This morning I have had a slow start as I don't need to go into the office and my first appointment is about 9.15am. So here I am just after 7.30pm sitting in a cane armchair on the porch of my house just after 7.30 in the morning with a little time to try and organize all the impressions of the last two days. My first thought is about timing! At home I should never be up and ready to work at this hour but here everything is different. I think that there is going to be a lot more morning and less evening! It is pitch dark by 6.00pm and we have our meal together either round the table in the big house or outside on the covered terrace. Then we make tea and sit and chat for a while, catching up on what everyone has been up to and how all the other projects are going. By about 7.30pm the first volunteer has said 'Goodnight' and gone off to his or her own house. Last night Malcolm and I were the last and we were back in our own houses by ten to nine! In the morning the cock is crowing by about quarter to five and there are sounds of activity in the grounds of Mitsidi. The sun is bright and staying in bed beyond six seems to be quite unusual during the week at least.
Monday was my first working day and it began with the weekly assembly which takes place in the church hall. It was a bit like a school assembly really. Different groups take turns to lead the assembly and this time it was the volunteers turn. There was a bible reading, a poem, some lively singing and then Jan said a few words. The practical arrangements and goodbyes to those going home and welcomes to new arrivals followed. I had to get up and introduce myself. It will be a useful forum to catch people that I want to talk to from other parts of the project I think. Then it was off to the office to meet so many new people and talk to Vince about the origins and vision of the Children's Centre project. The rest of the day was made up of visits to all the Beehive projects. Chilomoni township is a suburb of Blantyre. The roads are all mud roads and at the moment everything is dry and there is red dust everywhere. I don't think I really need to put sun lotion on my feet as they are permanently protected by a film of red dust! I have taken to wearing my crocs a lot of the time as this means I can just put my feet under the tap, shoes and all and hose them down before I go into the house! Zoe showed me round and we walked together around Chilomoni. Two white women together excited some interest amongst the local children and we were pointed out and good-naturedly laughed at wherever we went. All the children wanted to practice their English and we were constantly asked 'How are you?' to which we replied 'I'm fine, how are you?' over and over again! Zoe knows a bit of Chichewa which helped a lot. I don't think I'm going to find it easy as everyone speaks so fast but I discussed the possibility of lessons with Vince and I think that might happen which would be great. I saw Bee Bikes, the internet café which is shortly to be closed down I understand, the tailoring courses, the knitting project, the church, the new little factory where they are going to make the Host to sell to churches throughout the country. We visited my first Malawian nursery, next to the church. I don't know where to begin, so I will leave that story for another day and try and sort out some pictures. That will give you a much better impression than any words I could write.
Then we had lunch in the church hall and I had my first nsima with vegetables. There was also beef stew, but although I have begun to eat my first meat for twenty years I passed on the stew on the first day! I have had a few tasters of meat at Mitsidi though, a square inch of steak, half a beefburger and a spoonful of gravy. Indeed last night I had two pieces of Christina's fried chicken, which was delicious! After lunch we set off to walk up the hill to the construction site to see the half built IT centre and the beginnings of the Children's Centre. It was the hottest day for a long time apparently and although it is not far I was delighted that we were overtaken by Derek in a pick-up truck. He hopped in the back and Zoe drove so we were saved a hot walk! Nevertheless I struggled in the heat of the middle of the day as we walked around the site. I learned about construction African style, including how hydroform blocks are made, and watched the local workers digging, shoveling and carrying. Again, dust was everywhere. Scaffolding was made of wooden poles. Most, but by no means all of the workers had boots or shoes but some were barefoot. Women carried big buckets of water on their heads, balancing perfectly, even going up and down stairs. I took some photos which I will try to attach to this blog so that you can see for yourselves. I could write so much about the differences from home that I would be here all day….
We had a look at the plans for the children's centre with the architect and I was able to imagine how it will all look when it is finished. There seems to be some difference of opinion about when the building is likely to be finished, estimates range from May to October, or even later! We shall have to wait and see.
Next we got a lift into Blantyre and went to see Torrent rentals which loans computers and vehicles to customers throughout Malawi. After that we went to buy me a phone and then back to the Beehive admin office and home to Mitsidi. So many new experiences in one day, and such heat, about 37degrees! I was exhausted and a bit overwhelmed!
Yesterday Zoe and I walked into Chilomoni to visit St James' School where David and I are to have two classrooms for our courses. The head teacher was charming and showed us nearly every room, introducing us to the teachers and children. Some of the older children had desks, but in the younger classes everyone was seated on the floor. One of our rooms is the school's IT suite which has about ten computers. I am a bit concerned that while we are there the children will not have access to the computers, but Zoe says she is not sure that they have much chance to use them anyway, there is a great opportunity for a teacher volunteer in the school apparently.
My most lasting impression of the nursery is of a great pile of toys sent from the UK which were in the room with the children but hardly touched, pieces of the same equipment separated from each other, and everything in a muddle. My first important lesson I think is that to give things is just not enough. If the workers have never seen these things before we cannot expect that they will know how to use them or even be able to recognize what they are for. Hence the need for training I suppose… I guess the situation may be similar in school with the computers.
Another hot walk to the office which fortunately is not very far. This day I had my straw hat, which caused great hilarity in the street with the children, but I was more comfortable in the sun than on the previous day. I sat down to tackle the huge pile of applications for our child care courses. I think Peter's estimate of 3000 applications is probably exaggerated, but certainly there are hundreds and I must develop a fair system for going through them. We are supposed to start teaching on 8 November and yesterday I felt as though it would take me that long just to process the applications! David I really need you!
The last event of the day was a visit to the Early Childhood Development Training Centre for Malawi which is the other side of Blantyre. We wanted to see Eunice who coordinates the national training, but she is on holiday as her daughter is to be married at the weekend, so we had to be content with a guided tour of the premises. The classroom for the students and the demonstration nursery were pretty basic by UK standards. Realizing that this is the exemplar as far as childcare training in Malawi is concerned really gave me food for thought. The secretary who showed me round suggested that I might like to attend the course in December when they will be running it in English and I think that this would be a great way to get to understand how things are in Malawian settings, but I don't know if it will be possible alongside the training timetable.
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