting and I delivered. I'm also a little punchy after spending 14 hours on two airplanes flying from London to Malawi. And I only forgot a couple of relatively unimportant things, some nicer socks.

We had our first dinner as a group, I'll post more about that tomorrow morning.

One thing I am struck by is how nice the people in Malawi are. Real nice. And a generosity of spirit.

Right now, I am going to crawl under the mosquito netting with my laptop to work on my next blog entry. And yes, I remembered to take my malaria pill.

Arrived in Malawi

I made the "Johannesburg connections" without a hitch. I went from the plane to what is called the international transfer lounge. There were no lines for the South African Air agents and there were a few agents. I picked up my boarding pass for my flight to Malawi withing minutes of arriving in the transfer lounge. Passport Control and security were no problem at all. All members of our group were at the gate by 9:45 AM, and we made brief introductions.

The Virgin Atlantic agent who checked my bag at Heathrow was correct; I did not have to do anything with my checked baggage at Johannesburg. It went from my Virgin Atlantic flight to my South African Air flight, and was waiting for me when I cleared passport control at the Lilongwe Airport.

Oh, and in case anyone is wondering what having my bag wrapped means. It is what you think it, I paid five pounds at Heathrow to have my checked bag wrapped in layers of plastic. It helps to ward off the problem of luggage being broken into, a problem reported at the Johannesburg airport. And I have a TSA approved lock to lock the bag. You know who forgot to lock it for the Newark-Heathrow flight. But I did put the lock on for the important leg from London to Lilongwe.

I am here at Wendel's Guest House. A very nice lodge and with wireless.

I'll try to write more later on. In the meantime, I may try to nap a little before dinner.

At Heathrow

I ended up taking a car service to the airport. I know, it was expensive, but I decided to splurge, especially since the hotel was less expensive than I thought it would be. I got a chance to see more of London than I would have seen if I had taken the underground.

The first thing I did upon arriving at the airport was to get my bag wrapped, per advice from US government travel sites for people flying through Johannesburg, South Africa. My bag is through checked to Lilongwe and tagged for international travel so that I won't have to deal with my bags in Johanesgurg. Unfortunately,I was unable to get my boarding pass for the South African Airways flight from Johannesburg to Lilongwe, Malawi. The customer service rep. said that there is an arrangement between Virgin Atlantic and South African Airways that allows the other airline to provide the boarding pass for connecting flights. He wasn't sure why the computer system was not allowing this. He suggested that it might be due to the way my flight was booked. Or perhaps a computer glitch?

In any event, not much I can do about my boarding pass at the moment. South African Airways is in another terminal, and this airport is too large for me to even think about going back and forth between terminals. So I will ask my higher power to grant me the wisdom to accept the things that I can not change.

--Breathe--

London to Johannesburg to Lilongwe Malawi

I check out of my hotel shortly, and have four hours to kill before making the trek via the London Underground to Heathrow for my 8:30 PM Virgin Atlantic flight to Johannesburg, South Africa. Another overnight flight, this one for over 11 hours. I hope I am able to get a little shut eye on the plane.

I will arrive in Johannesburg South Africa at about 8:30 AM on June 14, if the plane is on time. The plan is that I will meet my fellow Malawi travelers for the first time at the departure gate for the South Africa Airways flight to Lilongwe, Malawi. This flight departs at 10:20 AM, and is scheduled to arrive in Lilongwe at 12:45 PM. Our driver, Luzu, will meet us at the airport and take us to our lodging. I will be staying at Wendels Guest Lodge in Lilongwe.

Wendels has wireless, so I hope to be able to make a post tomorrow afternoon before dinner.

Royal Observatory

Today I visited the Royal Observatory in Greenwich, England. This was about a 30 minute ride on a combination of the London Underground and light rail. I had been to Greenwich when I was in London sixteen years ago and wanted to go back. Many of you know of Greenwich Mean Time, also known as Universal Time. Well, this is where Greenwich Mean Time is kept. This is also where the prime meridian or zero degrees longitude passes through. Looking at the first picture, I have no idea the significance of the statue on the meridian. The thing on the wall to the right of the picture is a digital clock noting Greenwich Mean Time. What you can not tell from the picture is that, both this clock, and another one not in the picture, do not note the time in what they call "summer time" around here. Or daylight savings time.
Outside the planetarium, I saw a very interesting piece, I was puzzled by it until I read the signboard. I hope that the picture is clear enough so that you can read it. It is placed on the prime meridian. I'll let the sign board speak for itself.

