After surviving getting stopped at Heathrow security for carrying a toothpick, a herd of goats and all out war with mosquitoes, I was the first of the UK team to arrive in Malawi. It’s looking good. The weather’s been hot, the food filling and the people welcoming.
My first assignment was check out some Malawians volunteering in their areas. This took me to Seka Primary School in Chinteche, a small village by the lake in the north, very near where the Lake of Stars Festival first took place. It was vinspiring…
The school is run completely by 3 volunteer teachers who sometimes have to teach 2 classes at once. Lydia, one of the teachers said she volunteered because she thought it was important to have a school near the village. This meant more families would send their children to school.
I tried out my crowd control skills by teaching times tables. Turns out festival crowds are easier to handle than 8 year-olds. We’d brought the school some pens, pencils, books and other teaching materials and got a live chicken in return. Now that’s what I call a rider.
I’ll be blogging from Malawi about the music scene, volunteers, preparations for the festival and anything else I can find.
Tiwonana (See ya later…)
If you are 16-25 and would like to volunteer, find opportunities at vinspired.com
Words and photos by: Zen Jelenje, volunteer
