This morning we were all on a bus for our first visit outside Lilongwe. Before we leave, prayers are said for out journey.....this is the Malawian way.....quite different from Scotland.
After heading north through the city centre we headed east on the road towards Selima. This took us through agricultural land, mainly with maize crops, but also with small areas of a crop with yellowing leaves. Soon we were seeing small open sided sheds with rush roofs and realise the crop is tobacco and the sheds are drying sheds. Tobacco is one of the few cash crops of Malawi.....this seemed strange to us as we had seen very few smokers, of evidence of advertising.
The road wound through low hills, but at one steep brae we find two large lorries jack-knifed across the road (following what appears to have been heavy rain); maybe now we start to understand the 'Malawian' way, and find that our prayers are answered as the driver gently eases our bus round the arctics on the hard road verge carefully avoiding the storm drain culvert.
In just over an hour we reach Chezi orphanage, established in 1986 by the Sisters of St Mary Mediatrix (a Spanish based organisation). Stanley and Mollie Hood had visited previously when in Malawi, and we were given an update and tour of the site.
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More to be added.....
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