Reflecting on our trip ....

Now we have had a week or so to collect our thoughts, we wanted to share some of the trips highlights and memorable moments.
Each experience on a trip of this nature is always personal and different to the next person but the goal is always the same. We hope that by sharing our experiences with you all it will encourage people to continue to support the charity, whether that's through fundraising or joining next years trip.......... Bring on Malawi 2017!

There were many highlights to last week's trip, however, what I took away most of all was what I think is most important in life.

What I saw was not only the obvious poverty, but how happy, friendly, respectful and loving people can be even though they have very little.
A simple wave or smile, to say hello, a visit to a school and a football brought so much joy to the people of our host country. 
This made me appreciate that a simple visit or call from a loved one can be worth a lot more than an expensive gift.
The Touchstone team were given the utmost love and respect from strangers who were not to benefit from our visit to Malawi.  These selfless acts from the Malawian people will not be forgotten in a hurry.

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So many highlights; too many to mention in a single paragraph. The school visit put in to perspective how little these children have, and yet how they still manage to enjoy life with such vigour. Personally, the most enjoyable experience was playing football with the children. Usually, they would have nothing more than an apple, or a few plastic bags pushed together and held in shape with string to kick around and chase frantically. Providing them with a proper football created such ecstatic excitement, it was as if all of their Christmases and birthdays came at once. When comparing to children here who might throw a strop if they don't receive a games console for their birthday, or their Grandparents buy a game for the PS4 when they have an XBOX, it puts in to perspective how we spend our lives overvaluing luxuries. All of the children played barefoot, with the exception of one lucky enough to have found a single sock and shoe for his stronger foot. These children eat once a day, a basic meal made from maize, and yet they could have chased that football for 10 hours a day, such was their excitement. It was an absolute pleasure playing with them and sharing their overwhelming enjoyment of the simple pleasures in life.

I'll be forever grateful to Touchstone for this incredible, unforgettable, life changing experience. Equally thank you to all of you for being such legends, most of you I didn't know well, some not at all, and yet we gelled so quickly and encouraged each other to achieve something quite extraordinary. Dream team indeed!

 

 

How to sum up such a week? It was a very special trip and all the better for having you all there too! Compared to the houses we were building, having no hot water, broken air-con, no bathroom door or having to deal with absurdly large insects was not a hardship. It made me appreciate the value of relationships, community and a good old sing-song to lift the spirits. Thank you for making my birthday so lovely, I was moved by the kids singing me 'Happy Birthday'. It was satisfying to finish the brickwork and great to round off the day with a campfire on the shore of Lake Malawi, even if the dancers were very scary!

Bye, bye, but not forever
Bye, bye, but not forever
We know that one day we will see you again We know that one day we will see you again

 

 

There are so many highlights and its difficult for me to put all this in words.

 The people we met within Nakondwa, Salima all seem to be happy, loving people and everyone seem to be very respectful towards each other. Especially our visit to the school highlighted that the children are very respectful towards their teachers and so keen to learn even though they have so little material to use. When you think of the size of the classes of about hundred students or more per class and that the students are not just so well behaved but also feel so privileged to be at school and are happy to walk for miles to get there. I cannot remember who asked the question "how do the children know what time to be at school as they do not have an alarm clock?" but we were told they leave when they are ready and when they turn up at school they clean the class rooms before the lessons start.

I felt it was a privilege to work and bond with both Estina, Regina and their families as they all helped build their own houses. Both Estina and Regina helped with fetching the water and we had Estina helping us passing the bricks onto the scaffold as well as getting spades full of matope onto the scaffold, to the high amusement of her brothers who obviously thought she could not do this. Regina's eldest son, John, has been helping the other team build their home. The happy faces, the waving from complete strangers along our travels and the pure joy of our visit to the school and especially the football brought to the people we met in Nakondwa meant a lot to me.

 I guess the main thing that was highlighted by all we saw is that if you have family and friends that love you and a secure home, you are richer than you think.

I am very grateful  to Touchstone for giving me this life changing opportunity to go to Malawi and for us all to be able to help build a secure home for Estina, Regina and their families and a big  thank you to you all for making this trip so amazing. Especially John for humming the goodbye song behind me all the way home as well as making all your amazing heartfelt speeches that made most of us well up, if not openly cry.

