Funky Cichlid and Leaving our Hearts in Malawi

(Posting these on Tuesday as we wait in the Toronto airport enroute home; our last few days were very busy, and we were without internet and electricity some of the time.)

We woke very early this morning and went on a boat safari at 6 am. Kari woke earlier and caught the sunrise from a viewing deck behind our tents. So beautiful. We followed guide Blessing through the bush to the Shire River, where our boat and driver Noah picked us up. We watched the locals head out in their boats and carved out canoes to fish. We saw so many hippos, mostly all in the water with just their ears, eyes and noses showing. Hippos stay in groups, no more than 15, and hang out in the river. They can hold their breath for 5-6 minutes, and they walk along the bottom of the river. They come out at night to eat grass along the shore. We also saw crocodiles, who hang out by themselves, eating fish, and waiting for a baby hippo, impala or waterback to eat.

After a wonderful breakfast, our drivers picked us up and we left for Cape Maclear on Lake Malawi. After about a 3½-4 hour drive, we arrived. What a view! Lake Malawi is beautiful. We checked into our accommodations at The Funky Cichlid, did some shopping from the locals at the nearby stalls, and then set out for a sunset cruise on the Lake. We stopped to see some of the amazing multi-colored cichlid fish which are found only in Lake Malawi. Our guide threw fish to the Fish Eagles (Malawi’s national bird) and we watched them swoop down and grab them in their claws. We watched an amazing sunset, and went back to The Funky Cichlid to hang out for our final evening in Malawi.

Monday morning came early, and after a nice breakfast of crepes or French toast, we left for our 4+ hour trip to the Blantyre airport. Our flight home has taken us through Addis Ababa, Ethiopia; Dublin, Ireland; and Toronto. We have been traveling now for 36 hours, and are in the Toronto airport awaiting the final leg of our journey. It’s been long, and tiring, but oh, so worth it. What we experienced these last 10 days have been amazing. The friendships we made, the laughter and joy we shared, the amazing beauty of Malawi we experienced, and the incredible feeling of making a difference for two families and four orphans is so worth it. We are so much richer because of this Habitat trip, and we leave part of our hearts in Malawi…

Safari at Bushman Baobabs

(Posting these on Tuesday as we wait in the Toronto airport enroute home; our last few days were very busy, and we were without internet and electricity some of the time.)

What a day! We had breakfast at Kara O’Mula lodge and said our goodbyes to Habitat staff (Faith, Andrew, Jonathan, and driver Chris) and teammates Joanna and Jason (who are headed back to NC today). The remaining nine of us were picked up by our new team from Malawian Style for our R&R adventure (Patrick, Chifundo, and Charles). We drove through Blantyre, up to Zomba, and on to Bushman Baobabs, near Liwonde National Park and the Shire River. It was about a 4 hour drive, but we stopped to exchange money, and at a market so Jerod could buy a drum.

At Bushman Baobabs, we had lunch and were shown to our accommodations, which were basically tents inside thatched roof structures (with bathrooms). The only downside is no electricity, so we weren’t able to charge camera batteries. We went on an evening game drive, and saw lots of wildlife… monkeys, impala, waterbacks, and elephants. We even had to drive around some elephants who stopped in the road. Saw a beautiful sunset and returned for a delicious dinner. We had a smaller team meeting and reflected on our trip and the day. There was a campfire, and elephants came right into our camp area. Tomorrow we go on a boat safari!

Final Build Day and Community Celebration

(Posting these on Tuesday as we wait in the Toronto airport enroute home; our last few days were very busy, and we were without internet and electricity some of the time.)

(Friday) We got started a little early this morning, because we wanted so much to finish the walls of both houses so the roofs could be put on before we left. The builders had decided Team Jerod’s home would be finished with a roof, and that is where our community celebration would take place. When we arrived, they had scaffolding up at Patuma’s house so everyone could work on the remaining inside walls. A few people went to Rajabu’s house to help ready it for the celebration.

Meanwhile, Ashley and Kari made a short detour to a local church to deliver a Proclaimer (an audio bible in Chichewa) that we carried to Malawi from Faith Comes By Hearing in New Mexico. We wanted to leave it with a church in the local village (Fundi), but it turned out that the two families we built for were Muslim and it was a big Muslim community. Habitat was able to locate a pastor and church (“Bible Believers”) just down the road from Rajabu’s house. The pastor had gathered about 25-30 church members to come as we presented the bible to him, and after showing him how to use it, the small congregation sang us a song. The pastor was very grateful, as many in the church are illiterate.

