Blantyre and Back Again - Lilongwe Round...

Excuse the pun, I couldn't resist!

Team Malawi are back in Lilongwe very briefly after 3 days of training in Blantyre! The week started with a bang with a drive through the Liwonde National Park on Sunday where we saw lots of animals including Impala (stripy bums), Waterbuck (circle bums), Warthogs, Monkeys, Hippos and Elephants! It was amazing to see the animals we only get to see in zoos out in their natural habitat as it should be and we got VERY excited about the herd of elephants trampling past our minibus. Our mini safari was amazing although it did cause a few travel sick GOLDies with all the bouncing around bumpy roads in a hot minibus! 

Our hostel in Blantyre (Doogles) was lovely and we were all in one dorm together which was challenging but nice! The bar area had a swimming pool and the showers were hot and had lights in. This is luxury! Unfortunately we were so busy with trainings that we didn't have time to use the pool but it was nice to sit around at dinner!

Training this week was at MAGGA's office in Blantyre which was a lovely venue with a classroom and outdoor space. The girls were camping for the duration of our time there which was much easier as it meant day 2 and 3 started at the the scheduled time as opposed to 'Africa Time'! 

The training sessions were a repeat of those in Lilongwe as MAGGA are keen that all the girls get the same information and experience but what was really interesting was how the level of English and the ideas of the girls differed from the girls of Lilongwe. During our Free Being Me sessions where we asked the girls to draw their perfect party guest (or the 'perfect woman') they came up with things like 'wide hips', 'strong arms', 'dark eyes', 'black hair' and 'short wide legs' whereas the girls in Lilongwe had a much more Westernised view of beauty, drawing girls with light skin, blonde hair, blue or green eyes and a slim hourglass figure!

The girls were really enthusiastic and 'Get Loose', 'Thunderation' and 'Everywhere We Go' went down a storm again along with the Compliment Hands and the session on goals and dreams.

Our last night in Blantyre was celebrated with a campfire which was well constructed if worryingly high and the girls all crowded very close to it. It would not have passed a risk assessment in the UK! All the girls had prepared a short performance including songs and dances and a short skit called 'My Ruined Future' about a teenage pregnancy which was hilarious but also really brought home the problems they have keeping girls in education in Malawi. We hadn't got the memo about preparing a performance but when we were asked to stand up we winged our way through a questionable rendition of 'My Ship Sailed from China', 'Go Well and Safely' and 'TAPS' and Edelweiss complete with handclaps and the International Commissioner for Malawi (a diehard Sound of Music fan apparently!). When the campfire burned low we cooked potatoes directly in the embers which the girls dug our with their bare hands! They were delicious and we headed back to the hostel tired but happy.

We didn't get picked up to come back to Lilongwe until 10.30am which meant we got to have a treat in the form of ACTUAL BREAKFAST. This was very exciting because our meals options have been extremely limited as we have had no cooking or cooling facilities since we got here. Breakfast especially has been difficult and has consisted of a variety of pastries, teacakes and doughnuts, all of which are delicious but hard to swallow early in the morning!

Our drive back to Lilongwe was pretty smooth going and we made a couple of stops to refuel the mini van and our stomachs. One of the things we'll miss about Africa is buying snacks, drinks and even vegetables through the windows of our minibus! We even had time to make a quick surprise stop in Dedza to run a mini session for a few girls who were unable to make it tot he Lilongwe trainings. 

So that's what we have been up to since our last blog post! Wifi is widely available but unreliable so we'll continue to keep you updated when we can! This morning we're headed to Salima to a camp by the lakeshore which we're all very much looking forward to!

Much Love,

Team Malawi.

It is a Lion. Yes it is a Lion.

So Saturday brought a magical mystery tour of Lilongwe accompanied by the girls from Malawi's new GOLD team! It was another early start (I'm dying for a lie in!) and we were picked up in the MAGGA mini bus ready for an adventure!

First stop was a cultural village somewhere outside of Lilongwe where we were shown some traditional Malawian huts made of bamboo and straw roofs. They were lovely and cool inside and much larger than they looked on the outside. We sat by the water and were served nshima and stew in a bowl which the whole group ate from as is traditional in Malawi.

