Day one: 'Takulandirani'

Welcome to 'the warm heart of Africa'.

You're probably exhausted after that early morning stop-over in Kenya but Aaron and Paul are here to collect us in their trusty Skywaves bus. They will be taking us to Mabuya Camp where we'll be pitching our tents for the next few days. Unless of course you were lucky enough to bag one of the hippo rooms with a real bed and en-suite shower! But don't worry if you didn't - the pool is very refreshing!

Aaron and Paul have a few words to welcome you with (just over a minute!). This is all a bit experimental so if you struggle to access the clip, please let us know.

And if you'd like to see a few more pictures of the accommodation at Mabuya and elsewhere for our trip, click on the red button below the video.

Day two: the heart of industry

Good afternoon all! Hope you enjoyed meeting the tailors this morning and you have managed to hand in your measurements for some new outfits, Malawi-style.

We will be taking off shortly for Lilongwe market where there will be a wide choice of traditional cotton fabric to choose from. Then, while we are away taking in the many sights Malawi has to offer, the tailors will be busy making up our orders so they are ready for us to take home on our return to Lilongwe next week.

We hope you enjoy Paul's guided tour of Kalengo (all over in 1 minute 32 seconds). This is the industrial sector outside Lilongwe where Malawi's principle exports are produced: tobacco, tea, coffee and sugar cane. We will also see the grain silos for storing the nation's essential food staples, such as maize, cassava, groundnuts, rice and beans.

While agriculture is its primary industry, Malawi is actively developing other sources of revenue to bolster its economy, including tourism, food processing, furniture production and construction. Malawi has one of the poorest economies in the world, but in 2019, before the pandemic struck, it was showing an impressive +5.7% economic growth.

Day three: just the tonic

We think you'll agree that the pizzas we had at Mama Mia last night were the best you're ever likely to have. And sounds like Bill Clinton thought so too when he stopped by a few years back!

Today, we're off to meet Charity Salima at her clinic to experience the more sober side to Malawi. Healthcare provision is about as bad as it can get in Malawi, desperately under-funded, under-manned, under-skilled and over-whelmed. Charity set up Achikondi Clinic with help from good friends in Scotland to bring essential healthcare services closer to the community, in particular mothers and new-born babies.

In this video clip with Paul, she makes it clear just how important ongoing support from organisations like ours is to maintaining these services, particularly through the pandemic.

The Watson's Malawi Partnership also helps Bwaila Maternity Unit with a regular supply of knitted hats and booties to keep the new-borns warm, so if you're fingers are feeling restless, we'd be happy to supply you with some patterns.

And Olivia Giles' 500 Miles prosthetics charity and the community clinic in Mangochi are always keen to welcome the more medically-minded amongst us.

Day four: long, long drive south

Early start this morning, as we pack up our bags and set off for the rather more luxurious Grace Bandawe Conference Centre in Blantyre. Around 400km and six hours drive on a good day, but one of the great things about Malawi is that the main roads are in a good shape and traffic is rarely a problem.

The drive takes us past (loosely) Dzaleka Refugee Camp for women and young people who have suffered conflict in neighbouring regions. It is run by Feed the Minds charity, whose vocational and literacy training programme we support through the school.

It may be a long drive, but as you can see from the video, Aaron and Paul have it all worked out: picnic spot (and loo break), Mozambique border controls, even a spot of retail therapy at the must-have Dedza pottery shop. Great place for picking up some non-wooden souvenirs for the family!

Day five: back to school

Today is about catching up with our secondary school partners. With fewer than 11% of children graduating from primary school, secondary schools are rather few and far between in Malawi and all are fee-paying.

One of the highpoints of our trip is meeting up with the older children who have found a home with STEKA to talk about some of the difficult issues that affect us globally, such as climate change and people trafficking. STEKA provides a sanctuary for vulnerable children and with Scottish charity, STEKA Skills, is now focused on creating a centre for vocational skills and community enterprise to enable young Malawians to live sustainable, independent lives.

However, fees are not the only barrier to attending secondary school as this video with Aaron and Paul shows: too many girls are unable to complete their primary education because of a lack of sanitary products to manage their menstruation.

That's why we have partnered with Trinitas, founder of Tina Pads, to make reusable sanitary pad kits to help keep girls at school for longer.

Day six: chief amongst visits

We have a real treat for you today.

After a speedy drive through the more commercial side of Blantyre, we are dropping in to pay our respects to the village chief. She has been good enough to receive us every year we visit and every time, her official age varies anywhere between 96 to 106. Whatever her age, as Aaron points out, she appears younger every year!

We then continue on to Open Arms to catch up with the four children we sponsor, amongst many others. And as you can see from the video, there's nothing we enjoy more than a bit of a sing song!

What you won't see in the video is the prettier side to Blantyre. This is where the British wanted the capital to be relocated from Zomba in 1975. It's a really pretty place with hilly vistas, some interesting architecture including a huge red brick church built by enthusiasts with no architectural experience and the original headquarters of the African Lakes Corporation. And plenty of good restaurants.

Day seven: magical mystical Mulange tour

We're off to explore the myths and legends of Mulanje where you can find Malawi's highest peak standing.

The drive to the foot of the climb takes us around - literally - a lucky stone known locally as Mwalawanthuzi - or Rock of Shade. Legend has it that despite many attempts by the road-builders to relocate it elsewhere, it would be found back in its natural resting space each morning. Now, travellers tap it with a pebble after circling it three times for good luck - and the road takes a turn around it!

