Dearest Malawi moto,
Malawi, Malawi, how I would visit you today if I was able. You have taught me so much during my short stay. I have learned what I want to be when I grow up. and how to focus on the things that really matter in life. I am so blessed to have met some of your most amazing citizens. You have bonded a group of students who now have a passion to further educate and provide for your people. Thank you for giving me many new friends, friendships that are built on Malawian values. Your citizens have taken us into their homes and fed us, treated us like their own children. Because of you we have learned about the most amazing people and take home their values to share with the people in our lives. Thank you for all of the smiles and high-fives, moments to last a lifetime. Zikomo for teaching me what really matters in life and how not to worry about the little things in life. Your country and people are truly talismanic you have changed 27 lives forever.
Until next time,
Alison Reynolds
Gule Wamkulu
Thursday, July 21, 2011
Sunday, July 10, 2011
I'll Never Say Goodbye
Friday, July 8:
Today was a pretty emotional day, but nearly as much so as I had imagined. We all woke up with butterflies in our stomach, knowing that this was the day we had to say goodbye to our kids. I was all of nervous, upset, sad, hopeful and anxious. What if all my boys didn’t even come to school today? What if I didn’t get to say goodbye to some of them? What if they didn’t grasp the point that I’m leaving, and it’s no longer “tu nana mawa”? Will they understand that this is goodbye for good? Will they understand how much of an impact they have made in my life, and that I would do absolutely anything to give them the best futures possible? So many thoughts and emotions were flooding my mind and heart as we pulled up to the school.
Today was the day that the teachers handed back the exams to their students, acknowledging if they passed or failed the standard. Because of this, almost the entire school was present which made us all so happy as we pulled up to the school. As Katie and I walked into our classroom, the standards were combined again and Odina told us that about 64 students had passed standard 5, and 143 had failed. Is that unbelievable or what? Now I understand why standard 5 is the largest grade at most schools in Malawi; it is the first year that the lessons are to be taught in complete English, as are the final exams. As the exams started being handed out, Katie and I noticed how each of the kids looked like they were about to cry, and it was the one time I think that I witnessed the class in almost complete silence. The teachers explained the numbers of those who failed and passed, and the students faces all dropped. All my boys looked so distraught, especially Brighty, Albert and Raphael. The teachers began handing the exams out, first handing out those who passed and then handing out to those who failed. Katie and I looked at each other in disbelief; can you imagine if this was the system of passing out tests, let alone exams, in America? If your name was called to the front and the entire class knew whether you had passed or failed?
By the end of all the finals being returned, Edward, Chisinsi, Mike and Henery were the only ones out of my boys who had passed (I guess according to the statistics that’s a good amount out of nine). Yakobe, Allfu, Albert, Raphael, Brighty and 138 other students were going to repeating standard 5 again next year. My boys who had passed were all so excited and so proud of themselves, as was I. However, my boys who had failed looked so confused and disappointed, so I tried to comfort them as much as possible and let them know it was okay and I still thought they did a great job; standard 5 is the hardest grade, after all.
When the exams were all finished being passed out, the entire school headed outside for the last school assembly before summer break. The headmaster lead the school in their national anthem, and afterwards everyone cheered and screamed and started running around. I started handing out the rest of my shoes, giving a pair of tennis shoes to Chinsinsi, another pair to Grant, and my last pair to Edward and Edwin (even though I gave them a pair yesterday). I handed out the rest of my pens, and also bags of trail mix to Henery, Edward (playing favorites?), Allfu and Albert. Katie and I then quickly realized that the students were heading home, and they didn’t understand that this was the last time they might see us. We went searching for the ones we needed to say goodbye to, but most of them had already left. I was dragging off the goodbyes, and as we headed to MIE I had Albert, Raphael and Edward walk with me to get the teacher bags we had put together. I then walked back to Domasi for the beginning of our “Farewell Ceremony”, and in my mind I knew that those boys would still be waiting for me when the ceremony was over. I didn’t really understand why I hadn’t cried yet. Allfu, Brighty, Yakobe, Chinsinsi, Mike and Henery had all left. They were gone, and I hadn’t really said goodbye. I think the reason I didn’t cry was because I know in my heart that I will be back to Malawi. I know that I am going to do everything in my power to keep in touch with them through Odina; I will write her letters to hand off to them, I will send them money and pictures, I will constantly remind them that I am here for them and will never forget them. I want to stay with them as they grow up. I want to encourage them to stay in school and try their hardest to get into secondary school. If they graduate secondary school, I will do everything possible to get them a visit to the United States. Whether these boys realize it or not, they will be in my life forever, and I want to be in theirs as well. I think they are too young to understand the meaning of “goodbye”, and the true distance, metaphorically and physically, between the United States and Malawi. All of my hopes and aspirations for these boys is what kept me from crying. I think I justified it by the fact that if I cried, I would be accepting that I will not see these children again, and my work for them is through. However, I am not accepting that fact. I will see them again, and my work has only just begun.
As we walked into the classroom for our “Farewell Ceremony”, there were chairs lined up in a semi-circle and the teachers were all seated at one side. There was a table at the front of the room where the headmaster and Dr. Kelly sat, behind them being the chalkboard with a pretty, written drawing saying “Farewell Ceremony: We wish you all the best when going back to America”. They had one of the teachers be a d.j. and we all danced for a little bit with each other and our teachers. Then, we officially began the ceremony in prayer and John Wesley read an opening speech about how thankful they are for us, and everything that we do for them. The teachers then handed out snacks and refreshments, which was so nice of them; it was the usual choice of Fanta’s but we were all pretty excited when they brought out a little tray of shortbread cookies. After there were a few speeches from John Wesley, Dr. Kelly and the headmaster, it was our turn to step up and speak. One by one, the roommates got up and spoke to their teachers, and then handed them the bag of school supplies that we put together for them. Lindsay and Ashley went first, followed by an emotional Bebe and Alison who began the waterworks, then Anna and Kaitlin, Katie and I, and ending with Emily and Devon. When it was Katie and I’s turn to speak, I decided to just read the letter that I had written for Odina. I never get nervous during public speaking, but for some reason my hands were shaking and my body was tense; I’m assuming from all the built up emotion. As I read my letter, Odina put her head in her hands and started crying, and I could no longer hold it together. I was fighting tears as I read the letter, explaining how grateful I was for having this experience and being welcomed with such open hearts and open arms. I told Odina that her positive spirit was uplifting and I couldn’t wait to see everything that she did for these children’s futures. At the end I told her we loved her and would be writing her letters and sending her pictures often, and then we presented her with her bag and school supplies. We all gave big hugs, and the look in her eyes was so genuine as she told us she was going to miss us so much and wished we could stay forever.
After Emily and Devon gave their speech, the headmaster gave a final speech about the difference we make in everyone’s lives when we come to Malawi, and then he called up McDonald and Odina to present us with our presents. This began the lighter section of the ceremony, for we all knew what the presents were and were so excited to receive our traditional Malawian custom outfits! They presented the gifts in the same way as was done at the orphanage, by dancing slowly up to the person and then placing the gift in their arms or by their feet. After we all received our presents, the lady teachers took us into another classroom and we all changed into our matching Malawian outfits; what a sight it was, and what an amazing souvenir we now have from this experience. The teachers led us, dancing of course, back into the ceremony where all the other teachers started cheering and we all proceeded to dance. (Standard). After the ceremony was officially ended, we all went outside to take pictures with our teachers in our “chisinsi” and tops, and then took a few group pictures. They are absolutely adorable, and the teachers kept telling us how beautiful we looked.
While we were outside taking pictures, Edward, Edwin, Albert, Raphael and Katie’s little Innocent came over and played with us for a while. We took a lot more pictures with them, and tried explaining to them that we were leaving to go back to America and didn’t know when we would see them again. They kept responding with “okay” but I definitely don’t think they understood what we were saying. I handed them some more food, and Katie gave them her peanut butter, and then we waited for the bus to arrive. As we were loading the bus, the boys all came running over, with the peanut butter jar completely empty- it had been maybe 15 minutes since we gave it to them completely full. All we could do was laugh as their hands were covered in stickiness, and their faces globbed with peanut butter. As the bus was about to leave, I held onto all of their hands and told them that I loved them. I didn’t think they knew the meaning of “I love you” in English, but as we were pulling away then screamed, “I love you Kelsey, I love you!” At this point, I knew that I left on the best note possible. I smiled, and cried, on the way back to Annie’s, just thinking about the next encounter I will have with them, and hoping they also forever hold onto the memories we’ve shared. Peace, love, Malawi.
