Our second training week and weekend!

Hello everyone!

We hope all is well with you! We (Amy and Lorelei) are currently sat in Jessy's Internet Cafe in Nhkata Bay after a tremendously long walk up a hill in the heat of the day!  The other four are enjoying a relaxing afternoon in Myoka Village resturaunt. 

Last week saw us training both Guide Leaders and Guides ( who were aged between 9 and 15 years old) and some Peer Connectors who are aged 15-25.  We had a very enjoyable week with five of the women we had trained the week before, as well as roughly 45 others.  It was a challenge training such a variety of ages and often we had to split up into groups of three to run two sessions along side each other.  We all thoroughly enjoyed making both corn nsima and cassava nsima at lunch time!  We also shelled maize and ground nuts!  Again we had a campfire on Thursday which was brilliant and stayed the night with the women at the school!  The rest of the week we stayed at the Pine Tree Lodge.

On Friday we left our lovely ladies and girls after a closing ceremony and met with a group of Scouts from the New Forest, England who are in Malawi building a campsite and promoting Scouts.  We visited the campsite they had built and joined in their closing ceremony.  They are very keen to partner with our project as this gives a place for our women to come and put into practice the skills we have taught them.  This would be fantastic as they also have tents they can hire at the site, along with toilet and washing facilities.  It really was a beautiful setting among hills with a river running past and monkeys!

After the campsite we went to a waterfall and went swimming... it was absolutely stunning! We had our lunch by the water and enjoyed relaxing in the sun.  The walk back up was a bit tricky but we managed it with a few grazes and spinters!

We then made our way to Myoka Village for the weekend where we got our first experience of the lake, tried butterfish, jumped off cliffs, went snorkelling, enjoyed a boat ride and played football on the beach!  Tonight we are moving on to Sambani Lodge to meet the Scouts again and have a campfire! Can we get anymore Guiding?!

We are looking forward now to our next week of training (again in Lilongwe) with girls aged 15-20.  We are also meeting with the International Commissioner to evaluate our first week of training on Monday.

All is well here, no one has suffered any major injuries and we are slightly browner than we were, after this weekend!

Lots of love to all!

TEAM MALAWI
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