After the very sad news of one of the gentlemen passing
away in the village yesterday and with the funeral being today we were only on
site until 11am out of respect.
But in true Touchstone style over 100% effort went in! And
the progress in the words of the site foreman; Thousands (fantastic name!) what
we have achieved in two days is more than what some groups achieve in the five
days!! (No comment haha!) To me it shows
the passion and the drive to get these homes to the new owners as quickly as
possible!
Also in true Touchstone style a gift of a paper type
wreath was given to the family of the deceased & our deepest sympathies
were passed on by John & our adoptive Touchstone teamie; the lovely
Margaret. We really do have a big heart!
And we all felt the sadness and loss through hearing the wails of the loved
ones left behind today.
It was sad to leave the little ones behind so quickly but
it was the right thing to do.
So the afternoon was ours and it started with lunch back
at the hotel overlooking Lake Malawi, which is such a breath taking site,
followed by a trip to the villages which have benefited from the 8 completed
Touchstone houses! Which is just
phenomenal! Two of which were built by our fantastic 2016 team!!
Nothing could have prepared us for what we saw!! The two
houses built by the 2016 team were stunning! And the team should be so, so
proud of themselves because what they have achieved and given to the families
was clear to see! I personally had the biggest lump in my throat watching them
greet John and thanking him!
The little ones just love him!! Standing by and watching
that and knowing we'd be giving that to another two families is indescribable
and to know that a 2018 team would be experiencing this also was amazing!
We were given the privilege of looking inside one of the
houses! We also learnt more about the families and what it’s meant to them
through the translation of Dan, Emmanuel, Alice and Thousands...which was
wonderful! To hear that by having this house its meant money was freed up to
spend on the little ones and fertiliser to grow crops!....awesome! As the house
doesn't need any maintenance!
We then moved on and had the honour of meeting a local
chief...who also remembered John! Alison and Julie made a friend with an
elderly gentleman! And I made a whole group of friends with the little ones!
One being Cedric!
I had one little one in each hand and they walked with me
for ages...it was such a wrench to say goodbye ☹ but I left knowing he was
safe, dry and had his future secured thanks to the Touchstone house! Thank you
to the 2016 team and Habitat for Humanity!
So many photos, videos, memories, friendships, some
beautiful singing, tears and laughs were had this afternoon but it made an
amazing ending to a very sad morning.
But the ending of the day was made for all of us
including John when we passed a build and one of the builders from last year
was there and Emmanuel stopped our bus so John could say hi!......just
wonderful! And I'm so grateful to be part of this!
What we experienced this afternoon has made us all the
more determined to get these houses built....whatever the heat!!
Bring on day 4!
#Touchstone2Malawi #thebigbuild
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