Malawi Day 06: Livingstonia

Sunrise over the rift valley far below us and smoke rising from morning fires. It is not cold. But people settled up here to escape the heat of the lake.
Mushroom Farm it as self sufficient as it can be and our breakfast is of local fresh eggs and home made whole meal toast and honey.
Today will be special for Marie. Livingstonia is where her great grandparents, Malcolm and Marie Moffat, worked and her much-adored grandfather was born. Also born here were the twins, who sadly lived but one day. Marie hoped very much to find their grave.
Our driver, MacDonald, drove us the 10 km to town and introduced us to Shiwa, the museum caretaker. This kind lady guided us around town: the church; the museum; the hospital and finally, the cemetery. As a local and of the local tongue, she was able to get the proper permissions.
Down a muddy road, the unkempt cemetery lay among trees and tall grass. A burial was taking place. We held back while Shiwa approached to seek approval from the elder. All good, we started looking around. Our hopes were not high. Many graves were overgrown and headstones buried.
The local men became curious, asking for whom we were looking. Marie and I were beating a path through the long grass and more and more despondent. A commotion around a gravesite. “Moffat, Moffat”, we hear and scramble over. Unbeknown to us, the men had unbeen digging around looking for the grave site. They had uncovered the headstone: “In Memory of the Twin Daughters of Marie and Malcolm Moffatt Born July 24th 1903 Died July 25th 1903”.
There was much excitement as they fetched water and washed off the soil and they stood aside as Marie approached and the celebration turned to quietness as they stood with Marie in her moment.
And sharing this moment with the local people was, for Marie, profound and the memory and the connection and the deep spiritual connection she feels with Africa. I held back a sob.
More Africa tomorrow.Read more