Friday 17 July 2009

Malawi Summer Team - Amrit on Week no.1


Since coming to Chitakale we have learned four things:


  • Do not measure your strength with that of an African man - you will be annihilated.
  • Mixing cement is the funnest thing in the world.
  • Fried lettuce goes really well with Macaroni.
  • And there is nothing quite as exhilarating as a game of football whilst the beautiful African sun sets beyond the hills.
The people of Chitakale are wonderful. Never have we seen children so pleased to see us; upon arrival kids and adults alike burst into song and kept singing for quite a while, even after we had been led to our accommodation. There are twelve of us on the Quest-Team, including the two intrepid and fearless leaders, (these are not my words) Charlie and Richard. We are living in a four room building - three rooms with beds and one which serves as a kitchen. There are ants everywhere, but they are not a great concern to us; we will wage war on them when the time is right. And we will emerge victorious.

Meals are eaten in a grass hut outside of the main building, which has also turned into the "chill-out" area; people chat and play cards under the bright light of the headlamps we wear religiously after sunset at five o'clock.

There is no electricity in Chitakale. Showers are simple buckets of water to be poured over ones head, toilets are made of holes in the ground. Surely Darwin's theory of evolution must be wrong, or man-kind would have evolved into a species capable of "doing their business" whilst standing instead of crouching. Going to the loo has never been such hard work. Girls keep on complaining about aim being difficult - I do not understand what they are talking about.

We wake at 7 a.m with the sun drenching the courtyard in great-gold and blood-red rays, and the cry of the cockrel (who we have sworn to eat by the end of the trip). After a porridge breakfast we wander on-site and work in the blazing heat untill tea-time at ten, served by Ida and her savvies. After tea, work continues untill lunch at twelve, and then again untill four, when the boys go off for the daily, after-work football session.

We are building a school. It is to be a simple construcion - two rooms and a roof, but it will suffice; expectations here are not high - thank God! It is incredible how quickly progress is made. We work with a group of builders and the community of Chitakale - who, with our incredibly talented leaders (I don't know where these comments keep coming from...), instruct us in the art of cement mixing and brick laying. It is very satisfying to look at a days work and realize that one has built half a wall. Work is hard, but we are happy to be doing it. All in all, we are having a great time and feel privileged to be here.

To finish, a couple of interesting facts about our little group here:-
  • We have eaten 10 kg of rice in a week.-
  • Sotiris is being called the Hulk.
  • The Hulk can do five times as much work as everyone else together in half the time.-
  • Kaiky was first to draw blood.
  • Sophie has been crowned "Big Momma".
  • I have been appointed the role of "Big Bwana" - (Big Boss).
  • Charlie and Richard think they are awesome (and so do we).
  • Bella brought the kids a whole bag of toys!
  • Elise has yet to have her first bowel movement.
  • Miriam broke one of the walls we built.
  • There is a beard-growing contest on the run. Richard is in the lead, but I think I will catch up soon.


We will keep you up to date as to how the war on the ants goes.


Amrit Thind - 17th July 09

1 comment:

  1. 중국 본토에서도 사람들이 몰려 들어오기 시작하면서 아시아의 대표적인 카지노 도시가 되었습니다. 카지노는 유럽에서 18세기와 19세기에 일반적이 되었고, 현재 미국에서는 모나코의 몬타칼로와 라스베가스가 카지노를 대표하는 대명사로 불리우게 되었습니다. 토토군 | 먹튀, 토토사이트, 먹튀검증, 먹튀사이트, 토토사이트추천, 먹튀검증사이트, 토토, 먹튀검증 All rights reserved. 법안에 공개적으로 찬성 의사를 내비친 경우는 채이배 민생당 의원뿐이었다. 한화준 관광공사 관광인력개발실장은 “코로나 이후 구인난을 겪고 있는 관광기업과 양질의 일자리를 찾는 구직자 간 연결을 강화해 실질적인 채용 성공으로 이어질 수 있도록 할 것”이라고 밝혔다. 디즈니플러스 오리지널 드라마 '카지노' 티저 예고편 [디즈니플러스]디즈니플러스는 연내 오리지널 샌즈 카지노 콘텐츠를 연달아 선보일 예정이다.

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