Completely Fulfilled and In Love

December is the rainy season here so we have had a few thunder showers, which I am more than happy with because when I arrived I did not stop sweating. It was so hot! Hot weather like Cape Town summer and humidity like Dar es Salaam…yes, very tasty! I have been here for three days now and have spent a lot of my time with Yeshua (Jesus) and as yesterday was Sabbath, most of my day was reading the Word or watching teachings, in prayer and listening to Gospel.

Today I am feeling completely fulfilled and in love...happy, blessed and in love with life. I am now settled in this beautiful little village and feel more at ease. Yesterday evening I went for a walk on the beach and took some gorgeous pictures of the views in the area and just had a smile on my face. “I am actually in Malawi; I actually did this” I thought and it still feels surreal.

There were quite a lot of people dispersed along the beach, mama’s doing the washing, some people swimming, even bathing (but I avoid those areas) and others just playing. It is now the school holidays so the kiddies are everywhere doing their own thing so I had a chance to speak to a few. I know that I will benefit the most by being the near the children and can learn from them, as well as have a more cultural experience. A few high school girls called me when I was walking and chatting to a little boy and they joined me asking “where are you going” to which I replied, “I am just going for a walk”, which I think gave them a new definition to the word.

The five girls walked with me along the lake and we chatted about school, family, the holidays and laughed about a few things. It felt really good. They asked if I could take a picture of them, as I was snapping away most of the time, which I was more than happy to do. The image of these girls has a stunning sunset in the background and definitely holds a moment for me to remember. I felt more connected in the hour I spent on the beach while being with the girls, chatting to the locals whilst hoping they become familiar with a new “unzugu” (European) in the area. Time will definitely tell and the more time we spend in the village, the more familiar I will become with the area and can then just hang out and play with the kiddies.

I am definitely looking forward to tomorrow and what the week brings. Our main project is to paint the inside nursery wall with pictures, which I know will be so much fun. Let us three volunteers now be inspired with absolute creativity to leave a fun joyous mark for the generations to come…

As Rural as You Get

The journey from Lilongwe International Airport to Lifuwu included a few interesting surprises and absolute beauty along the way. The road that we travelled on featured many villages and stunning lush valleys rich in vegetation. The villages are made up of clay huts, some with clay bricks and grassy roofs and shops miles away. There is no real developed area along the way, except for a little town called Salima where I bought my groceries and when I say groceries….mmmm not the average shopping experience.

I walked into the shop thinking I would buy at least a few meals of some sort. I was shocked with what was available to say the least and walked out with pasta, peanut butter, bread, tin tomatoes, tomato paste, mayonnaise, tuna, milk and All Bran. I wondered “How on earth am I going to eat for a month.” We then quickly stopped at another shop to buy water and headed to a butchery. I walked in and started at the first fridge happy to find mince; perfect I thought for my spag bowl plan. I then found patties and felt quite happy…”this isn’t too bad`` I thought. However, when I found the chicken breast fridge and found what looked like salmon due to the dark manky colour I took my three items to the till and just ran out of there. I thought ``Òk, breathe, I can just buy heaps of vegetables and fruit when I arrive in the village and start a little vegetarian diet.``

We get back on the road and 30 minutes later we turn off on a dusty road to the NGO home. Well when I told people I was going to stay in a little village on Lake Malawi I kind of imagined a few shops, developed houses and that sort of thing…similar to the fishermans village Patenoster, West Coast of South Africa. Well it was nothing close…

I literally entered the bush with huts dispersed everywhere and not a shop in sight. I finally arrive at the NGO and what a lovely house it is. The view facing Lake Malawi from the outside patio is breathtaking. The house is spacious and kitted out with all the necessities, a large living area, dining area, kitchen, two dorm rooms, a private room and bathroom. The Assistant Manager welcomed me and showed me around the house and once I was settled we went for a tour in the village. Along the way we were constantly greeted by young curious kiddies, wanting to know who I was and where we were going. They are all so friendly asking, “What is your name”, to which I reply “Van” as it is easier for them to say.

We visited both the nursery and primary school and met heaps of kiddies along the way playing football or just around in the “street”. We also explored the market which includes tomatoes, red onion, (to my disappointment as that means no vegetarian diet either) bread, eggs, mangoes and a few other things. The shop in the village is a kiosk where you stand outside and just ask for what you need and the owner hands it over to you. I don’t think you will find a village more rural than Lifuwu.

Yet, the more time I processed where I was and the few distractions there were I just realised “Hey, this is as rural as you get and what an amazing opportunity. How many people have been to a village and stayed there for one month. You wanted rural and now you have it so embrace it.” And that is exactly what I am going to do.

When the Seed was Planted…

I am sitting on the plane waiting to take off to Malawi and feeling so overwhelmed. It is the first trip I have taken on my own and my tummy has been turning all morning with nerves. I researched this trip only a few months ago after deciding not to travel to Vietnam to teach English for a year. And after a few days of researching various African countries such as Ethiopia, Rwanda and Uganda I finally found a program that met my budget and was involved in projects I supported.

The NGO is called Help2Kids which is a Swiss organisation with a base located in a small village called Lifuwu on the boundary of Lake Malawi, as well as in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania. They are involved in projects with the local nursery and primary school, as well as a clinic in Malawi.

When I saw the website and read up the reviews and abundance of information I knew that it was the right choice and my “itchy feet” would be soothed so to speak. The seed was immediately planted…

So here I am flying to Lilongwe, Malawi for a four week life changing experience that I know will include an abundance of joy, laughter, unforgettable memories, growth in my faith and tender soul searching for my inner being.

Here it begins…