Next up was a stop at the grave of the first president of Malawi, who ruled for over 30 years (until he was in his 90's) while Malawi created it's new democratic system. He was much loved by the people and he has an elaborate mausoleum which we were shown round by the lovely guide. 

In the afternoon we were taken to the Lilongwe Wildlife Reserve which was all of our favourite part of the day. The park rehabilitates and relocates it's animals primarily and the animals that live there full time are injured or have been bred in captivity. The enclosures are huge and are as close to their natural habitat as possible so they don't guarantee any animal sightings at all but there were plenty of monkeys to be seen and we were lucky enough to be at the lion enclosure at feeding time. It was a struggle at first to see the lion but we all managed (with the exception of Alannah who after several explanations of 'look between the 3rd pole and the first tree under the red bar' divulged she was short sighted and couldn't see that far...).

Last on the itinerary was Kumbali Cultural Village which I can only describe as the Centre Parcs of Malawi where we mostly watched some volleyball and Rhiannon was asked to step in when one team was one player down. The rest of us got very excited because they sold Coco Pina, a fizzy drink which smells like air freshener but is surprisingly refreshing. Despite some enthusiastic cheerleading and several Mexican Waves Rhiannon's team still lost. 

At the end of an action packed day we were dropped back at the lodge when we realised we didn't have enough money to pay the hostel bill. Cue an emergency dash to several ATM's in the car of an employee of the lodge's restaurant. Cash points only give out 40 000 Kwacha at a time and we can only use cash points at Standard Bank which has been a bit of a struggle in terms of paying for team essentials but we've pretty much figured it out now!

We're off to Blantyre tomorrow so there will be more news soon!

Much Love,

Team Malawi

Wait! Let Me Take a Selfie....

Our first week of training is over already and we've struggled to find a spare minute to keep you all updated on what we've been up to, so I will catch you all up while we're waiting for our dinner (they're on 'Africa Time' so it'll be a while yet....)

We didn't have long to recover from our somewhat epic flight before we had to don our neckers once more and head to our first training session with rangers and leaders from all across Lilongwe. The training took place at a local primary school which was great for us as it meant the girls had desks to sit at, and we had chalk boards to write on and lots of outside space for songs, games and energisers.

The first day was daunting, none of us really knew what to expect (although Rhiannon had a bit of a better idea having done this before) and when we got there there was a distinct lack of girls. However we started with a song in true GOLD style and they started trickling in until we ended up with around 40 girls. Training for the day focused on their Guiding promise and laws, what makes a good Girl Guide, fundraising techniques and some self esteem workshops which saw all the girls writing compliments on their handprints. The compliment hands were a great success and we stuck them all onto a drawing of a tree at the front of the class. Alannah made a lot of new friends with her willingness to pose for an unending parade of camera phones and her game 'Fishy, Fishy, Fishy' which became a firm favourite of the girls. 'Get Loose' also went down well, with the girls leading their own version by the end of the day albeit with some questionable lyrics - 'Get Dunky' anyone? This was also the day we discovered nshima, pineapple Fanta and hole in the floor loos...

By day 2 we were feeling a lot more confident and turned up armed with newly rewritten session plans to account for the late arrival of the majority of the girls. Sure enough we started with a handful of girls which gradually swelled into a classroom full by our second training session of the day. Alicia taught the girls 'Camarussa' a song/dance combo no one had ever heard of but the girls adored. We ran through some of the 'Free Being Me' activities focusing on self esteem, the image myth and beauty standards around the world (fun fact: some of the girls told us they knew about false tan as they'd seen it on SpongeBob. Weird). We also created some posters for the girls to take away and use to promote MAGGA in their communities. The girls taught us a few of their songs and games in which we made up for lack of pronunciation with effort and awesome dance moves.

Day 3 turned out to be a half day which meant some hasty reshuffling but we did some more work on how to fundraise for their units and a session on role models and how they could be role models in their communities. We ended the day by teaching the girls 'Make New Friends' and singing 'Thunderation' again which the girls love!

