News: September 2005 - Mwaya Beach

MWAYA BEACH

The New Kitchen is Open at Mwaya

Work is continuing at the Lodge and, in August, we were able to move out of the temporary kitchen into the new one. We now have a fabulous storeroom with cupboards and shelves, and a really efficient Dover stove which uses very small amounts of firewood.

Wonderful Hot Showers

For a long time, we have been wanting to replace the old donkey boiler for heating the water for the showers, and we're pleased to announce that a new geyser (also known as the Mwaya rocket!) has been installed. The water is heated using an mbaula and a minimum amount of firewood, and the water is piping hot within 30 minutes and comes out at tremendous pressure. Bliss!

Geoff and Christian assembling the geyser

New Dining Area

The new covered dining and meeting area, which replaces the old bar, is nearly finished and looks wonderful. The new decking should be completed within the next month.

RIPPLE Africa Staff

RIPPLE Africa is employing over 60 full-time staff on all of the projects it is undertaking. Maxwell is settling in well to his role as Manager of the Lodge and is continually learning new skills. Force, the environmental project manager, has achieved outstanding results with the various environmental projects. Frank, the master builder, has taken on a very important role of managing different building projects, not only at the Lodge but also the library, at the primary school and at the Kachere Health Centre. Geoffrey is still working as hard as ever with his happy band of carpenters. Joey Banda, who was taken on to be a coordinator for the various volunteer projects, has proved to be a great asset when communicating with the local community.

We are really lucky to have such wonderful people working for RIPPLE Africa, and they are the ones who are making so much happen.

Volunteers

We have continued to have some brilliant volunteers, and it is really rewarding to receive emails and letters from them after their return saying how much they enjoyed their time at Mwaya. The website is being found by more people now, and we are receiving lots of enquiries for our volunteer placements.