14.7.04
Sparrow
Even if I didn’t see the crimson sun disappearing behind the horizon, I would know that darkness will fall in half an hour by just looking out of the window and seeing my little sparrow friend settling down on the nail in my open porch wall. He is very faithful and comes every night without a failure. His friend, some kind of a finch, is also there behind the climbing plant. The anxieties of waiting have started disappearing. Will I ever learn that waiting is inevitable here and everything takes time? Probably not. I have to worry always first and then collapse of joy and excitement when everything falls into place and I have actually achieved my goals. That seems to be the case now as well.
Briquettes.
The moulds are ready at the WWF’s Fish Heaven and Joseph has gone to collect them for me. That means I won’t have a holiday at the lake, nor will I suffocate in mini busses. But more importantly, Joseph can see the whole procedure and will be more able to help if the briquette makers have problems. I of course took someone with me last year, but he seems very sluggish and can hardly inject the community with enthusiasm. Unlike Joseph who can almost get a stone moving if he so wishes. Joseph’s charisma will be particularly needed when the time comes for selling the briquettes. And I don’t think this is my typical worrying disease either: people don’t just automatically switch to something new unless it is easier than the previous method or they understand the importance of it. At the moment most people have no idea about the global warming, importance of trees or environment generally.
I have been feeling all along that this briquette project is very important for the area, but now there is even more reason to rejoice as it has produced an offspring: Funds for a new environmental project have been promised by ‘Malawi Environmental Endowment Trust’, apparently because of the existing briquette project. I have to say ‘hallelujah’ like the locals do! Five villages are going to start tree nursery’s and the idea is that in five years time they will have enough firewood for their own use. In addition and until then the briquettes should/could replace the need for wood. This is a small start, but fantastic in the country where the whole environmental thinking is still just a seedling.
Footballs are also here. At long last the customs people have given me the parcels containing them. It is difficult to fully describe the enthusiasm of receivers without a sound effect, but I can assure you that nothing, just nothing else creates such a thrill. Men, women, young and old –they all jump up and down of excitement. It is a good lesson for me who have never quite taken into football. This far I have delivered only 4 balls, so I have 8 excited groups still to face.
Even the zigzag sewing machine has arrived and with two other basic machines (all manual) were delivered to their new homes. The joy was close to the football hysteria and did not leave any doubt in my mind whether they had been a correct purchase.
I just wish that you who have made this possible, could see and hear how thankful and happy you have made these people.