Malawi and Back

Enjoyed a few more days in Malawi arranging for rebuilding latrines and arranging for repair of 100 old desks and purchase of 250 new desks.  With 3 kids at each desk, they will be able to help another 1050 kids with getting a better education.  But that is only a drop in the bucket. 

 Please continue to donate to the church humanitarian fund!   

Our New Favorite Picture!   All the Grand-kids together at our Reunion.
 We wish we could have been there but so grateful they have a high priority on family reunions.
 Love these kids!

While in Malawi, we were able to get away one afternoon to Zomba and drove to the top of the mountain.  It was lush and green forested up there and we could see forever. 

 A really nice hotel on top with lovely gardens. 

Some old people we found on top of the mountain.  

Men would take their bikes to the top of the mountain, load them up with wood,
 then walk them down the very steep road to the town below where they could sell it.
 Brakes must wear out quickly.  Saw one poor guy whose bike got away from him.

More from the top of the mountain

From the top of the mountain, we could hear people singing down in this valley.

Jonathan showing us a desk sample and how it is built.

We got to travel back to Lusaka with 6 missionaries who were coming for leadership training. 
We were in good hands.

Visited Mulenje School. 
The completed teacher's house is in the background and they are just refurbishing the two room school.
  This is getting really close to being finished.  

Final painting on the inside at Mulenje school. 
Grades 1-4 will begin meeting here soon and won't have to walk 4-6 kms each way to school.  

While we were out of town, they started on the 3 classroom building at the very crowded Tiyende Pamodzi school.  

Blantyre Malawi

This week we went to Blantyre Malawi to start two new projects that the Area office wanted. 

 One was replacing latrines at schools that had been damaged by cyclone storms

 and the other was desks for schools.  

These 4 latrines fell over when the storm washed away the back side.  Hope no one was using them at the time!
 Another set like this was also washed out.  The church will replace these and build a water diversion wall
 around them to avoid this happening in the future.

The roof of this 12 hole latrine was blown off.  The building was so deteriorated,

 the church is just going to build a whole new latrine building for them. 

We visited several schools that need desks.  We have found that here in Malawi, the schools usually only have enough desks for the 7th and 8th graders so grades 1-6 just sit on the cement floors. 

 We are planning on providing 100-150 new desks and 30-70 repaired desks at two school. 

 Even with that it seems like a drop in the bucket.   At one school these kids sang for us.

Grandpa checking out desktop wood.

This is a Kachere Tree at a school which symbolizes unity of the village. 
Communities meet in the shade under its branches to discuss issues in the village and to settle disputes.

Malawi had an election last month that is being disputed.  While we were there, they had a protest march.
 We tried to avoid going out where it was and thought it would be completely over when we needed to go
back to our hotel.  But we got caught right in the middle of it.  In the past these have turned ugly but
 we were able to get through without any problem. 

Had a couple of hours to kill so went to their museum.
 Would have loved to drive this old steam engine tractor.

Some preschool kids at the museum.  

We see lots of sugar cane being sold on the road. 
Just a fun snack for them as they chew on the inside and suck out the sugar.  

The Blantyre Zone had zone conference while we were there.  Great Elders!
 We were working on setting up these projects so couldn't attend.  But we will catch it in two weeks in Lusaka.  We stayed with the Rowans (on the right) for a couple of nights and played "Lucky Duck".  They always are so fun and nice to us.  

Drove out to Mulanje mountain.  They have large tea plantations there.  It is just gorgeous!  

Chipilepile & Schools

We are wrapping up a few projects and starting others. 

 It is always very exciting to see projects take shape and nearing completion. 

 What a blessing it is for us to be allowed to assist the Lord in blessing His children here in Africa. 

Visited a new school, Chipilepile Primary, in the bush.
 They have a 2 classroom building but it is not plastered or painted.  

With Grades 1-7, several of the classes have to meet outside under these shelters.
 Notice no desks and they are sitting on suspended branches. 
Don't know how they even write on those hanging chalkboards.  

Other classes meet in thatched rooms parents helped build.

It gets chilly in these classrooms now that winter is here and very hot in the Summer.
 Again, no desks or benches.  We will  be proposing construction of a new 3 classroom building, latrines, and desks.

 We checked on the progress at other projects and all are doing very well.  

The Teacher's house at Mulenje school where they plan to put a couple who are both teachers.  The house is pretty much done now and they are finishing up some latrines, refurbishing the two schoolrooms, and painting the school.
Everything will be ready for school to open in September. 

At the Chainda clinic, the maternity ward is nearing completion.  Floor tile is down and ceilings are in.
 A few doors need to be added and the building painted.  They will now start the conversion of their hand pump to an electric pump so water can go into a tank and flow into the maternity ward.  A flushing toilet and shower are being included. 

At Jolly Horizon school, they are busy making their desks.  Notice the double welding machine on the right. 

At Tiyende Pamodzi school kickoff meeting, some bald guy is discussing with the Parent Teacher Committee,
 the school officials, and the contractor, the plans for the new 3 classroom building here.  

Grandma caught Grade 1 learning their alphabet and vowels.  Kind of disturbed the class. 

Ended the week with the Baptism of Sister Daka.
 Her husband and son were baptized a few weeks ago.  

Clinic Water and Concert

This week was a bit slower because Monday and Tues were holidays. 

 Checked on projects and enjoyed a violin concert from Salt Lake. 

Water District man installing the solar pump control system for the Mugurameno health clinic.
 The church paid for flushing out the borehole and a new solar pump.  

A few days later when we came a pipe was broken so we went 1 hour back to Chirundu for parts.
 Grandpa's irrigation system repair work came in handy. 

Putting in the new faucet and repairing the pipe.

While Grandpa was fixing pipe, Grandma was playing with the kids.

This little girl became Grandma's buddy.  She held on to Grandma's hand until we left.
 Of course Grandma had to leave them with 4 packages of cookies. 

Next we visited Chisikila clinic.  It is about 20 km from the nearest village so is very remote. 
After four dry boreholes, we decided to convert the existing hand pump borehole into a solar powered borehole
 with a water tank for supplying water into the clinic, school, and community.  

Solar panels and clinic in the background.

These boys approved of the project.  

The church provided two sinks in the clinic and piping to provide good clean water inside.

We were able to put in taps for the neighboring school, the staff house, and one for the community to us.
 The school plans to also use this water for a garden where they will grow Yams to feed the children
 that have to walk about 6 km to school and to generate income for the school. 

A group of young violin players, ages 8 to 17, came from Salt Lake City and put on a concert for our Stake.  They were great! They are here for a few days playing for an orphanage, a school, and a village then heading to Victoria Falls.