Kelsey Muffler
Today was a pretty emotional day, but nearly as much so as I had imagined. We all woke up with butterflies in our stomach, knowing that this was the day we had to say goodbye to our kids. I was all of nervous, upset, sad, hopeful and anxious. What if all my boys didn’t even come to school today? What if I didn’t get to say goodbye to some of them? What if they didn’t grasp the point that I’m leaving, and it’s no longer “tu nana mawa”? Will they understand that this is goodbye for good? Will they understand how much of an impact they have made in my life, and that I would do absolutely anything to give them the best futures possible? So many thoughts and emotions were flooding my mind and heart as we pulled up to the school.
Today was the day that the teachers handed back the exams to their students, acknowledging if they passed or failed the standard. Because of this, almost the entire school was present which made us all so happy as we pulled up to the school. As Katie and I walked into our classroom, the standards were combined again and Odina told us that about 64 students had passed standard 5, and 143 had failed. Is that unbelievable or what? Now I understand why standard 5 is the largest grade at most schools in Malawi; it is the first year that the lessons are to be taught in complete English, as are the final exams. As the exams started being handed out, Katie and I noticed how each of the kids looked like they were about to cry, and it was the one time I think that I witnessed the class in almost complete silence. The teachers explained the numbers of those who failed and passed, and the students faces all dropped. All my boys looked so distraught, especially Brighty, Albert and Raphael. The teachers began handing the exams out, first handing out those who passed and then handing out to those who failed. Katie and I looked at each other in disbelief; can you imagine if this was the system of passing out tests, let alone exams, in America? If your name was called to the front and the entire class knew whether you had passed or failed?
By the end of all the finals being returned, Edward, Chisinsi, Mike and Henery were the only ones out of my boys who had passed (I guess according to the statistics that’s a good amount out of nine). Yakobe, Allfu, Albert, Raphael, Brighty and 138 other students were going to repeating standard 5 again next year. My boys who had passed were all so excited and so proud of themselves, as was I. However, my boys who had failed looked so confused and disappointed, so I tried to comfort them as much as possible and let them know it was okay and I still thought they did a great job; standard 5 is the hardest grade, after all.
When the exams were all finished being passed out, the entire school headed outside for the last school assembly before summer break. The headmaster lead the school in their national anthem, and afterwards everyone cheered and screamed and started running around. I started handing out the rest of my shoes, giving a pair of tennis shoes to Chinsinsi, another pair to Grant, and my last pair to Edward and Edwin (even though I gave them a pair yesterday). I handed out the rest of my pens, and also bags of trail mix to Henery, Edward (playing favorites?), Allfu and Albert. Katie and I then quickly realized that the students were heading home, and they didn’t understand that this was the last time they might see us. We went searching for the ones we needed to say goodbye to, but most of them had already left. I was dragging off the goodbyes, and as we headed to MIE I had Albert, Raphael and Edward walk with me to get the teacher bags we had put together. I then walked back to Domasi for the beginning of our “Farewell Ceremony”, and in my mind I knew that those boys would still be waiting for me when the ceremony was over. I didn’t really understand why I hadn’t cried yet. Allfu, Brighty, Yakobe, Chinsinsi, Mike and Henery had all left. They were gone, and I hadn’t really said goodbye. I think the reason I didn’t cry was because I know in my heart that I will be back to Malawi. I know that I am going to do everything in my power to keep in touch with them through Odina; I will write her letters to hand off to them, I will send them money and pictures, I will constantly remind them that I am here for them and will never forget them. I want to stay with them as they grow up. I want to encourage them to stay in school and try their hardest to get into secondary school. If they graduate secondary school, I will do everything possible to get them a visit to the United States. Whether these boys realize it or not, they will be in my life forever, and I want to be in theirs as well. I think they are too young to understand the meaning of “goodbye”, and the true distance, metaphorically and physically, between the United States and Malawi. All of my hopes and aspirations for these boys is what kept me from crying. I think I justified it by the fact that if I cried, I would be accepting that I will not see these children again, and my work for them is through. However, I am not accepting that fact. I will see them again, and my work has only just begun.
As we walked into the classroom for our “Farewell Ceremony”, there were chairs lined up in a semi-circle and the teachers were all seated at one side. There was a table at the front of the room where the headmaster and Dr. Kelly sat, behind them being the chalkboard with a pretty, written drawing saying “Farewell Ceremony: We wish you all the best when going back to America”. They had one of the teachers be a d.j. and we all danced for a little bit with each other and our teachers. Then, we officially began the ceremony in prayer and John Wesley read an opening speech about how thankful they are for us, and everything that we do for them. The teachers then handed out snacks and refreshments, which was so nice of them; it was the usual choice of Fanta’s but we were all pretty excited when they brought out a little tray of shortbread cookies. After there were a few speeches from John Wesley, Dr. Kelly and the headmaster, it was our turn to step up and speak. One by one, the roommates got up and spoke to their teachers, and then handed them the bag of school supplies that we put together for them. Lindsay and Ashley went first, followed by an emotional Bebe and Alison who began the waterworks, then Anna and Kaitlin, Katie and I, and ending with Emily and Devon. When it was Katie and I’s turn to speak, I decided to just read the letter that I had written for Odina. I never get nervous during public speaking, but for some reason my hands were shaking and my body was tense; I’m assuming from all the built up emotion. As I read my letter, Odina put her head in her hands and started crying, and I could no longer hold it together. I was fighting tears as I read the letter, explaining how grateful I was for having this experience and being welcomed with such open hearts and open arms. I told Odina that her positive spirit was uplifting and I couldn’t wait to see everything that she did for these children’s futures. At the end I told her we loved her and would be writing her letters and sending her pictures often, and then we presented her with her bag and school supplies. We all gave big hugs, and the look in her eyes was so genuine as she told us she was going to miss us so much and wished we could stay forever.
After Emily and Devon gave their speech, the headmaster gave a final speech about the difference we make in everyone’s lives when we come to Malawi, and then he called up McDonald and Odina to present us with our presents. This began the lighter section of the ceremony, for we all knew what the presents were and were so excited to receive our traditional Malawian custom outfits! They presented the gifts in the same way as was done at the orphanage, by dancing slowly up to the person and then placing the gift in their arms or by their feet. After we all received our presents, the lady teachers took us into another classroom and we all changed into our matching Malawian outfits; what a sight it was, and what an amazing souvenir we now have from this experience. The teachers led us, dancing of course, back into the ceremony where all the other teachers started cheering and we all proceeded to dance. (Standard). After the ceremony was officially ended, we all went outside to take pictures with our teachers in our “chisinsi” and tops, and then took a few group pictures. They are absolutely adorable, and the teachers kept telling us how beautiful we looked.
While we were outside taking pictures, Edward, Edwin, Albert, Raphael and Katie’s little Innocent came over and played with us for a while. We took a lot more pictures with them, and tried explaining to them that we were leaving to go back to America and didn’t know when we would see them again. They kept responding with “okay” but I definitely don’t think they understood what we were saying. I handed them some more food, and Katie gave them her peanut butter, and then we waited for the bus to arrive. As we were loading the bus, the boys all came running over, with the peanut butter jar completely empty- it had been maybe 15 minutes since we gave it to them completely full. All we could do was laugh as their hands were covered in stickiness, and their faces globbed with peanut butter. As the bus was about to leave, I held onto all of their hands and told them that I loved them. I didn’t think they knew the meaning of “I love you” in English, but as we were pulling away then screamed, “I love you Kelsey, I love you!” At this point, I knew that I left on the best note possible. I smiled, and cried, on the way back to Annie’s, just thinking about the next encounter I will have with them, and hoping they also forever hold onto the memories we’ve shared. Peace, love, Malawi.
