Late afternoon I talk to Rowland and he tries to explain his budget and problems he is experiencing every day in his job as Chitipa District Sports Officer. Rowland is a genuine person with real principles and beliefs. He is not really a sports person but has common sense when dealing with issues. His degree is in Business Management. He got this job as District Sports Officer back in 2014 when sports was reorganised by the government in Malawi. His budget for 2018-19 is 4 million kwacha (just over £4000). On paper he has about £350 a month to develop sports but in reality it is usually a lot less after you take off the office electric and water bills, one off deductions at district level for emergencies such as broken vehicles or important meetings. The money is not always sent each month so planning is almost impossible. He told me that 17,000 kwacha a month is deducted just to process his salary of 96,000 kwacha. He honestly told me he had no idea what was in his budget at the moment. Each month the National Accounts Department tells each district what it will be sent and then Chitipa accounts can tell each department. If Rowland wants funds he has to write a request and it takes three to four days to process. It is pretty much impossible to write any yearly plans to develop sports. While I was in Chitipa, Rowland was called to a meeting of all the 26 district sports officers in Lilongwe to discuss some issues that have no relevance to the reality on the ground in the districts. That money came from his budget. There seems like a lot of talk at national level but no funds made available for any action at district level. He said basically my efforts in Chitipa are the only time anything gets done practically and people are grateful.

I heard that Joyce Banda is in town at the airport making a speech. She has been in exile in the UK and South Africa since the ‘Cashgate’ scandal broke in 2010. President Mutarika and his allies had put the blame squarely on her shoulders with enough threat for her to leave the country. She returned a month ago and has since declared her intention to stand at the May 2019 general elections as the leader of the People’s Party. I stand on the rack of a bicycle to get a good look and take a few pictures. A man in dark glasses and a black suit soon arrives asking me which press agency I am from. ‘I am just Andy an old friend of Chitipa’ I say and he smiles and walks away.

John Kayange was the 19 year old runner from the Misuku Hills who had won the MASSA (Malawi School Sports Association) zone, district, regional and national schools cross country championship back in 1999. He was identified as a runner of amazing potential through our MASSA school sports programme. I got to learn of his story since 2000 from Rowland last year because his wife Beatrice is a Kayange from Misuku and knew the family well. I knew he planned to be in Chitipa during my visit. Early one morning we went to find his mother’s house. He was there wearing his Malawi Sports tracksuit proudly. John says it was because of me that he was discovered. There is some truth in that. John went on the represent Malawi in many international races and a highlight for him was the 2012 London Olympics when he was the team coach to the Malawi team of five athletes. He said he had run and come 18^th in the marathon but I googled it and found he was there but as the coach. I think he had run so many races and maybe had gotten a bit confused. He is 38 now and just finished 5^th in a half marathon in Namibia. He had joined the army 14 years ago and is now a sergeant. He was trained as a paratrooper and served as a peacekeeper in the DR Congo. He is such a humble, thoughtful and happy man. It was amazing to see him. His dream is to live in Chitipa after he retires from the army in six years and he wants to set up an athletics ‘centre of excellence’. I would love to help him achieve his dream. We swapped tracksuits and said goodbye as he needed to get ready to catch the night bus to Lilongwe as he was due back in his barracks tomorrow morning.

It was Friday and we had finished a very busy week. Today Rowland and I sat in his office and chatted. I noticed the seven UNICEF boxes were still there. I asked Rowland if we could take a look and see if the kit could be used. He reluctantly agreed and we set about a stock take. The contents had not been used since they were delivered in early 2015. Rowland told me the story again. In 2014 UNICEF had donated ten boxes to each of the 26 district sports offices in Malawi. It was to be used in ten targeted primary schools selected on the basis of school drop-out rates. Each school receive a box but no training. The kit was taken by teachers for their children and used for any purpose that suited. I saw a volleyball net that was used to fix the football net at Kapenda FP School. Rowland was asked to hold some sports festivals at the schools but never did due to lack of funds and knowledge. As a follow up ten more boxes were given to each district. Rowland had opened three and the kit dispersed but still seven remained. I had seen the same boxes and heard the same story in Karonga last year. Wachisa said the ‘E’ in UNICEF stood for emergency but it had been in the office over two years!! Good point from the wise ‘Rasta’.

There were enough handballs, volleyball nets, basketballs, skipping ropes, bibs, whistles and pumps, along with a mountain of UNICEF stationary to hold a practical sports teacher training course. Rowland and I decided we would do what UNICEF failed to do and hold a course sometime in 2019. I just couldn’t believe the things were still there after two years but it really just shows Rowland’s lack of pro-action and sports knowledge to be brutally honest. While we were in the mood we tidied the office. A broken motorbike, two broken type-writers, old out of date medical supplies, a locked filing cabinet and boxes of what can only be described as rubbish need to be thrown away but can’t be until the government organises a sale.

