Updates from Malawi
The last time I had a chance to write the guys from the Ministry of Public Works were on the verge of meeting with our contractors at the site of the new health clinic and maternity ward. The good news is that everyone got along fine, but that didn’t change the fact that the Ministry boys had to do their jobs. Let me explain.
The reason we had government officials at our site is to ensure that the contractors we hired are doing everything that they should be. The Ministry in essence acts as an objective form of quality control and in this case they discovered that the mixing of the cement was not up to par. This meant that a small section of two of the future staff houses had to be redone, but in the end it was a good thing as it gives us piece of mind while also guaranteeing we get what we were promised–a quality health clinic, maternity ward and attractive housing options in order to get doctors to our rural location.
The month of October has been extremely productive–and hot! We’ve had many visits to the school and it’s really an amazing time to come because of the wide range of projects and activities going on. By next week the construction of the livestock shed should be completed and the field next to the school will be ready for planting. In addition all 14 water tank stands have been finished and the actual tanks themselves are now positioned on top of them. The next step is to install the gutter system and get our guy from South Africa here along with all of the solar equipment he’s got for us. Some of the stuff he is bringing includes solar panels, refrigerators, a solar water pump and water geysers.
At the moment me and David are in the capital city of Lilongwe. It was a bittersweet day as we had to take our volunteer teacher Patrick to the airport. He is headed back to Sweden and he’s really going to be missed by everyone. Before he left the teachers arranged a going away party and it turned out really well. The fact that the teacher’s took the initiative in organizing and paying for the party is a sign of their unity and growth as a group. They did an absolutely incredible job and Patrick was very appreciative.
Tomorrow I’m headed to the courthouse. I got a fine for something that I feel I should have been applauded for–going 109km/hr in what we like to call Rocinante, our Landrover that just won’t die. I hope the magistrate is in a good mood.
-Matt
