Here We Go!

After months of hard work and preparation, the time has finally arrived. Today, Sam and I are beginning our long journey to Malawi. I have just dropped off Sam at Glasgow Airport; he flies out in two hours time on a KLM flight and will arrive in Amsterdam this evening. My own flight leaves tomorrow morning; we will meet up in Amsterdam and will then travel to Johannesburg, South Africa, together. The following day, we embark on the final leg of our journey; we are due to arrive in Lilongwe, Malawi on Thursday afternoon. On arrival, we will be met by our new colleagues from ‘Joy to the World Ministries’ and drive to the villiage of Dzuwa.

“Education is the most powerful weapon which you can use to change the world.”
Nelson Mandela

In Dzuwa, there is a desperate need for a secondary school and JTW plans to build one! When’s it’s built, the young people of Dzuwa will be able to continue their education beyond an elementary level; the school will give them far greater opportunities and choices than they currently have. We have a large container full of quality books (donated by the people of Oban and Inverness) and are now in a position where we can realistically resource a secondary school. Now all we need is the building and the staff – no small task. However, we are working hard to put these in place and hope that the new school will be open for business next year.

But of course, the school isn't our only enterprise - we intend to open the best book shop, coffee shop and Internet Cafe that the nearby town of Kasungu has ever seen! I will tell you a bit more about this in our next blog - hopefully by then, I will have learnt to make a decent cup of coffee!

All in all, Sam and I have an amazing journey ahead of us and I very much hope that you will share it with us. Hopefully you have read our previous blogs; as you know, this site was created specifically so that we can keep people updated with all our news – the highs and the lows - the good and the bad – the successes and the disappointments. We know that we face many challenges but we also know that we are taking the love and the good wishes of our friends (yes, Sam has friends!) and family with us. So jump onboard and take a deep breath – it promises to be quite a ride!