Some People Really Know How to Celebrate

Well our team is all home now, but we have a few more posts to complete our story.

On Friday we had the privilege of returning to the site of our first tower in Chitala and participating in the village celebration and official district commissioning of the new safe water system. They really know how to commemorate an important event with personal contributions from the heart. Many people from the community found creative ways to express their gratitude for the clean water. There were children who performed skits that reflected conversations they had undoubtedly overheard at home. Some of the children played the part of the “adults” struggling to understand and commit their limited resources to the project when they were already so busy just surviving. (I don’t have time to dig ditches. I must be farming.) One child played the part of the “adult” who—seeing how beneficial it would be—encouraged and educated others.

There was a primary school teacher who sang about his thankfulness that they would now be spared from the ravages of cholera.

These ladies below wrote a song in Chichewa for the occasion. Patricia with Water Mission sat beside me and translated. They are offering a very warm welcome to Water Mission ("wah-tah-mee-sho-nee") and thanking them for the new water. They recall how others had come and promised them clean water, but they hadn't followed through. They sing about the skeptics in the village who said the project was next to impossible and (as they point at the sky) that it would be likelier that the sun would change its course. They finish by saying that they are glad Water Mission proved the skeptics wrong.

This boy read a poem in English thanking Water Mission for safe water that would eliminate the “devil diseases”.

We were impressed by how long the children sat quietly in the hot sun and
listened, while we--the honoraries--were in the comfortable shade of a tent.

A series of speakers addressed the crowd including Water Mission staff, the Honorable Jessie Kabwila, Member of Parliament (“MP”) for the village, Chief Khombedza, the Traditional Authority, and Richard Chiunjiza, the District Council Chairperson for Salima. All expressed their appreciation for the life giving water that Water Mission had brought and for doing so in a way that empowered the community—training local staff to operate and manage their own system and providing instruction to all community members on proper sanitation and hygiene. They encouraged villagers to accept responsibility for maintaining the system so that their children would still be enjoying the benefits 20 years from now.  They also really emphasized the importance of accountability and transparency of the local safe water board who would handle funds for the community.

The charming MP Kabwila launched a celebratory dance (of course, what else?) which breathed new life into the crowd.

There was a ribbon cutting ceremony at the water treatment building and a great big group toast at the tap stand adjacent to the primary school where plastic cups were filled for all, hoisted in the air and guzzled happily.

Ribbon cutting--L to R--Nixon, Doug, Chief Khombedza, District Councilman Chiunjiza, MP Kabwila and Ellis

Craig plants a tree.

The final act was the planting of about 6 or 7 acacia trees. It’s the dry season, so it wasn’t advisable to do more. We have heard a lot while in country about the problem of deforestation. The tree planting was a symbolic gesture to represent investing for the future.

It was an incredible day—witnessing this life-changing event come true for these beautiful people who had embraced us so kindly. We are grateful to Doug, Nixon and the Water Mission Malawi team for pulling this together so quickly so that we could share in it.  It was the perfect end to our adventures here.

We've made a lot over the kids because they are just so precious, but really I think we'd all agree that just about everyone we have met in Malawi has been quick to smile and eager to know us and welcome us.  Their faces and their hearts are open and their faith and joy is abundant and bubbling over.  It's infectious.  There have been many impressions made on our hearts that we will not forget, not the least of which is to love each other easily and to live thankfully.

Some of the incredible friends we have made from the Water Mission Malawi team
L to R--Missy, me, Ori, Isabella, Evelyn, Addie and Patricia

Thank you to the new family that we acquired practically overnight.