DAY 9 - Kandie Beach, Malawi

I thought i'd make the most of having the internet connection and tell you about what happened this morning.

We went for what was billed as a village tour. The second we set foot outside the camp site we were mobbed by locals. They were all very nice and wanted to be our friend. A kid called Caesar (apparently because his mother had a Cesarean section) latched himself onto me. The tour took us through the village showing us their well, the food they grow and even into someone's home. It was quite humbling how little they have.

Next stop was the local school. The kids were fantastic. They all wanted to have their picture taken and then to see it on the camera screen. We went into a class room and all the kids sang to us which was really touching. In the school's library the head teacher sat us down and asked us if we wanted to give a donation or sponsor a child. Most did.

Next we went to the hospital, Caesar was still in tow and so were all the cute little kids. We met the doctor and then made another donation.

Up to this point i was feeling really good about it all. We'd seen some pretty tough conditions but the people were all fantastic. However, as we approached the gate back to the camp site the sob stories started. Caesar had many problems i could help with, etc, etc. I'd been expecting that but when we got inside the camp one of the other members of the group told us that when she'd hung back to talk to some of the older kids at the school they'd all told her that the headmaster kept most of the money we'd donate for himself and his family, and any pictures we'd get through the post from sponsoring a child would be of his children. We don't know if it's true or not but it took the edge off it a bit.

It appears it's no coincidence that the only fat people we'd seen were the police and the headmaster himself.

Anyway, I thought i'd write something about the group we're travelling with. There are 16 of us in all and 3 staff (two Zimbabwean drivers and guides, Mani and Mike, and a Kenyan chef, Pete). Most of the other people are British or Irish and largely they're professional types. It's quite hard work living tooth and jowl with 16 strangers and sometimes it's great just to disappear for an evening and do my own thing. No major bust ups yet. I consider myself lucky i'm not on the other truck currently camped here. They're on a 90 day trip and were having a fancy dress party last night. They were all wearing bin liners. Tackarama. All that pressure to be jolly all the time would really get on my nerves.

Rich.