Peter Bath Award

	PETER BATH AWARD
A £750 Grant to a Bournemouth Student to undertake a voluntary project in Malawi

Details of the Award

            Who was Peter Bath?

            Overview/Objectives of the Award

            Previous Winner of the Award

            Timetable of the Award

            Selection Process

            Application Form

Butterfly Project

            History of Butterfly Lodge: Nkhata Bay

            Objectives

            Current Projects Available

            Accommodation

            Location

Malawi

            General Information

            Travel Details

            Weather

            Other Local Activities

Details of the Award

Who was Peter Bath?

This award is in memory of Peter Bath MBE, who died in 2006 having been a member of the Rotary Club of Bournemouth for 46 years, was its President in 1971, and Chairman of the club’s International Committee for many years.

Peter was the son of the founder of Bath Travel, the local travel agent group and founder of Palmair, the local tour operator flying out of Bournemouth International Airport.

He took over the company from his father and built it into what it is today. His association with travel and, through his Rotary connection, his association with the International side of that organisation brings together in this award, his three great interests, including Rotary itself.

Thus, this award has been created to help achieve an important contribution to a local community in Malawi, by a student whose interests reflect those of Peter Bath.

Overview and Objectives of the Award

The Award has been set up by the Rotary Club of Bournemouth to recognise the outstanding contribution of Peter Bath to the Club, to the local community and to the development of communities worldwide.

This drives the other key objectives of the Award; to make a contribution to and help the lives of a community in one of the poorest countries in Africa, and to help in the personal development of a Bournemouth student. By making the Award, the Rotary Club of Bournemouth want to help a student at one of our local schools have a potentially life changing experience by undertaking a project to improve the education or quality of life of the community in Malawi.

The Award, therefore, is to help a gap year student, who will be over the age of 18 at the time of travel, to undertake a project at the Butterfly Lodge in Malawi. A grant of £750 will be made to the selected student, and this can be used for any of the costs associated with getting to Malawi and completing the project.

Whilst the award will not stipulate the need for fundraising, the student may find it necessary to fund the remainder of their costs and for any resources needed for their project. It is envisaged that the student will keep a log of their project, updated with photographs whenever possible.

On successful completion of the project, the student will be invited to the Rotary Club to present their project using their log and to be awarded a Project Completion Certificate, which can contribute to their CV.

Please note: whilst the Rotary Club of Bournemouth have sponsored a number of projects at Butterfly, it is important to note that they are a separate entity and the applicants will need to discuss potential projects and all logistical details directly with them.

Previous Winner of the Award

The first winner of this award was Emma Norris from St Peter’s School. Her successful application was based on going to Butterfly for 3 months to help teach in the Nursery. In April 2011 Emma was presented with the Award at the school’s Success Assembly, and the photograph below shows Emma, Liz Bath (Peter’s widow), and Michael Mitchell, the President of our Rotary Club.

After winning the Award, Emma said: 'Last year I was told about the Peter Bath award, and realised what a brilliant opportunity it would be for my gap year. I am going to Malawi in January of next year for 3 months, and whilst there I am going to be involved with the Chikale nursery school project for ages 3-6 years. I love working with children, and am going to University next September to study Primary Education, so this project was a perfect choice for me. I am looking forward to getting stuck in with the school, and helping in any way I can. I hope to be able to gain experience from everything Butterfly has to offer, and to also bring any new ideas that may help with the running of the school. Winning this award has brought about an incredible opportunity for me, as I would never have been able to do all of this without it. I advise that you take advantage of this fantastic award- it's not every day you get offered an experience like this on a plate!'

Will you be the winner this year?

Timetable of the Award

1. Project Proposal

During Oct/Nov/Dec 2011, it is envisaged that potential applicants will make an outline plan for the project that they want to undertake. They will research the information on this and other gap year websites; they will enter a dialogue with Butterfly Lodge regarding potential projects and timescales; they will create an outline plan covering the project, the timescales, the costs, the resources required for the project and any key pre-requisites needed for the trip, such as injections/visas etc. A key part of the dialogue with Butterfly Lodge will be the importance of the project to their local community and the overall benefit it will bring.

