This morning I visited the village of Chitungu where the orphan care house is located. The village is small and lies along a dirt road with small shacks on both sides. There is a large primary school located beside the house. The orphans from that school will be chosen from among those students. The school services 9 villages so after some discussion it was decided that I should support 9 orphans instead of 8.
With Mabvuto’s help in interpreting I was able to have a discussion with the man and lady who act as proprietors of the house. They asked if I would be providing any other services to the orphans At first I was unsure of that other services I could provide but later suggested that I would provide bedding, school uniforms, pencils and notebooks and toothbrushes.
We are discussing buying 30 chickens in the hope that a chicken will lay one egg each day. The eggs that are not eaten by the children will be sold to provide money to buy firewood.
The cost of the house will be K10000. This is to be a one time fee to cover the cost of installing glass for the windows.
I am also required to pay K 7000 for the connection of water. This too is a one time fee but there will be a monthly water bill of between K1000 and K1500.
Some concerns that I have at this point are: will the cooks take the water for their own use? If so, how do I prevent this? How do we ensure that the cook is trustworthy? Will the children be selected fairly as opposed to being selected because they are family members of the selection committee?
Next year I should remember to bring school supplies such as notebooks, pencils, sharpeners, erasers, pencil crayons and rulers. I should also continue to bring clothing.
Tags: Chitungu, malawi, orphan care
hello everyone,
I have arrived in mw. the flights felt very long and i was very confused as to the day and the place where i was. i was very tired. I arrived on time and was met at the airport by Mabuto and his nephew. we proceeded to the city to buy groceries and exchange the money. the grocery store was neat as it was a shop rite and had many ‘western’ things like soy sauce and cereal.
i liked being in the city although it was very busy.
we arrived at the guest house late in the afternoon. it is a very run down place There are other guest staying there who are working for the mwian gov’t taking the census. The place is much Kwasi’s in Ghana but is very dirty. The cooking facilities are in a shed outside and there is no refrigerator. We were promised a working refrigerator but have now been told if we want one, we will have to pay for it above the cost of our nightly rent for the rooms. We were also told that there would be a cook who would prepare our meals if we wanted and who would clean our rooms daily. So far we have not seen this man.
The shower is a hose attached to the taps in the bathtub. and there is no curtain surrounding the tub. So far there has been hot water and I am hopeful that will continue.
Our guest house is quite a distance from the village. We walk to the end of our road where we flag down any number of vehicles who will take people to town free of charge. Often these vehicles are packed full like an Ikea commercial with people instead of mattresses and furniture. So far I’ve been lucky and have had comfortable rides except for once in the back of a truck where my head hit the roof and I was squished.
Quite honestly my adjustment so far has been very hard. I have felt lonely and isolated. I have felt afraid and sad. Yesterday morning we wok to no breakfast . We had no bowls or cutlery. We had only one fork the night before and couldn’t find it yesterday morning. I am afraid that a kettle doesn’t boil the water enough for me to drink it safely so I have not ben able to eat the oatmeal I brought. Yesterday I was ready to hug my friend Harry when he and his wife offered us orange pop and two slices of bread. It was my breakfast and my lunch. We were able to stop on the way home to buy some eggs and rice for dinner. Eggs and rice!! Oh my. At least it was food and I felt less hungry.
Today I am going to meet the people at social welfare and they will tell me what needs to be done next for the orphans. I am sure it will be exciting and interesting
I will continue to email when I can and perhaps I will send the emails only to Danielle and she can forward them to anyone who would like them or post them on a blog for people to read.
I have no photos to send but yesterday I got a good one of a goat coming out of a toilet pit latrine. Also a chicken hatching her eggs in Mabuto’s house.
I am hopeful that things will improve. I am adjusting slowly.
Thanks for reading!!
Tags: malawi, orphan care
