The following day found us all eager and willing to go on a field trip that would keep us out a full night and into the next day. I say 'eager' ... actually we were all very nervous of how we'd fare under these circumstances knowing we had a day of hard labour ahead of us first. We'd been asked to go to the site of a different village which also housed a large school facility educating several hundred local children. One of the jobs we were to help with, was the building of a block of Elephant toilets for the school; the other was turning an open well into a more secure and hygenic water  source  by building  and installing  an Elephant Pump around the original well site.

Arriving at the school - a warm greeting; and (right), the beginning of the new Elephant Toilets block

We were split up into 2 parties. I went to the well site and watched in wonder as an old well was brought up to scratch and became a neat, tidy and easily accessed clean source of water for 500 people in the surrounding area. Amazing.

Women and children are responsible for fetching and carrying water for everyone's needs and here at the well site they gathered around the open ditch near the old well, ready to bring water for cement-mixing by the men.

Left - the women of the village watching the pump being built; centre - CBR mucking in and right, CBR almost mucking up...! (see below)

Corinne, bless her great big beautiful heart, got stuck-in and worked alongside the women, bringing water up from the open ditch to the cement-mixing area at the top of the field. There was a comic moment when she thought she'd rid the bucket she'd just emptied, of  what looked like random stones, only to have the owner of the bucket gesticulate wildly pointing out that they were'nt loose stones at all but very carefully placed pellets of hard mud, plugging several holes in the bottom of the bucket! Oops.

Every now and then, women and children would burst into song for no apparent reason and then collapse into fits of  infectious giggles.  They were called over en masse throughout the day, by Ian and Tendai's experienced team ,who stopped and explained what was happening at each progressive stage. Because women are the ones responsible for carrying water to and from the well, it's essential for them to be able to understand the mechanism - if it ever breaks down they'll be able to fix it themselves. Their collective concentration was amazing.

Divine, Lovemore and the Pump Aid team build the Elephant Pump with the women watching intently.

We were called back to the school at lunchtime and presented with an interesting mix of food to eat. Bowls of msima: a maize derived starch mixed with water which formed into white unappetising globs the consistency of rubber, unsurprisingly not to my taste but what little I was able to eat was incredibly filling; it reminded me of Cadbury's Smash in its unnatural-looking whiteness. Other bowls were filled with a dark green cabbage-like leafy vegetable, shredded and seasoned with salt and pepper and to Corinne's great delight small pieces of highly flavoured chicken. Much more than we'd expected. Ian assured us that nothing would go to waste and whatever we left would be used by more appreciative mouths than our own.

There was a trip to a nearby village after lunch to see another well in progress. This time one created from scratch. By the time we arrived, the men digging the hole for the pump had been doing so for four days and had reached a rocky part that now needed blasting before they could continue. With very basic tools: a shovel and a short-handled pick and a great deal of effort, they'd managed to dig a hole  30 feet deep by approximately 4 feet wide - impressive to say-the-least.

Bob descending...		going...going...		..gone! CC looks worried - Ian looks amused.

When Ian asked if any of us wanted to experience what it was like at the bottom of the well, Bob was the first to volunteer! After a wobbly start with one foot in the bucket and the wrong knee bent, he got the hang of it and made a relatively smoothe descent. Coming back up was less stressful. Then our intrepid camera woman, Christy hopped into the bucket and whizzed down as if she'd been doing it all her life! Ian was especially impressed.

The kids find the whole thing hilarious		From t he depths of a well ...		"Is that DYNAMITE? in a carrier bag??!!"

Dynamite was placed and the main fuse lit. We all walked briskly away to a safer spot and waited with baited breath. Even though we all knew there'd be a loud bang, it still came as a shock when the explosion happened and several colourful expletives littered the air as well as great plumes of earth and rock which shot another 20 feet above the already 30 foot deep hole! A memorable moment.

Bob and I stayed with a family of 7, mum Ellen, dad Mgorro and their 5 children aged between 4 and 16. We were shown to a small bricked house where we sat on a straw mat and grinned our approval and thanks at being their guests. Ellen spoke a smattering of English as did the children but Mgorro spoke no English at all. He did have the most amazing serenity about him, a calm, clear presence an easiness about him that was lovely.

After 10 minutes or so Ellen came and led me out the back of the house saying "you bath now yes?" as she showed me to a woven screen in the back yard. "Er ok thank you? Zi Komo". I had no idea what to expect but perched on a rock behind the screen was a large kalabash filled with hot water and a knobbly piece of carbolic soap beside it! Wow. None of us had expected such luxury. I didn't want to use all the water in case anyone else needed to wash - I realised too late that I was meant to use it all. It felt good to be clean for sure! Bob was given the same courtesy after me.

Ellen then disappeared to prepare the evening meal but before she left, she introduced us to her friend and neighbour Samuel who took great delight in telling us that his surname translated into English as Big Kiss ... he was a young man of about 20 and his English was superb. It was obviously his job to keep us entertained while Ellen and the children cooked. Many different children - more than belonged to the family - came and went in succession as Samuel talked to us and it was hard to see who was talking as there was only one small parafin lamp which cast more shadows than light. Every now and then the children sang church songs for us prompted by Mgorro and Samuel. They were all very shy and each time took a little persuading but once started they egged each other on. Bob and I clapped and grinned our enjoyment and inbetween these lovely moments,  tried valiantly to keep conversation going but mostly smiled at whoever sat with us on the straw mat.

