To get the whole story, go to
Ruthie's Malawi 05 blog.
See some pictures of the trip.
Job done.
See pictures of Liz Kevan's
skydive June 2005.
See pictures of the Ironman Triathlon May 2005
See some pictures of the fund-raising concert at Witham URC in December 2004.
FACT global volzone pages:
• Malawi Project 2005
• The Amos Trust
• Braintree: Pais Project
• Brazil 2003
• Bolivia 2001
• global volzone main
See also Sue Kevan's Focus on Malawi blog
The team arrived back on 26 August – get the news by going to Ruth Ellam's blog...
About the project
The project will be based in the small village of Tcharo, on Lake Malawi. The work will be one step on from actually building and restoring boats, as we will be building a jetty for the boats to unload at! Tcharo is one of a series of communities down the western shore of Lake Malawi that has a clinic, and boat is the main way of transporting people and supplies. At the moment however, people have a dangerous jump to get ashore – not so good if you are ill or pregnant! As well as building the jetty, it is hoped that the team will be able to do some painting at the clinic, and on the boats. This looks like it will be a really exciting project – do get in touch if you are interested in supporting the project or in being one of the team!
Malawi recci - July 2004
Well Luke Moller and I made it to Malawi and back in one piece! We met up successfully with John Challis and Ed Sauven… and five days later our luggage met up with us as well! We spent a week or so in the mountain top mission station of Livingstonia, where John and Ed are based working on the world's scariest road, the Gorodi… We were then able to head down to Lake Malawi in search of Tcharo, the village where we are hoping next years project to be. We got on the missions boat at the village of Mlowe, and then had a 3 1/2 hour trip down the lake to Tcharo… with someone having to bail out the entire time! But at last we made it to dry land… Tcharo is a small community on the lakeshore, accessible only by boat, or a 20 odd km walk. There is a clinic, which is under the main hospital at Livingstonia; a primary school and a church. Most people there live on subsistence fishing and farming… there is almost nothing to buy. The project that we are aiming to do is to build a jetty on the beach, so that it is much easier to load things and people on and off the boat… at the moment it's quite difficult ( well it certainly was for me!), especially if you are ill and on your way to hospital at Livingstonia. We hope to also be able to do some painting of the outside of the school, and to really get alongside the local community… Hopefully the team will also be able to spend a few days at Mlowe, doing some repairs on the jetty and the boats there.
In the next few weeks a leaflet will be going out to all our volunteers about the project, as we start to look for the team who will go… could it be you???
Please pray…
For Ed and John, out in Malawi until the end of November working on the Gorodi road.
For the people of Tcharo and Mlowe, especially for safety for those running the boats and the clinics.
For the team… whoever they may be!
Click here to see some photos of where we went!
Ruthie Ellam (September 2004)
Malawi Project – archive report 1
Volunteer Ed Sauven has already been to the area in Malawi where FACT is hoping to send a team in 2005. Ed and is returning this summer to help complete a road in the north of this isolated place. Here are some of his experiences:
I was in Malawi for 6 weeks last summer having gone out in July a week after having a chance conversation with Andrew Challis about his fathers work out there in Livingstonia. I had no plans for the summer and Andrew had mentioned that his father John was organising the rebuilding of the Road up to Livingstonia, an old missionary station in the north of Malawi which included the main hospital for the area as well as a technical college and high school.
In Malawi there is only one tarmac-ed road that in effect runs up the spine of the country, the rest of the roads are unpaved. The Gorodi Road which links Livingstonia to the main Road is only 16 km long, but if you tried to take anything other than a rugged 4x4 up it you wouldn’t get very far. From the lake side which the main road follows the Gorodi rises a 1000 feet with 22 hair pin turns up on to the Kondowe plateau on which Livingstonia is situated. I was given the task of surveying the top few kilometres and completing a short test section before reconstruction begins this year, as well as helping John Challis with his numerous jobs fixing things about the station.
My brief experience of Malawi is of a spectacularly beautiful country populated by a wonderful people. They have virtually nothing with little to sell to make money but Tobacco and few jobs in the towns. There is also a huge Aids problem with many children becoming orphans. Life for the vast percentage of people is a constant struggle to get food on the table but in spite of these great problems everyone was always so friendly and generous.
That is why this Summer I will be returning to Malawi as part of a six month placement so as to see more of the country and hopefully more importantly start proper resurfacing of the Gorodi Road and all that it entails. So that the sick can get to the hospital quickly and easily without having to wait and hitch on 4x4’s that then have to crawl up at 5mph.
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