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The Njaya Family
The Office
The Office come
first not because they are the most important but they will probably be the
first people you meet upon your arrival. showing you to your chalets and
making sure you are comfortable.
 John Mahango from Thekero village
in Rumpi district aged 39 has worked at Njaya since 1998. John is the day
manager at Njaya and you will always find him in his office at reception
scribing over the books that the antiquarian accounting system at Njaya
requires.
Married to Eunice and they have two children a boy and a girl
as well as caring for 2 orphans.
“I first came to Njaya in 1997 when I was doing a placement
from college”
The Barmen
The Bar come second not because they are the second most important
people but this is probably the next place you will visit after climbing up
those lovely stone steps after going to your chalet!!
These boys are the friends of all of you and will keep the bar open until you
are ready to leave! You’ll be amazed how each of them remembers everyone that
has ever come to Njaya and if you have been to Njaya before, they’ll know
your name.
Since the arrival of mobile phones in Nkhata Bay these boys spend most of
their time texting their friends from all over the world. If you want to
party then speak to them they are always up for a quick trip to the town and
will guide you around the bars and discos!
 Gilbert ‘Giblet’ Mafunga
aged 27 is from Bwelero Village he has worked at Njaya as a Bar man and also Night
Manager since 1993 and was one of the first ‘children’ that we met, hard to
believe now 10 years later he is still with us! He has a little girl called
Lucy.
Gilbert famously visited the UK in 1998 and I will always
remember dancing with him at the ‘Dogstar’ in Brixton and he was wowing the
crowd with his dancing while I shuffled along then suddenly a girl approached
him and said: "Aren’t you Gilbert from Nkhata Bay?"
Gilbert enjoyed his time in England but couldn’t understand
why we have covered all the grass in concrete!!.
 Andrew
‘Android ’Kajekette is from Luwazi village Nkhata Bay aged 27. Andrew has worked
at Njaya since 1995. He is one of the trusty barman and is married to Emily
and has one daughter Launcy Paula thoughtfully named after Njaya’s owner
Paul.
“Njaya has shown me the future, as now I have got a house. It
has taught me how to be good with people and my best memory is the millennium
party and all the people that came from around the world”
Andrew is a real fixer and always able to mend anything
electronic with a bit of wire and African ingenuity
The Kitchen
The Kitchen deserves a lot of respect. How they manage to
deliver consistently good food with sometimes limited ingredients still
continues to amaze us! The Roast dinner on a Sunday has become a thing of
legend, the full English breakfasts famous all over Malawi (and even
mentioned and photographed by a particularly enamoured visitor on the net!)
and the Honey Roast Pig at Christmas and mince pies was on a par with any of
our mother’s!
 Richman
Salima is one of Njaya’s chefs and is aged 28 from Bwelero village.
We met Richman in 1993 when he used to do beach barbeques for tourists and he
has been a chef at Njaya since then. He is married to Edina and has two
children.
‘Njaya has been helping me for a long time – I have a built a
house and I have learnt much about cooking. Njaya sent me on a cookery course
in 1998.’
 Honest Nyirenda
from Chikale village aged 29 has worked at Njaya since 1993. Originally one
of the ladies assisting the builders she is now one of the chefs at Njaya.
Married to Danford Nyirenda she has 4 children. She is typical of the hard
working stoic ladies of Malawi, despite what the men will tell you without
whom the Africa would grind to a halt!!!
‘Njaya has allowed me to help my family I am able to pay
school fees for my sister and all of my children.”
 Conas
Phiri from Bwelero Village age 33 has worked at Njaya since 1993.
Originally employed to carry water and sand from the beach during the building
of Njaya in 1993 she is now one of the Housekeepers, so you know who to see
if you need anything in your chalet!. Married to James Phiri the cook Conas
has 5 children.
‘Since working for Njaya I have been able to look after my
family and my parents and I can afford school fees for my children. I am very
happy here’
 Emerida
Emerida arrived in 1994 from Chombe near to the rubber
plantation and is a kitchen helper.
The Waiters
What can you say about the waiters! Dixon the Arsenal fanatic (ask him
about his signed letter from the Arsenal team, Dave the Special Brew fanatic
and Simon the small retired fanatic but still the most photographed man at
Njaya! The waiters do much much more than just deliver your food as I am sure
you have all found out!
 Dixon
Phiri from Thowolo in Chinteche aged 33 has worked at Njaya since
1994. Dixon is renowned for his passionate support of Arsenal and his always
smiling face! Dixon is married to Dorothy they have 3 children. Always to be
found in his arsenal shirt normally with a radio pinned to his ear, Dixon
still has the best smile of all the Njaya staff.
