14th June

Yesterday we visited Katete in the afternoon after teaching some classes.  We were welcomed into the community bu a troop of primary 6 pupils marching , dancing and singing, before being taken to see the improvements made to the girls hostel with monies brought by our arty last year.  Sister Jacintha took us on a tour of the buildings and indicated the new water supply being installed, as well as the new garage and sewing room all thanks to the money given by us last year. The headteacher of the girls primary, Sister Susan Mwsangwale then welcomed us into the primary school to show us the new toilets installed for the girls, as well as repairs to staff houses and a new building to house broiler chickens which would be reared to provide an income for the school.  All this thanks to donations from St Machan's Primary school and St Maurice's.  We were then treated to a series of dancing, singing and drama activities by the pupils of the primary school - a truly memorable experience. We left donations of 800 pounds to the primary school and girls hostel, knowing they would be put to good use.
Next we visited St John Bosco Boys Secondary school, where we were able to to leave a gift of 1600 pounds from St Thomas Aquinas Secondary School in Glasgow.The headteacher (Mr Mwalilino) promised to use the the money to renovate the boys' dormitories, The girls proved a big hit with the boys.!

We give out gifts to Nkhamenya Boys Primary

We left Katete  as night began to fall to arrive back in Nkhamenya for dinner at 7.30.  The staff retired early to prepare for a series of lessons in the morning before visiting the mission hospital next door to leave a donation of 1000 pounds and 3 suitcases of medical supplies and baby clothes for the maternity unit.  We also gave Sister Theresa Mfune (the headteacher of Nkhamenya Girls) a gift of 2000 pounds for the school..  We are hitting the sack early tonight to get a good night's sleep for our 3 hour journey to Mzuzu, so good night from the Malawi Muzungus (white people)!

We give the Boys Primary a gift of 500 p0unds

Nkhamenya girls primary receive gifts and donation of 500 pounds

We take a well-earned rest

Sster Margaret receives a gift of 1000 pounds foe the hospital

Entertainment from Katete Girls Primary

13th June

Good morning all.
We had an extra 20 minutes lie-in this morning since mass is
in the evening today.  Miss Mc Mullen has finished teaching her 8.00am class and Mr Reid is preparing for his form 3 class which is scheduled for 10.25. .  We welcomed the extra time in bed since our Scottish Country Dancing session with the pupils yesterday evening tired us out!  About 200 pupils turned up , all excited and rarin' to go - even though they hadn't a clue of what to do.  Mr Reid tried to take command and instruct the pupils on the finer points of "Strip TheWillow" only to find that the enthusiasm of the pupils far surpassed their ability to understand his instructions. What followed can only be described as disorganised chaos ! However, everyone thoroughly enjoyed themselves even though most of the pupils failed to master the art of "progession" during "The Dashing White Sergeant". The noise level was unbelievable! Hers some photos to view.

Meet the kids

First day in Nlkhamenya

The 3 musketeers

Happy faces

12th June

This morning we attended Mass for Ashleigh McAtee . The parish priest (Fr Robert ) celebrated the mass in English and said some kind words to us all.  The pupils from Nkhamenya sang throughout.

After breakfast we had a short break, before returning to teaching with our own students joining many of theclasses.  In the afternoon Miss Mc Mullen and the students visited the mission  hospital to give tthem gifts of baby clothes (for the maternity unit) and medical supplies.  At 3.30 we plan to take the pupils from NKhamenya into the assembly hall for some Scottish Country Dancing.

11th June 2013

Yesterday we attended early mass then assembly before meeting with staff to plan our lessons for the week ahead. the students visited classes and the mission hospital next door, before we all visited the boys and girls primary school to distribute gifts and donations of 500 uk pounds each.  The staff and pupils were all very grateful and it was good to see the improvements made from last year's donations.  The boys school had further extended their electrical capability to allow classes to be functional after the hours of daylight, while the girls school had used the money to repair and renovate on of the staff houses. 
In the evening Mr Reid held a highly successful drumming session , Miss Mc Mullen held an Irish Dancing session while I held a guitar workshop. Before retiring to bed the students phoned their peers back home to check on how the prom was going.
Today we had a busy day teaching the fantastic pupils of Nkhamenya and later greeted the 2 staff from Our Lady's High School who had arranged a flying visit from St John Bosco Boys School,  Katete .Tomorrow it's back to the chalk face and some Scottish Country Dancing tuition for the Nkhamenya Girls in the evening. - Daniel thought it was Country & Western and has brought his stetson!  Bye for now.

9th June - Nkhamenya

Finally got some internet access !  So here's what's been happening so far.
After negotiating Glasgow airport via a lost and found passport (mine!)   and a forgotten jacket (also mine!) we eventually arrived in Lilongwe safe but tired.  We then spent an hour looking for a "loa camera st" suitcase (Daniel's!) which was with us all the time and a lost earplug for earphones (Mr Reid's) . We left the airport for   a meal in Lilongwe before starting north for Nkhamenya.  Half way there  a camera flies out the bus - MrReids . Another 10 minutes to look for it and thankfully it was found in one piece. We finally reach Nkhamenya at about 7.30pm but it was well worth the wait as we were welcomed rapturously into the church by the whole school for a mass of thanksgiving for our safe arrival - a truly memorable experience.

Friday some of the party made it to 6.30am mass before breakfast and a tour of the school and some orientation around the local area where we were greeted by cries of "muzungu" (white man).  After lunch we were formally introduced to the school in the assembly hall where we were treated to a number of entertaining presentations of dance and song by the girls of the school before retiring for some well earned rest.

Saturday. After breakfast,  a walk to the trading centre to get some new phone sim cards and top-ups and a quick look round the local market..   We then visited the boys primary school to see how they had used our donation from last year.  We found that they had added electrical connections and lights to 2 other classrooms to allow the students to study after 6.00pm (when its gets dark). We then presented the headtacher  (Mr Phiri) with a gift of 500 uk pounds.. The staff then left for Katete to visit St John Bosco Boys School and check on how Mrs Connelly and Mrs Forrester from Our lady's High School in Cumbernauld were settling in.. We also presented a gift of 1600 uk pounds from St Thomas Aquinas Secondary School in Glasgow to the headteacher of St John Bosco. 

Sunday saw us having a "long lie" with Sunday Service starting at 10am and ending at 12.30!  However the service was full of song and dance and the time just flew by.  We were then treated to lunch from the Sisters of the Holy Rosary in their convent .  After lunch we had a surprise visit by the previous headteacher of Nkhamenya (Sister Mary Kaunda) who was passing on her way  to Lilongwe.  Mr Sutherland then met with Mr Chilongo to plan the forthcoming week's programme while the rest of the party went walkabout in Nkhamenya - someone has to do the work! 
After dinner Mr Reid went to bed at 8.30 - can't take the pace. while the rest of us stayed up a bit longer. Need to go now - up at 5.50am!

St Maurice's Malawi Trip 2013