Finally using the information collected, the application form will be completed and submitted prior to 31^st December 2011.

2. Interviewing & Selection

After reviewing all of the submitted applications, the Rotary Club will invite the short-listed candidates to an interview to be held at their school, and these will be held in February 2012. If you are short-listed, we will arrange an interview at a convenient time to last no more than 1 hour. It is envisaged that you would talk for 10 minutes about your project, highlighting its importance to the Butterfly Community and its importance to you (please note we are not expecting a formal PowerPoint presentation). You will need to allow extra time for our questions during your talk or at the end if you would prefer. Finally there will be a chance for you to ask any questions that you may have about Rotary and the Award.

Once the interviews are completed, a selection will take place, following which all of the candidates will be told whether they have been successful or not. The successful candidate will receive their Award at an appropriate school event.

3. Finalisation of the Project

Once the Award has been made the gap year student can start to finalise the details of the project directly with Butterfly. The project can be arranged to start at any time from September 2012, and completed by June 2013; the exact timing being agreed between the student and Butterfly. The Rotary Club would encourage the successful student to fully utilise their time in Africa by visiting other communities and countries after their project has been completed.

4. Project Completion Ceremony

On return to Bournemouth, the student and their Head teacher will be invited to lunch at the Rotary Club, where they will present their project and its outcome, and where they will receive a Project completion Certificate, which can form part of their CV. The log kept whilst at Butterfly and photos taken of the project, will form the basis of this presentation.

It is envisaged that this will take place after the student returns from Africa but no later than June 2013.

Selection Process

The selection process will use the application form together with information from the interviews to evaluate each short-listed student and their project. The evaluation will be based on the following key selection criteria:

a. The value of the project to the community in Malawi,

b. The value of the project to development of the student, and

c. Having a viable and achievable plan for the trip and the project.

The first two clearly follow from the objectives of the Award. The third is important in that it demonstrates that the student has done enough research into both the trip and the project to give confidence that they can be successfully completed.

Application Form

The application form should be printed, completed in ink, and mailed to the Rotary Club of Bournemouth (see the address at the bottom of the form) by the closing date of 31 December 2011. If more space is needed to answer any of the questions, extra sheets can be added with the extra information referenced to the appropriate question. Please note, however, that we are looking for concise summaries rather than long essays in response to the questions.

A pdf version of the form can be downloaded here (if needed, Adobe Reader [free] can be downloaded here).

A doc version of the form can be downloaded here. This version can be opened in Microsoft Word, OpenOffice or Google Docs, and edited with the details of your application, and the resultant document can then be printed and mailed as above.

If you have any problems with the form, please email your enquiry to the address at the end of the form.

Butterfly Project

The majority of the information below was provided by the Butterfly Space. More information is available on their website: www.butterfly-space.com

History of Butterfly Lodge: Nkhata Bay

Butterfly Lodge, in Nkhata Bay, was established seven years ago by an English/Malawian couple. Located in a beautiful setting on the lakeshore, it has accommodation, established gardens and huge potential.

Two English ladies, Alice Leaper and Josie Redmonds, bought the lodge in May 2007. Alice had been in Malawi for over a year, volunteering at a school nearby and filming documentaries on different aspects of Malawian life. Josie had been in Malawi for nearly five years and been volunteering at different community projects, including a school garden project and mushroom growing project. Their idea when they bought Butterfly was to turn the place into something more than just for back packers.

The Concept:

The concept was to develop Butterfly as a unique community space aiming to bring together Malawians and passionate tourists. The founders want to encourage its use as a place for musical, informational, practical and creative opportunities, and hope to attract longer-term visitors who wish to volunteer in projects and community work. This space will also seek to be respectful of the environment and encourage ways to sustain and develop its beauty.