Kelsey Muffler
Providing an education
Today was probably one of the best days of my life. I was so happy after I left school today I wanted to cry. It started off teaching our class about the 7 continents and the oceans. They somewhat understood, and definitely got that we were from North America, and they are from Africa. Still, it was hard for them to grasp and most of them just memorized what we were saying. Oh well. Then we had class after and we talked about the book we were supposed to read. After that we went to the Demonstration school to meet all the scholarship students. Each year Dr. Kelly, Patty and Liz Barber, each school, sponsors 3 students. Usually Dr. Kelly just pays for the scholarships out of her own pocket, its 100$ for each kid for all four years they are in secondary school. The scholarship pays for the school tuition, uniforms, shoes, pens and pencils, and exercise books. These children have to have passed their exams and then be selected by a school committee in order to be allowed to get a scholarship. These are students who have the grades and test scores to go onto the next form, but don’t have the funds in order to move on. Usually there isn’t enough money to sponsor all of the students who are selected, but this year was different. There were 24 students sponsored, and 8 or them are mine. I sponsored 8 of the form 2 students for they’re next two years of secondary school, there junior and senior years. Without my donations, they would no be able to move on. I got to meet one of my students today, unfortunately the other 7 were in exams and didn’t get the message, but I was so happy that I at least got to meet one. His name is Hope, and he wants to be a lawyer when he grows up. He was adorable, and so was his father. These kids comes from no money and their parents are all farmers, so without this education, they would be stuck in the farming community and not be able to get out. I am so happy that I got to help all of these kids finish their high school degree and hopefully get selected to go to a university. I made them so happy, and it brought tears to my eyes when they all walked out with their new backpacks on. I love that I have given these children and education, because that is the most important thing to them since they come from such horrible backgrounds. I have given them a life better than their mothers and fathers. I am so happy that I could contribute to their success, and I know that they are every so grateful. It was one of the best days of my life. Impacting these children and their families, I have never touched someone else’s life so greatly, and I love the feeling of it. I truly feel like I have meaning in my life now, this is my impact on the world. I love all 8 of my children, and I hope for the best and that they all succeed in their schooling and life after that.
Thanks for reading,
Katie Fuson
Thanks for reading,
Katie Fuson
Friday, July 8, 2011
Bittersweet Times
July 8, 2011 – Patricia Kelly
Last night we gave the teachers in all three schools a Celebration Dinner at Malawi Institute of Education dining hall. Just as we were getting ready to start, the electricity went out and stayed off all evening. MIE couldn’t turn on the generators because there is no fuel. So a few candles were brought out, but not enough to be able to really see anyone. We served fried chicken, rice with a wonderful tomato sauce, and greens with onions and tomatoes. It was the best meal that MIE has ever made us. Of course, we had introductions of all three schools’ staff with many cheers. Our group ended the evening singing the two songs Innocent had written for us. The crowd cheered as we sang. They obviously enjoyed the sentiments we were singing in Chichewa.
Today Domasi Government School gave us a farewell party. They had a sound system and one teacher serving as DJ. We danced and danced. They presented all of us with dresses, which we put on in an adjoining room and returned dancing all the way so the teachers could see them. The good-bye speeches were sometimes difficult to get out because of tears. It’s been a busy three and a half weeks; students have worked hard, but it’s still sad to say good-bye to some relationships that may never be renewed again. Through their tears alll students talked about how much they learned and how good everyone had been to them.
We announced the hen laying project that will help the school generate some income as well as make their agriculture curriculum practical. A chicken coop is on the school premises but has been abandoned for 20 years. The project is a collaboration among the Virginia Tech students, the school and its teachers, the PTA, and MIE. I’m really pleased that it’s finally off the ground because it’s something I’ve talked with them about for four years. Now we’ll see how they perform. They’re to send regular reports. I’ll be able to check on the project next summer and look forward to taking pictures of a successful project.
Last night we gave the teachers in all three schools a Celebration Dinner at Malawi Institute of Education dining hall. Just as we were getting ready to start, the electricity went out and stayed off all evening. MIE couldn’t turn on the generators because there is no fuel. So a few candles were brought out, but not enough to be able to really see anyone. We served fried chicken, rice with a wonderful tomato sauce, and greens with onions and tomatoes. It was the best meal that MIE has ever made us. Of course, we had introductions of all three schools’ staff with many cheers. Our group ended the evening singing the two songs Innocent had written for us. The crowd cheered as we sang. They obviously enjoyed the sentiments we were singing in Chichewa.
Today Domasi Government School gave us a farewell party. They had a sound system and one teacher serving as DJ. We danced and danced. They presented all of us with dresses, which we put on in an adjoining room and returned dancing all the way so the teachers could see them. The good-bye speeches were sometimes difficult to get out because of tears. It’s been a busy three and a half weeks; students have worked hard, but it’s still sad to say good-bye to some relationships that may never be renewed again. Through their tears alll students talked about how much they learned and how good everyone had been to them.
We announced the hen laying project that will help the school generate some income as well as make their agriculture curriculum practical. A chicken coop is on the school premises but has been abandoned for 20 years. The project is a collaboration among the Virginia Tech students, the school and its teachers, the PTA, and MIE. I’m really pleased that it’s finally off the ground because it’s something I’ve talked with them about for four years. Now we’ll see how they perform. They’re to send regular reports. I’ll be able to check on the project next summer and look forward to taking pictures of a successful project.
My Malawi Alphabet
As our time in Malawi is coming to a close, I have begun thinking about everything I will miss. We have experienced so many events, cultural differences, foods, and landscapes. Throughout my time here, I have been mentally keeping an ongoing list of things that are Malawi.
My Malawi Alphabet
A is for Africa, the continent I had never been and Annie’s, a home away from home
B is for baobob trees, bottled water, “botolo!” begging beginning to take a big toll, bartering, babies on backs, Black Diamond, and beautiful weather.
C is chicken and rice, Carlsberg, and chambe. Culture and caring. Club Mak.
Domasi schools, full of delight and dancing. Drumming—Du, Du, Ke.
E is to educate. Education is essential. Eggs and elephants
F is for Freedom Gardens, fire, Fanta, and figuring out a future…
Glass bottles of pop. Glass windows gone. Goodness and God
H is for Happy, a feeling and a businessman. Hippos are huge. Hunger is haunting.
I is for interesting and intriguing. Internet? Impeding and in high demand
Jump rope, join the jam
K is for Kumbali and Ku Chawe Mountain, Kuche Kuche
L is for lessons learned, living life, and Lucius Banda
Malawi, Malawi, Malawi! The warm heart of Africa, for sure. Markets in town and music with words of might. Moni! Mosques and Mt. Mulanje. Malawi Moto!
Night comes early, with nsima on one’s plate. Never underestimate
Outside is outstanding. Our own obstacles we create
Pepper? Paypani, you won’t find it here. Power is a problem. Pun intended. Political and patriarchal society, please pay attention and provide education
Q is for Q, a poet with words so quick. Questions that quiet the mouth and open the mind
Remember and replenish. Recycle and reuse.
Sustainability. Singing. A stunning safari so stellar!
T is for travel and tradition. For teaching and tomorrow, something transitional and tender.
Understand.
Venture out, vindicate, we are visitors to their village. A vendetta, we don’t create.
W is Willie, our bus driver so true. Walk and don’t waste. The wall will make you wonder where your kwacha went. Where’s the white wine?!
X eXcite. eXtend a hand. eXotic Fanta.
You may just find Yourself along the way.
Zikomo, Malawi. Thank you, Malawi for your zeal and your zebras
Katlin Wohlford
My Malawi Alphabet
A is for Africa, the continent I had never been and Annie’s, a home away from home
B is for baobob trees, bottled water, “botolo!” begging beginning to take a big toll, bartering, babies on backs, Black Diamond, and beautiful weather.
C is chicken and rice, Carlsberg, and chambe. Culture and caring. Club Mak.
Domasi schools, full of delight and dancing. Drumming—Du, Du, Ke.
E is to educate. Education is essential. Eggs and elephants
F is for Freedom Gardens, fire, Fanta, and figuring out a future…
Glass bottles of pop. Glass windows gone. Goodness and God
H is for Happy, a feeling and a businessman. Hippos are huge. Hunger is haunting.
I is for interesting and intriguing. Internet? Impeding and in high demand
Jump rope, join the jam
K is for Kumbali and Ku Chawe Mountain, Kuche Kuche
L is for lessons learned, living life, and Lucius Banda
Malawi, Malawi, Malawi! The warm heart of Africa, for sure. Markets in town and music with words of might. Moni! Mosques and Mt. Mulanje. Malawi Moto!
Night comes early, with nsima on one’s plate. Never underestimate
Outside is outstanding. Our own obstacles we create
Pepper? Paypani, you won’t find it here. Power is a problem. Pun intended. Political and patriarchal society, please pay attention and provide education
Q is for Q, a poet with words so quick. Questions that quiet the mouth and open the mind
Remember and replenish. Recycle and reuse.
Sustainability. Singing. A stunning safari so stellar!
T is for travel and tradition. For teaching and tomorrow, something transitional and tender.
Understand.
Venture out, vindicate, we are visitors to their village. A vendetta, we don’t create.
W is Willie, our bus driver so true. Walk and don’t waste. The wall will make you wonder where your kwacha went. Where’s the white wine?!
X eXcite. eXtend a hand. eXotic Fanta.
You may just find Yourself along the way.