My best Memory of Njaya is the millennium party that we had
here, there were so many people and we all worked so hard but we also really
enjoyed it. The Biggest change that Njaya has made to me is that it has
allowed me to watch the premier league football every week on the TV!”
 Dave
‘Special Brew’ Ngwira is from Nyungwe in Karonga District
aged 37 and has worked at Njaya since 1993. Dave is married to Grace and they
have 3 children. Dave is best known for his occasional fondness for the local
hooch Kadamsana. Ask him about the night he lost his trousers. If you in the
mood for it just ask him and he will introduce you to the delights of this
firewater but at your own peril!!
“Njaya has meant many things to me, it has allowed me to look
after my family and decorate my house. Millenium was my best time at Njaya we
had so many customers and my best memory was meeting my wife who was also
working here”
 Simon
Mwenda is sadly now retired but still deserves a mention. He is 65
and around 4 foot tall. He has possibly featured in more visitors photo
albums than you can shake a stick at due to his total charm and fondness of
the ladies.
The Housekeepers
In the west we take for granted washing machines, hoovers, and
other electrical appliances that make life much easier. Without these at
Njaya, the housekeepers do an amazing job, cleaning, sweeping and washing. If
things take time, just remember that these ladies work incredibly hard and
have to do everything by hand.
 Katherine Gondwe joined the Njaya staff in 1995 under very unfortunate
circumstances. Her husband Stan Gondwe a mild mannered book keeper at Njaya
died after drinking some of the local hooch kuchassu that had been made using
fertiliser.
As she had no way of supporting herself and her children she
turned up at Njaya a few days later and took a job in the housekeeping
department, and she has been with us ever since. We now also employ her
eldest daughter Nellie who joined Njaya in 2004.
Catherine is famed for her wonderful smile and is a credit to
the resilience of the women of Malawi.
 Nellie Gondwe is
one of the newest recruits to Njaya and is the eldest daughter of Catherine
and Stan Gondwe and she joined Njaya in 2004.
She is the 3rd generation of the Gondwe family that we have employed
and we hope that she will grow with Njaya
 Daniel
Daniel is one of the unsung heroes of Njaya. He joined us at
Njaya as a gardener in 1996 and is now in charge of getting all the supplies
for the Lodge.
If you keep you eyes out you will see and his trusty band of
small boys coming back from the town by car, boat or foot carrying beer, food
and building materials!
One of the best things that has helped Daniel in recent years
in the arrival of mobile phones in the town. As guests arrive all the time it
was often the case thay we would have forgotten one crucial part of the
shopping, so Daniel would often have to set off back to town as soon as he
arrived back. Now we simply send him a text!
The Day Watchmen
Never the most challenging of jobs but carried out with a certain
amount of aplomb by both John and Jonathan. Never the friend of small cheeky
children or the occasional uninvited dog but demons at raking beaches and slashing
grass! Because these guys have always got their eyes on your chalets you are
able to enjoy a safe and relaxing holiday.
 John Phiri
 John Nyirenda
from Dindano Village in Nkhata Bay is aged 68 John is the day watchman and has
worked at Njaya since 1995. John is married to Jane they have 4 children.
You will always see John sitting on his chiefs chair wearing
his trademark wool rasta hat no matter what the weather, somewhere near the
gardens, keeping an eye on everything.
 Mr
Mwenda
Mr Mwenda was our first ever watchman. We were devastated when
he died in 2002. He was the grand-daddy of the beach with a big walrus
moustache and a soft gravely beach. He would rake the sand and look after the
beach day after day, until his health failed him. He had many tales to tell
and would name the different winds that blew across the lake. When he died
his relatives took some sand from Chikale Beach to put in his coffin so we
like to think he’s up there now still watching over us.
The maintenance and building staff
Well what can we say!, without these people Njaya wouldn’t be here. Their determination,
and sheer hard work, helped not only build Njaya but also to keep it
standing!! Building and maintenance are an ongoing process at Njaya, the
rigors of the African elements conspire to make it a bit like building the
Forth Bridge, you just think you have finished and then suddenly realise that
you have to start all over again!!. Now in 2005 13 years after we begun to
build Njaya we are still at it improving and developing the lodge all the
time.
 Manuel
Ngongo from Nkhata Bay is aged 45. Manuel has worked at Njaya since
1993 and was one of the original builders. He is now in charge of keeping the
Ablution blocks spotless and looking after the family of pigs that we have on
the property. A job he greatly enjoys! It always makes us laugh when he sends
a text message to us in London. It usually reads, “ pigs fine, mummy has had
3 more babies…!”
