Freckleface Photography...goes to Malawi: Sun...smiles and wiggly bums....

Friday 21^st January

After almost 5 days in Ruarwe something has become clear to me. The only thing anyone would ever have to worry about before coming here to Ruarwe is that you can never prepare yourself for how much you will love it here. All practical concerns I may have had concerning no Internet, no phones, icky creepy crawlies, and living in such basic living conditions all collapse into insignificance. The people here make it so easy to fall head over heels in love with the place and the people from day one.

All photographs copyright of Freckleface Photography

People have very little here- kids have no toys- and the standard of living is very low, Yet on the surface at least, everyone seems so happy- kids are always smiling. Everyone goes out of their way to make you feel welcome.

Every day this week I have worked at the centre. I wake up everyday around 6am, sometimes earlier just to check out the sunrise. I’m trying to kick my coffee habit but still can’t resist one in the morning. The Malawian coffee here is dark and delicious. (Served in a teapot with a tea strainer!). Around 8.30 I walk into Ruarwe Village to the centre which takes me around half and hour, depending on how many people stop me en-route to chat. As the week goes on my Chi-tombukka improves, and its lovely to be able to offer a local ‘hello, how are you to people’.

All photographs copyright of Freckleface Photography

It’s a great feeling arriving at the centre, everyone shouts ‘hello Emma’ and seems genuinely excited to see me- I’m the new volunteer though and maybe the novelty will wear off for them after a few weeks!

My initial week will be spent getting a feel for the place and the people, so that I am in a better headspace to know what classes to run at the centre. This project relies on volunteers to be able to be pretty much self initiate projects within the community,with the community, so This its important I spend some time working out what is important to people here so that they can be continued when I leave.

I’ve made a massive effort this week to get to know all the workers on site, and as many people in the village as possible. I was keen to get involved with the manual labour from day one, and as a result have already formed some great relationships with people. My favourite task this week was collecting stones with the women. The men smash up massive rocks on the side of steams and then the women’s job is to transport these smaller rocks back to the site, where they are used to build walls and damns etc

Leah Collecting Stones for a new wall....

Me and Edes...

Me and the Gals....

All photographs copyright of Freckleface Photography

I am showed how to wind up my chitengee (beautifully printed Pieces of material used by women as sarongs and skirts)into a coil and then place it on my head, tied with a smaller scarf, to keep it secure. This will protect my head and allow me to place a large stone on top ( I manage one or two, most of the women balance around 4, with no hands to support them!) I walk in line with the other women, which they find very entertaining! Minus, one of the ladies has everyone in stitches as she impersonates my wiggly bum as I walk at my faster than average pace. I am continuously told to slow down, but in the heat, I’m afraid if I do I might stop altogether- Malawians apparently walk slower than anyone else on earth, and this obviously doesn’t change when they are working- nothing gets done very fast- it’s a shame they can’t adopt this same approach when they get behind the wheel of a car.

Its really tough work in the heat of the midday sun, and before long I’m dripping with sweat and dirt. Its so much fun though, and I’ve really bonded with these women. I get them to sing with me at one point, which goes down so well- they love it and soon we are walking and singing and bum wiggling our way through the afternoons work.

The last floor in the centre to be cemented...

Stella preparing the cement...

All photographs copyright of Freckleface Photography

Throughout the rest of the week I lend my hand to other areas on site. Moving turf around, smashing up rocks (which I have to abandon 1 hour in, due to the twenty blisters that have formed on my hands!). And of course there are photographs, many many photographs. Malawians love having their photo taken, even more so given it is the digital age and they can see the results instantaneously. People never get bored with it- young or old. My walk home from the site every day can take up to four times longer than it should due to stopping to photograph people en-route.