 

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I originally applied to take part in the trip to Malawi as I felt it was a great opportunity to personally be involved with helping those that needed it, as opposed to making a faceless donation each month. I believed it was important for me to see poverty first hand, in order to fully understand and appreciate the help that is needed. Only now do I realise, this first-hand experience is invaluable in being able to help raise awareness for these families and orphans.

It's impossible for me to list every highlight of the trip, as there are genuinely too many to mention (besides the bugs that took a shining to my room) however, visiting the local school is definitely up there. Seeing 200 children in one class, who had nothing in the world but each other, and actually being happy to be there, will be a memory I'll never forget. All huddled together on the floor of a small classroom, with no desks and quiet smiles on their faces, brought home the stark contrast of the education we receive back home, and what is needed to help improve theirs. The joy from the children that day, with us being there, was incredible.

Another highlight was arriving to the village on the morning of our final day, to find the roof being assembled to complete the structure of the house for Regina, the lady we were building for. We were slightly worried we would not see our build complete, however, seeing this lovely new home next to Regina's old house, was emotional to say the least. Saying goodbye to Regina, with the biggest smile on her face, is also an image I will never forget. Definitely a realisation for me, of what we had truly achieved.

 I am eternally grateful to Touchstone and Habitat for Humanity for the opportunity and invaluable, life changing experience our team (aka the dream team) have received. I was also humbled by the families we were able to help, who had welcomed us into their community with open arms. I have been back for less than a week, and already have friends asking where they can sign up and get involved, which is fantastic! I hope to continue being appreciative of the people in my life, and how fortunate we are here. Though, I can't help but think, with their close communities and constant positivity, who are the more fortunate...?

 

 I expected Malawi 2016 to bring many emotions and to feel humbled; however I cannot express how much my expectations have been exceeded.  I think I only got as far as day one of the build before becoming teary eyed; the warm welcome on our arrival on site of dancing and singing from the villagers was overwhelming.Building the houses and seeing the daily progress was very rewarding, the builders were amazing, even with the language barrier we understood enough to bond, learn from each other and have great banter; Yohan, if you ever need an apprentice, let me know.  The efforts made by Regina were inspiring considering her disability; both families worked really hard and took pride in help build the houses.

Going to the school and seeing first-hand how much the children value education and when the 12yr-15yr olds were asked “what is the one thing you want”?  The reply wasn’t an iphone or a PS4, but simply “books”, how many teenagers have you heard say this in your lifetime?  With classes of over 100, sitting on the floor, I too was surprised of the level of discipline and respect the children had, something rarely experienced in this Country.

I felt genuine love and welcome from the community and throughout our travels, not once did I feel our welcome was just due to the fact we were there to help.  Everyone is smiling and waving at you, and the children run as fast as they can behind the bus for continued interaction…………….a true feeling of acceptance.Emmanuel really made the trip for me, it was hard to say good bye…….yes another teary moment……ok about the 5th by this stage of the trip.  Touchstone team were fantastic!! transforming quickly from colleagues to friends, each one of us were pushed outside of our comfort zones at some point, but the support and banter from everyone kept us all going.  I couldn’t have done it without them and I really appreciate the bonds we formed.

 
I am grateful for Touchstone’s involvement with Habitat for Humanity and the opportunity it has given me to be part of an experience I will never forget.  As I know Esinta & Regina are; Esinta told me on our last day how much she was looking forward to sweeping and mopping the floor, showing how much pride she has for her new home.  The HfH Director asked Esinta “How much can I buy your new home for”?  She told him she would never sell the house, which showed how much value there was for something so simple. I have learnt so much from people who literally own nothing, but do have, the biggest hearts I have ever had the pleasure of knowing.   The gratitude they have shown us is hard to accept as I feel I have taken away so much more than I have given.

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I am still struggling to put down my thoughts for the whole week.

 I don’t know how well travelled all of the Touchstone Team are, but for me this really was the first time I had seen such a country. For the first you days, from the back of the bus it felt like I was watching it through a tele. Utterly surreal.Our host, Emmanuel mentioned that it isn’t uncommon for women to bow and clap before us - something I knew I would be incredibly uncomfortable with. Did they think we are better than them?