Zikomo, Malawi. Thank you, Malawi for your zeal and your zebras
Katlin Wohlford
Wednesday, July 6, 2011
Last Day of Class Realizations
Tuesday July 5th was our last official day of class. We arrived at the Domasi Government School to a crowd of toothy smiles chanting "Azungu". However, today was different because our hearts were filled with mixed emotions as we embraced the African children that had won over our hearts. In class, Bebe and I had the learners (a term that Gertrude, our standard six teacher refers to her students as) write letters to us. We had been working with the standard six learners on English, countries, animals, basic human anatomy, and creative arts. The letters were a great review of the English concepts and many of them wrote about how they enjoyed the other learning topics we had covered. As we observed the letters being written the language barrier become even more apparent. The learners really struggled to create coherent sentences, spelling words correctly and not phonetically. We are so lucky in America that every student in school has a textbook they can reference and are not forced to memorize or minimally write down some ideas from a lesson. The students write the same as how the words sound when they speak. An example from one of our top students in class, "the dog chees the theefs awae" which should correctly be written (or spelled) "the dog chases the theifs away" it does sound right but as one can see is spelled incorrectly. After reading some of their writing I realized the long journey needed to help many of our students succeed. As our teaching time has now ended I know that our students enjoyed our interaction with them and hopefully picked up some skills along the way. To make children smile while simultaneously hoping they retain some information is all I could ask for despite the true English aid I wish I could offer.
Even though English is taught in starting in Standard One and eventually the exams the learners take are written in English the language is often not learned well enough to be able to pass a written exam. Walking around town one can communicate in English but if I knew Chichewa or Yao I would be able to get much more out my experience in Malawi. The language gap has really made me appreciate how lucky I am to speak a language that is used all over the world and is used for business. Since I am not bilingual or multilingual I am so blessed to speak such a universal language. Also coming to Malawi has shown me the beauty of diversity America . I love living in a melting pot of cultures, languages, backgrounds, and outlooks on life.
Alison Reynolds
Tuesday July 5th was our last official day of class. We arrived at the Domasi Government School to a crowd of toothy smiles chanting "Azungu". However, today was different because our hearts were filled with mixed emotions as we embraced the African children that had won over our hearts. In class, Bebe and I had the learners (a term that Gertrude, our standard six teacher refers to her students as) write letters to us. We had been working with the standard six learners on English, countries, animals, basic human anatomy, and creative arts. The letters were a great review of the English concepts and many of them wrote about how they enjoyed the other learning topics we had covered. As we observed the letters being written the language barrier become even more apparent. The learners really struggled to create coherent sentences, spelling words correctly and not phonetically. We are so lucky in America that every student in school has a textbook they can reference and are not forced to memorize or minimally write down some ideas from a lesson. The students write the same as how the words sound when they speak. An example from one of our top students in class, "the dog chees the theefs awae" which should correctly be written (or spelled) "the dog chases the theifs away" it does sound right but as one can see is spelled incorrectly. After reading some of their writing I realized the long journey needed to help many of our students succeed. As our teaching time has now ended I know that our students enjoyed our interaction with them and hopefully picked up some skills along the way. To make children smile while simultaneously hoping they retain some information is all I could ask for despite the true English aid I wish I could offer.
Even though English is taught in starting in Standard One and eventually the exams the learners take are written in English the language is often not learned well enough to be able to pass a written exam. Walking around town one can communicate in English but if I knew Chichewa or Yao I would be able to get much more out my experience in Malawi. The language gap has really made me appreciate how lucky I am to speak a language that is used all over the world and is used for business. Since I am not bilingual or multilingual I am so blessed to speak such a universal language. Also coming to Malawi has shown me the beauty of diversity America . I love living in a melting pot of cultures, languages, backgrounds, and outlooks on life.
Alison Reynolds
Into the homestretch
Its crazy that at this time next week we’ll be back in the States! The past few weeks have really flown by. Since it’s the last week of school we’ve tried to plan some fun hands-on activities. We kicked off the week by making yarn bracelets with the class on Monday. The class size has been dwindling each day, with probably 15 or so students absent on Tuesday. Today is Malawi’s Independence Day so school was cancelled. We’ve heard that most students don’t come back to school after being off today so we pretty much celebrated the last day yesterday. We passed out the pictures we had developed and then each student was able to make a popsicle stick picture frame to put around it. They were so excited to see their pictures. The kids LOVE to have their picture taken and usually they only see it on the camera, so I know they were happy to be able to have their very own picture. It was definitely a great project to end with. After the frames were dry we passed out our last items we’d brought for the class. Lindsay had brought some VA pins and I had some Mardi Gras beads. There were of course cheers and clapping when we showed them what we brought and they loved posing for pictures with their new stuff.
Tomorrow we’re back at the schools to say bye to the class. McDonald invited us to his house for lunch, so Lindsay and I are excited for that and to meet his family. He’s been awesome to work with. Then the whole group heads to a Catholic church for some traditional dancing. After we walk back to M.I.E, which is right beside our school, for a good-bye dinner with all three universities and the teachers from the three schools that we’ve been working with. We head back to the schools Friday for a final assembly.
A full end to the week for sure!
Ashley FitzGerald
July 6, 2011
July 6, 2011
I can’t believe we only have two day’s left in the schools. It is so crazy that we have already been living in Zomba for more than three weeks. A week from today we will be back in America…crazy!
Tomorrow we are having a celebration dinner at MIE with our teachers. I think it will be sad to say goodbye to them. We have prepared a song to sing in Chichewa and I’m sure they will love it. We have been taking drum lessons every Tuesday and I think that we might do a little drumming as well. Ashley and I have been invited to McDonald’s house for lunch tomorrow after we finish up in the classroom. I am excited to see what we will be served and to meet his family. He told us he has four children. I hope they are all there so we can meet them. We are going to bring his kids and wife some bubbles, beads, and other fun stuff. It will definitely be a long day, but filled with really fun activities!
Today is Malawi’s Independence Day. We walked downtown for some of the day and they had put out the Malawi flags on the light-posts. We all though that was pretty cool to see the patriotism.
Everyone is ready for Club Mak on Sunday. Dr. Kelly said we would be leaving early on Sunday, in order to utilize the most amount of time there! I am really excited to see what the Lake will look like. I bet it is enormous and beautiful!
-Lindsay
Tuesday, July 5, 2011
Drums and Songs
June 6, 2011 – Patricia Kelly
Today is the Malawi Independence Day when they celebrate independence from England in 1964. However, what followed was 30 years of a dictatorship by Kamuzu Banda, who proclaimed himself President for Life. There are celebrations in Blantyre and in Lilongwe but not in Zomba. Actually, they’ve become much like us and even the stores are open – when people are off work, there is money to be made.
A teacher at Malemia Primary School in the Domasi area, Innocent, has taught the whole group drumming each Tuesday. He has taught us various rhythms and drumming in the “spaces.” The Father Drum is a patient African; he doesn’t talk a lot and allows others to participate. He leaves a space for others to drum (a four-count). The Mother Drum, he says, is a typical African woman who talks, talks, talks. She allows no spaces for entering with your rhythm. So you fill the Father Drum spaces or find an adjoining drum that is allowing spaces and follow that drum. It’s an interesting allegorical concept. I’m not good at all with drumming, but I appreciate the life lessons.
Innocent has also written two songs for us. The first he wrote last year for us to sing at our Celebration Dinner for the teachers. It is a farewell song. “We are thankful that things have been good. We are leaving, we are leaving, until we meet again.”
Tikuthokoza, takhala bwino; Tapita, tapita; tidzaonana.
The other one says that “Malawi is a beautiful country, just like America; things are going well in Malawi and in America.”
Malawi, Malawi
Oziko Lokongola
Lifanana nd kwathu ku America
Malawi moto; Malawi moto
Amerika moto; America moto
Lifanana ndi kwathu ku Amerika
We plan on having some drums with the singing also. It should be fun.
Today is the Malawi Independence Day when they celebrate independence from England in 1964. However, what followed was 30 years of a dictatorship by Kamuzu Banda, who proclaimed himself President for Life. There are celebrations in Blantyre and in Lilongwe but not in Zomba. Actually, they’ve become much like us and even the stores are open – when people are off work, there is money to be made.
A teacher at Malemia Primary School in the Domasi area, Innocent, has taught the whole group drumming each Tuesday. He has taught us various rhythms and drumming in the “spaces.” The Father Drum is a patient African; he doesn’t talk a lot and allows others to participate. He leaves a space for others to drum (a four-count). The Mother Drum, he says, is a typical African woman who talks, talks, talks. She allows no spaces for entering with your rhythm. So you fill the Father Drum spaces or find an adjoining drum that is allowing spaces and follow that drum. It’s an interesting allegorical concept. I’m not good at all with drumming, but I appreciate the life lessons.
