E C K E R L E S I N M A L A W I : trip to Mkanda village

Wednesday, February 4, 2015

trip to Mkanda village

There are some days when you wonder what in the world you are doing in a place like this. You feel far away from everything, displaced, and you all you want to do is go home. Then there are days like yesterday when you realize you are in a special place, unfamiliar, you are displaced and it is ok.. and you know that you'll have a hard time leaving.. A fellow teacher here at ABC is running a program here called HOWMS.. without going to much detail, the program helps build homes for widows in the surrounding villages.. here's the website.. http://www.howms.org it's a great cause, easy to be a part of and definitely worthwhile because it enables widows to have a roof over their head , as well as employing local workers. We were able to team up with our school/ parish back home, St. Thomas School in Fort Thomas, and they raised enough money to build 2 homes here..

I took the kids to a local village called Mkanda. We went out with two gentlemen from ABC name Blessings and Tusha. They were a great help, translated for us and helped the kids get acquainted with the children of the village. Our kids went with me and were treated like rock stars.. They were followed around by all of the children in the village, played games with them, took photographs and held their hands. I think our kids really had a great time. Kate said as we drove away.. "this makes me appreciate life. " I thought that was pretty good. Jude, in his classic politician tone of voice said.. "that was a really good experience." And it was.

When we arrived, we were immediately surrounded by local children.. They greeted us, played with Kate's hair, held their hands, then participated in what I dub "a Jesus cheer".. here's the video..

We helped load bricks that were purchased for the home onto an ox cart, dig the ox cart out of a ditch, and unload at the actual site. I was able to meet the widow, Felista Jolofani, who we are building the first house for. She is probably in her 70's and currently lives in a rondavel that might be slightly larger than a port-o-let. I asked her what were her biggest challenges, and she said "finding food and staying warm while sleeping". I asked if there was anything else we could do to help, she simply " a blanket". Needless to say, I'll be heading to the shop today to pick up a blanket for Felista as well as some basics like cooking oil, maize flour and sugar.

While we were moving bricks, I heard the most amazing singing off in the distance... I asked if I could take a break and check it out.. There was a group of young girls practicing their choir singing in the village church, so I popped in and had a listen. To hear those children sing was moving.. I can't really describe it and the videos do not do it justice.. It is one of the most beautiful sound in the world and makes me thankful for being here. As a friend said.. "I have never heard a tone deaf African." They can create an unbelievable sound that is so unlike anything I've ever heard..

Below are some photos and videos from our afternoon in Mkanda.. Please check out the singing..

I will have another video of singing tomorrow. Things take a long time to download here.. right now, a three minute video is saying I have 9 hours left to process.. so...

I have to go back out to the site a few more times over the next week or so, plus visit the secong site which we will be starting on Friday.. So stay tuned for more..

Yesterday was a good day.