Friday
June 7
IT WAS our last morning in Malawi and I can say without a doubt that I am going to miss waking up to a beautiful African sunrise every day.
We had a lovely meal with all of the Concern staff in Lilongwe last night. It was great to come together with people who have spent a long period of time working in the country and share our stories with them.
They can all appreciate everything we’ve seen over the last week and to give them some feedback and recognition on the excellent and life saving work that they are doing was extremely rewarding.
This morning we all headed to meet some children from Lilongwe Rugby Club and Bambinos School so that James could play rugby with them.
A few of them had a slight knowledge of rugby before but for James to be able to run through some drills with them was amazing and the excitement was obvious from the expressions on their faces.
James had London Irish rugby jerseys, shorts and socks to give to them and you could see the awe on their faces when they realised that these were theirs to keep.
It once again emphasised how grateful these people are to receive little things that we take for granted and how we should take this on board in our own lives.
We are headed for the airport now and I cannot believe that the trip is over.
I can say without a doubt that it has been one of the best weeks of my life. On top of this being the trip of a lifetime in terms of opening my eyes to the world, I was also extremely lucky to share it with three amazing people.
Eimear and Sarah (pic: Matt Writtle)Eimear, James and Matt were people that this time last week I barely knew but oh how much that has changed in the space of seven days.
We have spent a week together meeting individuals and sharing experiences that we will never see again. I want to say thank you to all of them for making the trip what it has been for me, a once in a lifetime experience. And between ourselves, ‘Paddle… paddle!’
I need to thank all of the Concern team here in Malawi, in particular Stewart and Lillian who we spent a lot of time with.
The moments that I have had have shown me another side of life that I had never thought imaginable. They have opened up my eyes to the immeasurable differences in the world and also the little things that each of us can do to help other people and try to improve life for others around us.
It has emphasised the invaluable work that charities, and in particular Concern, undertake in the developing world.
I am so glad that I had the opportunity to make this journey and I am determined to remember everything and everyone that I have seen.
I have said it before, and will again, if sharing the stories I have heard can strike a cord or motivate someone to get involved and make a difference, then it will have made this whole experience even more worthwhile.
