Winter Edition 2017

TRAVEL
of children gathered to
watch – they had not
seen many tourists. Then
we hiked to the top of
Thyolo Mountain. It was
stunning and we were so
proud to reach the top.
DAY 3
We drove to Liwonde National
Park. We are staying in a safari lodge
with solar power. We saw animals,
including elephants, baboons, buffalo,
impala, antelope, mongoose, jackals,
warthogs, porcupines and an owl.
DAY 4
We got up at 5am for a safari. We saw
a dazzle of zebra, 200 buffalo and
some beautiful elephants. We then
went on the River Shire and saw
hippos and crocodiles. After a twohour
drive we arrived at our thatched
lodge on Lake Malawi, which was
powered by generators.
DAY 5
We went to the Rainbow Hope
School. It was so different to Cheam with just two
buildings and four tiny classrooms. We saw the
solar equipment we had arranged for them. This
will let the children use computers and stay and
do their homework after dark. We joined a lesson
on agriculture and how to grow better crops. We
showed the students how to use a mosquito net.
They had a debate on the advantages of sleeping
under a net (no malaria) against using them to fish,
protect crops or build fences. We gave every student
and teacher a net, and they were so happy. Then we
joined The Book Bus to give English lessons. As
the sun went down we played football with some
local children and visited their home, which had
no electricity and where all five children slept in
one bed. We saw the mummy cook dinner on an
open fire for her children. It is called nsima, which
Pumping water at school
is water and maize flour. We didn’t
like the look of it!
DAY 6
We went to another
school and took part in
two English lessons. There
were 50 children sitting
on the floor, most with
dirty clothes and no shoes.
When we left we gave the
children exercise books,
pencils, pens and sweets.
Malawi football
Back at Rainbow Hope
we gave footballs, netballs,
rugby balls and a talk about how to play rugby. The
headmaster thanked us for the solar power and a
girl read a poem about how her sister and brother
had died from malaria, but now the net protects
her. We ended the day playing a game of tag rugby.
COMING HOME
Malawi is known as the
‘Warm Heart of Africa’
and everyone was very
friendly. Even though
they are poor, they are
educated, happy and work
so hard for a better life.
The children wore old
clothes and no shoes but
they spoke English. Our
visit to Malawi made us
realise how lucky we are
to have the simple things
in life like food, water and
electricity. This experience has been life-changing
and we hope to return in the future.
The Miners travelled with Orbis Expeditions
and The Responsible Safari Company
www.orbis-expeditions.com
www.responsiblesafaricompany.com
English lessons
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