Waking up to another Sunday morning and getting ready for morning worship - today I am off to one of the small Prayer Houses with the Rev. Levi Nyondo. The congregation will be much smaller than last week - possibly around one hundred. But it is a most un-African morning, with overcast skies and a chill breeze.
Yesterday was so different, as dawn broke over the hills to the east, heralding a day of bright sunshine - which was something of a problem, as we were holding a sports day for the youth club up at Ekwendeni. A few days ago another group joined us in Muzuzu. Most of them are eye specialists, seeking to carry out clinics at Ekwendeni and further north around Livingstonia. But one of the group is a retired sport's mistress, who will be working with schools and youth groups. And so we set off to see what we would find.
What we found was about 140 young people - from about 8 to 18. They were part of the community attached to the VTC - Voluntary Testing and Counseling Centre, which delivers the AIDS prevention advice to the local area, and also provides a variety of other programmes to help with education and access to work. For the morning we had organised football and netball - which was fine, except that I was to referee the football matches. So there I stood, taking charge of the junior game. I think I did okay, there were no riots, and both sides were happy with the result - but the locals felt that I did not use the whistle enough. So I was replaced for the senior game - probably a sensible step, as there was history between these two youth club teams. Still, the morning went well.
For the afternoon we had arranged a rounders knock-out competition. Because of a local senior league match we had to play this in a different area to the football. Although most of the children walked to the second site, a few chose to take a ride on the back of the VTC pick up. The games proved a little chaotic - rounders is not a traditional game in Malawi. But the locals soon picked up the rules, and in the end the winning team proudly lifted the cup high in triumph. After the game we some of the local children wanted to display their prowess with a hula-hoop. However, this demonstration had a twist to it - the hoops were made out of old bicycle wheels with all the spokes removed. With their friends singing in the background, the young girls walked up to the crowd and back - keeping the hoops high all the way.
However, it was a bit of a rush to get back for my next appointment - we
were going to the Craft Centre to a place called Hill Top - the highest
spot in Muzuzu, from where there are good views of the whole city. The
Centre is right at the top, and there I found the final destination of
some of the sowing machines and much to the fabric we have been sending
out via John. The Centre was set up by the local Synod, and is run by
Levi's wife, Ruth. She works with many of the local women to produce
craft work for sale, and while we were there she was demonstrating how
to make a simple school bag, and how to crochet. It was good to see how
the old machines we have been collecting over the years are being used.
Of course, they have also been used in other projects - one of the main
ones has been to provide pastors wives with machines before they go into
their villages - and some of those wives will be coming back next week
for a week of ideas and training to use back home.
What we found was about 140 young people - from about 8 to 18. They were part of the community attached to the VTC - Voluntary Testing and Counseling Centre, which delivers the AIDS prevention advice to the local area, and also provides a variety of other programmes to help with education and access to work. For the morning we had organised football and netball - which was fine, except that I was to referee the football matches. So there I stood, taking charge of the junior game. I think I did okay, there were no riots, and both sides were happy with the result - but the locals felt that I did not use the whistle enough. So I was replaced for the senior game - probably a sensible step, as there was history between these two youth club teams. Still, the morning went well.
For the afternoon we had arranged a rounders knock-out competition. Because of a local senior league match we had to play this in a different area to the football. Although most of the children walked to the second site, a few chose to take a ride on the back of the VTC pick up. The games proved a little chaotic - rounders is not a traditional game in Malawi. But the locals soon picked up the rules, and in the end the winning team proudly lifted the cup high in triumph. After the game we some of the local children wanted to display their prowess with a hula-hoop. However, this demonstration had a twist to it - the hoops were made out of old bicycle wheels with all the spokes removed. With their friends singing in the background, the young girls walked up to the crowd and back - keeping the hoops high all the way. 
However, it was a bit of a rush to get back for my next appointment - we
were going to the Craft Centre to a place called Hill Top - the highest
spot in Muzuzu, from where there are good views of the whole city. The
Centre is right at the top, and there I found the final destination of
some of the sowing machines and much to the fabric we have been sending
out via John. The Centre was set up by the local Synod, and is run by
Levi's wife, Ruth. She works with many of the local women to produce
craft work for sale, and while we were there she was demonstrating how
to make a simple school bag, and how to crochet. It was good to see how
the old machines we have been collecting over the years are being used.
Of course, they have also been used in other projects - one of the main
ones has been to provide pastors wives with machines before they go into
their villages - and some of those wives will be coming back next week
for a week of ideas and training to use back home.
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