All of a sudden Mgorro and the children and Samuel were gone and Ellen and several bowls of unidentifiable food were sat before us. Everyone else it seems, had eaten and now it was our turn. Ellen first of all offered us yet more hot water to wash our hands  before sharing out plates of msima and casava leaves. There had been a moment of panic earlier when Bob mentioned he was vegtarian! I so wanted to like what we were offered to eat but found it very difficult to swallow. With our host sat so expectantly beside us I made every effort to look like I was enjoying it, though I ate very little. As soon as the food was eaten it was time for bed. We all made yawning gestures and made ourselves as comfortable as we could.

Ellen came and escorted us to the toilet, not far from the wash-screen out the back. I went first and stupidly shone my torch to see where I was, which meant I saw the hole of the "toilet" and the dozens of un-speakable insects that scurried back down it as the light hit them! How I managed to use the facility is still a mystery to me but I did and hoped beyond hope that I would NOT need my customary middle-of-the-night pee ... please, please, please don't make me do this again! Bob sensibly went without the use of our torch.

At some un-remembered point I fell into a fitful sleep, only to be woken by the unmistakeable high-pitched whine of a mosquito, dive-bombing passed my ear! Alas too late I was bitten on my wrist which was already swelling to ugly proportions. It was still only 10.30pm. Bob got up to rummage around for our discarded mosquito nets which we hastily threw over ourselves like extra blankets. It stopped us getting any further bites but didn't stop the dive-bombing.

Slowly, slowly night crept into cock-crowing dawn and the rhythmic sounds of Ellen and her daughters sweeping the ground around their homestead. Mgorro was out hoeing their small patch of vegtables while the younger boys played tag in the back yard. We got ourselves together and went out to join them.

On the piece of paper Ian had given us with 'the schedule' print-out, it stated that Wednesday morning we'd get up at 6am to help with house-hold chores. Ellen told us that they normally got up at 5am stating simply: 'we are farmers'. She was bemused by the instruction but happy  to let us lie-in till 6am! We compromised by getting up at 5.30 in the end.

One last chore before breakfast awaited me ... 'would you like to help me clean the house?'  Ellen asked after peeling was done. 'Yes of course' I was heard to say.

One man, Joshua, was introduced as Ellen's great uncle and was the grand old age of 85! This is a truly remarkable acheivement as the average life expectancy in Malawi is now: 37 for men and 35 for women - the percentage of deaths from HIV/AIDS is also very high. Joshua sat and ate breakfast with us ... as many sweet potatoes as we could stomach (only half of one it turns out for me!). While we ate, he told us in his broken but beautifully pronounced English, that he'd spent most of his adult life in Rhodesia and Zimbabwe as a cook for Americans - Bob and I figured his diet must have been supplemented by the food he cooked and accounted for his still vigorous health. Everyone was rightly very proud of his long life.

We left our gentle hosts around 9am to rejoin the rest of our group back down at the school.  We'd all had a memorable experience to say the least and spent the next half hour exchanging stories - none of us had slept well.

Ian's very proud of the fact that they've worked hard to refine the basic process and only need to use one bag of cement. It's fascinating watching how the whole thing comes together. The walls are made of sun-dried mud bricks and the roof is thatch - all in keeping with the general aesthetic of the villages. One of the innovations being  to separate out fluid from solid waste making the decomposition much quicker.  It takes 5 years for the cesspit to reach capacity at which point a new hole is dug, the walls dissassembled and the cement plate lifted off and placed at on the new site, where the bricks are re-used. then a fruit tree is planted ontop of the old compost! Beautiful.

Ben and Corinne starting the toilet slab		...cementing over the metal re-enforcements		..& smoothing out the footplate - so simple, so genius!
the Chief (blue shirt front left) bids farewell		Paul presents the school with hand bells		& CBR teaches the teacher how to play 'Enchanted'!

There was a small official goodbye made by the Village Chief once the toilet was completed and then a bigger goodbye down at the school, where Paul presented the children with a selection of musical instruments - raising a wealth of smiles from everyone. Then off once more in the back of our pick-up truck, this time to see how the pump's metal wheels are made and finally how the rest of the pieces of equipment come into being. During our visit we witnessed and took part in the making of the entire process of both the well and toilet building - priceless experiences.

The Elephant Pump's amazingly simple mechanics...
Making the "bicycle wheel"		Melting down scrap plastic for washers		Bob marvels at the finshed washer
Pump lids and parts ready to install		Tendai helps unveil the cement base		& Ian explains how it works

That night, back to hot baths, fine food and comfortable beds, we all marvelled at how quickly we moved from one set of circumstances to another but none of us will forget our time in the village as welcome and honoured guests. We felt very blessed in deed.

I've found it very difficult to relate the torrent of thoughts and feelings experienced during this short visit, the huge contrast of my life to theirs; the immense sadness at the sheer squalor and poverty but  equal and opposite to that  the absolute joy at being in the presence of a people who are so open and unself-conscious, who give so much when they have so little; a deeply humbling and life affirming experience.

I urge you to visit Pump Aid's website to find out more about the essential work they're doing and to see how you might be able to help. Ian and Tendai and their co-workers are truly extra ordinary people and have my utmost support and respect I can't praise them highly enough.

Thanks for taking the time to read my diary; I hope you've found it interesting and perhaps even a litle inspiring.

Much love

Christine XX

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