Three Main Ideas:

Community: We want Butterfly to have a positive effect upon the surrounding community, and as such will encourage activities and projects that are aimed towards them and will hopefully provide them with long lasting experiences and opportunities.

Environment: Environmental changes are at the forefront of people’s minds Worldwide and we will seek to develop Butterfly in a sustainable manner, employing appropriate technologies and permaculture principles wherever relevant. Providing demonstrations and information upon any techniques that we use will ensure that these developments can be available to the local community.

Volunteers: We hope to attract longer-term visitors to Nkhata Bay and provide them with the resources and opportunities for them to get involved in positive projects within the community. Whether people want to get involved in the on-going projects, or if they have their own ideas and motivation, there are limited funds available to ensure they can get involved.

Objectives

We aim to make the space at Butterfly somewhere that everyone is welcomed. We really want to empower and give positive opportunities to the people of Nkhata Bay. Relationships between backpackers and Malawians can be quite destructive with tourists coming, swimming and getting drunk, then leaving without any involvement with our local neighbours. This is not something we will be encouraging!

We want to encourage an integrated place, providing opportunities for all involved that will be of an informative as well as of a creative nature.

We already have a small information room on site (working together with Africa Unplugged Malawi), comprising of many different books and magazines from both within Malawi and abroad, and we will look to expand upon this. This facility is free of charge for anyone.

We also wish to have games room for all ages but mainly in the daytime a place for children to come after school. A free space for them to enjoy the games and to be amongst peers. We will have toys, board games and also things like a pool table and table football table, which will appeal to everyone.

This room, and the information room will be the base for a youth club and we will organise other activities and excursions from this part of Butterfly. Objectives include having weekly films and documentaries, and potentially a drama group with semester performances.

After school homework clubs and English tuition can be established, dancing and singing groups, which are also popular in Malawi, can be formed. Sports teams can be sponsored and organised form this room.

Sport is another thing that is of great importance to Nkhata Bay. Equipment is scarce and is something we wish to fundraise for. Basic sports equipment could be brought over and the introduction of new sports could bring new opportunities and skills that may give the chance for travel and competition. It is another great way of bringing people together.

Another building at Butterfly will be a music room. We will have as many instruments in this room as we can and encourage people to come and play. Nkhata-Bay has a great drumming community who we would love to hear regular performances from. To encourage this we will hold an open microphone night once a week, welcoming tourists or Malawians to perform as they wish.

We have had several appearances from friends, and local band ‘Souls of the Ghetto’, who recently won a competition in Zimbabwe which will take them on a tour of Europe. We will encourage in any way possible talented musicians.

Alice Leaper with her 1st class degree in film has been making music videos for some of the local bands, in order for them to promote themselves. This is something she will continue to do. We will also be projecting films and documentaries regularly for education and for fun. This will be the start of a small film library that people can choose from. Media could provide a missing link to learn about other countries, history, news, environment and entertainment.

Current Projects Available

1. Gulugufe Nursery school: Ages 3-6, open 7.30-10.30 Monday to Friday.
Volunteers are welcome to join Zione and Margaret teaching at the nursery school in the nearby village of Chikale. There are about 50 children enrolled, and Butterfly has comprehensive accounts of what work has been achieved up there by the many volunteers.

2. Nkhata Bay Community Resource Centre: Open 8.00am-6pm Monday to Saturday.
The Information centre is located on site at Butterfly and is run by Francis Gamadzi. There are numerous ways in which volunteers can assist, from giving computer lessons, community networking, to environmental demonstrations and workshops.

3. Butterfly Youth Club: Open 2.00pm-8.00pm everyday.
Also located on site at Butterfly the youth club is staffed by Chris Chigamo. Volunteers are welcome to help out in any of these sessions or initiate new sessions in areas, or with certain groups they are particularly interested in.

