A typical malawian house made of homemade bricks coevered in mud and a straw roof.
Mr Lewis showing us one of his amazing and lifechanging contraptions. this is a simple water pump made from old bits of scrap.
Today is Saturday so the weekend has started. We awoke at 4am in Bandawe and walked out onto the beach to watch the most stunning sunset you can imagine. A group of Hammerkops, a strange looking bird, were noisily squabbling on the fine golden sand. No school today, so a chance to explore the country side. I walked along the beach with Mr Price passing a collection of fishermen villages on the water front. In this paradise there is such poverty. Families were waking up and appearing from their straw huts. Their washing basin is the lake and many were splashing about at the waters edge freshening themselves up ready for another day etching out an existence by catching a few fish. The lake contains many hundreds of types of fish called cichlids, an amazing feat of adaptation as over 200 are unique to Lake Malawi. It is thought that they evolved from one species that was in the lake when it became separated from any other water. A cichlid differs from most fish as they care for their young by looking after them in their mouths! Charles Darwin would have been in his element here as each type of cichlid has adapted to some way of surviving in the lake. Some have even evolved so as to suck the young out of a other species mouths to get their food! Young children were collecting their breakfast for the family by using a large bamboo stick to knock down mangos. Even though they don 't have any money or resources, at least the land is kind to them here with many fruits to pick and fish in the lake. New birds to me came thick and fast; Fire-bellied finch, Mousebird, Helmeted Guinea fowl and a magnificent Hornbill. Our plan was to travel to Vwaza Marsh game park today, but after a discussion with all parties, it was felt that with the fuel strike and the extreme poverty we had seen over the past few days it seemed unfair to us that our hosts should spend their valuable money on us, so that we could see Elephants, Lions and Hippos. Instead we opted for a trip to a waterfall and visit a gentleman who had built a homestead using the natural elements to give energy to his house. By visiting here instead we would be saving on fuel and entry fees to the reserve and we asked for the money to be distributed to the schools we had visited to help fund essential resources. We picked up Charles , the head teacher of Luzi secondary school and the chief of the local tribe and headed into the jungle. Monkeys bounced across the road as we went deeper into the forest. It was like a scene out of Tarzan with vines hanging from the trees, birds singing and insects making loud strange calls. The waterfall was stunning with hundreds of butterflies landing on the rocks around it. The waterfall was used to work a pump which in turn created electricity through hydro-electric power. The pump sent water up to this forward thinking Malawian's house, while a pipe plummeting down sent water through the force of gravity to the local hospital. The couple who lived here (he married a Kiwi), utilised every available item by turning it into a sustainable resources. Wind turbines, solar energy and hydro energy machines were shown to us; from big plans like the waterfall to small ones like simply using a coke tin to make a candle. The gentleman had devised a way to light up a small room using an old small solar panel linked to a white light LED bulb. This would light up a room so that a group of children could study in the evening (it's pitch dark at 6pm here) for as little as £3. It was agreed that we would try and promote him to the Malawi Education Authorities so that they could use his expertise to use these simple, cheap ideas in local school and to teach the locals communities of the possibilities of no-cost, environmentally friendly power. We'll certainly use his ideas which our children when we get back to our schools in Llandudno. During the afternoon we visited Mzuzu for a look around the market. We spent most of the time sitting in a local bar drinking bottles of Coke and Fanta watching the world go by. Our driver's sister had fallen ill and had to be transported from Mzuzu Hospital to Lilongwe, some 5 hours away. He left us for a few hours as he went to sort out his problem. Our driver had to take her money as she couldn't afford the trip. There are no ambulances here, you have to get yourself to hospital, and for that you have to pay. The town was full of football supporters today, with the colour of blue and white and celebrating Mzuzu fans could be seen everywhere. It was amazing to see 15 people crammed into a people carrier or over 30 crammed stood up on the back of a small lorry. It looked so dangerous but here it is a way of life. You walk everywhere as you don't have a car, if you are lucky to be offered a lift you take it no matter how many people are already in, or on, the vehicle. Driving is a game of and odgems - people all walking taking advantage of the flat tarmac road, goats and chickens everywhere. Apparently if you knock down a goat you have to pay the owner, that's if you are still alive to tell the tale! This evening we went back to 'The Butterfly' for a meal and met volunteers working in the country. They come from all over the world - UK, USA, Albania, New Zealand, Australia, Japan; all to lend a helping hand - builders, teachers, agriculture specialists, all here to do their bit. Once you've seen the conditions in this beautiful country, you cant help but wanting to help. Tonight I am staying at Mr Mazondi Moyo's house, the Director of Education for Nkhata Bay, along with his wife Katie and eight year old son. He has invited me as a thank you for letting him stay with me and my family at home in Wales last year. We spent the evening talking about the problems that face the country; the apparent corruption that is rife in the country, money that is spent in areas that they shouldn't. It does seen strange that a minute fraction of the people here drive around in jaguars or range rovers and live in huge houses on the hillside outside the big cities, while the vast majority of the people have next to nothing. Something is going wrong somewhere and for those who speak out it can be a dangerous place. I know I keep harping on about it and to those who are not here it's difficult to comprehend, but we all should be extremely grateful for what we have in our country and the way we can live our lives in comfort.
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