Malawi is one of the worlds poorest countries and while volunteering I will be helping to build a school in Ekwendeni, a large town in the northern region. I will be completing a brick laying course before I go and in the mornings I will be working in the community building an extension to the local school. The school is not equipped for the number of children, many who walk from neighbouring towns in an attempt to access education.
I will be volunteering in the afterschool club in the afternoons, teaching children how to play and also promoting sex education as HIV/AIDS rates are very high in Ekwendeni. Many young people are at risk of prostitution as the town is a favourite resting place for truck drivers travelling on the M1 road between Malawi and Kenya.