After spending about five days in northern Malawi , I reached Nkhata Bay, a town on the northwestern shore of the lake. There I settled in Butterfly Space, a lodge for travelers but also a project to try to contribute to the community in different ways. It is run by Josie and Alice, two English girls who have lived in Malawi for more than 10 years and started this project seven ago. The lodge is located approximately one kilometer from the center of Nkhata Bay, right next to the lake. As the terrain rises quite quickly it is actually situated on the side of the mountain and the whole area is quite steep. It is a very wide, wooded area with several cabins, a camping area, orchard, bar, and a central part with sofas and tables. The site is very quiet and pleasant. On the same land there is a building where they give classes to children of the first grade of primary school and some afternoons they organize activities for the young people of the area. They also have two nursery schools, one near Nkhata Bay and the other in a more rural area. They also do various workshops and courses so that women can start small businesses, such as selling butter, fabrics, etc. One day a week they have a support group for the disabled and another day for those who are infected with the HIV virus, but have not yet developed the disease. They also have a computer room where they give free courses for young people. I was very impressed with the amount of things they do. It is a very complete site. It is also all ecological. They have their orchards, they have their water tanks that they take from the river and treat it to make it drinkable and the toilets are used for composting. One of its main activities is to promote permaculture in schools and homes to generate a self-sustainable and ecological environment. Namely, try to get the maximum benefit from plants, water etc. damaging the environment as little as possible. The objective is to try to make the most of what nature gives them. Many times they have it next to them but they do not know how to use it. They do an excellent job.
Several volunteers come to Butterfly, some who are only a few weeks as in my case, and others who are several months. Volunteers are free to collaborate on the project that interests them the most and to contribute their own ideas. When I arrived there was a Norwegian boy, Tom, who was in charge of teaching the primary classes and another French boy, JB, who had just arrived but plans to settle here for six months. Now he was helping to improve some of the water channels and to implement an irrigation system. He also teaches Excel computer classes in the mornings. Tom is a sports geek and decided to set up a gym, so with the material he found he built a small sports area. The truth is that it was very good. After a few days Tom left and two German girls arrived, An English couple and another English boy. The English and the Germans took over from Tom in the primary classes and also collaborated in the nursery classes. I’ve been doing a bit of everything. The first few days, Francis, the gardener was teaching me a few things. I was helping him plant some new trees, water the plants and something else. I also went to visit the nursery school and was helping Tom in some classes. Primary classes started last year. Alice has a six-year-old daughter. Last year she started elementary school so she decided to teach herself the classes and set up a small class with several children from the village. This year Alice has to work on other things so she cannot dedicate herself to classes full time and they have hired a local teacher. But the teacher has little experience and little desire to teach, so for now they are pulling with the volunteers who come. One day I accompanied the boy who is in charge of the computer room to go to the different secondary schools in town to encourage the students to sign up for the courses. It was good that I accompanied him because the students pay more attention if a person speaks to them.muzungu . We spent a couple of minutes in each class and I tried to convince them that signing up for computer classes would be useful for them.
But what I spent most of my time was tidying up and cleaning. To those of you who have already read my experience in the volunteer work I did in Uganda, you will not be surprised. When I saw the conditions the school was in, I decided that I couldn’t leave without fixing that. As usual, at first glance, it seemed that everything was quite decent, but when you started to walk a little you were realizing the magnitude of the calico. Tom, he was desperate with the mess, he couldn’t find anything. When I told him I was thinking of getting to order that he said it was clearly a great idea. The truth is that there were already enough people giving classes and I did not see what I could contribute on the subject of gardening. So I thought I would dedicate myself to ordering that, since it is what no one wants to do. The issue is more serious than it seems, because it is not just that it is clean and tidy. The problem is that it is full of material that can be very useful but that nobody uses because they do not even know it is there. It is above all a problem for the volunteers who come there to teach and cannot use anything because it is all dirty, scattered and untidy. Alice, last year she prepared a lot of material to teach, but the appearance of order is not her strong suit and everything is lying there. It is a pity that he is like this because he has to redo many things that he has already done just because he does not dare to search among the mountains of objects. Sorting it all took a lot longer than I expected. I spent two weeks about four hours a day to finish it. The more things he moved, the more things came out. You cannot imagine the amount of things they have. Games, puzzles, materials, educational, dolls, legos, paintings, material for crafts … in short, absolutely everything mixed. Apart from the fact that there were more bugs in there than in the whole forest I think. Millions of spiders, lizards and ants installed between books and toys. But after many hours I got that perfectly tidy. I separated things by theme and put labels so that it was easy to find everything. Obviously that is going to get messy but I think that now it will be much easier to give the classes. The volunteers appreciated it. I separated things by theme and put labels so that it was easy to find everything. Obviously that is going to get messy but I think that now it will be much easier to give the classes. The volunteers appreciated it. I separated things by theme and put labels so that it was easy to find everything. Obviously that is going to get messy but I think that now it will be much easier to give the classes. The volunteers appreciated it.