Innocent has also written two songs for us. The first he wrote last year for us to sing at our Celebration Dinner for the teachers. It is a farewell song. “We are thankful that things have been good. We are leaving, we are leaving, until we meet again.”
Tikuthokoza, takhala bwino; Tapita, tapita; tidzaonana.
The other one says that “Malawi is a beautiful country, just like America; things are going well in Malawi and in America.”
Malawi, Malawi
Oziko Lokongola
Lifanana nd kwathu ku America
Malawi moto; Malawi moto
Amerika moto; America moto
Lifanana ndi kwathu ku Amerika
We plan on having some drums with the singing also. It should be fun.
Tuesday, June 28, 2011
Mvuu Camp
Heading to Mvuu Camp in a couple of minutes!! We are all super excited to see the giant animals of Africa. I know we are going on a river and evening safari, then bright and early a morning guided walk. I'm really hoping to see elephants, they are my favorite.
Bebe
Bebe
Horseback riding at Plateau Stables
We were able to go horseback riding, which for many was a first time experience. Margaret and Brian greeted us at Plateau Stables and promptly organized our group of 17 into two groups, one for beginners and one for novice riders. I was placed in the first group and was assigned to a horse named Orchid. Orchid is a beautiful brown horse who seemed very spirited to say the least. Me, being an inexperienced rider was fine walking instead of trotting or running. The ride lasted an hour or so and the views were amazing. When we returned to Plateau Stables, Brian gave us the back stories on some of the horses (hash in Chichewa). Orchid happened to be a refugee from Zimbabwe. Brian stated that about ten years ago, horses were being slaughtered for their meat. Apparently, farmers rounded up horses and sent them out of the country without papers. Luckily, Margaret and Brian bought Orchid in Lilongwe and later rented out Plateau Stables here in Zomba. They believe she has Arabian in her but that’s all they know. Her story is touching and I am so glad to have ridden her, even if she was a little feisty. :0)
Bebe
Bebe
heyhey!
June 24. The last day of our first whole week teaching, and it went SO smooth. It was one of the best days in class that we have had. Anna and I were filling each other’s gaps perfectly and thinking of things on the fly. Our schedule for today was review, make hands to put on the wall with their names, age, village, and other things that they liked, and then do shapes incorporating math. Time flew by. After class, we sanded and varnished the front of the classroom doors. This is part of the projects for our class, so it was good to do manual labor to help. Some of the kids were still there, and they were absolutely intrigued by the whole process. We went to town after and got water, fabric for tassels, and of course-some snacks. Haha Sadly, our disposable film didn’t develop. They exposed the roll too soon, so none of them were developed. That’s Malawi, I guess.
Saturday! June 25. Today, we hiked Mt. Mulanje, which was a 2.5 mile hike up to a waterfall and 2.5 back down. It was such a beautiful day to hike and the waterfall was gorgeous. Seeing the mountain as we were riding in was also really cool. I tried to take lots of pictures of everything, but I was having too much time playing and enjoying the scenery. We were gone from 8am-7pm, though. We left right after breakfast, and it was a 3-hour bus ride to Mt. Mulanje. On the way, though, we saw miles and miles of tea fields. They were so pretty. Malawi is amazing!
Katlin Wohlford
June 24. The last day of our first whole week teaching, and it went SO smooth. It was one of the best days in class that we have had. Anna and I were filling each other’s gaps perfectly and thinking of things on the fly. Our schedule for today was review, make hands to put on the wall with their names, age, village, and other things that they liked, and then do shapes incorporating math. Time flew by. After class, we sanded and varnished the front of the classroom doors. This is part of the projects for our class, so it was good to do manual labor to help. Some of the kids were still there, and they were absolutely intrigued by the whole process. We went to town after and got water, fabric for tassels, and of course-some snacks. Haha Sadly, our disposable film didn’t develop. They exposed the roll too soon, so none of them were developed. That’s Malawi, I guess.
Saturday! June 25. Today, we hiked Mt. Mulanje, which was a 2.5 mile hike up to a waterfall and 2.5 back down. It was such a beautiful day to hike and the waterfall was gorgeous. Seeing the mountain as we were riding in was also really cool. I tried to take lots of pictures of everything, but I was having too much time playing and enjoying the scenery. We were gone from 8am-7pm, though. We left right after breakfast, and it was a 3-hour bus ride to Mt. Mulanje. On the way, though, we saw miles and miles of tea fields. They were so pretty. Malawi is amazing!
Katlin Wohlford
Work and Play
June 29, 2011 Patricia Kelly
Everyone has had difficulty getting on the internet, using WiFi. They claim it’s fixed but still it doesn’t work. When I reported the problem, they reply that it’s not a problem because it will be fixed. I think they mean eventually. But that’s so Malawian. Being patient is the only way to live in Malawi.
On Saturday we hiked Mt. Mulanje to the waterfall. At the fork that turns up to the forest entrance, we picked up our guides. Many guides wait there, hoping to be selected. As the bus stopped, they started calling, “Patricia” when they saw me. I was selecting two guides I recognized and had negotiated 1,500 kwatche each, when another pushed through whom we had had last year. So I asked if they wanted the three of them, then it would be 1,000 each. They said that “was fair.” I actually was surprised by their sharing the opportunity. So Wiseone, Samuel, and Lucius boarded our bus that was already crammed to capacity. But in Malawi a bus always can always squeeze in more!
On our hike up, there must have been at least 150 women and children carrying wood off the mountain. Women with babies on their backs, and little girls with loads that seemed impossible. All were barefoot. We had tough, hiking shoes on and could still feel the sharpness of the rocks.
The falls are beautiful and still bountiful, even in this dry season. At the bottom of the falls, there is one large deep pool and a smaller shallower pool. Of course one of the guides jumped in, enticing the students. Three did swim. I had told them the water was bitterly cold. After all, this is winter for them and we’re also at a high elevation. They found out that it was even colder than they could have imagined.
Sunday I went to church with my roommate Sharon Hunter from NC A&T. We were there from 8:30 to 11:15. The service was longer than last week because they had a guest minister from Australia, Dr. John Wilson. We’re now meeting lots of people we have seen before there. About 9:45 five of our students came in. Now that’s Malawian! And they weren’t the last to join the service.
After church, Sharon and I went to the tailor’s house next door. There we met Levis working in her garden. She runs the business and employs three tailors. I had to take over the material that the Virginia Tech students had selected for graduation stoles. She showed Sharon and me around her home and garden. The house was built in 1890, one of the original colonial houses. The first building of Annie’s Lodge was also built in the colonial period and housed a dining room, kitchen and six rooms. She now has 43 rooms here and two conference centers, but all built in the colonial style. Levis’ gardens are beautiful, must be two acres right here in the city.
On Sunday afternoon we went to Annie’s for dinner. The bus came in through the gate to her house, and we heard drumming and an African ululation. Tables were set up under the trees with linen napkins. St Paul’s choir was doing a fundraising to acquire matching outfits for performing. They were from Chipeta Village next door to Annie. The traditional drummers led us in village dances. The evening was magical.
On Monday we met the scholarship students in the afternoon. We gave them backpacks and other materials. Virginia Tech students seleced one of the Form 1 scholarship students from Domasi Government School. (They’re finishing Form 1 next week so the student they select will be going to Form 2 in September.) They’ll sponsor the student for Form 2, 3, and 4 (equivalent to sophomore, junior, and senior years). I think that it will be good for them to meet and select the one. Radford University and North Carolina A&T decided to sponsor the students from their schools (Malemia and Domasi Demenstration) in Form 1. The scholarship provides tuition, a uniform, shoes, and exercise books and pens. Even though the students have been selected (passed the national 8th grade examination with high enough scores to go on) many parents cannot afford the cost. Four years is equivalent to $150. It’s truly sad and such a waste of human capacity. But Virginia Tech students are inspired to do something, even in a small way. I’m very proud of them. On Friday, they varnished the classroom door; all classroom doors are outside doors and exposed to the weather. We used a dark stain polyurethane that evened everything out and will really protect the doors. The head teacher was excited. He even asked if what we were using came from the US. He hadn’t seen that kind before, and coming from the U.S. made it even more special to him. The students continue to have an impact each and every day.
On Tuesday after school, we learned drumming. Then we went to Mulunguzi Primary School where Blacksburg Presbyterian Church has built several classroom buildings some with skylights that give more light for reading in the rooms. BPC has also established a very nice library that we took pictures of to take back to the church. We gave several teaching and learning materials to them. The school is quite successful. Thirty-two students took the School Leaver’s Exam (standard 8 national exam) and 31 not only passed but were selected, and the head teacher Frederick Kakole said that most go on to secondary school, either in resident schools or the community day schools.
