We spent many days trying to get hold of Tanya Clarke who is
the head of Build Malawi. It just seemed her phone number would never work and
we would pass through Mzuzu without getting to meet her and see the work she
has done in the area. I found out about Build Malawi through her cousin Paul
Clarke who runs the Great Football Giveaway. He told me it would be definitely
worth a visit to see what she has achieved there. He was right.
We eventually got the number and arranged to meet Tanya at the project the next day. The project’s main aim was to build a school in an under developed area to help support the many children who had to travel really long distances every day to attend the nearest school. So Tanya, through sheer determination, hard work and the kindness of others was able to build Chipala School in Chipala village. We drove up some pretty scary roads to get there but once there, we were astounded by what she had managed to achieve. It was a brand new school with a library, working toilets and dedicated staff. We walked round each classroom (some of the classrooms had been built by older students!) and spoke with some of the teachers.
We then interviewed Tanya about what inspired her to do something like this (she was part of the Great Football Giveaway team that travelled through Malawi) and how long it took to achieve. We also found out that they have just been given permission to build a brand new sports field behind the school which will host football, netball and volleyball teams. The funding still needs to be finalised but after seeing what they’ve achieved so far, it shouldn’t take too long. We then gave the headmaster some footballs which he gleefully received (he literally started dancing with the caretaker!) and said goodbye.
It was great to see how much can be achieved if you feel so passionately about something. Work still needs to be done but i’m sure Tanya will make it a success. She wanted to leave behind a self sustainable school which would need less and less help as the years go by. She really isn’t far from making this a reality. Please visit www.buildmalawi.org to read more about the work of Build Malawi and to contribute to this and further projects.
Andy
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