I walked to and from the Observatory through Greenwich Park, one of the older of the Royal Parks in the London area. For obvious reasons, the Observatory is on a hill in the park, so no matter which way you approach it, you have a short climb. On my way to the Observatory, I passed through an absolutely exquisite rose garden. Sorry, no pictures. All the roses were in bloom, and they were all quite well cared for. I have to confess that I only ended up at the Rose Garden because I took a wrong turn trying to find the Observatory. There were lots of school aged children, playing in the Park, along with people with dogs, and the like. Oh, and they even have special containers for dog poop.

Tonight I am seeing some London theater, Billy Elliot on the advice of a friend. I had thought about not bothering to see a show while in London. I decided that I would not forgive myself if I were to pass up an opportunity to see theater.

I have part of a day in town tomorrow and plan to go to the British Museum which is a short walk from the hotel where I will leave my bags. Then off to Heathrow for the long journey to Johannesburg and from Johannesburg to Malawi.

Energy savings in London

I am staying in a hotel in London called the Grange Holborn. A nice hotel, pleasant staff. I feel taken care of. I have one interesting story.

The room is very bright and airy with a wall of windows gives plenty of natural light. These windows face the street. Anyway, after I completed yesterday's posting, I close the drapes to darken the room before lying down to rest. I turned the light switch on near my bed, nothing. There is a light switch near the door, I turn it on. Nothing. I turn on the light switch near the TV, nothing. I do all this again. I try the TV, it works. I try all the light switches, again they don't work.

Finally, feeling like a complete idiot, I call up the front desk, who put me through to the concierge. They tell me that there is a card reader near the door, I had seen it and wondered what it was. Seems you put your room key in to activate the lights. Makes sense. About one minute after you remove the key, the lights turn off. Theoretically, because this is literally next to the door, you won't forget your room key. Interesting way to conserve electricity. No chance someone will go off and leave their lights on.

I also noted that the water is not as hot as we are used to in America, at least not at the hotel. I got my answer to this through a commercial on a British TV station aimed at getting people to turn the temp down on the water they use to wash clothes.

As for my energy, I did not nap yesterday afternoon. I had a nice visit with my friends, they took care of the blearly eyed me. Later, I did get a good nights sleep.

In London

Well, I made it to London and am writing this from my west end hotel.

My flight took off about an hour late from Newark. Not surprising. Sometimes on these flights, we can make up time if the jet stream is favorable, it was not.

I enjoyed the flight, and the flight attendants were very attentive. My favorite part of the flight was playing the video units in back of the seat in front of me. I had never used one before. It was a lot of fun.

I did not get much sleep to speak of. I have a hard time sleeping upright, finally dozing off about one to two hours out of London.

We arrived at Heathrow over an hour late. I got through passport control in about 30 to 40 minutes, and then walked for what seemed like an eternity to get to the London underground for my trip into London. I took the Piccadilly line from Heathrow. There is a stop about two blocks from my hotel. I was glad for my trip into London 16 years ago. I successfully negotiated the underground by myself for part of the trip.

The hotel and the staff are nice. I suspect that they are used to seeing slightly dazed, bleary eyed Americans.

I am going to sign off and try to take a nap for a couple of hours before my friends come. We will go out to dinner somewhere close.

Eleven hours till departure

Well, my travels begin tonight. My flight for London is scheduled to leave Liberty International Airport (formerly known as Newark International Airport) at 9:30 PM. If the flight is on time, I will arrive at Heathrow at 9:05 AM, London time and go to a hotel in the west end of London. I hope to be able to take a nap for a couple of hours before meeting some friends at 4PM for dinner. Then back to the hotel for what I hope will be a good nights sleep.

On Tuesday, I want to go the observatory in Greenwich, and possibly to the Tower of London. Wednesday, I check out of the hotel by 11 AM and do not have to leave for Heathrow until about 4 PM in the afternoon for my 8:30 flight to Johannesburg. I understand that the British Museum is within walking distance of the hotel, so I may hang out there.

In the time since I last posted, I have spent time getting ready. In addition, I have been spending what I hope is quality time with my loved ones.

I got few British Pounds from my bank. What is interesting is that the Pounds appeared to be shipped to the bank via DHL overnight. I could be wrong, but it looked the banker got the Pounds from a DHL overnight bag.

I got most of my pre-trip "chores" done by Tuesday or Wednesday so that I have been able to be somewhat more relaxed the last couple of days. One of the things I did was to put together all the stuff that I had purchased for my trip and put them in my suitcase. I know, it sounds a little over the top, however, I did realize that there were some missing items. I had time to purchase these with plenty of time to spare. One checked bag, on the small size, and one carry-one bag.

The hotel where I am staying in London has high speed internet access in each room, so I hope to be able to post once or twice from London before departing for Afica.