11–19 July 2026

Malawi 2026

Jersey · Habitat for Humanity build

Malawi is called the warm heart of Africa. Twelve of us will be there for a week, on a build with Habitat for Humanity. Muli bwanji means hello.

Pack list Flights

Photo: Lake Malawi shore · i_pinz, CC BY-SA 2.0

The place

Where we're building

Makambwe Village sits on the edge of Lilongwe, in Area 27. About 6,200 people live there. Most have built their own homes with whatever they could find: iron sheets, offcuts of timber, mud. The sanitation isn't reliable. People can be asked to leave the land with little notice. That's the day-to-day.

We'll build a three-room house and a separate latrine. The house goes to a family from the village, identified by Habitat Malawi through their partner programme. We don't know who, and we don't need to. Names and family details stay with the field team. That's their safeguarding call, not ours.

Our build is one house. The programme is wider. In Area 27, Habitat Malawi has been working through the Home Equals Project: helping families get land certificates, training them in safe-shelter practice (PASSA, a seven-day community course), running savings groups so people can finance their own upgrades, and building disaster-resilient homes alongside local volunteers. Eight districts in total in 2024. Nationally, more than 130,000 families have partnered with them since 2014. We're one house; the rest of the work is what we're contributing to.

58.9% of Malawi's 4.8m housing units are substandard (Habitat, 2018 census).

21,000 new homes needed every year for the next decade.

130,000+ Malawian families partnered with Habitat since 2014.

Flights

Tickets and times

All four flights with BA and Kenya Airways. There's no online check-in. Meet at Jersey Airport check-in, 08:30 sharp, on Saturday 11 July. Allow a bit of extra time at Heathrow for assisted boarding and the long-haul gate change.

Outbound · Saturday 11 July → Lilongwe Sunday 12 July

All times local. † arrives next day.
Leg	Route	Depart → arrive
1	BA1347 Jersey → London Heathrow	Sat 10:35 → Sat 11:45
2	KQ101 Heathrow → Nairobi	Sat 18:25 → Sun 05:00 †
3	KQ756 Nairobi → Lilongwe (Kamuzu)	Sun 11:15 → Sun 12:30

Return · Sunday 19 July · home by 20:35 the same evening

Early morning. Lights out by 22:00 Saturday.
Leg	Route	Depart → arrive
1	KQ739 Lilongwe → Nairobi	03:30 → 06:40
2	KQ100 Nairobi → Heathrow	09:05 → 16:15
3	BA1356 Heathrow → Jersey	19:40 → 20:35

On the plane

Baggage

Hand baggage only is the plan. Lighter bags mean easier transfers, and we won't have lost-luggage stories coming out of Nairobi at 3am.

British Airways

Jersey → Heathrow

Cabin bag: 56 × 45 × 25 cmoverhead, may be gate-checked
Hand bag: 40 × 30 × 15 cmunder the seat

May go in the hold

Under the seat

Kenya Airways

Heathrow → Lilongwe, return

Main piece: 55 × 35 × 25 cmmax 12 kg combined
Accessory: 40 × 30 × 15 cmmax 12 kg combined

Main (in-cabin)

Accessory (laptop / handbag)

The week

Day-by-day

Times in CAT (Malawi, UTC+2). One hour ahead of UK BST. Final timings come from the on-site Habitat team. Bring water; the site gets hot by midday. First day on site? See how to introduce yourself.

Sat 11 Jul☀️ 8–25°C
Travel
Jersey 10:35. Heathrow 11:45. Long-haul 18:25. Sleep on the plane, swap seats a bit, drink water.

Fill out the Malawi health screening form on the plane

Complete the Malawi health self-screening form on Saturday once you have your seat number. Don't do it earlier: the form must be submitted within three days of arrival.

You'll need:

Arrival airport: Kamuzu International Airport
Flight number: 756
Where you're staying: Eden Resort and Hotel, Lilongwe
Sun 12 Jul☀️ 10–25°C
Lilongwe
Land 12:30. Hotel by 14:00. Settle in, swim, walk. 18:00 welcome. 19:00 dinner. Sleep early.
Mon 13 Jul☀️ 11–26°C
Site orientation
07:00 brekkie. 08:00 leave. 09:00 on site. Tool talk, safety, kit up. Light work after lunch. 16:00 back. 19:00 dinner.
Tue 14 Jul☀️ 13–25°C
Build day 1
Full day on tools. Concrete, blocks, hauling materials. 12:30 lunch on site. Same rhythm all week.
Wed 15 Jul☀️ 11–26°C
Build day 2 + women's co-op
AM on site. Lunch, then afternoon at the women's co-op (sewing, menstrual-health). Back by 17:00.
Thu 16 Jul☀️ 10–26°C
Build day 3
Full day on site. By now you've found hands with the local team.
Fri 17 Jul☀️ 11–25°C
Build day 4
Last full day on tools. End-of-day reflection back at the hotel.
Sat 18 Jul☀️ 9–25°C
Dedication
Handing over the finished house to the partner family. Ceremony with the local artisans, shared lunch and a farewell dinner as a team. Timings and details confirmed on site.
Sun 19 Jul☀️ 11–25°C
Home
Hotel by 02:00 for the airport. KQ739 03:30. KQ100 09:05. BA1356 19:40. Jersey 20:35.

On the ground

Money in Malawi

Bring £50–100 in GBP or USD cash. Clean, undamaged notes only. You'll change it into kwacha on arrival; bureaux are strict about rips and marks, same as back home.

Carry

£50–100 in clean GBP or USD notes, to be changed into kwacha
One Visa or Mastercard (debit or credit). Works at the hotel and most shops in Lilongwe, not on the build site
We'll change cash on arrival at the hotel or a bureau in town

Don't bring

Jersey notes. Bureaux won't change them
Damaged or marked notes: no rips, no ink, no tape
Travellers cheques. Nobody takes them

Where we stay

Eden Estates & Resort, Lilongwe

Twin rooms booked, single on request. Pool, decent Wi-Fi, generator backup. About an hour each way to the build site.

Hotel website WhatsApp front desk Open in Maps

Address

Off Old-Airport Road, S117 area, Lilongwe. About an hour's drive each way to the build site in Area 27. Habitat team meets us at Lilongwe airport. Look for the Habitat sign.

Hotline: +265 984 222 332 (WhatsApp same number) · info@edenestatesmw.com

In the room

Towels and soap in the room. Restaurant, bar, pool, gym on site. UK three-pin plugs work directly.

Wi-Fi & power

Wi-Fi works in the lobby and rooms. Mobile data patchy outside Lilongwe. Power cuts happen. Bring a 10,000 mAh+ power bank.

Stay safe

Use the room safe. Bottled water only. Never the tap. After dark, stay in the hotel grounds or in a small group.

Emergency in Malawi

Police: 997. Ambulance: 994. Fire: 999. Eden Estates front desk (24h): +265 984 222 332. For anything sensitive, use the HFH Ethics and Accountability Line.

Ground rules

Safeguarding and conduct

The full Habitat briefing is on the orientation Monday 13 Jul. These don't change. Read them once, and again before the build week.

Photos

No photos of community members, children, or families. Group shots at the dedication are agreed in advance by Habitat. If in doubt, ask the Habitat team lead before you raise the camera.

Gifts and money

No gifts, sweets, or cash to community members or the partner family directly. Anything you'd like to give goes through Habitat so it doesn't single anyone out.

Site clothing

Steel-toe boots, trousers or knee-length shorts (volunteer preference), long sleeves, hard hat on the build. No alcohol on site. Bring high-SPF sunscreen; the build is sun-exposed.

Personal contacts

Don't share your phone number, email, or socials with community members, even casually. The friendship lasts longer when it has a structure.

Photos and stories

Partnership first. We're a hand-up, not a hand-out. Photos and captions centre the local builders and the Habitat team. Not the volunteers.

If it doesn't feel right

Please inform the JOA team leaders and the Habitat for Humanity lead if the issue is around volunteers. For anonymously reporting any concerns regarding the project, HFH staff members, contractors, or community members, use the Habitat for Humanity Ethics and Accountability Line. Concerns are recorded, not penalised.

All team members complete the HFH safeguarding training as part of pre-departure. The JOA pre-departure brief covers it in more detail.

Links

Official resources

What to open before you fly, what's open when you land, what to refer to back in Jersey.

Programme partners

Travel

Travel advice

In Chichewa

Phrasebook

A handful of phrases that'll get you through the week.

Greetings

Names and who you are

Practical

Daily and weather

Greetings and farewells

Daily routine

Emergency

Phonetic guides are approximate. Ask the Habitat team or any Chichewa speaker to confirm in person.

For a fuller Chichewa phrase list with more categories (romance, wishes, hotel, restaurant, shopping), see Languik: Chichewa to English translator.