Once we got back to the build site, we joined the work in progress to finish up the walls. We finished up about 10:30 and got back on the bus to go to our lunch spot for the celebration. Patuma’s family rode on the bus with us, and she was so proud as she waived to her neighbors from the bus. The celebration was highlighted with several dances, where they encouraged us to get up and dance with them. We heard from the village chief, who said he did not believe people would be coming to build houses in their village, until we actually showed up. He commented how other foreigners have come, looked around, but left without doing anything. He and the whole village were very grateful for the work we did and the friendships we made. We were presented with certificates, and then we all walked down to Rajabu’s house for the dedication and lunch. We prayed over the home and took photos. After lunch, we said our goodbyes, which was very sad, as we had become friends with these people. As we drove away, the kids waved and yelled “mawa”, even though we knew we would not be back tomorrow.

Our hosts took us to see a finished Habitat house, and also to a market to buy Malawian material for “wrappers” (cloth to wrap around as a skirt). The market was an interesting experience. We bargained for material and blankets, and walked through the fish market.

We had our final team dinner at a pizza place in town, sharing what the Habitat experience meant to us and what we would share with our friends and family once we got back home.

Bittersweet Day

We had a very productive day today. We started a bit earlier than usual, and we got a lot done. We thought only one of the houses would get a tin roof by tomorrow, but because we worked hard, both houses probably will. We have so enjoyed working with our families, the mason and helpers, and all of the Habitat staff, and it’s hard to believe tomorrow is the last day at our work sites.

We have come to really love these people, and look forward to seeing them each day. We are always greeted with waves, smiles, hugs and “Muli bwanji” (“how are you?”). They are always eager to help us, and the children love playing and laughing with us. Every day when we leave in our bus, the children run alongside, yelling “mawa” (tomorrow). Tomorrow will be hard as we celebrate with the families, and say our goodbyes. I’ve posted some pictures below of the people in our village (Fundi village).

There’s so much more to write about this place and how Habitat is working here, but that will need to wait until another day, as it is late and tomorrow we will go to our site early.

Mpaka mawa (until tomorrow),

Kari

Little boys at our work site

Joanna teaching the kids a song

Young girl and little brother at our lunch site

Neighbors gathering water at the stream

A Hard Day’s Work – Build Day 3

We worked hard today, and everyone is tired, so this will just be a quick post. At Patuma’s house, Team Kari was able to get one of the outside gable walls done, two window frames in, and make significant progress on the inside walls. At Rajabu’s house, Team Jerod finished one of the outside gable walls and the front wall with the window.

We had a team backrub when we got back to our hotel. And the good news for today is that our 2 lost bags finally arrived (5 days after we did).  Tomorrow we will start a bit earlier, so we can quit early and go to the market, where we hope to find some Malawian material used for skirts, or as they call them, wrappers.

Usiku wabwino,

Kari

Rajabu’s house – end of build day 3

Rajabu’s house – end of build day 3

Jason and Joanna complete the outside gable wall!

Patuma’s house – end of build day 3

Shoulder rub train

Build Day 2 – “Joyful Chaos”

On Monday, we divided into two teams to work at the two different sites. “Team Jerod”, working on Rajabu’s home, consists of Deb, Carin, Lynn, Patti, Ashley and Jerod. “Team Kari”, at Patuma’s home, includes Joanna, Jason, Laura, Pam and Kari. We are in a bit of a competition to see who can get the most done on their home by the end of the week.  Our big goal is to get to the plastering stage, as none of the Habitat teams Faith has been in charge of have achieved that yet.

We had a great day today, working hard and getting a lot done. On Rajabu’s home, Team Jerod has 22-24 courses of brick on the outside walls, and has started on the inside walls. They got three door frames and a window frame in. On Patuma’s house, Team Kari has 14-19 courses of brick on each outside wall, and a good start on the inside walls. We also got two door frames in today, which was pretty exciting.

After lunch today, we played a bit with the village kids. Carin brought a bunch of Frisbees and we had a great time teaching the kids how to use them. There are so many kids, and they all want to catch and toss the Frisbees. They all chase them and try to get them to toss back to us. There is much laughter and smiles amongst the children. Joanna aptly called it “joyful chaos”. It truly warms our hearts to be able to spend time with these children and see the pure joy on their faces as they play, and also to share our time and labor with those who have so little. After just two days, the people have warmed up to us, and we so enjoy working side by side with them and laughing together.

When we first received the bios of our families, we learned about their current inadequate housing. Rajabu, his wife, and his two siblings who were orphaned in January 2015, stay in a small one bedroom house with a thatched roof lined with a worn out plastic sheet. He said, “the hardest thing we have to endure is when it is raining. We just sit and wait for the rain to stop. We then drain the water out and sleep on the damp floor. If there is dry ash, we spread it over the floor to at least make it dry.”  Patuma , her son, and her two orphaned grandsons are staying in a small one-room shack made of sticks, grass and thatch, since her home collapsed due to heavy rains. When it rains, the room becomes flooded, and she has to spread a plastic sheet over the wet floor so they can sleep. She said, “I had a house and things were at least okay but after the rains destroyed it, I am no longer free and I am not comfortable living this way, my children are also not free. When it rains heavily, we just sit and wait until it stops.” Neither of the families have a toilet structure because they collapsed. Rajabu’s family uses their neighbors, and Patuma’s family uses the bushes. What struck me and made me really sad is that both caretakers said ‘when it rains, we just sit and wait…’ What a helpless feeling that must be.