In Malawi people do love a ‘committee’. In Chitipa they have seven committees looking after football. In no particular order there is the Football Association of Malawi (FAM), Malawi School Sports Association (MASSA), Youth Football, Chitipa Utd, Coaches, Referees and Sports Committees. I guessed these committees never communicate with each other. I suggested to Rowland that a ‘Football Task Force’ might be a good idea. It is not a committee but a hand- picked group of the most active in football from those committees who could meet and share news, ideas and thoughts about how to organise football better in Chitipa. We met and those present thought it was a good idea and they gave a lot of examples of confusion and misunderstandings.

I sat and watched Malawi News this morning. The weatherman Noel Banda greeted us with a ‘good evening’. The 2018/19 budget has just been passed with controversy as the MP’s are attempting to pass a bill that entitles them to an 80,000 kwacha daily ‘sitting allowance’. Another story outlines the success of the different types of sweet potato in Malawi. The Tobacco sales are on with a record harvest this year. Farmers are getting $1.78 per leaf this year as total sales exceed 30 million kwacha, still a very small amount for the country’s main export product. General elections are due on May 2019 and there is much political manoeuvring at the moment. President Mutarika has made the English public school educated son of Bakili Muluzi the Minister of Health even though he is from the UDF party. There will be a lot of mergers and alliances made in the run up to May 2019.

Then we find out some more local news that last night a drunk man driving a car through town had crashed into the ‘Peoples’ supermarket sign and killed a 14 year old boy. The boy was from Rowland’s church. Beatrice went off early to the funeral and I went to church with Rowland who did a service to about ten people and twenty kids. Most of the congregation had gone to the funeral. The man driving had been at the football and was in the car with a girlfriend. He was taken into police custody immediately to stop a lynching and to hopefully suffer the consequences of his actions.

That night I said my goodbyes to Rowland and his family. In the morning Wachisa ‘Kingman’ Munkondyia wakes me up at 7 am saying the bus is about to leave. He has a gift for me, one of his old Rasta ‘Jah’ hats. He is dressed in a khaki shirt and shorts combination very reminiscent of Emperor Haile Selassie. I need to find a book on Rastafarianism and learn more. This guy has inspired me for sure. I have a big smile on my face as I leave Chitipa after another amazing visit. I realise that I am probably the biggest supporter of primary school sports in Chitipa and that I must continue to help. In Karonga I spend my last kwacha on some ‘made in Malawi’ gifts, including tea, coffee, peanut butter, ‘pheri-pheri’ hot sauce and a toilet roll. Some great presents from Malawi for sure. I bought a Malawi made blanket to remind me of all those cheap guesthouse nights under those cheap guesthouse blankets. Without a heavy bag I can just walk casually across the border and just smile at the people who want to help me. In Mbeya I check in to the Wema Bar and Guest House. Over the past two weeks the 2018 World Cup in Russia has been playing out. I was a regular at Mkamanga which had a generator. In Mbeya tonight England beat Colombia on penalties to get to the quarter finals.

After last year’s late poisoning I was reluctant of a repeat performance so I searched out Upendo a lady making fresh chapatti and tea for breakfast. Communication is hard here with Swahili spoken and not much English. I eventually manage to get Upendo to cook me some chapatti without the standard oil that people like. Having a haircut proved a challenge but eventually a number one all over was understood. I had a visit from Esther, the Wema bar girl late one night. She kept knocking and knocking and saying something over and over again. Eventually I got into my pants to open the door to Esther who was just in a small towel. It all looked a bit dodgy as her friends watched on but she just wanted the bar of soap that was in my bathroom. I heard lots of giggles after she left. The next day I am up early before sunrise and get to the airport the cheap way. The flight to Dar es Saalam was spectacular with amazing views all the way and a great view of Dar as we landed. I have about fifteen hours until my flight so I walk out of the airport and across the main road. My first stop is for hot spiced milk tea and chapatti just as a massive downpour hits. There are a lot of high priced airport hotels but a man shows me a cheaper one. I get my first shower in three weeks. For lunch I have hot bean stew with cut up chapatti. I am ready for a few beers and relax over three Kilimanjaro beers. I haven’t really seen much fruit lately so I gorge myself on mango, oranges, bananas and papaya. My alarm goes off at 1 am. The small bars and eating houses are just closing as I walk back to the airport.

The sunrise from the plane is beautiful as we follow the path of the Nile River north out of Africa, across the Mediterranean, head over Turkey and land in Istanbul. My journey is almost over but one more challenge waits, that of the National Express night bus back to Alnwick. It leaves late because of traffic in London with two grumpy drivers and a very sick passenger vomiting all night in the toilet. I was just glad it wasn’t me like last year. Give me a crowded African bus with chickens and two to a seat any day!