September Update - Lake Malawi and Soccer!

Almost a month since my last note, apologies for the delay, but I am pleased to report that life in Blantyre has been ‘normal’ for the past month, so nothing as exciting as previous weeks to report.

Roger (Australian THP Investor) did in fact arrive with my ‘care package’ from home, containing replacement credit cards, glasses, an old phone etc, so it was good to get back to normal. We had an intensive couple of days taking Roger to see the Epicenter he underwrites, he was treated like a visiting royal by the locals (understandably so!), and I just cant imagine what it must have been like for him seeing a community of about 20,000 whom he is responsible for delivering from hunger and poverty! We spent a day meeting different people from the community: widows, families, people living with HIV/AIDS, who all now have access to fresh water, can grow enough food for a year to feed themselves, have access to health services, adult literacy courses and microfinance. One woman proudly showed us her knitting machine (remember the ones they used to advertise on TV in the 70’s!!), which she uses for her business, the proceeds of which she has used to build a house!! Pretty inspiring stuff. Roger and I then spent a couple of days working through his reporting requirements, as I am trying to overhaul the reporting process, so it was a great couple of days!!



Passionate supporter!



I also had the opportunity to attend the Malawi vs Tunisia qualifier for the African Cup. Now you all know I am not much of a soccer fan, but the event was mindblowing!! Malawi needed to win to make the cut, so there was a lot riding on the match. I cant even describe the atmosphere, crazed fans all wearing red (me included!!), the useful pre-match parties and drinking, and, with a nil-all draw, the desolation which followed. The police in riot gear, and military in tanks (yep, up and down the highway outside the stadium) didn’t help keep the crowd calm!! Kamuzu Stadium itself is more than 40 years old, and is really just concrete stands which don’t look to my laymans eyes like I wanted to be at the top. My colleague told me that infact FIFA have similar concerns, and only allow the stands to fill half way up, for safety reasons. Someone apparently forgot to tell the organisers, because those stands were so packed it was like awaiting for a disaster to happen. Luckily, none did, and the stands are still standing...

I have also had the opportunity to visit Lake Malawi, a little piece of paradise here. About a 5 hour drive up, but worth the trip (even the last hour on some really horrible dirt roads). We went to Cape Maclear, which is a gorgeous blend of tourism and local village, so you only need to walk about 500 metres from your beach to find the local community doing their thing! Unfortunately, the Lake is full of a parasite which causes Bilharzia, so just swimming (or even walking on the shore in the water) is enough to cause this nasty little parasite to invade your body (and if you decide not to swim, you will catch it in the shower anyway!!), so I decided, being with well informed Medical Students and all, to take the plunge, knowing that I can freely access the medication 3 weeks from when you swim that will apparently purge the nasty little things from your body ....

One of the THP drivers, Jamia, took us up to the Lake. It was the first time in her life she has seen the Lake, or in fact a large body of water, so it was worth the weekend just to see her absolute delight at walking along the shores and paddling. 



Public phone at Cape Maclear!



Final note on Cape Maclear, is the local telephone service – I am sure Mr Thodey would be proud!

From a social perspective, life at Kabula Lodge has quietened down somewhat, with all but two of the Medical students gone home. A lovely surprise for us was one of the group, Rose, was being joined by her boyfriend and father at the end of her elective, and the three were off to travel to Zambia for 3 weeks before returning to Holland. As it turns out, the boyfriend popped the question the night he arrived, so we had a great celebration of the engagement!

Finally, three of the four gents who relieved us of our possessions over a month ago have now been arrested, with two already sentenced to 5 years jail. I received a personal visit from Robert the detective to tell me he had recovered my iPhone and Camera, and I needed to go to the Police station the next day to collect them. Sadly, my Red Nikon compact camera had turned into a silver Canon camera, and my iPhone was now an older iPod. Poor Robert was crest fallen when I told him they were not my things. Luckily they were my friend Tamsin’s,  and she had to go to court to testify as to her ownership of the assets, and received them back the day before she left the country – so a great end to her saga. No sign of my things as yet, but my favourite detective Robert sends me a weekly text message (in English, but only just!!) to assure me he is getting close!! I have been so impressed by the work of the Malawi Police Force, and their ‘customer care’!!! Much better than South African Airlines who pilfered my hard disk drive from my baggage when I came over and failed to respond to my complaint until I sent a personal letter to their CEO!! Who would have figured??