Why Is It Friday So Soon?

We were joined at morning Mass yesterday (6.30 a.m. in case any of you had forgotten!) and at breakfast by Chris, who was teaching in St Peter’s in 2005 when we were last here, and Dominic and Anne-Marie Sutherland both of whom are teachers from Scotland, with Dominic being the driving force behind the St Maurice’s link with Nkhamenya Girls’ School. Chris is doing some work with an organisation out here in Mzuzu this summer while Dominic and Anne-Marie are on holiday and are visiting all the people they know throughout the length and breadth of the country.

Thursday was a pretty busy day with pupils in class, working with groups of Malawian pupils on projects and, in the case of the three girls, spending time with Anne in the primary school interviewing pupils on video. Meanwhile, Eric and Mr Banda (Head Teacher of St Peter’s) completed the last of a successful series of meetings by signing the official Partnership Agreement between the two schools. Arrangements were also initiated for the return visit to Scotland by a party of Malawian staff and pupils next March – we are planning to fund a party of 10 so get your fundraising hats on again!!

During the morning Form 1B were spotted digging a pit behind the science block. On closer investigation, it transpired that this was punishment given to the whole class by the Head Teacher for being noisy – food for thought for the St Matthew’s school behaviour procedures! The whole punishment thing kind of collapsed when we took their photograph, however, as they were all vying to get into the shot wearing their widest smiles!

After lunch, Paul and Ally took a staff training session which was a great success with Malawian and Scottish teachers working closely together to identify priorities which could be addressed by the Malawian staff once we have left and do not necessarily rely on additional resources being made available. Mr Banda has indicated his intention to continue to look at the themes identified with a view to making some of the improvements which had emerged from the initial workshops with staff and pupils which we had carried out earlier in the week. All in all a very successful move into staff development and one which was greatly appreciated by our Malawian colleagues.

We headed off to Mary Martha Orphan Care Centre in mid-afternoon. This centre is located out in the countryside to the south of Mzuzu and the difference between the orphans there and the ones in Mzuzu town is really noticeable because of the poverty and lack of facilities in the countryside. Because we were coming, the 50 or so orphans were supplemented by around another 50 “hangers on” but all of them got some kind of gift, even if it was only a pencil and a sweet. Apparently, after our last visit some of the youngsters had asked the centre volunteers how they could become orphans so that they could get nice presents! Enough to bring a tear to a glass eye, as they say - no wonder Madonna keeps coming back for more!

On the way back from Mary Martha we called in to see Bishop Zuza – a highly hilarious experience because he is the funniest man, has no airs and graces and one of the most infectious laughs in Western civilisation. Unfortunately, he wasn’t wearing his usual brightly coloured (almost Hawaiian) shirts because he was feeling the cold but he was so pleased to see us and provided us all with a welcome drink. The offer off a drink led to two of the most unlikely statements ever made to a Bishop:
Celia – “Can I have an Elephant please?” (It’s a type of beer!)
Jennifer – “Passion please, Bishop” (It’s a flavour of Fanta!)

However, the hilarity caused by these requests was eclipsed by Paul who, in the context of describing our input to this afternoon’s cultural exchange experience (or concert, as it is more commonly known), said to Bishop Zuza “If you fancy a Gay Gordons, Bishop, you know where to come.” Cue much falling about by all and sundry – although we weren’t sure if Bishop Zuza and Fr Chunda were entirely sure what they were laughing at. It’s not often you can say that going to meet a Bishop would be light relief, but it certainly provided us with the perfect antidote to the emotion of spending a couple of hours with the orphans at Mary Martha.

A final word today to the parents of our students – we are really proud to have them here as representatives of St Matthew’s Academy. They have been an absolute credit to themselves, to the school and, of course, to you. We couldn’t have picked a more fantastic group of young people – they have got on so well with each other and with the staff and have conducted themselves so well in everything that they have done that we feel very privileged to be with them.

Tomorrow we head off back to Lilongwe via Galamala village (where Fr Nazarius is from) and should be able to post our blog from Nelly’s Lodge Guest house as long as their internet connection is working. Keep posting comments – and, if there’s anyone out there who is reading but not posting, please do post because all of us really appreciate your comments. Michael D gets very emotional every day when we bring the previous day’s blog and comments back to the house!

Tiwonanenge namachero! (You’ll need to find out for yourselves what it means.)