Everyone has had difficulty getting on the internet, using WiFi. They claim it’s fixed but still it doesn’t work. When I reported the problem, they reply that it’s not a problem because it will be fixed. I think they mean eventually. But that’s so Malawian. Being patient is the only way to live in Malawi.
On Saturday we hiked Mt. Mulanje to the waterfall. At the fork that turns up to the forest entrance, we picked up our guides. Many guides wait there, hoping to be selected. As the bus stopped, they started calling, “Patricia” when they saw me. I was selecting two guides I recognized and had negotiated 1,500 kwatche each, when another pushed through whom we had had last year. So I asked if they wanted the three of them, then it would be 1,000 each. They said that “was fair.” I actually was surprised by their sharing the opportunity. So Wiseone, Samuel, and Lucius boarded our bus that was already crammed to capacity. But in Malawi a bus always can always squeeze in more!
On our hike up, there must have been at least 150 women and children carrying wood off the mountain. Women with babies on their backs, and little girls with loads that seemed impossible. All were barefoot. We had tough, hiking shoes on and could still feel the sharpness of the rocks.
The falls are beautiful and still bountiful, even in this dry season. At the bottom of the falls, there is one large deep pool and a smaller shallower pool. Of course one of the guides jumped in, enticing the students. Three did swim. I had told them the water was bitterly cold. After all, this is winter for them and we’re also at a high elevation. They found out that it was even colder than they could have imagined.
Sunday I went to church with my roommate Sharon Hunter from NC A&T. We were there from 8:30 to 11:15. The service was longer than last week because they had a guest minister from Australia, Dr. John Wilson. We’re now meeting lots of people we have seen before there. About 9:45 five of our students came in. Now that’s Malawian! And they weren’t the last to join the service.
After church, Sharon and I went to the tailor’s house next door. There we met Levis working in her garden. She runs the business and employs three tailors. I had to take over the material that the Virginia Tech students had selected for graduation stoles. She showed Sharon and me around her home and garden. The house was built in 1890, one of the original colonial houses. The first building of Annie’s Lodge was also built in the colonial period and housed a dining room, kitchen and six rooms. She now has 43 rooms here and two conference centers, but all built in the colonial style. Levis’ gardens are beautiful, must be two acres right here in the city.
On Sunday afternoon we went to Annie’s for dinner. The bus came in through the gate to her house, and we heard drumming and an African ululation. Tables were set up under the trees with linen napkins. St Paul’s choir was doing a fundraising to acquire matching outfits for performing. They were from Chipeta Village next door to Annie. The traditional drummers led us in village dances. The evening was magical.
On Monday we met the scholarship students in the afternoon. We gave them backpacks and other materials. Virginia Tech students seleced one of the Form 1 scholarship students from Domasi Government School. (They’re finishing Form 1 next week so the student they select will be going to Form 2 in September.) They’ll sponsor the student for Form 2, 3, and 4 (equivalent to sophomore, junior, and senior years). I think that it will be good for them to meet and select the one. Radford University and North Carolina A&T decided to sponsor the students from their schools (Malemia and Domasi Demenstration) in Form 1. The scholarship provides tuition, a uniform, shoes, and exercise books and pens. Even though the students have been selected (passed the national 8th grade examination with high enough scores to go on) many parents cannot afford the cost. Four years is equivalent to $150. It’s truly sad and such a waste of human capacity. But Virginia Tech students are inspired to do something, even in a small way. I’m very proud of them. On Friday, they varnished the classroom door; all classroom doors are outside doors and exposed to the weather. We used a dark stain polyurethane that evened everything out and will really protect the doors. The head teacher was excited. He even asked if what we were using came from the US. He hadn’t seen that kind before, and coming from the U.S. made it even more special to him. The students continue to have an impact each and every day.
On Tuesday after school, we learned drumming. Then we went to Mulunguzi Primary School where Blacksburg Presbyterian Church has built several classroom buildings some with skylights that give more light for reading in the rooms. BPC has also established a very nice library that we took pictures of to take back to the church. We gave several teaching and learning materials to them. The school is quite successful. Thirty-two students took the School Leaver’s Exam (standard 8 national exam) and 31 not only passed but were selected, and the head teacher Frederick Kakole said that most go on to secondary school, either in resident schools or the community day schools.
Wednesday, June 22, 2011
First 2 Days with Standard 4
Such a busy two days of teaching it’s been! We’ve now finished two full days in the classroom and I already love my standard 4 class! Yesterday we mainly focused on introducing ourselves to the class and telling them about where we’re from. We had a blow-up globe we passed around that had the route from Virginia to Malawi drawn on it so they could see how far we’ve come. After introducing ourselves we had the kids tell us a little about them. We worked on some basic sentences yesterday and today had the children write them on construction paper as an introduction including their name, what they like, where they live, how many siblings they have, and how old they are. We then had each student come to the front of the room and read their intro aloud to the class. All 76 of them! The class was a little restless by the end, but I’m glad they were able to each get a turn speaking in front of the class, plus it allowed them to practice reading English. Some of the students, particularly the boys were so excited to come up and share. A lot of the boys sit in the back of the room and when they saw the girls going first and getting stickers (we gave them stickers after they read) the boys would move close to the front so they could go next. It was cute to see how excited they were!
We’ve also been teaching them some new songs since singing and dancing is such a big part of the culture here. Yesterday we taught a “Days of the Week” song and I was really surprised at how quickly they picked it up. We practiced it again this morning and I think by the end of the week they will all have it down perfectly. The students have also sang and danced to some of their Chichewa songs. Whenever one starts it the next thing you know they are all singing and moving to the beat.
At the end of the day today Macdonald tried to teach Lindsay and I some Chichewa words. We tried our best with the pronunciations, but I’m sure we were way off because the kids would start to laugh. I’m sure we sounded pretty funny to them. He even had the kids stand up and try to teach us some of the words. They ended up teaching us how to introduce ourselves in Chichewa from how to say our name, where we live, what we like, how many siblings we have, and how old we are. It was cool to have them teach us in Chichewa what we taught them in English. It was reassuring to know that not only they understood us, but also liked what we were teaching. Before we left a few of the kids gave Lindsay and I some fruits they had brought from home for us. It was so sweet!
Such a good first two days, definitely looking forward to a full week!
Ashley FitzGerald
We’ve also been teaching them some new songs since singing and dancing is such a big part of the culture here. Yesterday we taught a “Days of the Week” song and I was really surprised at how quickly they picked it up. We practiced it again this morning and I think by the end of the week they will all have it down perfectly. The students have also sang and danced to some of their Chichewa songs. Whenever one starts it the next thing you know they are all singing and moving to the beat.
At the end of the day today Macdonald tried to teach Lindsay and I some Chichewa words. We tried our best with the pronunciations, but I’m sure we were way off because the kids would start to laugh. I’m sure we sounded pretty funny to them. He even had the kids stand up and try to teach us some of the words. They ended up teaching us how to introduce ourselves in Chichewa from how to say our name, where we live, what we like, how many siblings we have, and how old we are. It was cool to have them teach us in Chichewa what we taught them in English. It was reassuring to know that not only they understood us, but also liked what we were teaching. Before we left a few of the kids gave Lindsay and I some fruits they had brought from home for us. It was so sweet!
Such a good first two days, definitely looking forward to a full week!
Ashley FitzGerald
Tuesday, June 21, 2011
First day with the kiddies
(June 20) Yesterday was the first day of class! (ps determined scrambled eggs and toast are the best things for breakfast) Anna and I prepared our lesson plan the night before. We gave the students name tags to stick to their shirts and a pen. We had also made them notebooks by folding five sheets of paper in half and covering them with a folded piece of construction paper with three hole punches in all and held together by yarn (and believe me, our hands were tired after 210 old school hole punches). We told them to bring the notebooks and pens every day, and they did! Our lesson was about the world. We brought a map and posted it to the board, explaining the seven continents and the major oceans. We also discussed their country and ours and how we had got to Malawi, the transportation methods and such. The world was a tough concept, but they did very well. After this, we allowed them to sing and dance a bit. After this break, we had prepared a list of about 15 vocabulary words (something we are hoping to do every day) and had the students say them and then place them on either their respective objects or the wall under the title “English Words.” Many of the words were simple this go around because we needed to get a gauge on their abilities. We also had them to write sentences with the words. Sentence structure and creativity need some work. Since this was our first day, we had misjudged the time allowed by a little, but not much. To fill the 45 minutes remaining, I taught mathematics, while Anna took individual pictures of each student for a project later on. My biggest challenge was trying to have them get the concept. I wanted them to know WHY we teach them to add and subtract..why we want them to be able to make sentences, not just have the skill. The reason behind is so much more important. These are skills that will help them immensely.
