Hello all! I don't have time to write much as I am in Lilongwe with little funds and very slow internet connection. I left Village Africa about 12 days ago now and am missing it immensely - the community, the school and, most importantly, the children. I hope that we made enough difference in the three months that we were there. It's hard to imagine them all playing and singing outside my house without being there to join in! I am now in Lilongwe in Malawi. We...

A typical day in Milingano I usually get up at around 6.30am but have been lying awake for at least an hour prior to this - the housegirls arrive at about 6am to start sweeping the ground (why?!), the cockerel begins to crow at around 5am and a radio begins to play at a similar hour so sleeping in is not an option! I emerge sleepily from my room, eyes half-open, squinting into the sunlight and am accosted by the housegirls who precede to test me on every Kiswahi...

Well, yesterday was my birthday and it seems like a poignant time to look back at the last year and take stock. On this date one year ago, I was a trainee lawyer in a city law firm and now, here I am, volunteering for a charity in a remote village in Africa. It has been a volatile, interesting and extremely challenging year but, suffice to say, I am happy. I care immeasurably more about the education and living conditions of the children of Milly and Yamba than I...

Another great fortnight for me out in Tanzania. I just wish that time would slow down a little! Rob arrived a fortnight ago to spend a week in Milly with me, which was just wonderful. The villagers were, as always, delighted to welcome another Mzungu and he was given a typical Milly welcome of singing and bum wiggling! He spent the week helping to build two new classrooms for the school here, which I think he found hard work and exhausting but, nevertheless, rew...

Blog entry number two! This week has been quite eventful because, firstly, I have had worms and, secondly, there was an earthquake! It all sounds much more dramatic than it is! I started to get stomach pains last weekend and was very tired and emotional, so I was carted off to the health post and diagnosed with threadworms. Fortunately, these are very treatable and I am on the mend now. Secondly, the earthquake- well, I don't think it was exactly high on the Ric...