Catholic Women's Organisation, Balaka

Our home for the week while working at Kapalamula Primary School was the Catholic Women's Organisation, Balaka. The cost for the entire week for the two of us, including two evening meals was only £35!!  What a deal.

The room itself was absolutely fine. Very clean with lovely hot running water. The showers in Malawi tend to be either tiled or straight concrete. We bought some cheap flip flops to allow us to stand in the shower comfortably.We did have to remember to have a shower in the daylight as again, this toilet did not have a light in it and it was a little hard to see when only using a head torch (rested on the back of the toilet pan of course!).

Corridor to our room

We ate twice at the CWI for dinner and were given a typical meal of rice or nsema (a staple food of Malawi) It is corn maize that is ground and then cooked into a paste. It is white and looks a lot like very firm mashed potatoes. Malawians eat it twice a day! They combine sema with some meat and usually cooked vegetables (often times cabbage or shredded pumpkin leaves). Malawians use their hands to roll the sema into a ball and use it like a scoop to enjoy the other side dishes. We used knives and forks as usual. 
One evening we decided to walk to Zuc, another lodge nearby. On the way there (dusk at about 5:30) we were followed by a group of exuberant youth who enjoyed cat calling and shouting at us.  We were slightly uncomfortable but relaxed a bit while chatting with some other diners while having a drink.  A lot of the people who stayed at CWI or Zuc worked for NGOs gathering data on projects or volunteering. It was interesting to hear there stories.  The walk home was fine in the pitch black with head torches at the ready.  Both Mary and I were absolutely overwhelmed by the amazing night sky which was filled by bright stars and constellations.