Knowing these conditions, one of the best parts of Tuesday was as I walked away from the house for a bit, and looked back to see Patuma resting on the pile of bricks, watching everyone work on her home. I’m not sure what she was thinking, but I just felt so happy for her, and so grateful that we could help in some small way.

We left our work sites tired, but satisfied that we put in a good day’s work. After a meaningful team reflection time, we had dinner, and finished up our day with a fun game of spoons.

Kari

Pam and Jason working on a wall

“Team Jerod” – Jerod, Carin, Patti, Ashley, Deb and Lynn

“Team Kari” – Laura, Kari, Jason, Pam and Joanna

“Joyful Chaos” – playing frisbee with the kids

Where’s Ashley…?

The village chief came to see our progress

Patuma watching the building of her new home

Ashley and Laura at sunset

Playing spoons

Build Day 1

Today was our first build day. Our team had split into two groups, so we could work on two houses. We learned we would be building for two families: Patuma, a widow with a teenage son, and also raising her two orphaned grandsons; and Rajabu, a young man with a new wife who’s caring for his two orphaned siblings.

When we arrived this morning, we were greeted by our families and the entire village! The children met our bus, and led us down a path to Patuma’s house, where many from the village were gathered, and were dancing and singing to welcome us.

The corners of the new houses were already laid, and we worked on the walls once the mason showed us how to lay the bricks. The houses are quite a distance apart, as we found out when we tried to walk to the other site for a break. We did come together for lunch, and were able to spend time playing with all the children.

The families will be getting new outdoor latrines as part of their homes, but they are brand new and were first used by us today. The most eventful thing that happened at the build site was that Carin’s phone fell out of her pocket into the squat toilet. The whole village gathered to figure out what to do. The mason tried fishing it out, but they ended up digging around the side and into the hole. The homeowner jumped into the hole and retrieved it. Surprisingly, the phone was still on. Hopefully it will be okay after it dries out.

While working, we learned a few words of Chichewa (the local language). We finished up the work day by 4:30 and headed back to our lodge, where we were able to shower before dinner and our team meeting. Everyone is quite tired today, so bedtime will come early.

Usiku wabwino (“good night” in Chichewa)

Kari

P.S. Happy Birthday from our team to Joanna’s mom, Jason’s dad, and Pam’s brother!!

Our welcome to the village

Welcome with dancing and singing

Patuma’s future and existing homes

Rabaju’s existing home

Rabaju’s future home

The team at lunch

Village kids

Ashley showing pictures to the kids

The new latrine

Inside the latrine…

Mount Mulanje

Mount Mulanje (“our mountain”) was amazing. We left this morning about 8:30, driving through tea plantations on our way to go hiking. Our guide, Khariba, took us up the mountain paths to Likhubula Falls. The falls were amazing, and some of us couldn’t resist jumping into the teal colored water. It was refreshing, yet FREEZING cold!! One of our team had a little misstep, and ended up with a knot on the back of her head, but she is fine, and is really a trooper! We had a lovely day hiking, jumping in the water, and enjoying the beautiful scenery.

After we got back from our mountain hike, we went for another hike from our lodge, up the mountain to where the tea grows. The fields of tea plants were beautiful. We had time this evening to relax a bit before dinner, listening to the musicians and enjoying the sunset.

After two days of getting to know our surroundings, and enjoying the beauty around us, we are ready to work! Tomorrow we build! We will divide into two teams, and work on two houses in the Mulanje district. We are not sure yet which village we will be building in, but we know that we will be somewhere under the Traditional Authority Mthiramanja (he’s a main chief, and then there are villages under him, who each have their own chiefs). Excited to meet our families and learn exactly what we will be doing.

