Final days...

So my final night in Malawi is upon us and it has been a really lovely if not painfully hot couple of days. We had four new arrivals yesterday and said our goodbyes to Anna and Josh.

Yesterday I was at Chilombo orphanage on my own as Gill caught the virus I have been harbouring, I would not wish it upon my worst enemy. Esnart spent most of the morning dissapearing so the teaching was a bit hit and miss and the kids ran riot as always. We carried on with learning the time and the usual songs and rhymes that they know. We have adapted ‘The Wheels on the Bus’ to ‘The Wheels on the Matola’ and they seem to enjoy that, they join in when they can and mostly just like anything with actions. In the afternoon I was at the wound clinic which was a bit of a non-event, no patients, sweltering heat but I did get to say my goodbyes to Dr Mkanda and had a photo with him which is brilliant.

Today I was at Chilombo again and me and Therese threw a very good party if I might say so. It was her idea to make each of them friendship bracelet out of the wool we had kicking about in the resources room. We made maybe just fewer than 50 and luckily we had maybe 45 children turn up so we estimated just right. We took crisps and biscuits for party food and they absolutely loved that. It must have been a real treat for them after their porridge.

John took me to Kevin’s house who in actual fact is called Calvin....! I only found out when I asked Esnart to write down his address for him, which is pretty silly, now everyone at MVO and everyone at home knows this little boy as Kevin! So, CALVIN was off sick again today so I went to his house and was introduced to his grandmother which is even more confusing as I was told he lived alone with an old man. Felicity said this is a common occurrence to get a few different stories because they call different people and relatives different things. Anyhow it still doesn't make his situation ideal and I may never know exactly what his situation is...but I gave him his toy truck and his grandmother told him I was going back to England which he seemed very sad about. He barely uttered a word even today after meeting with him so many times, I wonder if he ever actually speaks. He followed me and John back to orphanage and the other kids were very interested in his new toy especially Esnart’s son, Vinnie is the queen bee if ever I saw one, he was most unimpressed this new toy did not belong to him.

Eventually it was time to say goodbye and I did head back there in the afternoon to say a final goodbye after Esnart’s english lesson but everyone in the village had been called to a meeting with the chief, something about fertiliser I don’t know, so the lesson was also a non-starter. I trudged off back up to the road and it really was the hottest I've ever felt it today. On the way I bumped into Esnart’s 17 year old nephew, Andrew and he took me on a tour of Chilombo, he walked me along the beach and there are some incredible looking holiday homes hidden along there, it was pretty surreal.

Andrew is very sweet, he is very smart and has a lot going for him but as the story always seems to go, the odds are stacked against him. He has lost both of his parents but seems to have a large extended family in the village. I met his great grandmother but when I asked her name, Andrew explained he did not know because he had always called her grandma! He is very creative and makes brilliant things out of bottle lids. He turned up today with a bag he has made for me out of a pair of jeans and it is amazing. I will treasure it forever, it is a real work of art considering his lack of resources. He also showed me a photo book a previous volunteer must have had made and sent to him. He had taken all the photos and some of them were stunning I was so impressed.

So this evening I am having a drink, listening to a meeting about dressing wounds and everything is packed and ready to go. Tomorrow I will leave MVO house at 5:30 am and head to Blantyre with Francis. He is taking me to a place called Game where I can buy some toys for Chilombo with my donations. I have also committed myself to providing the much needed shelter for them during the rainy season. As I've probably mentioned before this orphanage is just held in Esnart’s back garden with no shelter and very little shade. The shelter will be up by November in time for the rains and will give Esnart a real place to teach and will be a real boost for the community.

I will take away so much from this place. Knowing that my donations actually physically provided something urgently needed is a fantastic way to finish here.

So here is to the end.

I will remember my first day at Monkey Bay orphanage with Wyson. My first night watching The Lion King and drinking Special Brew and wondering if I would ever find myself in a more surreal situation than this again. I will remember when I realised the answer to that question was hell yes when I found myself watching the villagers of Mtakaka head banging to house music. I will remember the dehydrated babies and their empty drips...the hoards of pregnant women and young girls. I will remember 24 hours of vomiting and nearly being eaten by a hippo. I will remember Gibson’s laugh and just Joseph, just for being Joseph. I will remember the bicycles of death with no peddles or seats. I will remember the first time I went to Namakoma and how the singing was so good I had to hold back tears. I will remember the confusion with Esnart over who was teaching who on my first day. I will remember rounds and fantas and greens and nsima and BBQ goat and shake shake and eating chips from a carrier bag for fifty kwacha. I will remember frisbee in the lake and baking hot walks to wound clinic. I will remember Dr Mkandas laugh and the stories of the premature babies and the children he had lost...I will remember Mazungu Mazunge Jambule Jambule! I will remember drinking Eclipse from a plastic bottle and the hangover that followed. I will remember elephants and hippos and the lone buffalo at Liwonde. I will remember our Hansel and Gretel lodgings on safari and I will remember Benji and Simba, the house dogs and their reactions to the mating ducks. I will remember David arriving with his brilliant laugh and somehow remembering how to play chess after all these years. I will remember pink and blue jobs and sunset cruises. The children I will remember, all those faces but especially  Grace, Buddha, Chisomo and Ibu the big boss at Monkey Bay. Irene and Edwin at Namakoma and all my favourites at Chilombo, my second home: Gertrude, the twins, Tait and Bertha, Eunice and her amazing smile, Fanny and Esther – girls with attitude, Vinnie, the other big boss and of course Kevin/Calvin/whatever his name is!

Most of all I will remember that little face and the fact there there are so so so many Calvins in Malawi...