The Hearing for Humanity team has enjoyed a wonderful weekend at the Mayoka Village Lodge in Nkhata Bay. The lodge sits on the hill overlooking Lake Malawi and the view is spectacular. We ate well and some took swims in the lake did some snorkeling and walks in the village to take pictures and buy souvenirs. This was a much needed break after our hard work at the Karonga School for the Deaf and the Karonga Hospital. We saw incredibly sad cases of severe middle ear pathology that were so involved that the hearing loss was maximum, the drainage was thick and smelly, and even with treatment the hearing loss will be permanent. Every ENT in the USA should be required to do a rotation at a hospital in Malawi! It was a long drive from Karonga to Nkhata Bay and we arrived around 4:30 pm. Along the way we saw baboons and enjoyed beautiful scenery of the lake and the surrounding country side. The food at Mayoka is really good so we had a delightful dinner and in the morning enjoyed banana pancakes. Our morning was relaxing and we were happy to have internet again. Our bus driver, Nelson, had a mishap with the bus key (shut the key in the door and broke it in half) and had to catch a taxi to Mzuzu to get another key made. So, we hung around the lodge and took a walk to town. Peter and the ABC students then surprised us by finding us in town and we all piled into the bus to drive to the Khande township. Along the way we passed the Bandawe School for the Deaf where I hope to have a clinic next year. Our destination was the Mphatso Children's Foundation and to meet Robyn Casey who founded this organization. It is a remarkable place with more than 12 nursery and preschools and feeding centers. The place was filled with smiling children who were very healthy due to the food and educational stimulation that they receive at this center. Mphatso is located right on Lake Malawi and the ABC students and kids at the school had a rowdy game of football (soccer). The children were also super excited to have their picture taken and we couldn't even see Jenn because she was surrounded by so many kids on the beach. More information about Mphatso can be found on their website: http://www.mphatso.org. The center employs 60 people from the surrounding villages. As Robyn explained, 1 wage can impact 40 people; so the reach of this foundation is wide and very significant. After an afternoon tea we had the good fortune to be given a tour of the Makondwa Village by Poniso a young man who lives in the village with his wife and two children. Poniso showed us the Cassava fields and explained how both the roots and leaves of this plant are eaten. We saw the process of soaking the roots, chopping them and laying the Cassava out to dry. It is then ground to a fine flour and used to make nsima. The chief's house in the village had electricity and only one or two other houses. The rest had no electricity. We then headed back to Mayoka Village for a lovely dinner and bed. This morning we again had a delicious breakfast and hung out enjoying the lovely scenery. There were monkeys in the trees and they may have been given a few of our bananas. We are headed to Embangweni today but will stop to visit Liz and Bill Ottaway, expats from the UK who help provide services to the Bandawe School for the Deaf. Our next few days will be very busy testing hundreds of children at the Embangweni School for the Deaf and the primary and secondary schools. Likely there will be no internet access for the next week.