Until tomorrow…

Kari

Tea estate

Tea fields

Hiking up Mulanje

Andrew and Ashley

Amazing views

Climbing

Climbing

Our team

Our guide Khariba

Taking pictures of people jumping

Andrew walking a cable

Andrew, Ashley and Joanna swinging from the cable

The team and the mountain

Likhubula Falls

Likhubula Falls

Pam jumping in

Ashley jumping in

Joanna jumping in

Those who went swimming

Our driver Chris expertly turned our bus around on the narrow road

Waking up on Mount Mulanje

(Due to no internet access Saturday night, this is posted on Sunday morning…)

Wow! What a magnificent view this morning. Since we arrived after dark last night, we didn’t realize exactly where we were. We awoke to an amazing view, and were told my one of the workers that what we were looking at in the distance was actually Mozambique (which borders Malawi to the South, East and Southwest). We asked what the mountain was called, and he said “Churu, but that is NOT a mountain, only a hill”. He had us turn around and look up behind us and said, “now THAT is a mountain.” Wow, he was right! We are actually on the bottom part of the mountain, and have quite a view. Mount Mulanje is the highest mountain in south-central Africa. After a leisurely breakfast, we left, with 8 of our team going for a drive through the countryside, headed for Game Haven, a game reserve where we met later for lunch.

I rode with Jonathan, a new driver for Habitat, to Blantyre, to meet our other two teammates, who were arriving from Lake Malawi. We drove through many small villages that were bustling with people. It was “market day”, and the roads were crowded with people walking, pushing loaded bicycles, and taking mini-vans (a main public mode of transportation). We found teammates Joanna and Jason in Blantyre, and also met up with Consulata, the Global Village director for Habitat Malawi. We then drove to Game Haven, where our team was now complete, and lunch awaited us. We ate on the “lawn” with only glimpses of wildlife, but amazing scenery. Following lunch, we came back to Kara O’Mula, where we had some free time before orientation and dinner. We listened to musicians playing traditional music, watched some traditional dancers, and saw a beautiful sunset.

Before dinner, we had our Habitat orientation. We learned that Habitat families in Malawi are chosen not just by Habitat, but with the input of local community organizations, village chiefs and district councils (which cover about 10 villages). Habitat Malawi started in 1986, and has focused on low income households living on less than $120 per month and Orphan and Vulnerable Group Households who have lost one or both parents, or who are child- or grandparent-headed. Two things the new homeowners learn are 1) the rules of inheritance (the last born child is the rightful owner of the home), and 2) training on HIV/AIDS and Malaria (which includes giving them mosquito nets for sleeping). Habitat Malawi has served over 300 households (1 in 5 children), mainly in Salima and Mulanje. A Habitat house costs about US$4,000, and Habitat estimates they build about 40 houses a year with Global Village groups.

After dinner, we hung out on the lawn chatting, having drinks, and gazing at the amazingly bright stars.

Tomorrow we will hike on Mount Mulanje, now affectionately known as “our mountain”.

Good night,

Kari

Churu in Mozambique

Our lodging

Team before Joanna and Jason…

Our lodging

Good thing we didn’t bring our high heels to build in!

Now THAT’S a mountain!

Market day

Market day. Apples or maybe some… fried mice?

Look what they can carry on their bikes

Bananas?

Potatoes?

Traveling toward Blantyre

Game Haven

Lunch at Game Haven

Lunch at Game Haven

On the road to Mulanje

Mulanje Mountain

Ashley and Laura with new friends

Traditional music

Ashley and Jerod at sunset

Our mountain at sunset

Large spider visitor

Kari with Habitat team – Andrew, Consulata and Faith

We have arrived!

So after 29+ hours of travel, we arrived at our lodge in Mulanje, Malawi. Flying from MN, CA and MO, 9 of our team met in Toronto, where we had a 13 hour flight to Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, and from there another 6 hour flight to Blantyre, Malawi, with a stop in Lilongwe. Faith, Andrew, and driver Chris, from Habitat Malawi, met us at the airport, and took us for some lunch at Debonairs Pizza. From there we drove to the Kara o’Mula lodge in Mulanje. Because it is winter here in the southern hemisphere, it gets dark about 5:30 pm, so the drive from Blantyre was mostly in the dark. Once we arrived, we got our rooms, and met back in the dining area for dinner. It is now about 11:30 pm (7 hours ahead of Minnesota’s central time zone), wifi access is sketchy at best, and we are all tired after a long journey. Can’t wait to see this place in the morning, as we are at the foot of Mount Mulanje, which rises almost 10,000 feet and is surrounded by tea plantations. Our team will be complete tomorrow with the arrival of our two members from NC.

Pictures to come tomorrow. Until then… Kari

Air Canada plane MSP to Toronto

Ethiopian Airline snacks

Ethiopian Airlines plane

Chileka airport – Blantyre, Malawi

The President welcomes us to Malawi!

9 of our team on our bus

Street scenes

Street scenes

Which way?

Street scenes

Street scenes

Debonair Pizza

Pam, Carin, Laura, Ashley

Patti, Lynn

Jerod, Kari, Deb, Andrew

Faith

Transportation, Malawian style

Uh oh. Ashley and Laura learned the drinking age in Malawi is 18.

Our room at Kara O’Mula

Patti, Ashley, Carin, Laura, Jerod before dinner