Rabson
Mtonga
 Standwell is
responsible for Njaya’s beautiful gardens. Over the years he has helped to
create lush gardens from what was originally a bare piece of earth. Numerous
species of flora including Hibiscus plants, Coconut Palms, frangiapani trees
and Gardenias have been sourced from all over Malawi and Tanzania and
Standwell will be pleased to tell you the names of every single one. He is
responsible for many of all the hand made terraces on the land and he has
also created many of the dry stone walls you will see around the property.
Best Memory of Njaya;
“Njaya has been responsible for lots of changes in my life, people now know
who I am and that I work at Njaya, the job has also allowed me to travel
quite a lot in Malawi”
Honorary Staff
These are people that have been with us since we have opened Njaya,
never paid to come here but seem to be here more than some of the staff. They
have taught us about the history of the town, about the Tonga people and
educated us about the winds and stories of the lake. The help they have shown
us has been invaluable.
 The
Legendary Mr Spoon never quite an employee but a loveable part of the Njaya
family, He sadly passed away in 2004 and will be sadly missed by us and all
the people that traveled through Nkhata Bay and were lucky enough to meet him
Mr Spoon was famed for his wonderful hand-made spoons, his
favourite phrase “ Kwacha Africa Malawi parties two” after the 1992 elections
will heralded the arrival of multiparty democracy in Malawi. He fathered his
last child at 82!
A famous media celebrity, he appeared in the music magazine
‘Q’ . His wonderful Zulu hymns and dances and unrelenting spoon sales are
greatly missed.
 Mr
Finlayson Nyirenda is a very dear friend of Njaya and the man to turn to if you
are in need if a sugar fix or a diatribe on the ‘local ways’. Aged 72
Mr.Nyerenda began by selling yellow buns but has now branched out into
retailing the finest chocolate money can buy in Nkhata Bay! The saviour of
many a weary traveller in need of sustenance.
An expert in the local history, especially after a few ‘Malawi
Madness Cocktails to ‘polish the brain’ .
If you have time (and lots of it) Finlayson can regale your
for hours on the local history of the village with the most baffling details!
 ‘Ama
Mwenda, not really an employee at all but the wife of one of most
wonderful and now sadly departed Mr Mwenda who was our day watchman of the
beach since the day we opened. He died in late 2002 tragically one day before
we arrived back with his ‘grandson’ Jordan after being away from Njaya for a
year.
Now Mr Mwenda is gone we have instead inherited responsibility
for his wife who now receives a monthly payment from Njaya
 Adrian
Bunting
Adrian came to Njaya for 6 months in 1998 and helped to build
the double storey chalet tucked away on a secluded part of the hill. Adrian, an
old school friend of Paul’s came with the unusual idea of building an
environmentally-friendly building from sand bags. This technique developed by
an Iranian architect in Arizona USA uses the rammed earth technique, which
enables you to build with just sandbags, sacks and a lot of faith.
It caused a lot of merriment with the Njaya Builders when we
started the project but after a lot of perseverance the honeycombed toilet
made from the sand bags slowly took shape. Many years later it still stands
rock solid apart from the occasional replastering and has even been mentioned
in a book about this novel building technique.
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 Paul
Donahue and Bruce ‘Tonga Tours’ Traynor came to Malawi in
1999 and 1998 respectively, Bruce came to run Tonga Tours, a small tour company
that arranged tours for explore worldwide and several successful charity
cycle rides along the lakeshore.
He was also largely responsible for the biggest party Nkhata
Bay ahs ever seen, and is still talked about to this day. ‘Malawi Millennium
Madness’ saw over 85 people come from the UK to Njaya to see in the new year
and over 500 people joined as we danced the night away.
Paul came out to help with the tours and is fondly remembered
by all and sundry at millenium for his wonderful banana yellow nylon Y fronts
that he sported on the dance floor sometime just before dawn!
 George
‘Bayani’ Chirwa.
George has been a great friend ever since the day we arrived
at Chikale, his mother Lucia was the first person we ever employed, and he
and his brother Kumbukani (now of monkey business) and sisters, Jenera and
Irene were always with us in the early days.
George has worked on an off with us ever since, whilst also
becoming a successful fisherman and town monger!