After posing for approximately 42,544 photographs, the Malawi GOLD team took us into town into some of the local markets which was definitely an experience! We squeezed through some tiny spaces surrounded by swaths of gorgeous fabrics and left with purses slightly lighter! The markets are like mazes and we were grateful that the Lilongwe girls were there or we may still have been wandering in there now!

It's been a crazy busy few days interspersed with moments of hilarity such as Clare becoming the Hulk and snapping the door handle in two, Clare following a waitress around a restaurant for a considerable length of time while trying the track down a taxi, the powercut in ShopRite (Malawi's answer to Asda) and freezing cold showers (shortly followed by a total lack of water at the lodge).

Tomorrow we have a rare day off and the girls from Malawi's own GOLD team will be taking us out to see the sights of Lilongwe! We're very excited and off to bed early ready for another early start.

More to follow soon.

Much GOLD love,

Team Malawi.

London to Lilongwe!

Well what can I say? It's been an action packed 48 hours since we left London on Sunday night, fresh faced and excited. Here's the story of our somewhat epic journey...

Team Malawi were reunited at the Hilton Heathrow Terminal 5 (courtesy of Emma's amazing boss and Hilton York) and enjoyed what could definitely be one of the most luxurious starts to a GOLD project there has ever been. We had a lovely evening meal, a never ending breakfast, a relaxing afternoon in the spa and hydrotherapy pool and plenty of hot water (a commodity we are already sorely missing). 

The next morning we headed to Heathrow carrying/dragging our very heavy bags between us. A game of higher or lower amused us whilst checking in our bags (as well as most of the queue behind us). One GOLDie's bag weighed in at just 13kg! This girl packs light, can you guess who?! Passing through security took a while, not pointing any fingers (Laura who managed to lose her passport in the space of a few feet and Emma who had to be frisked and swabbed for explosives...) but we were in the departure gate in no time.

The flight was delayed by 40 minutes but that just gave us extra time for the goodbye calls to our families and some food to keep us going. We have some nervous flyers in the group, particularly Alannah who was shaking like a leaf by the time we got to the gate. We weren't able to get seats next to each other and were spread all over the plane and that hadn't helped the situation. As we tried to switch our seats the Captain was passing by and came and had a chat with Alannah, talking her through the flight and reassuring her. She was truly spoiled from that moment on and the BA staff were fantastic, smuggling her gin and sweets, taking her to see the sunset through the emergency doors and giving her a copy of the flight path signed by all of the crew at the end of the flight. She did so well and we're all really proud of how brave she was.

The flight itself was uneventful but bumpy in places and we landed in Lilongwe 17 hours later after a quick connection (there was running) in Johannesburg. Arrivals in Lilongwe was out first taste of how Malawians queue (they don't) but we got through without any major issues. A lovely driver was at the airport to meet us and drove us to our hostel in Lilongwe, the Golden Peacock Lodge.

We were met by a team of people not long after, some lovely girls from MAGGA and from the Malawi GOLD teams who we will be working with throughout the project. After some introductions, hugging and some singing they left us to recover and it was freezing showers and an early night all round.

Our second day has been spent planning tomorrow's training, buying the resources we'd need and exploring the local area. Tomorrow will be out first day of training and we're all really looking forward to getting stuck in!

That's all from us for now, we have a very early wake up call!

Much love,

Team Malawi

Meet the Team (Mascot) - Janet

A long overdue blog post on our lovely mascot Janet...

Name:

Janet

Age:

I am a wise old elephant with a young heart

Role in Team Malawi:

Role- cuddle giver, morale booster, poser extraordinaire, comfort buddy and a friend to all

What section do you work with:

I am able to flit between those who needs me the most

Why did you apply for GOLD:

I have always been an adventurous elephant, exploring the watering hole, travelling along the African plains, having adventures with my buddies. Then I was invited to come along with Laura and see some more of what girl guiding does, needless to say I was hooked and couldn't believe I could have an experience where I get to travel with some amazing women, promote Girlguiding and change lives! The question is why wouldn't I go on GOLD?

