Day 10

Visited the orphanage in Mtunthama to deliver gifts before the long journey home.

We went to All Saints Mtunthama Anglican Orphanage in Kasungo East (the orphanage covers an area of just 32,000 people). It currently looks after 82 children.

We arrived at 7am just after their breakfast of porridge evidenced by lots of porridge fingers and mouths! We were greeted with big smiles and joyful singing that filled the whole building. We met 7 babies and 32 toddlers along with many older children who had to leave for school for 7.30am.

We met and held babies Elizabeth, Rose, Abi-Nellie, Joanna, James, Joseph, Anna. Twins and triplets whose mothers had died during childbirth. We gave bubbles, pipe cleaners, colour pens and colouring in for the yound children and were shown the nursery and bedrooms. In the bedroom for 6-9 year olds there weren't any mattresses. Many of the children were wearing Christmas outfits and many were in ill-fitting or threadbare clothes.

Elizabeth and two other women run the orphanage; they were clearly doing the very best they could with the very little that they had. The children seemed very happy but many craved contact and cuddles, it was very hard to leave them behind knowing that it was very unlikely they would not be adopted and still in the same rooms for years to come.

Breakfast at St Peter's House: porridge with honey and scrambled eggs on toast. Tea

Departed in the van for the long journey home....

Van: Mtunthama - Lilongwe Airport: 1.5 hours

Connection: 3 hour wait at Lilongwe Airport

Aeroplane: Lilongwe, Malawi - Addis Ababa, Ethiopia: 4 hours

Connection: 5 hour wait at Addis Ababa airport

Aeroplane: Addis Ababa, Ethiopia - London Heathrow: 8 hours

Connection: 2 hour wait at Heathrow airport

Coach: London, Heathrow - Exeter Honiton Road: 3.5 hours

Home in time for the school run and work at Dawlish College on Thursday morning.