A MONMOUTH man has returned from a charity trip to Malawi, where he spent a week helping to build a school and looking after orphans.

Malith Madurasinghe, of Upper Redbrook, was one of eight Johnson & Johnson employees who went on the expedition, to a village near the city of Mangochi, thanks to the Open Arms Malawi charity.

"After travelling for 30 hours to Malawi, the mornings were spent in the village helping to build a school for 40 children who are currently taught in a mud hut with no windows and holes in the roof," said Malith. "So when it rains, they get wet."