Following class and a peanut butter sandwich, we walked over to the Demonstration School (where NC A&T teaches) to get on the bus and head to the market. There, we got some necessities (water), the Internet cards for cheaper than at Annie’s, some school supplies, and fabric. I also grabbed dinner in town at Tasty Bites (2 beef samoosas and rice) and then walked back up with a few people. When back, I went immediately went to a neighbor’s house to be measured and have clothes made. I decided to have a one-shoulder top, a pencil skirt, and a bag made. We’ll see how it turns out. Overall, a really great day
Katlin Wohlford
Following class and a peanut butter sandwich, we walked over to the Demonstration School (where NC A&T teaches) to get on the bus and head to the market. There, we got some necessities (water), the Internet cards for cheaper than at Annie’s, some school supplies, and fabric. I also grabbed dinner in town at Tasty Bites (2 beef samoosas and rice) and then walked back up with a few people. When back, I went immediately went to a neighbor’s house to be measured and have clothes made. I decided to have a one-shoulder top, a pencil skirt, and a bag made. We’ll see how it turns out. Overall, a really great day
Katlin Wohlford
Freedom Gardens
After lots of preparation and anxiety, I finally have arrived in Africa. Although the plane rides were terrible, and traveling was exhausting, I have already had the best experience of my life. The first day we went to Freedom Gardens, a sustainable farm run by a Malawian family. The place was awesome. Most farmers in Africa don’t use their land wisely, and believe that they have to start with lots in order to succeed. This family started with nothing. The dad started his farm in 1982 with a very small piece of land in the swamp. He only had 100 kwacha, which is less than 1 American dollar. He believed that in order to succeed, you don’t need loans or to produce the most crops, you have to start small, and eventually you will break even. Some of the practices that he used in order to keep the land self-sustaining were water canals used from the river close by. The canals ran horizontally, and they could control whether to let the water seep through, or clog it up with a brick. The canals ran by each of the gardens. They didn’t use pesticides, which is very unlike African farmers. Most believe that in order to produce the most crops, you need to buy fertilizer and use it on the plants. This only makes matters worse, because you have to pay for the fertilizer, and once your crops are gone, that poison leaks into the soil, making next years crop smaller and smaller. It is also unhealthy to breathe and eat. Instead of poisonous fertilizers, they used different herbs, such as aloe vera plant, and onions. They mixed these all together and ground them up. Then they pore water through these herbs and create a greenish mixture. They use this watery substance to paint on the crops in order to keep the bugs away. The way the compost is also very cool. Instead of using unnatural fertilizer, they create piles of compost that have lasted them 17 years, and they use that rich soil to fertilize their land. We walked around the farm and saw sugar cane, corn, chickens, beautiful gardens, canals, ponds, poinsettia growing on trees, and other beautiful flowers. It was like I was in a maze, and it was truly beautiful. A really great experience. After the tour we had a true African lunch, rice, beans, nsima- corn porridge, vegetables, home made scones, lots of good Malawian food. It was amazing to see them make so much crop and profit out of nothing. It was truly an incredible story, ones you hope to hear about in a country like Malawi. Another part of Daniel’s story that impacted me was that he has taught the farmers and helpers on his farm how to use these techniques, and now they are starting their own farms that are sustainable. It was fabulous.
Thanks for reading,
Katie Fuson
Thanks for reading,
Katie Fuson
Tuesday, June 21, 2011
As we pulled up to the school today, the children ran to our bus. They started chanting “azungu” which means “white people” in Chechew. HAHA!! In our class today, we taught new English and Math concepts! These children are really eager to learn and are really are curious about us. We reviewed the world today and the children knew everything! They could name the continents, the major oceans, etc! It was so awesome to see they understood us.
After school, we had our first drum lesson. We will have them every Tuesday from now on. Innocent, the standard seven teacher at the Melemia School taught us all for an hour! We had to walk to their school from ours—about 3 miles! It was a very neat experience. Everyone really seemed to enjoy it and I know the people of Malawi appreciated when we dive into their culture.
Thanks for reading,
Anna Tobia
After school, we had our first drum lesson. We will have them every Tuesday from now on. Innocent, the standard seven teacher at the Melemia School taught us all for an hour! We had to walk to their school from ours—about 3 miles! It was a very neat experience. Everyone really seemed to enjoy it and I know the people of Malawi appreciated when we dive into their culture.
Thanks for reading,
Anna Tobia
Sunday, June 19, 2011
Thursday, June 16, 2011
We get to meet the children today!! I woke up this morning so anxious. I had no idea what to expect and I really wanted them to like me. Each of the colleges on the trip are assigned to a school. But today, we had an “orientation” to all the schools, which was great for comparison.
We first stopped at Radford’s school, the Malemia Primary School. It was a school built within the past five years in the middle of a village. The school is the smallest of the three and each class had between 50-100 kids in each. The size of the classroom decreases as the grades increase, which makes sense. This school is also the poorest of the three. The Chibale project started by our three universities in 2007 provides money for a feeding program at the Malemia Primary School. The children are dismissed by standard (grade) from youngest to oldest. This was a request made by our professors. Traditionally in the Malawian home, the father eats first, the mother next and the children get whatever is left over. So our professors wanted to set a different standard for the children and say the youngest should get their food first. Interesting, huh? For the feeding program, the children each have a cup (that they have to bring from home if they can) and that’s all they get. If they don’t have a cup, they don’t get any food. They received nsima, which is cooked corn maze. It looks like water down porridge. It was fascinating to watch the children with their nsima. They were sharing with the others they didn’t have cups and they offered to share with us because we didn’t have any. It was so beautiful to see how much these children love.
The next school we visited was our own, the Domasi Government School. This is the oldest school of three. It was started before 1964 when Malawi was under British rule. And because of this, the school looks colonized. It was beautiful. Each classroom was its own separate building. And the size was about the same, 50-100 children. We all felt more comfortable since this was our second school. We all walked around and visited with the children and the teachers. We needed to start figuring out what standard we wanted to teach. Katlin and I went into the fourth standard (again, this means grade) and just started dancing. And the children joined in and chanting “music” in Chichewa. We danced and laughed with the children for 3 minutes but it was hands down, the best three minutes of the trip so far for me. After visiting all the standards, we were assigned standard 6, which from what I could tell was equivalent to 4th or 5th grade. I wanted the babies, but they can’t understand any English and Dr. Kelly said it may be frustrating/hard. I’m excited for to teach them though! Tomorrow we will return for observation and we will officially begin teaching on Monday.
The last stop was Domasi Demenstration school. This is also a government school and the families must pay tuition for their children each year. It is 4,625 kwacha per year, which is $25! This school was the most “modern.” The class size was the same but they had desks and chairs in each room. We were also able to meet the head teachers at the school. They talked about the school’s progress over the past year and gave news that their standard 8 class just took their examinations which determine whether they can enter secondary school or not. This year 40 students out of 65 passed and will continue their education ( equivalent to our high school). Dr. Kelly said when our universities started this study aboard program in 2006, about 14 students at this school went on to Secondary school. WOW! It really shows how much this program is making a difference, one step at a time.
Thanks for reading!
Anna Tobia
We first stopped at Radford’s school, the Malemia Primary School. It was a school built within the past five years in the middle of a village. The school is the smallest of the three and each class had between 50-100 kids in each. The size of the classroom decreases as the grades increase, which makes sense. This school is also the poorest of the three. The Chibale project started by our three universities in 2007 provides money for a feeding program at the Malemia Primary School. The children are dismissed by standard (grade) from youngest to oldest. This was a request made by our professors. Traditionally in the Malawian home, the father eats first, the mother next and the children get whatever is left over. So our professors wanted to set a different standard for the children and say the youngest should get their food first. Interesting, huh? For the feeding program, the children each have a cup (that they have to bring from home if they can) and that’s all they get. If they don’t have a cup, they don’t get any food. They received nsima, which is cooked corn maze. It looks like water down porridge. It was fascinating to watch the children with their nsima. They were sharing with the others they didn’t have cups and they offered to share with us because we didn’t have any. It was so beautiful to see how much these children love.
The next school we visited was our own, the Domasi Government School. This is the oldest school of three. It was started before 1964 when Malawi was under British rule. And because of this, the school looks colonized. It was beautiful. Each classroom was its own separate building. And the size was about the same, 50-100 children. We all felt more comfortable since this was our second school. We all walked around and visited with the children and the teachers. We needed to start figuring out what standard we wanted to teach. Katlin and I went into the fourth standard (again, this means grade) and just started dancing. And the children joined in and chanting “music” in Chichewa. We danced and laughed with the children for 3 minutes but it was hands down, the best three minutes of the trip so far for me. After visiting all the standards, we were assigned standard 6, which from what I could tell was equivalent to 4th or 5th grade. I wanted the babies, but they can’t understand any English and Dr. Kelly said it may be frustrating/hard. I’m excited for to teach them though! Tomorrow we will return for observation and we will officially begin teaching on Monday.
