“We Skip The Problem by Creating Our Own Solutions” W.K. ~ Malawi Day 3

An inspirational day only Malawi could bring

It’s Easter Sunday! We spent 4 hours in church today. This village has been building a new church for 4 years now. My sense of this is that they do as much as finances allow and then stop until they can afford the next stage of the project.

This new church will be several times larger than the one that we were in today and the space is well needed. There were people in the doorways, the aisle and even outside but that didn’t lessen the energy of the service.

Church ladies on Easter Sunday dancing and singing.

There was singing and dancing so lively that it was impossible to keep still.

The congregation was a mix of Catholic and Anglican, and from our group – a few Jews as well. Everyone was smiling and truly enjoying themselves including the children who behaved themselves in a way I’ve yet to see American children be in church. Six year olds held two year olds and no one seemed the least bit fidgety.

Easter doesn’t come with egg hunts or baskets but I passed out jellybeans later in the day as a bit of a nod to how we do it.

Best of all we went to see William Kamkwamba’s house in Wimbe, Malawi. This is the man who, as a young boy, built a windmill from cast off bicycle parts and junk yard finds. I had read his book The Boy Who Harnessed the Wind several months ago so was exited that I got to see the actual windmill and William’s home.

Williams second version of his windmill. This provides electricity for his village, which they’ve never had before

“We skip the problem by creating our own solutions.” ~ William Kamkwamba

Brian and Don, two of the doctors I was traveling with, holding William’s original windmill

One of the posters for the museum

We met his father and cousin who set up a museum (in the family home), named for William, featuring the windmill he created.

I rode on the roof of the K2-TASO van and could see all across the fields to mountains in the distance. The people here speak constantly about the rains having come this year and how happy they are to have a good harvest. The view from the roof was splendid proof of this.

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