As we embark on the 3,000m climb, look out for ancestral pot - believed to have been used to make sacrifices to bring rain and improved health.

And don't forget your swimming costumes as the brave amongst us might like to take a dip in the Old Man's Pool. Very chilly though - as you have been warned by Aaron and Paul in their video.

Day eight: refresher on reforestation

We're in Zomba today to meet Tom and Petal and experience for ourselves the reason we're all on this great adventure together.

Zomba Plateau was said to offer 'the best views in the British Empire' in colonial times. While the cedar and pine forests have declined since then, the tumbling waterfalls and still lakes remain on this 1800m high mountain.

We'll be taking a walk up to the plateau to see the affects that deforestation is having on the environment and the success that Tom and Petal are having on the south western slopes of the mountain. As you can see from the video - which builds on the earlier message that Petal sent in to us - the impact they have had in just two years is astonishing and shows what can be achieved with tireless commitment, a little funding and a lot of support from the local community:

Our walk will take us along to the luxury Sunbird Ku Chawe hotel where the best views of the plateau are to be found - but at a cost of the most expensive hot chocolates in Africa! Keep your eyes peeled for the long-crested Eagle, Livingstone's turacos, giant butterflies and leopards - there are apparently rare sightings!

Day nine: sunrise over Lake Malawi

Welcome to Lake Malawi, the Lake of Stars: so-called because of the way twinkling lanterns from the fishermen's dugouts reflect off the still waters.

Hope you agree the early morning wake-up call was worth it to see the sunrise over the Lake - just as picturesque in the evening when there's a game of footie a-foot:.

Mangochi, where we're staying now, is one of the poorest villages in Malawi. It's difficult to make a living from fish as the lake has silted up with the soil washed down from the hills around it following the removal of the trees. The area is no longer the tourist attraction it once was but it still provides a great stop-over for our school visit.

Tomorrow, we will visit two of the primary schools we support with reading schemes and teacher training but today, we're off to see the sewing workshop set up by Netty's to support graduates of the Malawi Children's Village schools.

In this second video, you can hear Iam explaining how young men and women are taught valuable sewing schools and given a sewing machine when they leave so that they can set up as tailors, here or more often, in South Africa.

Day ten: who can see a rainbow?

Hope you are all in good voice for today we go back to school to experience early years education in Mangochi.

In a striking effort to help their local community, Thom and Rita have set up local primary schools in Mangochi: Thom's Colourful Classrooms and Bolera Palm Schools. Reading schemes - so essential for paired learning - are in short supply, so we take out any discontinued stock that the local schools in Edinburgh no longer use. Even then, these precious resources have to be closely monitored because ants will demolish them in a week!

So, can you see a rainbow? Thom's kids certainly can as you will see in this video. Or perhaps you too would prefer to sit quietly in the back row with Aaron in Rita's class on the hidden value of rubbish!

We also contribute to local teacher training programmes and more recently, have funded the purchase and delivery of personal protective equipment for all our partner schools.

Day eleven: going wild on safari

Wakey, wakey! Time to get up before the sun rises and the animals go to sleep for the day! You may feel awful now but it'll be worth it to see the extensive range of animals now at home in Liwonde thanks to the government's animal conservation partnership with African Parks.

Once they had managed to rehome an excessive number of elephants to other parts of Malawi, they were able to introduce cheetahs and black rhino into the park to join the lions, zebra, antelope, hippos and a whole host of birdlife. Liwonde boasts a much improved anti-poaching track record thanks to the strong relationships they now have in place with the surrounding communities.

So, fetch your binoculars, hop in the trucks and prepare yourself for some really wild activity. Warning: some viewers may find the following footage a tiny bit racy!

When we get to the less developed Kuti Wildlife Reserve, we are able to walk freely in and amongst the zebras and the waterbuck because there are no aggressive species in the park. We are hoping to strike up a new relationship here to learn more about animal conservation.

Day twelve: it's a goal!

Eight hundred and sixty three kilometres later and we're back where we started, for our last night in Lilongwe.

So, let's just take it easy and head off to the netball pitches for an afternoon of sport. Thanks to Netball for All, there are now two more ladies' teams - Kalulu Queens and the Scores Queens - fully equipped and raring to compete.

Netball for All was set up in memory of Belinda Weller, one of the original members of the Watson's Malawi Partnership and a passionate advocate for netball. They are working hard to include more girls and young people in the sport, in much the same way as WMP does through the sponsorship of football teams in Lilongwe, Zomba and Kuti.

Through this video with Aaron, you will meet members from both teams and watch them score 28 goals between them in three minutes. Over to you to see how these goals are split.

Day thirteen: zikomo chifukwa chobwera!

Sadly, all good things must come to an end and it is now time to bring this visit to a close.

We thank you for coming and hope you have enjoyed meeting all the people and places we now know so well through the school trip.

The enormity of the challenge facing our partners can seem overwhelming but we hope we have shown that a little bit of teamwork goes a long way to relieving hardship and provides a great deal of pleasure for all involved.

But don't take our word for it - here are our tour guides, Aaron and Paul, for the final say in the matter!

Journeying to Malawi - virtually

If you're wondering how we made it to Malawi during COVID, then the answer is we ran, walked, cycled - Strava-style.

Ninety-seven people travelled 21,018km through 15 countries in seven weeks to raise £900 for Zomba TREEZ reforestation programme.