Day 8, April 15, 2018 Malawi

We walked on the beach tonight. The rain had stopped, the sun was out, and it was impossible to tell the difference between this lake and the ocean. This morning we had watched cows running down the beach with little boys running behind them. Kelly took a wonderful picture (below) that gives you a small sense of just how magical the Malawian landscape can be.

We met our group of women at 9:00 am. We told them to meet us at 8:00 but trusted that Malawi time really meant closer to 9:00 and we were right. We all carried chairs (on our heads) over to the meeting place and continued the sewing that we had started the day before. When each woman finished her kit, we had her cut fleece pads until everyone got the experience and we ended up with enough pieces for everyone to take three home.

These women are disappointed not to be setting up a sewing guild. I am too but there are no machines and very little skill. They want to be able to earn money by forming a new cooperative but we can’t do that without machines to make the kits. I will encourage Keni to get machines for us and work on making this happen for next year

We ended the day with photos of the group holding their kits and of course a prayer, which is how we start and end each session. It’s all said in Tonga and I haven’t a clue what we are praying about. It sounds cool and feels right so I go with it.

Tomorrow we leave here for Kusunga and then Mtuntama after teaching our menstrual management and reproductive health class. It almost feels like going home in an odd sort of way. Jen Hardy will be there when we get back. She’s the women I met last year and lived with for a week. It will be so nice to see her.