Return to Malawi 2012

We realise we are very fortunate to be heading back to Malawi. When packing the suitcases of gifts we were very touched once again by the support from everyone. We were also sad because we wished we could cram more items into the bulging cases, especially since our party is just the two of us. With the weights of the cases checked we are ready to depart and hopefully all will arrive. Fortunately unlike last year they did. We arrived in Mzuzu on Wednesday evening on July 4 to a warm welcome from the priests of St Peter's Parish. It is great to be back and to meet up with old friends. The people are very glad that the old President is no longer with them and give a cautious welcome to the new female President, Joyce Banda. It is hard to imagine how tough things have been for the people with no petrol and a scarcity of basics. Harvests have not been as good since the people can not afford the fertilisers. They are all suffering from the recent drastic devaluation of their currency. On Thursday we changed money getting 441 Kwacha to the pound; compared to last year when it was 220. For us this is great since we are able to buy things at just under 50% less than last year. However, this has meant a substantial drop in living standards for the Malawians whose wages have remained the same. The fees for St Peter'secondary are set to rocket from 15000 Kwacha a term to 25000 Kwacha in September when the pupils return from the holidays. So far we have not seen any pupils in the secondary since the Form 4 pupils are doing their leavers' exam,while the rest have left. We have visited St. Peter's Primary School. Once again we received a very warm welcome and were introduced to the new overall Head Teacher, Mr Ghambi. There are some changes at the school. There are now 2,666 pupils registered at the primary. The Authority decided the children should be split effectively into 2 "schools" with a Head in charge of each. Both Heads are accountable to Mr Ghambi. Each "school" has its own staff and pupils from Standard 1 to Standard 8. Pupils will still attend school for half a day, however they will alternate the time of attendance; one week morning shift, the next week afternoon shift. We are impressed all of this is communicated to families by word of mouth from the children. Teachers are still getting used to the new system, particular since their hours of attendance change weekly. Everyone is hoping the new system will benefit the learners, although class sizes still remain high - the recommendation is for 60 pupils in class but in St. Peter's there are still classes of 70 and 80 pupils. They are still waiting for a few more teachers to be allocated. Everyone has been asking for Bernadetta, Celia and all the members of the previous group. We have been asked to pass on their best wishes and to remind them that Malawi is their second home.