Some Links...

Just checked out the World Renew Malawi site and found that both Nancy and Peter posted in the last couple days:

• "Success Attracts Success" by Nancy Njunji Kimani
• “Pongono, Pongono” by Peter Timmerman

Last Day: Moving Forward - Notes from Heather

We have had a great time here and it is difficult to believe that our visit is almost over. Today we are meeting in Lilongwe with the development committee, a few of the folks from Kamanzi, some Nkoma Relief and Development staff and World Renew staff to begin making plans for the future. 

The Kamanzi folks along with the development committee are meeting right now in small groups to identify areas of need. Yesterday Peter Timmerman, the Regional Director of World Renew led a workshop in Kamanzi to identify the successes and the fruit of the projects that have been going on.  It has been very good for us to hear some of the benefits that have come to families through the projects we are supporting. Many of the families who have received goats or soy and ground nut loans have used the increased income to pay for their children's secondary school fees, or to improve their homes. There are a few entrepreneurs who have also 'invested' in small trading enterprises to increase their income even more.

These are some photos of the last day of meetings:

How the Youth of Kamanzi see their Village

During our Rapid Participatory Rural Appraisal, we put a couple cameras in the hands of 8 young people and told them to take photos of what brought them joy. These are the best 30 photos from the 140 that they took:

Cape Maclear on Lake Malawi

After six long days in Kamanzi, Lilongwe, and Nkhoma, our little team spent a couple restful nights and one full day on the shores of picturesque Lake Malawi. We parked ourselves at a resort in Cape Maclear in the southern part of the lake, about 3.5 hours drive from Lilongwe. Richard, the accountant at World Renew, kindly accompanied us on the trip.

When we weren't bartering with local artisans, we relaxed, journaled, read, ate, and took an afternoon boat ride to Thumbi island. Ken and Zaak snorkelled among the famous cichlid groups - the worldwide source of these freshwater aquarium fish; with about 500 species of cichlids, we would see new ones at every turn.

Then we went to the east side of Thumbi where our Flamingo, our captain, called the fish eagles and tossed small fish into the lake so we could watch them come screaming down and grab the fish in their talons. Rockin!

Sunset allowed for some silhouette pics.