Greetings from Dalry!

Monire mose,
Sorry, it’s taken a while to post my final message since returning home. For the first couple of days I was feeling quite down and really missing everyone in Mzuzu. It gets harder to leave each time I visit. I’m still waking up at ridiculously early times in the morning – I think the bells are ingrained in my memory. My body clock will just be getting back to normal when it’s time to go back to work.
Overall I think that this trip was a resounding success and for me it was the most enjoyable one so far. The St. Matthew’s group was a real credit to the school and certainly made me proud. There will definitely be a few more Malawi enthusiasts about the staffroom now and I’m looking forward to sharing the workload of the partnership more evenly with them!
The people of Mzuzu were every bit as welcoming as I expected. I thoroughly enjoyed meeting up with all my old friends, visiting their homes and working and socialising with them. Fr. Chunda was without a doubt an absolute star. He could not have looked after us any better and he provided much humour along the way. I definitely miss both the daily and Sunday Masses. The people at St. Peter’s can teach us plenty about how to “celebrate” the Eucharist.
It was good to see how the school has developed even further since my last visit. It has come a long way since I first arrived in 2002 when they had only 2 quite derelict classrooms and 60 pupils. There is a real buzz about the place nowand a lot of hope for the future. The teaching staff and school board were very open to discussing how they could improve as a school – probably more so than thestaff at St. Matthew’s !
I’m delighted that St. Mary’s P.S., Largs has partnered with St. Peter’s P.S. and there is hope that we will find a partner for Luynangwa Girls P.S. shortly. There is tremendous scope in both primary schools and a partnership will really help them flourish.
The 2 orphan centres are places I hold close to my heart. When I’m struggling to get out of bed on a wet Monday morning I’ll try to think of the kids who constantly battle against poverty, hunger and disease and yet are always smiling. The volunteers who run both centres are an example to us all. They don’t have much themselves; some are even HIV+, but they give their time and effort to care for these orphans, to give them respite and hope for a brighter future.
I’m really looking forward to the return visit in March and I think the group who are coming over will make a tremendous impact on the St. Matthew’s community. Our partnership with St. Peter’s is stronger than ever. Thank you to all of you who helped to fund raise or made donations to make this trip possible. Your support is greatly appreciated both in St. Matthew’s and St. Peter’s. Now we just have to find around £10 000 for the return visit!
Pawemi,
Bernadette