 Giros
Salima
Gyros (brother of George and Richman) works for Monkey
business and is a great example of how tourism can be a great boost to a
young mans life. Monkey business, was started by ex marine Graham ‘Kwacha’
Young in 1996. When Graham left to pursue a life in Menorca in 2000 he left
the business to Gyros and Kumbu. They have successfully run the business ever
since and many tourists have accompanied them and enjoyed their kayak trip up
and down the lake.
  Joseph Chirwa
tragically died in May 2005 from meningitis at the age of 30, but without him
Njaya would not have existed. These pictures of him were taken at Christmas
2004 and show both sides of Joseph. The respectable formal teacher who could
never resist a party!
He was the first person we met in our quest for land when
arriving at Chikale Beach in 1992 and showed us around Nkhata Bay. Joseph
accompanied us throughout the whole holiday and eventually introduced us to
Chief Yadinga Issah Phiri who offered us the land that has now become Njaya.
We are so grateful to him for helping us as we would never have done this
without him.
We were really proud of Joseph, he had qualified as a teacher
and was a doing a great job at Bwelero School and was a loved and now sadly
missed member of our community.
Last time we were at Njaya he said to Claire 'Ama, life is
like an African drum - you never know what is round the corner'. How very
meaningful that is now.
 Paul, Claire and
Jordan Norrish.
We were lucky enough to come to Nkhata Bay on a holiday from London in 1992.
By fate we met Joseph Chirwa who introduced us to the Chief Yadinga Issa
Phiri who agreed to sell us what was a cassava field and has now 14 years
later become Njaya.
We came with a dream that we have been lucky enough to fulfil,
creating a home for ourselves and a business for our amazing Malawian
Friends.
For over 8 years we lived at Njaya. When our son Jordan ‘Issa’
Norrish came into this world in 1998 he spent his first 2 years living at the
lodge and was even crowned an honorary chief of the Tonga Tribe by the
Paramount chief Mankanbira in a moving ceremony in 1999. We now divide our
time between London and Malawi but Njaya still holds a special place in our
lives and there are very few days when we don’t think about it.
Njaya has become almost a living, breathing entity with a whole
community created around it. We are forever thankful to those who have made
this possible and are indebted to the Malawians who have helped us along this
journey.
We hope that if you visit Njaya that you get to meet some of
the wonderful characters and as Mr Mwenda used to say to us……”Mr Paul, why is
it these People (tourists) are so busy they have no time to talk?…..” - think
about it, and try to take a little time to stop and have a chat and hear some
of their stories and you will be richly rewarded.
Jordan’s Gang
Jordan has had the wonderful privilege of living 2 lives
already, one is the carefree life of a small boy growing up in tropical
Africa on the shores of Lake Malawi in Nkhata Bay and The Indian Ocean in
Mikindani and the other is that of a truly urban boy in Brixton London. The
one constant in his life has been his holidays in Africa and his gang of
friends at Njaya. We hope the dual existence allows him to see the world from
both points of view?!
 Zak
Chirwa is the daughter of Lucia and brother of George and Kumbukani,
he was literally a small baby only weeks old when we arrived in Malawi.
Sheeda Gondwe is daughter on Catherine
and Stan Gondwe. They both live within 50 yards of Njaya. They are great
friends of Jordan and count the days for his return on our holidays when they
do nothing but swim and fish in the lake, jump off rocks and drink Fanta and
coke and play.
The Animal Gang
Animals have always been a part of Njaya, from the numerous
dogs and cats, to the geese, turkeys and Guinea fowl, Owl and Pigs and even a
monkey!
 The
Turkeys were bought in 1995 as a treat for Christmas, their names are even
Christmas and Dinner! It seemed like a good idea at the time and we set about
fattening then for Christmas, there was however one problem, we grew to love
them!
From there on there was no way we could eat them so now they
are simply mascots and pets, they wander around like a poor mans peacocks
looking strangely prehistoric and gobbling all over the place.
 Tia
Tia is a Pointer cross Wiemeraner that we bought in Zimbabwe
in 1997. Always quick to adopt a friendly guest and escort them to and from town
she is very popular with the visitors. She’s an old lady now, a little on the
portly side, but still loves a tickle and is never averse to spending the
night in a new friends chalet!. Completely harmless but with a good bark, she
thinks she can hunt but has still never managed to catch on of those pesky
lizards on the beach, but no doubt she’ll keep trying!
 The
winking Owl is Njaya’s Logo - if you are very lucky you will be able to see
the real brown owl that prowls around Njaya after dark and sits high in the
trees above the bar, watching everyone in silence. We first saw it a few days
after we opened Njaya sitting quietly a branch of a Mango tree and since then
it has always been around keeping it’s eye on things and winking
occasionally!
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