Landed in Lilongwe!

So I have arrived in Lilongwe Malawi, the Warm Heart of Africa, and since landing a week ago it’s been an exciting week kicked off by my first dog bite within 24 hours of landing!

The first morning here we all packed up and rode Wagga style through the streets of Lilongwe in the back of the LSPCA ute to run a Spay & Neuter clinic in one of Lilongwe’s poorer suburbs, Kawale. When we got there, a dozen boys were waiting with their dogs – the numbers grew steadily throughout the morning though until we had to turn some away and tell them that we’d be back next Tuesday.

Key point to note: Malawian dogs aren’t Labradors. Sometimes they bite. Especially if you’re coming at them with a needle (yes, I even got to do some injections!). It’s not like there weren’t warning signs from the dog in question – the child gingerly holding the dog’s leash, the emphatic shaking of his head as I asked him to help me unwrap the chain from around its legs, and the sharp intake of breath when I reached out to do it anyway. Thankfully the dog had already had a skin-full of sedatives so the teeth didn’t actually pop my skin and I was saved from another five rabies shots….It was with a certain sense of satisfaction that I dropped his testicles in a bin five minutes later.

On Wednesday and Thursday I got to accompany Joe, our Education Officer, on a trip to Kawale School to talk to the kids about various animal welfare issues. The kids were amazing and really enthusiastic about the ‘Chicken Lesson’ when they were asked to come to the front of the class and demonstrate how to carry a chicken. They loved the prizes of sharpeners and pencils and I’m sure all will get put to good use, since the schools don’t have desks or chairs let alone a surplus supply of materials for the students.

We went back on Saturday for ‘Farm Day’, when kids were asked to bring along their animals for our vets to have a look at. A few classic moments – the kid with a wheelbarrow full of chooks and ducks who fell over and spilled his load, followed by much laughter from the other kids. And a boy with a bucket full of rats, including one with a pierced ear?!

While Richard, the LSPCA vet, and the other volunteers got down treating the animals, I got down to some serious business of my own – blowing bubbles with the kids. I’m convinced that I had way more fun than any of them but it was brilliant to see how excited they all got about it. And what I loved most was that amongst the riot of the ones shouting ‘Me! My Turn!’, there were others holding up smaller kids so they could have a go too.

Though it is a bit bizarre to see them attending school in the world’s clothing cast-offs - one girl carrying a chicken in a mesh and velvet evening dress and a skinny seven year old with huge teeth wearing a big ‘Hunk of Burning Love’ tee.

But my first week wasn't all bubbles and bollocks. I even managed to squeeze in some play time including a few beers with the other volunteers at Mbuyo Camp and a night of clubbing. The DJ was pretty dire but it was brilliant to boogie to some African reggae, although my bum just didn’t match up to some of the mamas shaking their thang on the dance floor.

So that’s it from Lilongwe this week. More tales of animal mayhem to follow, so stay tuned. Until the next update, tsala bwino (stay well)!

Much love,

Meegs x