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.