What are you looking forward to most about GOLD:

Going to Africa and seeing some more guides and hopefully more elephants! The UK is brilliant but having been to London and to Wales I am surprised by the lack of elephants in this country.I am also looking forward to having many cuddles with all my team mates, they are so good to me!

Is there anything you're nervous about:

I suppose I'm nervous about putting myself out there, its hard when your the smallest one and can be a bit shy, but I know when I raise my trunk to talk other will listen. Also nervous about the food, I've gotten to use to all the fancy British meals.

Describe the go for GOLD weekend in one word:

Fandabbydosy!

It's All About the Money

So we're very aware here at camp GOLD Malawi that our blog will at some point be hunted down by an eager potential future GOLDie or two and so we thought we'd share a few words on fundraising.

To sit in a room at the start of the process and be told you will need to raise up to £2300 is daunting especially when you look around and no-one else is batting an eyelid to what feels like an impossible amount of money. We'll let you into a little secret. Everyone feels the same way at the beginning. We know because we've been there.

We're almost at the end of our fundraising journeys and we thought we'd pass on some of the things we've learned along the way.

1. Start early!
Sounds obvious but we all have very busy lives outside of GOLD. It's very easy to think, oh I'll do that later and the months start to creep by. Plan ahead and take advantage of things like Christmas and Easter. Our own enterprising Emma made £170 handmaking reindeer hot chocolate gifts and selling them to family, friends and work colleagues in the run up to Christmas. Look at your schedule and plan around times you know you will be busy - exams, busy times at work, holidays etc. 

2. Tell the World!
Talk to people about your project - really talk about it. Talk about it until people start making jokes like 'Oh are you going to Malawi? You didn't say...' Talk to everyone you meet, tell them why you're doing it, why it's important, what you are hoping to achieve. Even in the beginning when you aren't sure what you will end up training on project - give them generics about GOLD. 'Leadership skills, confidence, advocacy, empowerment' are all buzz words people will identify with. Share success stories of past projects. People will sense your passion and that will inspire them to donate. 

3. People will Surprise you with their Generosity!
We have a saying where I'm from...'Shy bairns get nowt' which essentially translates to 'If you don't ask you won't get'. It can be tough going asking for support and receiving rejection letters or worse complete radio silence but keep going. Independent local businesses are often happy to donate a raffle prize in exchange for a bit of advertising. Don't forget your GOLD team will have a blog as well as a social media presence where you can give public 'thank you's' to supporters. National businesses like Tesco, Asda etc can be generous but you will need to write to their head office. Clare raised most of her money by writing letters to anyone and everyone including the Rotary Club, the Lions Club, the Soroptimists all of whom asked her to come in and give a talk in exchange for a donation. It was a great way to spread the message about GOLD and for a time starved student was much less time and labour intensive than organising fundraising events.

4. Work your Contacts!
People say it's not what you know but who you know and when it comes to fundraising that is certainly true! Put out a plea to family and friends, get them to ask their friends. Who do you know that could donate a raffle prize? Who's company has a charity donation fund? Will your place of work donate something? I work for Hilton and not only did they donate a prize for me to raffle off, my hotel manager arranged rooms for us at Hilton Heathrow the night before our flight at a fraction of the usual cost. 

5. Play to your strengths!
There's no point trying to organise loads of different events if you are strapped for time and no point making handcrafted items to sell if the idea of spending hours fiddling with a glue gun is your worst nightmare. Look at what you're good at and use it to your advantage! Alannah planned quiz nights, beetle drives and bingo evenings while Emma made and sold a variety of handmade items.

6. Challenge badges...
The Clue is in the name, they're a challenge to make, promote and sell. You will be required to create badges for your trip but whether you order more to sell is up to you. We did and we just about managed to make our money back but they weren't a huge money spinner for us. The Challenge Badge market is pretty saturated right now and you will need to do your research, make your badge and challenge pack distinctive, different and relevant to all of the sections if you want to succeed.