From first going into Esinta's home, I could feel how uneasy she (and we) felt. However, the development of our friendship over a huge language barrier spoke volumes. There is no difference between us, and I hope this is something both families have learnt. They have taught us so much, for example: building a home from near enough scratch; so I hope we have taught them that we are just lucky (incredibly so), and NOT in any way superior.

You can see their way of life is to 'work hard, play hard.' As I know many have mentioned, their hunger for education is astounding. We really could learn a thing or two about that! But more importantly, when the football was thrust into their midst - well, you really could see they like to 'play hard' too!! From child to adult, the joy in all their faces made the whole week worthwhile - even with the grown-ups sat on the side-lines.

 I feel I haven’t done enough out there, so I would implore all those who have doubts about going next year to take the plunge, grab it with both hands and make a difference to those who need it most. I guarantee you will come back with more than what you left with. Education is a powerful thing, and experiencing it first-hand rather than watching a Stacey Dooley program will teach you far more.

There are too many highlights to jot down, because the whole week from start to finish has been indescribable. Being back at work feels like a hangover, with little bits of the night before coming back to me. There is too much to remember, too much to take away and too much to learn. But with each day, and each flashback I will be forever grateful for the opportunity.

Thank you Touchstone, Thank you Habitat for Humanity, and Thank you Jacki French for pulling my name out of that hat!

 

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Echoing what others have said, it is very difficult to choose one highlight for the week. But if I have taken one big insight away from this build, it is that even after 6 years of volunteering with Habitat for Humanity I have found that it only gets better. With each build I continue to be deeply moved by the community, families, dedicated volunteers, and hardworking HFH staff. Even in the midst of heart-breaking current events, this experience serves as a reminder of the incredible kindness and compassion that we are capable of. Because of warm hearted, enthusiastic, and generous people like you, I have never regretted making Habitat for Humanity my career. Thank you!

 

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Well where to begin, as the rest of the guys have mentioned there were so many highlights as well as emotional times. The whole trip has undeniably had a huge impact on my life, and how to not take things for granted. I definitely appreciate everything I have, especially my family and friends.

 

The one thing that stood out for me and I will never forget is the afternoon we walked back from our house and Emmanuel got the kids to sing "Good Bye". It was just such a special moment for me, just to see how happy and ecstatic the children were from us walking with them.  They have absolutely nothing in this world, but they are the happiest most loving people you could ever meet. Also attending the school and being surrounded by the children that had followed us from the previous village. They are all so happy to have the opportunity to learn and develop themselves, which I feel sometimes is taken for granted in this country.

Finally the chat a few of us had with Emmanuel around the fire. He opened up to us about his life and upbringing, which I think the rest will agree was a really touching moment and let us get to know him on a more personal level. Also to you guys for making the week so amazing. I have not laughed that hard in such a long time and can truly say I have made some lifelong friends. I am very grateful to Touchstone for giving me this opportunity and experience. It's something I will never forget.

Last (and only!) night on the beach

The Touchstone team arrived back safely at Heathrow early this morning after another 24 hour journey and are now on their way home to catch up on a bit of sleep.

We were all really sad to leave Malawi and even splitting up at Heathrow and again at Paddington got pretty emotional which I think says something about the amount we have learned about another part of the world, ourselves and each other.

We hope to keep the blog going for sometime with individual experiences and the sharing of more photographs and videos. Rae will organise a display of Malawi dancing and singing for you all. She doesn't know about this yet.............

Thanks to all those who have followed the blog and added comments

Dancing their thanks for the new houses

Last full day in Malawi

1.30 on Saturday and we have just left our village with 2 new houses built with our own hands and both with a roof! A 3 hour ceremony with the area chief, Dyson, and other local chiefs thanking us and many speeches from everyone with Dan being an excellent translator. Each member of the team received a certificate of competence in house building. Watch out Bovis!! Many dances and songs and play acting and we had to sing for them and enjoyed dancing with them.