4. Butterfly Football Team: Training Mon, Wed & Fri 3.00pm-5.00pm, up at Chikale village, under the watchful eye of Willard and Anderson.

5. Butterfly Netball Team: Training Wed & Fri 3.00pm-5.00pm here on site at Butterfly.
Volunteers are welcome to assist or take any of the training sessions, pass on their skills and accompany the teams to games.

6. School gardens: All day any day! Last year we started to develop the gardens around the nursery school to provide nutritional snacks to the children as well as acting as a useful community demonstration in sustainable agriculture techniques and erosion control. We hope to extend the project this year to begin at Chikale Primary school and volunteers are welcome at any point to take this project further.

Accommodation

Butterfly Space offers a variety of accommodation, depending upon taste and budget, and all are offered to volunteers at half price.  Prices below are volunteer rates based on per person per night:
En-suite KW 1250 (<£6)
Chalet KW  800 (<£4)
Dormitory KW  400 (<£2)
Camping KW  250 (>£1)

Butterfly recommends budgeting £4 a night for accommodation and £2 a night for food. The food could be cheaper if local restaurants are used or the student cooks for themselves; there is a simple self catering area at Butterfly where volunteers can cook for themselves, with charcoal provided at a small fee.  There is also space in the kitchen to store food and small charcoal burners for cooking on the volunteer’s balcony.

Location

Butterfly Space is located on the western shore of Lake Malawi, at a position approximately half way up the lake. If ‘nkhata bay Malawi’ is entered into Google, the google map entry will show Nkhata Bay, with Butterfly space on the lake shore.

Nkhata Bay is a small, bustling fishing village about 50 kilometers from Mzuzu. Straddling the steep, verdant mountains of Malawi's rift valley, Nkhata Bay overlooks the lake like a lord overlooks his manor.

The town is home to the Tonga people who are famed for their love of fine dressing — it's common to see older men dressed in full suits with Homburg hats, spats and canes! (source- http://wikitravel.org/en/Nkhata_Bay)

Other useful websites include:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nkhata_Bay
http://www.abroaderview.org/nkhatabay.php (this is a US volunteering website which also has projects in Nkhata Bay)

Malawi

General Information

The Republic of Malawi is a landlocked country in southeast Africa that was formerly known as Nyasaland. It is bordered by Zambia to the northwest, Tanzania to the northeast, and Mozambique on the east, south and west. Parts of the country are separated from Tanzania and Mozambique by Lake Malawi. Its size is over 118,000 km2 (45,560 sq mi) with an estimated population of more than 13,900,000. The name Malawi comes from the Maravi, an old name of the Nyanja people that inhabit the area.

David Livingstone reached Lake Malawi (then Lake Nyasa) in 1859, and Malawi was originally known as Nyasaland under the rule of the British. In 1964, Nyasaland became independent from British rule and renamed itself Malawi.
Malawi's capital is Lilongwe, and its commercial centre and largest city is Blantyre with a population of over 500,000 people.[3] Malawi has two sites listed on the UNESCO World Heritage List. Lake Malawi National Park was first listed in 1984 and the Chongoni Rock Art Area was listed in 2006. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Malawi)

Butterfly list ten key facts:

Capital: Lilongwe
Population: Approx. 15 million
Currency: Malawi Kwacha (MK or MWK), £1 = MK220 (approx)
President: Bingu wa Mutharika
Main Languages: English (official), Chichewa (national), Chitumbuka (Ruarwe) Chi tonga (Nkhata Bay)
Dominant Religions: Protestant (55%), Catholic (20%), Muslim (20%)
International Dialling ode: +265
Rural: Almost 90% of Malawians live in rural areas
Average Birth Rate per Woman: 5.9 children
HIV/AIDS: 14% of the population is infected with HIV/AIDS
Lake Malawi: Listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site

Back to top

Travel Details

Flights to Lilongwe vary in price depending upon the airline used, the number of stops and the times of the week/times of the year. A recent internet search of prices revealed the cost of a return fare being anything from £550 to £900. The following is information from Butterfly. However good research is vital to ensure the best value flights are purchased.

