8th June 2019

Milan-Rome-Addis Ababa-Lubumbashi-Lilongwe-Balaka … this year the door to door lasted 27 hours. And here I am again finally. The smells of Malawi are breathed as soon as you exit the airport and it is a breath of oxygen. The same one I wait for every year.
The journey took longer than usual but the important thing is to be arrived.
And immediately the first unexpected event of this year: there is no drill! It must have already arrived the other night to leave today with the first excavations but … bearing broken!
Under repair in Blantyre. I roll my eyes and smile. I will never be able to understand that any planning here is doomed to fail. It is the first day, you certainly cannot get angry with the Indian already. But it is a story already seen last year, so it is better to call him immediately to tell him that I have a plan B: if he is not here by tomorrow, I will change supplier. It must have, or at least should, have worked. He calls me back and it seems that the team will arrive here in Balaka at night and tomorrow at 6 we can start. We’ll see…
In the meantime, the day still brings its fair share of emotions, especially in the morning when we go with Agostino and Kamanga, or rather Douchet (from today I must call it that) in Ngalitche, the village where last year we built a well in memory of My Dad. Last year, the week after the inauguration, a boy was born in the village. Matteo was named as a gift for me. What more can I say… I went to meet him and thank the mom for the great gift she had given me.
The rest of the day we made the inspections to the villages where we planned the excavations, checking that they had all the requirements to do them. While we were carrying the concrete that will be used for the base of the wells, the people of the village, hoe in hand, prepared the ground for the well. Many parties upon our arrival, songs and dances awaiting the big event. It is all ready. Now let’s wait for the
auger , otherwise … plan B. Welcome back to Malawi.

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