A very emotional farewell after sharing lunch with our families - rice, nsima, beans, peas, cabbage, goat and chicken cooked by the ladies of the village. It was great that Regina, Moffat, Precious, John, and Estina, Ivan, Stern and Ipson could join us. They only eat one meal a day which is usually just nsima, so the children in particular just ate and ate. Their next meal will be a handful of nsima tomorrow lunchtime. They are ecstatic about their new homes (they are in the legal ownership of the children to safeguard their future) and can't wait to move in.

 

Off to the beach this afternoon - the first real break of the week - and not looking forward to the 26 hour trip home starting tomorrow.

Now at the Sunbird Livingstonia to eat - and they have WiFi which works!

Sam teaching the kids how to really dance!!

Tristram - we think it's safe. What do you think?

End of Build Day 5

Two houses nearly finished. All exhausted but absolutely elated by what we have achieved. And so was the village - a noisy and tumultuous departure this evening and back to base for dancing and singing on the beach this evening. The children sang happy birthday to Mela which was wonderful for her and for us.

Can't say enough how well everyone has got on. No friction at all and a single shared purpose to do something for those with less than we have. And they have next to nothing. This morning we visited a couple of houses completed by previous teams. The occupants are really grateful but when showing us round it's clear they only have a few clothes, a bag of maize for grinding into flour and making nmasi and a mat to sleep on. That really is all they possess. But at least they have a safe, secure and dry house.

On house 1 the roof frame is on and roof sheets go on tomorrow morning. The team (except John) laid the floor. John disappeared to baby sit and look after Innocent for a couple of hours! On house 2 a magnificent change was made during the day and the roof frame was going on as we left. Everyone has worked really, really hard and the home team are amazed at our commitment and how much we have achieved.

A ladder appeared today! Up to now the total tools on site were a chisel, a level and a tape. The roofer added to this with a hammer and saw and, of course, a ladder. We have done a risk assessment and we think it's safe, but we will send a photo and would appreciate Tristram's view.

Last full day tomorrow. Nobody wants to come home.

Mela's Birthday

Early morning of the last build day and Mela's birthday!  A bit cooler this morning - which usually means it will get really how later on.  Very clear this morning - can just see Mozambique across the lake.

The bar staff gave up and left us to it last night.  Sam's a bad influence on us all!

Empty your pockets before using!! The pit latrine!

Making Friends...

Team photo with Amos, national director of Habitat for Humanity Malawi at the beginning of day 4

Ended day 4 with house one ready for the roof tomorrow and house two close behind. A busy day for both teams having to move scaffolding around on a regular basis and working in confined spaces, but another enjoyable day with fantastic results.

The usual mad football match with the kids after school. We think Dane's team won but it's not easy to be sure!

 

Called at the market on the way home to buy souvenirs. Plenty of hard bargaining!

No electricity in the hotel tonight so no air-con and probably no hot food. Certainly no WiFi so difficult to get messages out and charge phones but everyone safe and well.

Last day of work tomorrow and then a dedication and lunch with the community on Saturday.  Everyone still wants to stay for ever!

Mela's birthday tomorrow so are trying to get a surprise together.

Fingers crossed for electricity!!

The Shopping Centre!

Malawi House Number 1

Day 3

Build day 3 was excellent for both teams. Team one has external walls finished including gables. Windows to fit and internal walls to finish tomorrow and the roof goes on on Friday. Team two is about a brick behind - so massive and excellent progress! Continued support from the contractor team which is really appreciated.

Highlight of the day was a visit to the local primary school. There is not much development where we are, it is several kilometres up a dust track but there are many scattered clusters of homes and this means that the primary school has 925 pupils aged from 6 to 16. Only 8 classes, so each class has over 100 pupils although some are lucky enough to have 2 teachers. No electricity, no computers, very few books, exercise books or pencils. When 15 year old children were asked what they really wanted they said "books". That wouldn't happen the UK!!

We bought a football last night and at 3.30 today threw it out of the bus. The kids went absolutely mad with joy. They don't have footballs and were just ecstatic. We will take it back with us to avoid jealousy with adjoining families but bring it back tomorrow.

We will send a photo of the village shopping centre which stocks very little - but did have a needle and thread to deal with John's ripped trousers and Stacey's missing button!

