Malawi Diary 2
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Friday 27th October
On site again today. The work is hard and the heat oppressive, I don't know how the boys do it at the top of
the scaffolding. Unfortunately the steel for the roof joists is not all ready so work cannot progress
tomorrow and we will have a free day.
Work finished up a little earlier than usual so we could join the sports team for their prize giving. It was
brilliant. Hard to imagine that these kids had never seen a hurl before this week and as for the football
they have a natural ability. The consensus was that there would be no difficulty picking a team that would
give any minor county team in Ireland a run for its money. There was a lot of good craic and we may even
have lined up a few players for the future. (See gallery)
Lughaidh
Saturday 28th October
Work on the site has ground to a halt for today and we are free to do as we please. Some of the lads have
decided to visit the National Park for a Safari (that was meant to happen tomorrow). I was lucky enough to
get to see Namitembo. Mary O Neill (Wife of the Irish Consul) and 2 of her friends came from Blantyre and
took us to the mission at Namitembo where Fr Owen O Donnell has been working for a number of years.
Fr Owen is a Donegal man and he has a vision for the place that is fantastic. The work done to date
means the people have a clean water supply and mills for maize and rice. Girls who normally are the
worst off are being encouraged to stay on at school and get training in trades. Mary and her friends have
started Ubwino Wa Amayi (Choices and Chances) which aims to fund girls through the education
system. £120 approx. will fund schooling for a girl for four years to obtain the Malawian secondary school
certificate. Without this the girls suffer from the worst that society can do. Female literacy is 48.6% (Male
72%), HIV infection is 4 to 6 times higher in the female 15-24 age range than the male population. A lot of
work to be done.
When you put 68 Irish people together you can be sure that it will not all be hard work. Tonight we had a
concert with the four provinces competing with each other. Suffice to say that a good time was had by all
and I don't this the local staff will forget it for some time.
Lughaidh
Sunday 29th October
Quiet day as the steel is still not ready. It was decided that we will be up at 5 am tomorrow to try and get
the work finished. Did some more exploring in the local area and chilled out.
There is some problem with our flights home as Air Malawi has changed the time of the flight from
Blantyre and this will not give us time to make the connection in Johannesburg. Caroline who knows
about these things is on the case.
Lughaidh
Monday 30th October
These early starts are not good for me. Everyone pulled out all the stops and worked at a frantic pace all
day. I think everyone was wrecked at the end of the day but very satisfied. We are on target to complete the
roof tomorrow.
Lughaidh
Tuesday 31st October
Last day on the site. Again everyone worked flat out to finish the roof. It was pretty surreal at the end when
the last sheet of tin had been nailed down. One of the guys planted the flag on top of the building and all
the volunteers sang Amhrán na bhFiann.I don't know what the local workers thought of it i.e. whether it
was a hymn or something like that. Somehow it seemed very fitting. Then all the lads lined up and gave
virtually all their clothes (even shoes ) to the local workers. We also had a whip round and every local got
MK 500, not a lot of money but when their average wage was MK 80 per day this was about a weeks
wages.
On the way back to the hotel some of us stopped at a local bar. Very basic but the craic was good.
Lughaidh
Wednesday 1st November
Homeward bound and lots of mixed emotions. The flights have been changed and we were due to fly from Blantyre to Johannesburg
via Lilongwe instead of direct. It means we will have a night in Johannesburg and a chance to have a bit of craic together on the last
night. As often happens the best laid plans can be confounded. When we landed in Lilongwe which was meant to be a 30minute stop
over a fault was found with the plane. We were then brought to the terminal which had no real facilities and had to wait there until a
replacement plane was brought in. We finally made Johannesburg after 2 in the morning instead of the planned 6.30 and by the time
we got sorted with the hotel and a quick bite of supper it was 4 am by the time I got to bed.
Lughaidh
Thursday 2nd Friday 3rd November
Last early start for a while I hope. Flight from Johannesburg to Bahrain was absolutely magic. I think if we had been on a British or
American carrier we would have been landed in Angola or somewhere like that and all locked up. Everyone was in really high spirits
and full of life. The crew were excellent and tolerant. Nobody was rowdy but all high on the achievements of the last fortnight. When we
landed in Bahrain the airport bar was comandeered and the party started. The local police had a quick look in and though it was
brilliant. It was an exhibition of how to enjoy yourself without causing offence or bother and a reflection of the caliber of the people in
the group. The flight to Dublin was subdued in comparison. Landed in Dublin at about 6 am, cold and damp. Lots of goodbyes and
promises to keep in touch. Agus Sin É
Lughaidh Mac Giolla Bhrighde