Monday is the day of the disabled group, which Alice takes. The second week Sebastian, the English boy, Tom, and I accompanied her. First we went with their car, a ramshackle pick-up, to pick them up from their homes. Actually there are about 16 but that day only half came. The group is very varied, there are children, young people and some older. They all have very different disabilities. Some are clearly seen to have physical and mental disabilities, but others just have a slightly strange behavior. Alice has been explaining to us that here she feels very powerless working with them, because no one diagnoses them. She intuitively knows more or less what happens to some of them, but she knows nothing about others. It is a pity, because surely many of them, if they were in a more developed country with some medication or adequate therapy, could lead a more normal life. In addition, many of the families are ashamed of the disabled and keep them hidden at home. There is no association or support group for them. Alice is the only one helping them. He says that sometimes, all they need is someone to go out with them for a Coke in a bar or for a walk in town, so that people can see that they are normal people. After going around the town several times and taking the peculiar group of people in the back area of the pick-up, we arrived at the school again. There we did something that Alice has been doing for over a year now, and I found it very interesting. Brings the disabled with primary school children together, and during the last two hours of class they are all together. Usually you try to do some pretty dynamic activity. That day it was time to talk about the 5 senses and Alice was doing various exercises and games. For example, he covered each one’s eyes with a handkerchief and they had to guess from touch, smell or taste what some things were. They all laughed a lot. He also told a story and sang various songs, the children’s favorite activity. The desire and motivation that Alice gives her and the ability she has to deal with all kinds of people are truly admirable. After class they give them food. Some eat alone but others need help. I really liked being able to participate one day with this group and see what Alice does. That day it was time to talk about the 5 senses and Alice was doing various exercises and games. For example, he covered each one’s eyes with a handkerchief and they had to guess from touch, smell or taste what some things were. They all laughed a lot. He also told a story and sang various songs, the children’s favorite activity. The desire and motivation that Alice gives her and the ability she has to deal with all kinds of people are truly admirable. After class they give them food. Some eat alone but others need help. I really liked being able to participate one day with this group and see what Alice does. That day it was time to talk about the 5 senses and Alice was doing various exercises and games. For example, he covered each one’s eyes with a handkerchief and they had to guess from touch, smell or taste what some things were. They all laughed a lot. He also told a story and sang various songs, the children’s favorite activity. The desire and motivation that Alice gives her and the ability she has to deal with all kinds of people are truly admirable. After class they give them food. Some eat alone but others need help. I really liked being able to participate one day with this group and see what Alice does. the smell or the taste what were some things. They all laughed a lot. He also told a story and sang various songs, the children’s favorite activity. The desire and motivation that Alice gives her and the ability she has to deal with all kinds of people are truly admirable. After class they give them food. Some eat alone but others need help. I really liked being able to participate one day with this group and see what Alice does. the smell or the taste what were some things. They all laughed a lot. He also told a story and sang various songs, the children’s favorite activity. The desire and motivation that Alice gives her and the ability she has to deal with all kinds of people are truly admirable. After class they give them food. Some eat alone but others need help. I really liked being able to participate one day with this group and see what Alice does.
Tuesday is the day of the support group for those with HIV. This is also carried out by Alice and what she has done is organize a kind of course that lasts about 15 weeks. Those who sign up have to come to class one day a week. It lasts an hour and every day a different topic is discussed. The main objective is that those who are infected know exactly what the virus is, how it can be transmitted, and how they have to take care of themselves to prevent the disease from developing. That day a new course began and only three people came. Two older women and one quite young with her baby. Alice was talking about the ways the virus is transmitted and the importance of taking retrovirals every day. I really liked the way he did it. More than a class, it was like a discussion between everyone. He stressed a lot the importance of speaking openly. At first the women were very quiet but little by little they became more comfortable and participated more. Alice says that it is very important to talk about how the virus is transmitted and how to treat it because there are many false myths. It was very interesting to attend the course and I learned several things. Once again, Alice’s work is admirable.
Finally, one of the funniest days was one when we were giving swimming lessons to elementary school children. Although the lake occupies a large part of the country, there are many locals who cannot swim. We had wanted to do the class for days but it was very windy and the water was very rough. Last Friday we were able to do it. Gary and Sami, the English couple, and me were there. At the last hour of class we go down with the children to a small beach that is right in front of the lodge. Just getting there already produced a pretty funny situation. Rio, Josie’s dog, was there and two or three panicked kids started crying like crazy and climbing over some rocks. There was no way they were going down. And of course, they climb the rocks like nothing, but we weren’t that skilled, but in the end we managed to catch them. In the water some had a lot of fun but others were scared to death. There were many children and there were only three of us, but we were trying to get everyone to get into the water. We tried to get them to swim with their feet, but sometimes it was impossible. There were a couple of girls who had them stuck like octopuses and there was no way for them to come down. Some were playing with the sand and when we approached to encourage them to come for a swim they ran away. It was a bit chaotic, but at least we got them to be in the water for a bit. They are going to do that one day a week, when the weather permits, so little by little they will gain more confidence. but sometimes it was impossible. There were a couple of girls who had them stuck like octopuses and there was no way for them to come down. Some were playing with the sand and when we approached to encourage them to come for a swim they ran away. It was a bit chaotic, but at least we got them to be in the water for a bit. They are going to do that one day a week, when the weather permits, so little by little they will gain more confidence. but sometimes it was impossible. There were a couple of girls who had them stuck like octopuses and there was no way for them to come down. Some were playing with the sand and when we approached to encourage them to come for a swim they ran away. It was a bit chaotic, but at least we got them to be in the water for a bit. They are going to do that one day a week, when the weather permits, so little by little they will gain more confidence.
I have hardly talked about Josie, because she runs all the permaculture projects and I hardly worked with her, but she also does an excellent job. I spent a few days very relaxed there, the place is beautiful and there is a great atmosphere. One of the weekends I went to visit the island of Likoma, as I explained in the previous entry. Last weekend there was hardly anyone because everyone went to the “Lake of Stars”, a very famous music festival that they do every year in the south of the country. I would have liked to go but it was very far and it would have cost me a lot of money. I was a bit lazy to do so many kilometers and also preferred to save the money for other activities. Now I am in Zambia, visiting Victoria Falls, an incredible place with many things to do. I’ll tell you about it in the next post.
You can see the photos of Nkhata Bay in the following link:25 Nkhata Bay Butterfly Space, Malawi Sep14Sep 10, 2014Photos: 78