Butterfly: There are no direct flights from the UK to Malawi. The main two airlines that fly regularly to Lilongwe (the Capital) are Ethiopian Airlines and Kenya Airways. The easiest way to fly is with one stop-over, usually in Addis Ababa or Nairobi, however adding more stop-overs usually decreases the cost of your flight. In general, Ethiopian Airlines is viewed as the cheaper option (though at peak times of the year there is less of a difference in price). For those who are not too fond of travelling long distances and prefer to have entertainment onboard, Kenya Airways has a personal TV for each passenger.

To travel to and stay in Malawi you will need to ensure you have an appropriate passport and visa. At the end of the next section from Butterfly is the address of the Malawi High Commission in London where all details can be checked.

Butterfly: A valid passport, with at least six months to expiry date from intended exit date, is required to enter Malawi. If your passport is likely to expire you should get a new one before arriving. Tourist visas, which are valid for 1 month, are issued upon entry and are free of charge. They can be extended up to a maximum of 90 days at any of the immigration offices found in most major towns (including Nkhata Bay and Mzuzu), at a cost of MK5,000 (approx. £23) per month.

Volunteers staying for over 3 months in Malawi have the option of leaving the country for 1 week, after which point they will be issued a new tourist visa upon re-entry into Malawi, which can again be extended up to a maximum of 90 days. There are many interesting places to visit (Tanzania, Mozambique, Zambia, Zanzibar, etc.) but the total costs can be high. The alternative is to apply for a Temporary Residents Permit (TRP), which will cost MK30,000 (approx. £137) for 6 months. These permits can either be organised prior to travelling through the nearest Malawian Embassy or High Commission, or they can be obtained inside the country from the regional immigration offices. This is especially useful if you want to be around more than 6 months as you can expire your tourist options first and then apply for a TRP.

Malawi High Commission; London
33 Grosvenor Street, Mayfair, London, W1K 4QT
0203 235 1077

Please note that tourist visas are only for available for travellers with passports from certain countries (including the UK). Potential gap year students without a UK passport should check the High Commission or the Malawi tourism website (www.malawitourism.com) where it lists those countries, whose passports do not need a visa.

On arrival at the airport, following passport and customs checks, the next step is to get to Lilongwe to stay overnight, with the trip up to Nkhata Bay being scheduled for the following day. The following information from Butterfly describes the options available. As with all details, these should be checked and confirmed with Butterfly before travelling.

Butterfly: If you are flying in from the UK, you will arrive in Lilongwe approximately 15 hours after original departure. It is at this point that you will have to present your TRP, or receive a tourist stamp in your passport that will last for one month before requiring renewal.

In general Malawi is considered to be a safe country where tourists are not at great risk, however in Lilongwe petty crimes and robberies can be frequent so visitors should make sure to watch their bags and carry small amounts of cash.

The currency in Malawi is the Kwacha and though it fluctuates a bit it is roughly $1 – MK150, or £1 - MK220.

Flying into Lilongwe, the airport is quite a way from the city centre, about 25kms. From here you can get a taxi, which up until recently has been the only real option, and this will cost you 4000 Malawi Kwacha (MK), if booked in advance, or MK4500 if taken straight from the airport. Not a bad option if you have had a long flight, and there is no real haggling on the price as they have a fixed fee. Alternatively there is a recent bus service that has just started which runs at a fraction of the cost. I am not sure at the time of writing just how reliable it is and how often it runs, but at the airport you will know if it is around and you can decide from there. Once in Lilongwe, the most popular backpackers is called Mabuya, and all the taxi drivers will know this.

