Habitat Ni Scout Network Malawi July '18

Home at Dublin Airport safe and sound! Fermanagh and Belfast here we come. 😀

Days 10 to 12
After the build and the highlight of the closing ceremony, we set off for two days of rest and relaxation. On Saturday, we travelled the 5 hours to Liwonde National Park to stay at Mvuu Camp. It is well named as it’s surrounded with hundreds of hippos. We went on a driven safari in the afternoon and our guides taught us about the many animals and plants in the park. Although the hippos and crocodiles stood out, we saw some extraordinary creatures from the elegan...t kingfisher and prowling vulture to the strutting warthogs and dancing impala. While eating at the camp, you had to be aware of the hungry baboons who could pop in and take some of your dinner! It was exciting to be escorted to our chalets when bed time came as the animals could prowl around the accommodation.
Sunday began with a superb boat safari along the river Shire. We got close up views of the many hippos and the many elephants as they came to get water. It was fun watching the crocodiles sliding into the merky waters. We left on another 5 hour trek to spend the evening on Lake Malawi. Some of the team tried the local chambo fish for dinner while a number watched the World Cup Final. France was a popular winner in Malawi.
The weekend finished up with a final team meeting with a review of the highs and lows of the trip; some evaluation; and appreciation of the efforts made by every team member.
This team came together excellently and worked extremely well to build three homes for three vulnerable families in one of the poorest countries in the world. We have made a difference and left Malawi a little better than we found it.
David
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Day 9!
Hi guys! What a day! Started early as usual and headed to the local market which we passed every day on our way in to build. Stopped and purchased four new buckets for water or mortar as what we had was woeful. Got working up to around 11am. One house was almost complete but the carpenter was sick today so the tin roof didn’t get put on as planned. The second house had the second gable and back wall up to the top of door frame. Richard, our builder, was more than happy... with our progress. The builders will continue and finish off all three houses after we leave as we have purchased the materials to allow this to happen.
The commissioning ceremony took place down at our break area beneath a shady tree in the village. The new owners were invited along with the local chiefs to celebrate the efforts we have gone to help them realise what in their eyes was only a dream. Celebrations continued on the football pitch where local teams of dancers took turns to perform. We were invited to show our skills and performed the building dance to Dolly Parton’s 9 to 5 dance track. The locals could hardly believe their eyes and were amazed at our skill and co-ordination? Maybe. Hannah then took the complete gathering though the Singing in the Rain dance (Hoochi Cha). We certainly entertained everyone present. They finished off with dressed male dancers who were truly amazing. Traditional Malawi food was prepared by the village and served up to the local families, guests and ourselves. Truly an emotional and unique experience.
We then took our last visit to the three houses for photo opportunities and then final goodbyes with children coming from local villages which made it difficult for several members of the team. Quick trip to the local clothes store to purchase traditional wraps then we handed over all our gifts and spare clothing to the Habitat staff to distribute to the local school and community. A special day!
Des
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Day 8!!
Here is a short video of the site so far and how we are getting on.. today was filled with lots of hard work and a few laughs. We are all looking forward to our last days build tomorrow and celebrations with the families we are helping.
Becca and Cameron

Day 7!!
Back to another days building with an early start. Arriving on site, we continued with each of the builds we were already working on, however we now have scaffolding in place so we can finish work on the gables of the house in preparation for the roof. We finished a bit earlier today to go and visit some finished houses built by Habitat teams last year. It was very uplifting to see the effect a house has on people in need, who have turned these builds into their home...s. We met with the families who lived their, who kindly invited us inside to view their homes. This gave us more motivation to complete our builds on time so we can give others the same amazing opportunity. We returned to our accommodation for a meal and to end the night we had a very competitive quiz night hosted by leaders Kat and Des; just to add, my team won.
Alex
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Photos from days 5 and 6

