Day 2: Another humbling day in Chitala

Post by Oriana Galardi-Este

Another overwhelmingly humbling day in the Chitala village on day two of the water tower installation. The second our van pulled into the village, the throngs of children we had befriended yesterday greeted us with their heart-melting, beautiful smiles, shouting “Addie! Addie! Oriana! Oriana! Natalie! Natalie!” – I swear this is what celebrities at home must feel like when they step out onto the red carpet. I don’t think anyone has ever been that excited to see me. The love and pure joy these children feel for us is palpable.

Ladies help Natalie tie her skirt

Touching Ori's hair

We spent the morning helping dig the trench leading up to the solar powered water pump that was installed later on in the day – a mattock and a shovel – two tools I became very well acquainted with when digging my own trench connecting my house to its well in North Carolina. Same activity, same tools, and the same deep red clay. And yet two completely different experiences – how does one adequately express the humility one feels when working towards getting the first reliable source of clean water to a village of 12,000? A village where the children fight over our empty water bottles, just so they can have a container to fill with their currently brown-tinted, coliform bacteria-filled water? A poignant reminder of just how easy we have it over on our side of the pond.

While digging the trench, a beautifully dressed woman walked up to the site – Honorable Jessie Kabwila, a Salima district Member of Parliament – who had caught wind of our project and wanted to learn firsthand how it worked. This incredibly bright woman who earned her doctorate in Philosophy back in the US, was standing in the mud with us asking us all sorts of inquisitive questions: How does the water system work? How is it powered? Once it’s installed and working, what happens when it needs maintenance? Do we train local villagers so as to make this a truly sustainable system? When we pointed to the two local men who were helping with the installation and being trained, she then asked if any women were being trained as well, reminding us of Malawi’s equal opportunity gender equality law. Mind blown.

Sam with the Honorable Jessie Kabwila and staff

Once the trench was dug, Addie and I walked through the village surrounded by our myriad sweeties, as they fought over who got to hold our hands. Gracious, Martin, Jenny, Gavin, Marvelous, Clement, Ishmael, Nume…..too many to name here….all marched through the village with us, showing us their local tailor, fishmonger, vegetable stands, and little shop stalls – while intermittently begging us to take more pictures of them, fascinated with our cameras and seeing themselves on the screen. In the background, No Woman No Cry played on the village loudspeaker.

A walk through town

The village tailor

A clothing shop

The grand finale of the day was watching the water tank being raised up onto the 30 foot platform. The whole village gathered for this, everyone anxiously watching on, mouths agape. The second the tank was lowered onto the top of the platform, cheers erupted – all the children started dancing, screaming with joy, singing, and I swear my heart exploded with joy. The word that best encapsulates this trip so far, is ‘humbling.’ The juxtaposition of the village’s extreme poverty with the children’s unadulterated pure joy and zest for life has left me re-examining my own life and way of being in the world – and the feeling that continues to linger about my being…..is gratitude. 

Water tank is set on top at dusk

Children celebrate with us when the tank makes it to the top!