Back to Work

Poop and Paint: By Gordon Timbers and Anne Saunders

Re: Monday May 4, 2009

Re-energized by our weekend away, we returned to sweat equity activities on Monday. We rejoined the group having been involved in a church leaders retreat (Church of Central Africa Presbyterian) in Blantyre for which we were facilitators. The other 10 team members were full of stories of the beauty of Lake Malawi, the lovely resort and the adventure of cross-country travel.

Monday a.m. Scott and Neil took up their painting foremen duties with their crews at Kachere and Faith Trust. While some participated in home visits or a hospital tour, Anne and Marg participated in the first of three EIM sanitation workshops for the residents of Balala village, Machinga District. A group of 22 women – some with babies on their backs – and 6 men (including the village headman) attended. The village water committee members were introduced. The EIM facilitator, Thomas, divided everyone into 3 groups. The first exercise was to map on newsprint their village, showing all buildings, including homes and latrines (chimbudzi), water points, footpaths and vegetable gardens. The most accurate map was chosen as the basis for further discussion. The village relies on river water and, for a few months each year, an open water hole. Thomas informed us that the much needed borehole would be drilled as part of the Rotary water project.

In the second group exercise about the spread of disease (majelemus) from human feces to human ingestion, all groups identified flies (nchenche). There was much laughter and singing throughout the discussions.

When Marg and Anne returned to Faith Trust, Neil’s team was there having completed the Kachere painting. After a hearty lunch of nsima, rice, chicken and greens (ndiwo), we all pitched in to complete the first coat of the Faith Trust building interior.

Monday evening Chuck Taylor introduced Johnny Parrot from Africycle Uxbridge who made a presentation about their work recovering bicycles in Canada for refurbishments and sale in Malawi – 1600 to date. The Uxbridge Rotary Club has already purchased Africycle bicycles for home-based care workers.