Bernadette's reflections

Hi,

Having been back a week I now feel ready to post my reflections of the trip. I must admit that I've found it pretty difficult readjusting to life back at home this past week. The more often I go to Malawi the more difficult it is to come back home. Obviously it was great to catch up with friends and family again and especially my delightful 10 month old nephew who has grown a good couple of inches in the last month. However when in Malawi I feel that every day has a purpose (from 6am!) whereas at home it easy to get caught up doing things that really don't matter. I literally came back to earth with a bump when I got a phone call as the plane had just landed in Glasgow saying my mum had a stroke during my last week in Malawi. Thankfully she's doing ok now but is waiting for an operation in the near future. The more eagle-eyed amongst you may have noticed my very brief TV debut on the Hour last Wednesday courtesy of my HCPT group.

Rather than recounting all the experiences of the trip again I thought I would pick my top 10 highlights in no particular order:

1. The ex-seminarians party. Totally bizarre but enjoyable afternoon.

2. The truck breaking down on the mountain track to Livingstonia and being stranded for 2 and a half hours.

3. My one wild night (honest!) in Malawi when I partied at Nkhata Bay to 4am with Siobhan McGuire (Elizabeth's sister-in-law). Everyone needs a blow out now and again!

4. The Black Missionaries concert. Surreal!

5. The 2 orphans' parties. If I had put the list in order this would be number 1. I still get emotional thinking about them and not because I feel sorry for them but because they are so full of life, joyful and thankful for the little they have. I can assure you that every penny we give to these orphan centres is used to the greatest benefit of the kids.

6. The afternoon at the Ilala lodge with our 6 exchange kids. This was more emotional than the orphan centres and I was not expecting that at all. Listening to them reflect on their time in Scotland was so humbling. Paul has fantastic video footage from that afternoon, which we will use during Malawi week this year.

7. Visits to Malawian homes. We managed to fit in visits to the homes of Mr. Banda (HT St Peter's), daphne (DHT St. Peter's), Irene (DHT primary), Alex (HT primary) and Thomas Mvula (primary school board). The hospitality we received in each of these homes was again very humbling. They all went to a great deal of effort to make us welcome. Unfortunately we had to turn down several other invitations due to lack of time. Next year!!

8. Uno night. Playing uno (card game) till midnight by candle light ( due to power cut) with Fr. Chunda, Fr. Joseph and Petros - aided by a box of red wine. It was hysterical!

9. The Masses. Totally uplifting whether it be the 6.30am Masss every morning or the 4 hour ordination Mass. The Mass at St. Joseph's out station was particularly memorable and it was great joining their community for the morning.

10. Fr. Chunda. Our amazing host and travelling companion. Most of the places we visited he had never been to in his life and his excitement and joy added to our experience.

Thank you to all our donors, orphan sponsors and blog readers (best blogger award goes yet again to Bernard Walsh) for all your support. We really appreciate you as do our Malawian friends. With the school donations along with many personal donations for this trip we were able to assist our partners in the following ways:

£500 St. Peter's Secondary for textbooks (from St. Matthew's Academy)
£500 Luynangwa Girls Primary for development project (St. Mark's Primary)
£500? St. Peter's primary for sanitation project (St. Mary's Primary)
£250 Women's Centre to support orphan feeding programme (St. Matthew's)
£100 Women's Centre to support child-headed families (St. Matthew's staff donations)
£50 Women's centre to buy blankets for vulnerable orphans (personal donation)
£20 Women's Centre to buy hotplate to help cook for orphans (personal donation)
£100 Women's centre orphans' party (personal donations)
£300 Mary Martha Orphan care for development project (St. Matthew's & staff donations)
£100 Mary Martha Orphan Care for orphans' party (St. Matthew's staff)
£100 St Joseph's out station for church building fund (personal donations)
Numerous other small donations and gifts for the orphans.

Not bad considering this was supposed to be just a holiday! As our Malawian friends always say, "We have no words to thank you, it is only God who can thank you for what you do for us!"

Pawemi,

Bernadette

Travels South

Here are a few pictures from our last week spent in Malawi. After saying our last goodbyes we set off south visiting Mua, Zomba, Blantyre, Cape Maclear and Dedza before returning for our flight at Lilongue. Our journey took us over 2,000 kms. The 1st picture shows Mr Banda (head teacher), Thumbeko, Kingston, Lilian and Immelda who came to see us off from St Peter's.




Here are the merry group at St Peter's who made our stay in Mzuzu a very enjoyable one: Fr. Joseph, Petrus, Paul & Tobias (the cooks) and the watchmen.







1st stop was at Mua, where the 1st Catholic Missionaries came to Malawi. Now it is a cultural centre with a fantastic display of exhibits, artifacts and information regarding history of the Catholic Church in Malawi, tribal history and customs.














At Zomba we stayed in Malawi's top hotel for one night: the Ku Chawe (Sunbird hotel), our biggest extravagance on the trip, but well recommended for the food, facilities and views overlooking Zomba, the old capital .

This picture shows the market in Blantyre, Malawi's 2nd largest city. Blantyre was a complete contrast to Mzuzu. In Blantyre we went to hear the Black Missionaries playing: a fantastic experience and one of the many highlights of the trip.





The Black Missionaries are Malawi's top band, playing Reggae. The locals at the concert were very eager to show us some of the dance moves.

At Cape Maclear we spent 3 nights recharging our batteries. The 3 pictures are an attempt to show what it looks like. However, they don't do it justice; it was very beautiful and very unspoiled; apart from a few lodges for the passing backpackers and a few tourists there were few facilities. We stayed at Gekko Lodge. Despite the area having a population of 15,000 it was unbelievably very peaceful and relaxing.

The water of the lake was inviting but we were put off swimming here by the fact it is one of the worst areas for catching bilharzia. The island in the picture is Thumbwe; it is one of 2 islands closeby, the other is Domwe.

Finally on the 28 July we arrived in Lilongue, spending the customary night at Nelly's Lodge with dinner at Don Brionne's in the centre. For our farewell dinner we were joined by Frs. Chunda, Charles and Robert. Our flights via Amerstdam and Johannesburg back to Glasgow passed without incident with us arriving safely on the 30 July.



Paweme

Paul, Bernadette, Celia & Anne