Day 6!
So we set off this morning excited for a full day of building as well as a nice dinner afterwards to unwind.
When we arrived we got straight into it with 6 people on the first house (which is the most complete of the houses so far), 7 people on the second house (which is closely behind the first) and 7 people on the third house which despite being started only yesterday is coming along brilliantly. The first and second houses have scaffolding up as we're too far throug...h to do without and we're starting to put the pitch in on the first.
We also got to take an extended lunch break to get a chance to meet with the beneficiaries of the houses, three women all with incredible stories and strength. To hear their stories, all three are supporting 3+ kids each some of which aren't even their own, gave us the extra push we needed for the second half of the day.
Had brilliant fun building with rocking music blasting, games with the kids, banter with the adults as well as some pretty great dance offs. The group on house three even got to teach the locals how to speak with a proper Norn' Irn' accent.
And to finish off a brilliant day we went out to a Indian/Chinese fusion restaurant to celebrate David and Kat's birthday (both today) and they even got sang happy birthday by the staff which involved drums!
Closing the night with some karaoke led by Aoife, Joanna, Katie and Rebecca which certainly going to be brilliant and silly as anything.
Hannah
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Day 5!!
Today started with an early start as we continued with our build. With some hard work, we managed to build our 2 houses up to a height where we needed scaffolding to continue, so half of the team began work on a third house as we awaited the arrival of the scaffolding.
We made good progress today and the team are energised to reach our goal and ensure we build all 4 houses by the end of the week.
... During our lunch break we had the chance to play with the children in the community and took part in a football match where a Malawi select beat NI Scout Network 5-2.
We had the pleasure of meeting Howard, the Chief Executive of the Malawi Scout Association. Our group was able to get some badges and find out more about scouting in Malawi. Howard was very enthused by the team and was very keen to share learning and to build a relationship to try and develop Scouting in Malawi.
Stephen
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Day 4 blog!
What a wonderful Sunday it has been. After delivering a memorable ‘Thought of the day’ myself and the team leaped into the bus, eager for Sunday morning church. Pastor Msiska at the Baptist Church gave a sermon on humility and meekness. The service was filled with lively songs made even more lively by the excellent praise band. During the service some infants were dedicated and a feeling of community washed over us.
Later that day we met up with the Lions Powerfu...l Scout Troop. They showed us a few of their games and chants and likewise we did the same. At the end of our meet up the Malawians performed amazing acrobatics such as forming a human pyramid. Our attempt failed. I was looking forward to swapping scarves with the Malawi Scouts however most of them did not have them as they are too expensive. Most of the group gave away the scarves. This truly showed how poor financially the people of Malawi are.
Barry
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Day 4 with Malawi Scouts!

Day 3!!
Today began with another early start as we continued with our build within the communities. The team continued with the same 2 houses they were working on yesterday, with the builders now trusting us to work more independently as we picked up our building pace, with Rebecca, Andy and Joanna building 2 rows of bricks within 20 minutes (record time). We finished early today at half 12 today to spend some time visiting the local supermarket, which would put Tesco’s to sh...ame it was that good!! Within the shopping complex we got the chance to visit a craft shop filled with handmade Malawi goods. Ben McKeown brought a stunning handmade Malawi dress shirt might I add. To end the day we enjoyed a pizza night back at our accommodation and took time to practice campfire songs in preparation for meeting local Scouts tomorrow; the team’s enthusiasm made up for the occasional questionable harmony!
Ben
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Some photos from the last few days!

Day 2 of our Malawi adventure.
Today we began our build within the community we are supporting. After a 45 minute bus journey and some beautiful scenery we arrived at a remote village to meet the locals, builder, the Habitat team and most importantly, the families we were building the houses for. After a safety briefing and a training session, we divided into 2 teams to begin the first 2 houses, with help from builders; Richard and Evas, along with the site supervisor named ...Peter. Rapid construction began with both teams wanting to give it their all, along with our builders panicking about our walls slowly straying from the building line. By lunch time we had mastered the brick laying process which consisted of using mud and water to cement handmade clay brings made by the locals in place. Our team got the chance to play with the local kids, where they taught them how to kick a rugby ball and blow bubbles. The happiness and energy from the kids was amazing. By the end of the day, our houses were coming along nicely, with one team’s doorway in place and the other already starting work on the internal walls. The whole team felt they had really achieved something today and are very excited about continuing on the work tomorrow. Most were in agreement that the highlight of the day was meeting the kids.
Ben
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Day 2 of out Malawi adventure.
Today we began our build within the community we are supporting. After a 45 minute bus journey and some beautiful scenery we arrived at a remote village to meet the locals, builder, the Habitat team and most importantly, the families we were building the houses for. After a safety briefing and a training session, we divided into 2 teams to begin the first 2 houses, with help from builders; Richard and Evas, along with the site supervisor named ...Peter. Rapid construction began with both teams wanting to give it their all, along with our builders panicking about our walls slowly straying from the building line. By lunch time we had mastered the brick laying process which consisted of using mud and water to cement handmade clay brings made by the locals in place. Our team got the chance to play with the local kids, where they taught them how to kick a rugby ball and blow bubbles. The happiness and energy from the kids was amazing. By the end of the day, our houses were coming along nicely, with one team’s doorway in place and the other already starting work on the internal walls. The whole team felt they had really achieved something today and are very excited about continuing on the work tomorrow. Most were in agreement that the highlight of the day was meeting the kids.
Ben.
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Malawi 2018 - Day 1
We arrived in Lilongwe after a pretty arduous day's travel from Northern Ireland and we were met by a surprising drop in temperature from balmy Belfast. So much so, Ben McKeown has transitioned from beach boy to arctic adventurer! Bernadette, our host for the first two days, met us with a warm Malawian smile after we had managed to get our passports stamped with the colourful Malawi visa. We made the hour long journey to the Korea Garden Lodge where we finally made it to our rooms. After a rest, Bernadette gave us an orientation talk about Habitat for Humanity's great work in Malawi. A lovely buffet dinner and team meeting followed then it was time to relax and hit the sack for a 6.30/45 start on day 2.
David

Team all boarded and ready for our first leg of the journey to Addis Ababa, Ethiopia 🛫