7. A Guider in Need
The Guiding community is a very supportive bunch so don't forget to get them involved. A few of us ran 'Rent a Leader' evenings in exchange for a donation which we tied into our challenge badge which doubled our money. Plan a session, make alterations for each section, make it something that requires little or no resources and then advertise your services on your local facebook groups, twitter, district and division meetings and county newsletters. At least 10% of my fundraising came from these evenings. Also - get your local Trefoil Guide involved, they are a wealth of knowledge and experience and usually love to help. And don't forget to apply to District, Division, County and Region - all of whom should be able to give you something towards your trip!

8. Don't Stress!

It will come together! The GOLD team, your team Leader and your team mates are all there for you. Share your success stories, and your not so success stories and laugh when it goes wrong. The fundraising is a huge part of your GOLD journey don't let it be a negative experience!

Happy Fundraising!

Much Love
Team Malawi 

Hello? It's me....

Now I don't know if any of our lovely readers have ever had to do a Skype conference but let me tell you...it's HARD! 

This week some VERY exciting news has come through to Team Malawi and we scheduled a Skype Conference to discuss the developments. Here's how the call went....

Expectation: Everyone will be face to face to talk about project without having to travel hundreds of miles which is obviously easier.
Reality: We all have jobs/university courses/guiding units to run as well as our own lives! Finding a day and a time we could all be free at the same time is not the easiest process but we managed in the end!

Expectation: We'll all be able to see each other so it will be easier to communicate.
Reality: Hilarity. Video feeds frozen in unflattering poses, my terrrible slow wifi confusing everyone, Alicia's wifi dropping out half way through 'popping to the shop' and Laura's feed sounding like she had a dalek over to tea. We got through it and it was lovely to see the rest of Team Malawi's smiling faces but I think we need some more Skype practice!

So through much giggling and shouts of 'what'? and 'Are you all still there?' We found out our news which is...

TEAM MALAWI HAS CONFIRMED FLIGHT DATES AND TIMES!
&
TEAM MALAWI HAS CONFIRMED PROJECT AIMS & OBJECTIVES!

What this means essentially is that we've taken some large steps forward overnight and armed with our new knowledge we'll be spending the next week thinking about how to tailor our training to the project aims and how we want to spend the time we have after project.

We have a good old fashioned conference call next week and we'l be discussing everything in more detail but until then... 

TEAM MALAWI LEAVE IN 22 DAYS! 

So if you'll excuse me I'm off to have a packing related panic....

Much Love
Team Malawi x x 

Third Briefing Has Been and Gone!

So the Team Malawi blog has been a little bit quiet lately what with everything going on so we thought we'd take some time to catch you all up!

Wayyy back at the beginning of June, which feels like a very long time ago indeed, Team Malawi met up at Rhiannon's Mum's House in Usk, Wales for the third and final time before we all head off on project! Here's a quick round up of what we got up to!

Friday night got off to a pretty late start with everyone heading in from their own corner of the UK. We were almost a team member short after on unlikely GOLDie's car was broken into overnight and was fixed just in the nick of time to make it to briefing! (Thank you Simon from Autoglass you hero!) By the time we were reunited there was just time for some food, a quick catch up and then it was into bed!

Day 1 got off to a later start than we were used to at briefings and it was a much better night's sleep with comfy beds and pillows and no door slamming in the middle of the night! Little luxuries! After a lovely communal breakfast in the sunshine it was straight to work. Rhiannon and Laura headed off to sort the official Team Malawi bank account while the rest of us put our heads together to compile a list of all the songs and games we've ever heard, learned and played in out guiding careers to use as energisers and ice breakers while on project. Because our project country changed from Zambia in the early stages of the GOLD process we're a little bit behind some of the other teams and don't have our final aims and objectives so we put the training plans on hold and made team building activities the name of the game starting with some tent erecting!

