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| Cycle for Change Malawi A cycle ride across southern Malawi to raise funds for self help programmes and generate awareness about the country. We explored every worst case scenario. Malaria, heat stroke, deadly potholes, mad drivers and even madder rabid dogs were some of the hazards we prepared for. We spent many months planning, poring over detailed maps and corresponding with numerous contacts 'on the ground'. Finally it all became real the day we made contact with our brand new mountain bikes, kindly supplied free of charge by a Lake Malawi Tour operator. Our group of six began cycling from Blantyre, Malawi's largest town. It was shrouded in chipironi, a damp cool mist that rolls in during the winter months - 'the warm heart of Africa', can be distinctly chilly in the southern highlands during June, July and August. We headed south on the M1 - a road recently resurfaced to European standards by the Italians. Gliding smoothly along wrapped in fleeces and without a mosquito or dog in sight, we began wondering what all the worse case scenario exercises had been about. What little traffic there was slowed and gave us a wide berth. Obviously the fact that we were a group of mzungu (Europeans) dressed in Lycre and having strangely shaped hardened heads helped slow inquisitive drivers down. We were greeted with bemusement by the many people going about their daily rituals. Women, carrying huge piles of wood on their heads or squatting at the roadside selling tomatoes found us particularly entertaining. Many pointed and collapsed in hysterical laughter at the sight of western women in cycle shorts and on bikes. Until the mid 1990's, when Dictator Hastings Banda was finally toppled from power, a law forbade women wearing anything which showed their knees. We were soon into the tea region of Thyolo, the region in which I had spent my childhood. The area still had that familiar green carpet of foliage, levelled by the tea pluckers who pick the freshest top leaves for fermenting and drying to produce 'tea leaves'. But the area looked wider and emptier without the many trees and patches of thick African bush that I knew as a child. A population so heavily dependent on firewood has decimated Malawi's forests leading to a serious deforestation crisis. The population had trebled in my 25-year absence to around eleven million. With HIV/AIDS now at epidemic levels, and infecting an estimated 15% of adults aged between 16 and 49, population growth is now stabilising. It is the worst form of population control imaginable. One of the major benefits of organising your own ride aiming to benefit the country you are cycling in is that you encounter, visit and stay with so many interesting people. You get to learn a huge amount about the issues, customs, culture and lifestyles of different people in the country. Also people have a natural interest in what you are doing and are inclined to offer support because you are demonstrating a commitment to the local community. We were also able to visit the programmes that our fundraising supported. These included Chisomo, a street children programme in Blantyre, providing church primary schools with basic equipment, funding a maize mill for Phalombe hospital and helping to fund education and reforestation programmes organised by the Wildlife Society of Malawi. We stayed in a huge range of places from a nurses' hostel at Phalombe hospital and a church floor to a general manager's bungalow in a tea estate at the foot of Mulanji mountain. We also experienced luxury-tented accommodation at Liwonde National Park on the banks of the vast Shire River where hippos munched loudly and contentedly just feet away from the tents. It didn't all go as smoothly as that first day out of Blantyre and even our best-laid plans could not prevent a few scary moments. We were once encircled by a group of youths who shouted and jeered at us as we struggled desperately to fix a puncture. Luckily, this seemed more out of pure fascination than due to any intended malice, but we felt highly vulnerable. We also had two eerie night ride experiences. Night falls alarmingly quickly after sunset and on both occasions our spirits sunk as rapidly as the setting sun as we realised we would not make our destination before darkness. There are few streetlights in Malawi, none outside the main towns. Vehicles frequently travel without lights but don't seem to reduce their speeds to compensate. Bike lights proved invaluable in terms of road safety, though they drew much unwanted attention: flashing red lights caused a real stir! On both occasions we became hopelessly lost and provided an ideal target for those who would have liked to relieve us of the weight of our panniers. Reports abound about the increases in crime and the breakdown of law and order. But the adage about the friendliness and helpfulness of Malawi's people still rings true. They went out of their way to see us safely delivered. The heat and mosquitoes couldn't be avoided forever either. They appeared later in the trip as the Malawi winter gave way to the power of the African sun and we dropped in altitude from the southern highlands to the plains around Lake Malawi. From September to December Malawi heats up until the rains finally offer some relief from January to May. There were also dirt roads of course. However, most of these were in remarkably good condition - especially for cyclists. Although many were potholed and 'corrugated' making it tough going for vehicles, they often had smooth edges levelled by continuous bicycles passing over them. We returned our bikes to Njaya Lodge from where they had come, eco-tourist operation based at Nkhata Bay on the northern shore of Lake Malawi and we enjoyed three blissful days and nights by the beach. After three weeks and 330 miles we cleaned, serviced and finally bid farewell to our bikes. We reflected on the many challenging, moving, uplifting, frustrating and simply incredible moments of this unique experience. The hundreds of women and children that we passed carrying the most extraordinary loads of water, firewood and other essentials on their heads. The children and staff of St Andrew's school in Ulongwe who waited for five hours (during school holidays!) until we passed along the road, ran to greet us, invited us in and sang songs they themselves had composed, in order to thank us for the very limited help we are able to offer a school in such desperate need. The long haul up Zomba mountain (we cycled all the way!) through lush indigenous forest and the exhilarating seven mile free wheel back down again. The anger and despair felt at seeing ancient trees which have provided villages with shade for generations, hacked down to sell as timber for as little as £5, or because the village has become so desperate for firewood. Cycling through Liwonde National Park with the strict instruction: if you meet elephants, turn back immediately! The prolific bird life of Liwonde, pointed out to us by our personal ranger Danger (no really, Danger the Ranger!): Fish Eagle, Lillians Love Bird, Redbilled Oxpicker and Trumpeter Hornbill to name but a few. And the hundreds of cyclists we passed (or who passed us!) and who shared our journey along the roads and tracks of Malawi. Through the staggering generosity and support of so many people whose imagination and commitment we managed to win we raised a total of £20,000 and all the money went to programmes in Malawi. In spite of AIDS and famine and many other hardships facing the people of Malawi, the warm heart of the people, battling against the most appalling odds, still shines through. One day, reminiscent of a biblical story, while cycling along a dusty dirt track we met a blind man named Bartholomew, who was walking slowly using his stick to guide him. We got chatting to him (he was clearly very educated and spoke very good English) and asked him how much further it was to Jali. He said, "I would say this, it is not so very near, but also it is not so very far". This is true of Malawi itself: although it is a long way away, Malawi is not far enough away to be forgotten. We share the same planet and the same humanity and if we accept that fact there is so much we need to do for Malawi. Equally there is very much we have to learn from it. Andrew Bell A starter kit for planning a charity cycle ride in Malawi or other parts of Africa
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 Setting off from Blantyre  On the road to Phalombe  New found friend!  The bikes take a break on the Shire River  Looks like another puncture!  Joining in the wedding party on route!  Resting from the persecuting midday heat  End of the road. Loading bikes onto buses to be returned to base. |
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