Merci

Johanna has to go to Blantyre. So I join the “Leslau’s family” for the day- Nick, Maxine, their 3 sons (19, 16, 9) and 2 friends of their oldest son. They’re in Malawi doing some volunteer work too (www.clintonfoundation.org). For the past 2 weeks, they’ve been helping to develop a feeding centre… From constructing a house from scratch to painting walls... The centre feeds orphans living around. Some of them have to walk 3 hours to reach it… They only get a meal if they go to school… The newly built house will be a classroom… With the money raised, the Leslau also bought books, school stationary etc. Today is their last day so there is a party… I help Maxine with the hands’ printings on the walls (see picture) – it’s a great idea, it gives a sense of belonging as well as a touch of color. We blow balloons… There is no electricity but a car’s battery does the trick… We have music too!!! The ballroom is now ready…

We have lunch first. The kids are all in a room. A teacher calls each of them; they are given a token that has to be swapped for a meal. Today’s menu is chicken and rice. They only get 3 meals a week at the moment but the centre will soon be able to feed them 5 times a week. I join them for a while. When I ask if I can take some pictures, they all want to pose with their plates… Very funny! A few days before, I asked our driver what is happiness for a Malawian. I quote his answer: “Some food in a plate… If you are tired, you can sleep; if you are cold, there is always a way to get warmer but if you are too hungry, you die…” Looking at these smiles and the seriousness of the poses, I realize that I take too many things in life for granted…

Party time… and total chaos! All the children are in the room waiting for their drinks… They fight. Some of them hide the bottle that they’ve just been given and ask for another one, some others, older, steal from the younger ones. We don’t know who got what anymore… Eventually we manage to satisfy everybody. But when it’s time to give the “goodies bags”, we decide to empty the room first. The kids queue outside and get to sit inside once they have their snacks… Voilà!

Then music, songs and dances… and a lot of speeches!!! Malawian people loves speeches…What a memorable day!... that I share with the sweetest family ever. Merci Nick et Maxine.