After lunch and a jaunt out in the countryside we settled back into project prep and summed up what we'd learned at second briefing about our individual team roles. It's important we are all able to help each other and step into each role if someone is unwell. It was great to hear how excited everyone is about their specific roles! Next up was kit list chat which made it all feel a little bit more real. Discussions were had on what to wear, what to bring, what not to bring and what to carry it all in! Rhiannon had some great tips about bagging complete outfit into zip lock bags and swapping them around each other's bags and hand luggage in case someone's bag goes missing! A meal in a local pub rounded off Day 1 nicely and Team Malawi went to bed full and very excited for project!

The next morning it was straight back to work with a full on session about risk assessments. It's scary to have to think of the worst case scenario but reassuring that we have a plan for everything that could possibly go wrong! A couple of the other teams have sent us their team badges so we packaged up badges for all of the other GOLD teams before getting to my favourite part of the weekend! Keeping everyone in the team upbeat and motivated is really important to us and so we've decided on a 'Happy Post' project. Everyone decorated their own envelope (we get very excited about colouring in) and we'll use it to send each other lovely messages while on project!

After that all that was left was to clear up and say our goodbyes! The next time Team Malawi see each other we'll be checking into the hotel in London THE DAY BEFORE WE FLY!

Much love
A VERY excited Team Malawi!

Meet the Team - Laura

Last but definitely not least, it's the lovely Laura!

Name:

Laura Strutt

Age:

27

Where are you from:

Woking, Surrey

 

Role in Team Malawi:

Treasurer

What section do you work with:

Brownies and Guides - occasionally Rainbows and Rangers

Why did you apply for GOLD:

I wanted to give back to an organisation that has helped me so much over the years. Both my parents are handicapped, so I grew up as a young carer and school was awkward - to say the least!  But in Guiding, it didn’t seem to matter. I had (and still have) support if I needed it, but otherwise I was treated the just same as everyone else and that has allowed me to grow as a person and define myself.

 

I found out about GOLD from another leader; her daughter had been on a project some time ago and she believed that it would be the sort of thing I’d be interested in and benefit from doing. It took me a couple of years to seriously consider applying, and it was only once I’d started my commonwealth award, and started looking into international Guiding, that I finally took the leap.  

 

What are you looking forward to most about GOLD:

There’s so much! The adventure aspect is particularly exciting – visiting a new country and experiencing a new culture. But if I had to pick one thing, it would be the opportunity to make a real, meaningful difference by helping to get girl’s voices heard. 

Is there anything you're nervous about:

I’m a little nervous about the whole thing, as it’s all so new to me! However it’s probably the responsibility and expectation that I’m most anxious about – I don’t want to fail or let anyone down, especially not the rest of the team.

Describe the go for GOLD weekend in one word:

“Welcome!”

Meet the Team - Rhiannon

We couldn't forget our illustrious leader! Rhiannon was on project in Zambia in 2014 and returns to GOLD as leader of Team Malawi!

Name:

Rhiannon Thomas

Age:

27

Where are you from:

Usk, South Wales

Role in Team Malawi:

Leader

What section do you work with:

Guides and Senior Section

Why did you apply for GOLD:

I applied for gold for the opportunity to make a difference while challenging myself

What are you looking forward to most about GOLD:

I am looking forward to travelling to a new country and helping guiding and the people there

Is there anything you're nervous about:

Flying, it's a long way

Describe the go for GOLD weekend in one word:

Intense

Meet the Team - Alannah

Next up - Alannah, Team Malawi's first aider extraordinaire!

Name:

Alannah Smith

Age:

27

Where are you from:

Plymouth

Role in Team Malawi:

First Aider

What section do you work with:

Brownies and The Senior Section

Why did you apply for GOLD:

I really wanted to do a new challenge with guiding. I've been on so many amazing adventures already and I didn't want that to stop because of my age or other commitments. GOLD seemed perfect for me, a chance to go out and do some good as well as testing myself!

What are you looking forward to most about GOLD:
Being able to go away with an amazing bunch of girls, working together to create something which will impact positively upon others.

Is there anything you're nervous about:
I'm worried about the flying! I really do hate it. The rest seems alright in comparison, a feeling of get the first hurdle done and the rest will follow.

Describe the Go for GOLD weekend in one word:

Intense!