From Lilongwe to Nkhata Bay there are numerous options depending upon your budget, time and inclination, but it is going to take you roughly a day’s travel whichever way you decide. You can travel either the lake-shore road, which is stunning, slower but brings you straight into Nkhata Bay or through the Vhipya highlands to Mzuzu, which has a different beauty, is slightly shorter but means you have to change buses.

The options include a number of different bus companies, which leave at different times and from different places in the city (see details below) or minibus’s which are probably quickest but are slightly uncomfortable and leave when they are full from behind the main bus station. The minibus to Mzuzu takes about 5 hours and costs 1200MK, from here you will have to change and get a connection to Nkhata Bay, which takes another hour and costs 400 MK. You can also get to Nkhata bay the lake shore way, but if you don’t get the direct AXA service then you have to get a number of connecting minibuses, starting with one to Salima or Dwangwa. From either back packers you can walk to the bus station, but if you are going there early morning then it is advisable to get a taxi.

AXA Main bus station
Via Mzuzu 7.00am 12.00pm 10.30pm
Via Lakeshore 7.30am
All priced at 1200MK apart from the night bus which is 1500 MK

Finally it is important to ensure you stay healthy during your stay. Whilst Butterfly and the Malawi tourism website will provide good information, we recommend that you talk to your GP about your trip and ensure you have the appropriate injections before you go and the appropriate medicines (malaria tablets, insect repellents, etc) to take with you.

Back to top

Weather

The Malawi tourism website describes the climate and the best time to travel to Malawi as follows:

For most people the dry (winter) season is most attractive (i.e. April/May to October/November). The chance of rain is slim, daytime temperatures are generally pleasant (in the 20s Celsius) and the low vegetation and limited availability of water mean that game viewing is at its best. However, some of the best bird watching can be had from November to April and the orchids of Nyika are best seen from December to March/April. Malawi's temperatures are moderated by altitude. In the hottest month (usually November) maximum temperatures will be around 30°C. In the coldest month (probably July) maximum temperatures will be in the low 20’s. On the uplands (e.g. Zomba, Nyika and Viphya) it can be quite cold at night. The hottest area, all year, is that at the lowest altitude - the Lower Shire Valley. Rainfall is extremely rare in the dry season and even in the so-called wet season, the rains are usually short-lived storms, as is typical of the tropics, and at no time does the climate seriously inhibit the traveller. Around the country, rainfall varies, with the highlands causing the highest figures. (www.malawitourism.com)

Conditions around Lake Malawi are excellent: hot sunshine with cool breezes. With Butterfly on the lake the climate should be good.

Back to top

Other Local Activities

Clearly many activities could be arranged either before or after the project, and in this part of Africa the tourism opportunities are many and varied, safari, beach, cultural as well as major sites such as Victoria Falls.

However, there are several activities locally which may provide an interest during the project. Butterfly describes the activities locally as:

Nkhata Bay is a very lake based town and so much of what there is to do around is based on this. There is some amazing snorkelling, just off the end of Butterfly bar is as good a place as any, or if you want to go deeper you can contact the dive school. Lake Malawi contains over 90% of all the fresh water fish species on the planet, and Nkhata Bay has a very good reputation with divers (see www.aquaafrica.co.uk).

Alternatively if you want to go on top of the water you can contact Monkey Business, who have an office on Chikale beach, and they can organise a variety of boat and kayak trips heading north or south along the lake shore.

For people wanting to experience the ferry then it passes through Nkhata Bay twice. Early Sunday morning it heads north towards Ruwarwe, and after returning from there on Monday, it heads off in the evening for Chizimulu and Likoma islands, and then further south.

Volunteers should consult Josie, AJ or Ophanuel if they wish to travel Malawi more extensively during their stay. There are some beautiful places to explore, including Mount Mulanje and the Zomba Plateau in the south, Mushroom Farm in the north, and both Chizumulu and Likoma, two isolated islands that lie in Lake Malawi not far off the coast of Mozambique.

Back to top