An amazing trip - Project report

It has been an amazing trip. I am very excited about what has been accomplished and what is just on the horizon.

Bishop’s village visit
The Bishops students have fallen into two categories. The teachers are working one on one with their professor, Christopher Stonebanks and are so autonomous that I hardly see them. In fact, I will have to take a few moments today to pass by all the schools and see how everyone is doing. Francois-Xavier is laying the foundations for a great computer lab and working individually and in groups to get the teachers familiar with the machines and capable of trouble shooting. We are making contacts in Kasungu with IT people to see if one of them can come in once a month to help with technical glitches and to continue the learning. Danielle and Maureen are preparing three large wall murals at the primary school. One is of the universe, another a map of Africa and finally a map of Malawi. They are also preparing several large canvases almost 5 feet by 3 feet for students to paint which will be brought back to Canada to sell to raise funds for the primary school. Dave is looking at music in the schools and in the village, etc…

The education group hit a snag because the Ministry has changed the school year from the calendar year back to the old colonial system to begin in September and end in July in parallel with the northern hemisphere’s school calendar. This meant we arrived in the last 2 weeks of the semester. What with exams for 3 grades disrupting school life and the regular disruption of end of semester activities, they have not been able to get the same contact time that the Vanier students had with the Malawi students last year. Despite that they have found ways to become involved and enrich their learning experience.

The other group is what we called in French ‘divers’ or varia in English, but as a joke we now use the English pronunciation as if we are snorkelling divers. Alida is in sociology and political science, Katie is political science and economics, Barbara is the sociology and gender studies professor and Alice is a college student who wanted to come to help her grandmother with the support she has been providing the small village of Mnjale.

Alida and Katie are considered interns and since their interests were similar and dealt with the aid relationship, we agreed that they would help me in my work as a case study for their internship credit. It has proven to be an invaluable support. They have scoured Kasungu for possible internships for next year’s group or groups, looking at everything from PAL, Press Agricultural Limited, the country’s biggest enterprise to a small dynamic local NGO known as Council for Sustainable Community Development CSCD. They are building the inventory of internship possibilities, they are sitting in on meetings between me and partners and in return I am helping them prepare to write their school assignments about this attachment, all of which should enrich the work we are trying to do.

More than anything I appreciate the moments with them when I can talk out the issues of the moment and get their feedback. It has sharpened my decision making and kept me focused on the priorities and recognize the need to involve others in the work.

Christopher is into research and has mobilized Thomas to work with Kristy, one of his students, as research assistants and it is wonderful to see the guy rise to the challenge. Christopher has taken a particular interest in him and is still willing to help him become a teacher despite a couple of major mistakes he made last year. Kristy is researching the learning the students are going through and how culture shock affects that learning. He is also organizing a 2 day seminar of exchange between the Bishop’s profs and students and the Kasungu TTC profs and students. A lot of learning is going on.

The Beria Tembo-Saka Guest House

OPSEU has helped fund three projects leading to self-sufficiency. The first is a guest house named in honour of Nellie’s late mother who was always hosting people in her house so it seemed appropriate to name a house that hosts visitors in her name.

A local contractor has agreed to build the basic structure for the money we have available and will be the first to be called to complete the project when more funding comes available. She is a woman well known in the Kasungu area. She is on the site early in the morning and stays until late in addition to running a number of other projects. Her work caught my eye when we pass the Chinkhoma turnoff to Mchinji some 20 kilometres south of Makupo on the M1 highway. I had admired the thatch roofed bar many times in passing by and decided to stop last January. She is the owner and builder and was present when I visited so we struck up a friendship as we shared our preference for thatch roofing and other construction ideas. She owns the By the Road Bar as well as another one in Kasungu called the Groove 2000 Bar. In addition as a contractor she owns a large truck and a fleet of smaller ones.

I sought her out for and estimate and she introduced me to her husband who took the rough sketch of the idea Nellie and I had proposed and turned out 4 pages of beautifully drafted design and another 2 pages costing the project down to the Kwacha at something close to twice what we had available to spend. Our original design would have cost $25,000 and we were working with $10,000 so after some serious negotiations we came up with a compromise that would get the basic structure of foundation, walls and roof installed before the end of November and they would be prepared to come back and complete the project if and when the balance of the funds become available. We needed to get it up and covered before the rains started to protect the walls. That will give us the time to fundraise to complete the rest of the work before the next group comes in May of 2011. In the meantime we can continue to host small groups as we are now doing using three houses scattered around the village. WUSC Malawi would like to schedule an orientation for their recently arrived Canadian volunteers and Vanier College is hoping to bring some nursing students in May and a focus group on water in the month of June. Bishops seems to be a sure thing for another visit in July or August. We will be ready for next year which should be the last time I have to be away for any extended period.

One Well Becomes Three

Katharine Cukier and the Social Justice Club at Royal West Academy spearheaded a fund rising campaign based on the request by Chief Bwanali a lady who was once a student of mine when I first taught in Malawi in 1968. The villages she covers were all served by one very overworked well ever since the old decrepit well built in colonial times had given up the ghost. She estimated that almost 2000 people depended on one well. The children did so well that it appeared that we might be able to put a well in Chiwayu as well. Based on our calculations from the previous experience in 2007, we feared we would be a bit short for the second well, so we applied for help from our good friends at OPSEU and they gave us what we thought we needed for the two.

As soon as I got to Malawi I visited Jacob Mpemba at WUSC who is an agricultural graduate from Bunda College and sought his advise on a number of matters. He pointed out that we do not have to deal with the private companies since the Ministry of Irrigation and Water can give quotations which cut out the double dealing of the companies. Sure enough their quote was 25% below what the best company had given us and the savings allowed us to put in a third well. Our goal was to work in an ever expanding radius out from around Makupo to provide the villagers with the shortest walk possible to lighten the daily burden of water carrying by bringing water closer to them. The next well then was to be in Mlangali the home of the Group Village Headman that Makupo falls under. Needless to say the chief was very pleased.

The money was paid to Miinstry accounts office on a Thursday. On the following Monday, this week we are ending, the hydrologist arrived with his equipment and spent the better part of 2 days siting the wells. In 2 cases the placement of the villages was right above rock bearing no water so the wells ended up a little farther from the centre of the villages than the villagers wanted. In fact it was interesting watching the interaction of the chief who wanted the well just outside his door and the women who were the actual carriers of the water. They couldn’t argue with their chief but it was clear they were happy the well was moving closer to where they were going to be convenienced. He left on Wednesday and the drilling rig arrived on Thursday, a week to the day from when the money had been paid to the Ministry. They expect to do all three wells in just a couple of days. Needless to say there is much anticipation with all this progress coming about so quickly.

Royal West raised enough money from the energy of their enthusiastic and commited students to put in 2 wells at Bwanali and Mlangali and OPSEU gave us the ability to put in the third at Chiwayu. Rest assured the people appreciate your support.

More to come soon. As I send this to the blog the drill rig has just completed the first two holes at Mlangali and Chiwayu.