The children are even more confident today and are helping us learn their language. They think that looking at photographs of themselves is absolutely the funniest thing ever.

We all worked really hard today and really proud of what we have achieved. As I write, the the kids (about 30 of them) are singing for us to say thank you. We have loads of photos and videos but struggling to squeeze them through some pretty restrictive WiFi.

Stacey's cold is getting better. Brad's hair still looks immaculate!! Rachel is now a professional scaffolder. We all want to stay and not come home!

Off to shower. More tomorrow.     

Exists Banda's current house. This is what we are replacing!

The team hard at work

                                                           

This is the team who has challenged us to a game of football tomorrow. Bet we lose!

Day 2 of the build in Malawi

Breakfast at 7 - sausage, eggs and beans again and off to work.

We were not sure when we started this how much physical work we would be doing. But everyone has been laying bricks for 8 hours a day. At the end of day 2 house one has walls almost finished to ceiling level, internal door frames fitted and 1 window in. Tomorrow will be gables and internal walls. House two isn't far behind.

Estina, who will live in house one, has been helping get water, pass us bricks and matope, helped by her sister in law. Regina's eldest son, John, has been helping move matope for team 2.

The children have got to know us better today and have been singing for us. We have challenged them to a football match tomorrow at 3.30 so had to stop on the way back to the luge to buy a football and took the opportunity to buy and taste sugar cane. Tomorrow we are visiting the primary school where the village children go and also a maize mill to see how the maize is processed to a flour from which they make nmosi, their staple diet.

Everyone back now and showering - it really is a very dusty job, but great fun and everyone much more confident with their building skills today. We get visited regularly during work by hens and chickens, ducks and ducklings, goats and pigs. All makes the day interesting.

Malawi First Full Day

Arrived on site at 8 to a huge welcome from the women of the village singing and dancing for us. Aldo welcomed by the village Chief and local HfH staff.

We were given an intensive course on bricklaying by the contractor, shown the pit latrine, given a bricklaying trowel and gloves and started work.

The bricks are local mud bricks which have been fired and, instead of mortar, matope is used - a mixture of water and earth which is worked into a thick paste. We were supported by the local contractors and everyone did really well. We managed to impress our hosts! The village women brought water from the well to make the matope and things got really exciting when the children got home from school mid afternoon.

We are building the houses for 2 families - Regina Mtambalika, a disabled widow, who is looking after Moffat, Precious and John, and for Estina Banda, also an AIDS widow, who looks after Petra, Hopson, Ivan and Stern.

In the afternoon Regina, Estina and the children showed us their current houses. Unfired mud brick walls, mud floor and a thatched roof which leaks when it rains. About 4 by 3 metres, the houses accommodate them and everything they own, a bit of food, a few clothes and a mat to sleep on. Their diet is mainly nmasi (mazes flour) and they live on less than a dollar a day. True poverty, so a new and bigger house and new pit latrine will be fantastic for them. Everyone very tired and dusty by 4.30 so back the the Lodge and a well earned shower with a 7.30 start tomorrow.

Our Arrival....

The Touchstone and Habitat for Humanity (HfH) team left Heathrow at 9pm on Saturday evening and arrived Jo'burg at 9.20 on Sunday. A truly mad dash through the airport got us on to the 10am flight to Lilongwe (although some luggage didn't make it!) where we arrived at just after midday. 2 hours to get our visas and have our fingerprints taken and then were met by Emmanuel and Consalata from HfH Malawi.

Briefly visited a Masai market in Lilongwe before heading off on the bus for the 2 hour trip to Salima and our hotel, the Mpatsa Lodge on the shores of Lake Malawi. The drive went through many villages and you immediately begin to realise that what you imagined poverty to be is, in fact, much better than it actually is. But everyone smiles and Malawi truly deserves its name of the "warm heart of Africa"

Consalata gave a briefing and then it was to the restaurant for a stunning goat curry and fish from the lake. Everyone exhausted so a fairly early night under mosquito nets and then up this morning for a breakfast of sausage, egg, beans and chips (!!)  at 7 and just about to head off for out first day's work in a village 6 kilometres outside Salima.