In April 2016 I left Uganda and headed back to England. ‘My African Life’ for now was over. In those ten amazing years I had given and gained so much. In January 2016 just before heading back to England I had the opportunity to re-visit Northern Malawi. It seemed a fitting end to my time in Africa to visit the place where my African adventure had started back in January 1999. I had last been there in March 2001. The trip was truly memorable. The legacy of our work back then was still evident in yearly MASSA secondary football and netball competitions but sadly I was probably the last person to seriously deliver any sports teacher training. This saddened me but also made me believe that I could again have an impact on school sports development in Northern Malawi.

On the trip I met old friends and made new friends in sports. One old friend, Marshall Mwenechanya, the boy from Chitipa Secondary School who had written me a letter of thanks after my first visit to Chitipa is now the General Secretary of Chitipa Utd. One new friend, Rowland Harawa, is the Chitipa District Sports Officer. I really felt that with the support of these two influential people in Chitipa sports I could again make a difference, share skills and maybe change lives. As the sun set over Chitipa back in January 2016 I was convinced that I could again make a positive impact on sports development here.

Back in England I was struggling to find my feet. Between September and December 2016 I was supply teaching and really not enjoying it. There were a few incidents and I was suffering. At the start of 2017 I was determined to sort myself out. I was dealing much better with the supply teaching. I had been thinking about the idea of doing some sports development in Chitipa but was reluctant to commit myself to anything that I wouldn’t be able to achieve. Then in late January I decided that I could do it. I created a ‘GoFundMe’ campaign online and started to raise money. It really focused my mind again and at this point I think I really started enjoying being back in England. I was finding some ‘peace at last’.

Rowland Harawa and I began to communicate regularly via email and Facebook Messenger. I had signed up to Facebook and found it a great way to advertise my project and get in touch with old friends. We set a date. I would visit Chitipa for just over a week between the 4^th and 11^th of July. Cath gave me the green light. I would hold a three day basic football coaching course based on limited resources. The rest of the time I would spend mentoring Rowland in cricket, netball and volleyball.

Rowland would be ‘my man on the ground’ in Chitipa. He was given an ever growing ‘to do list’. I needed reminding as to how Chitipa was organised in terms of primary schools. Thorough information quickly came back to me. Chitipa had fourteen education zones each with a Primary Education Adviser. Each zone had between ten and fourteen schools. Chitipa district had one hundred and seventy five primary schools in total. We hoped to impact on all of them through the project. We decided we were able to invite and initially train forty two sports teachers (three from each zone). Those trained teacher’s would then ‘roll out’ the course to the remaining schools.

We needed to get an initial budget estimated. I managed to find return bus transport/ flights/insurance from Alnwick to Chitipa for £500. Online I found two hundred decent Mitre training footballs for £1000. The air freight would cost £660. Rowland made a budget for the course in terms of transport, accommodation and food for the participants. It would cost about £600. I considered £15 per head to be great value. A contingency of £400 would cover everything else. My initial estimate was that I needed £3200 to successfully complete the project.

By early May I had raised £2600 in total. This was made up of £1500 via my online campaign and £1000 via a donation from The Lion’s Club of Alnwick and £100 from The Rotary Club. Spittal Rover’s FC and Paul Yeadon had donated twenty five football boots. I would have to cover the £800 shortfall myself. I bought the Mitre footballs and along with ten volleyballs, ten net balls, twenty pairs of trainers and various other donated items it was all air freighted to Lilongwe. Rowland was asked to contact the Malawi Revenue Authority, clear the items and get them to Chitipa in time for my arrival. Only time would tell.

Rowland’s next job was to identify three active sports teachers from each zone. Through the Primary Education Adviser’s he was able to select the right participants. He asked the District Education Manager to allow the forty two teachers to attend the course. He was asked to find a suitable venue for the course. His idea was Chitipa Secondary School to accommodate and feed the participants during their stay. On the reimbursement of transport costs we would have to be flexible. I made it clear that no allowances for attending would be paid. As time approached for me to leave I was confident Rowland had organised things well but time would tell on my arrival. I had been busy supply teaching most of the summer term. In my spare time I designed an appropriate course and sent a copy to Rowland. He assured me he would print the manuals and certificates.

I had seven boxes of footballs in my garage ready to go. I took a picture of me next to them in my Malawi, Ethiopia, Ghana and Uganda football shirts. I wanted to publicise my trip and to thank people who had donated. I was using my Facebook page to reach a lot of people who were sharing the posts. Hotmail was a thing of the past. I had met James Willoughby, a reporter at The Northumberland Gazette and he had been keen to write about my project. An initial story outlined my plans with the headline ‘PE teacher to share expertise with those living overseas’. I thought of course they are living overseas. Just before I left a further story read ‘PE teacher set for African trip’ and it thanked all my supporters. I was proud of all the people who had helped me so far and I was ready to go. I found an air freight agent with the lowest quote of £660 for my one hundred and forty kg’s. The rest of the equipment was boxed, collected and gone. I had given a month for Rowland to clear and collect. Again only time would tell.