I have reached the last day in the warm heart of Africa!
I cannot believe we are going home tomorrow. The time has flown in. Today we finished the last day of teacher and librarian training. In total we have trained around 180 teachers and librarians across our working week.
It has been wonderful sharing good practice and learning so much about the Malawian education system. It is so different to Scotland and there are many lessons that I will take back to my school.
I cannot wait to share my adventure with the boys and girls back home. I have missed them terribly.
We also took a quick visit back to Stella Maris to say a final goodbye to Sister Eunice and Sister Elizabeth and donate some of our clothing. The sisters took us a tour around Stella Maris Secondary School for girls. It has beautiful grounds, We popped into a lesson and sang "the community song" with them. They are wonderful singers and loved dancing with us.
Education for girls is so important in Malawi as only a small percentage of girls receive a Secondary education. It was wonderful to see so many of them working hard in their studies.
One girl, Mary remembered me from the day we went to Mass and took a photo together. She had so much energy and asked me about my life and family in Scotland. I will cherish the moments I had with her sharing conversations and dancing.
Our friends Charity and Francis made each of us two beautiful bracelets, one with our name and one saying "Zikomo" which means "thank you". I will treasure them forever.
This trip has been the trip of a lifetime and truly changed me as a person, for the better! It has been an emotional rollercoaster and a life changing experience. I have learned so much from the Malawian people and made new friends. They are humble, friendly and proud people who have made me feel very welcome. I hope that I can keep in contact with some of the teachers, I have taken some email addresses to encourage our learners in both countries to write to one another when I return home.
We fly home tomorrow morning - I can't wait to see my family and friends and share my experience with them.
For now...goodbye Malawi...Zikomo!!