The last stop was Domasi Demenstration school. This is also a government school and the families must pay tuition for their children each year. It is 4,625 kwacha per year, which is $25! This school was the most “modern.” The class size was the same but they had desks and chairs in each room. We were also able to meet the head teachers at the school. They talked about the school’s progress over the past year and gave news that their standard 8 class just took their examinations which determine whether they can enter secondary school or not. This year 40 students out of 65 passed and will continue their education ( equivalent to our high school). Dr. Kelly said when our universities started this study aboard program in 2006, about 14 students at this school went on to Secondary school. WOW! It really shows how much this program is making a difference, one step at a time.
Thanks for reading!
Anna Tobia
Malawi Week One!
What do you get when you throw together 25 people from three different colleges, Malawi, a few locals, and Domasi schools? A trip to Africa you will never forget!
Our trip began on June 12, 2011. We were in the air for 20+ hours (June 12-13). Although quite grueling, the travel is a necessary part of the adventure. To get 8,000 miles from home takes some effort.
We stayed our first night at Annie’s Lodge in Lilongwe, the capital of Malawi. This small, quaint setting allowed us to take a breather and relax before the whirlwind of a day that was to follow.
June 14 was an amazing day! We visited Freedom Gardens, of which I cannot even begin to explain fully. Daniel, our guide for the visit, was the son of the man who started the completely self-sustainable farm with just 100K, $1 at the time. What he told us about his father’s start was something that we can use in every aspect of our lives: start small to succeed. His mother served us delicious chombe (tea), coffee, and lemongrass tea, along with homemade rolls, scones, and peanuts. For lunch, we had a traditional Malawian meal of rice, beans, spinach, fried chicken, and nsima with a tomato sauce prepared by the ladies of the farm. Following this, I had one of the wildest experiences of my life in the marketplace in the city. Absolutely nuts. It is so exhilarating to have to bargain for goods. They start high, and you bring them down. It is actually a very difficult process. It did not stop there, though. In fact, we did not realize that it was just the beginning. Peter, Annie’s son (yes, Annie as in the lodge owner) threw us a party with selected people at Kumbali, the lodge where Madonna stayed when she was adopting her child. This was amazing! We had another traditional meal and got to see actual traditional dancing, which completely captivated me. All of their dances tell a story. From the poetry readings, to the dancing by us that followed, we had such a phenomenal evening. The wine and Carlsberg beer was pretty good, also!
On June 15, we traveled form Lilongwe to Zomba. It took us eights hours to travel what it takes a car three and a half because of the bus. But, we have found that playing road trip games and looking at how pretty our surroundings are can really take up some time. This day held a couple delights as we visited a pottery place that served very good food, and a venture into a rowdy market on the border of Mozambique and Malawi was enthralling. So many beautiful vegetables!
We arrived at our home for the next month, Annie’s Lodge in Zomba, around 7:30pm.
June 16 held the biggest treat yet! We were able to visit all of the schools that each of the three colleges will be split up and teaching with. The children were AWESOME. They are so full or life, excitement, and general innocence and kindness. The conditions of the schools varied, although only a mile or two apart. Most of the students were so willing to hug you or “pound it” (touch fists together like a handshake). This was something new that we did with them. There will be so much more to tell regarding all of these visits after we get into the schools and start teaching. I will have so many stories to tell. Anna and I will be teaching Theresa’s Standard Six class at the Domasi Government School. I’m very excited.
June 17 was a day of observation and learning for me at the school. I became totally and completely aware that this was going to be a marvelous experience, but also a challenge. Standard six is equivalent to about 5th or 6th grade in America, but the ages in the class range so much. Their English is very good, which is fantastic since it will allow us to actually teach. Anna and I start taking over the whole class and teaching on Monday, June 20. The students are so full of passion and excitement. They dance and sing for hours if you let them. So full of life! I have many videos. We actually have a small class (about 60). Most are around 100-150, which would make finding enough supplies difficult. The actual classroom is about the size of a small America classroom, but with only 16 desks that the children share. They also share books, and most have notebooks, but some of those are shared as well. They are so willing to do whatever you ask them. There is no back talk or saying to no to a request. Since everything is so novel, their interest is heightened to the max! It is not just the novelty, but also the genuine fullness of their hearts and desire for more. Everything is just so different and interesting.
Saturday, June 18, was supposed to be a day where we ventured to the market and got skirt material, but we found a place on Ku Chawe Mountain along the Zomba Plateau where we could ride horses. So, that is what I ended up doing! Maggie and Brian (the stable owners) were such nice people. They had us all straightened out and ready to ride in about an hour. We split up into two groups, one of nine and another of eight. It was so nice to see the area atop Zara, my beautiful dark brown horse. Following this, some of us went to eat at Tasty Bites in town. It was very good and relatively cheap for what I got. I tried the chicken samoosas and chips (Malawi’s version of french fries). Samoosas are a type of pastry filled with a chicken mixture. You can also get them in beef or cheese. They were very good! And, guess what to go with my chips? Ketchup! I went to the store and bought it while waiting on the food. You just don’t realize how much you take some things for granted.
Only a few days ago, we were saying that we had only been here a few days. Now, it’s been a week, and I cannot believe it! I already have so many stories and pictures for everyone. I am looking so forward to making my lessons and teaching all next week!
Katlin Wohlford
Our trip began on June 12, 2011. We were in the air for 20+ hours (June 12-13). Although quite grueling, the travel is a necessary part of the adventure. To get 8,000 miles from home takes some effort.
We stayed our first night at Annie’s Lodge in Lilongwe, the capital of Malawi. This small, quaint setting allowed us to take a breather and relax before the whirlwind of a day that was to follow.
June 14 was an amazing day! We visited Freedom Gardens, of which I cannot even begin to explain fully. Daniel, our guide for the visit, was the son of the man who started the completely self-sustainable farm with just 100K, $1 at the time. What he told us about his father’s start was something that we can use in every aspect of our lives: start small to succeed. His mother served us delicious chombe (tea), coffee, and lemongrass tea, along with homemade rolls, scones, and peanuts. For lunch, we had a traditional Malawian meal of rice, beans, spinach, fried chicken, and nsima with a tomato sauce prepared by the ladies of the farm. Following this, I had one of the wildest experiences of my life in the marketplace in the city. Absolutely nuts. It is so exhilarating to have to bargain for goods. They start high, and you bring them down. It is actually a very difficult process. It did not stop there, though. In fact, we did not realize that it was just the beginning. Peter, Annie’s son (yes, Annie as in the lodge owner) threw us a party with selected people at Kumbali, the lodge where Madonna stayed when she was adopting her child. This was amazing! We had another traditional meal and got to see actual traditional dancing, which completely captivated me. All of their dances tell a story. From the poetry readings, to the dancing by us that followed, we had such a phenomenal evening. The wine and Carlsberg beer was pretty good, also!
On June 15, we traveled form Lilongwe to Zomba. It took us eights hours to travel what it takes a car three and a half because of the bus. But, we have found that playing road trip games and looking at how pretty our surroundings are can really take up some time. This day held a couple delights as we visited a pottery place that served very good food, and a venture into a rowdy market on the border of Mozambique and Malawi was enthralling. So many beautiful vegetables!
We arrived at our home for the next month, Annie’s Lodge in Zomba, around 7:30pm.
June 16 held the biggest treat yet! We were able to visit all of the schools that each of the three colleges will be split up and teaching with. The children were AWESOME. They are so full or life, excitement, and general innocence and kindness. The conditions of the schools varied, although only a mile or two apart. Most of the students were so willing to hug you or “pound it” (touch fists together like a handshake). This was something new that we did with them. There will be so much more to tell regarding all of these visits after we get into the schools and start teaching. I will have so many stories to tell. Anna and I will be teaching Theresa’s Standard Six class at the Domasi Government School. I’m very excited.
June 17 was a day of observation and learning for me at the school. I became totally and completely aware that this was going to be a marvelous experience, but also a challenge. Standard six is equivalent to about 5th or 6th grade in America, but the ages in the class range so much. Their English is very good, which is fantastic since it will allow us to actually teach. Anna and I start taking over the whole class and teaching on Monday, June 20. The students are so full of passion and excitement. They dance and sing for hours if you let them. So full of life! I have many videos. We actually have a small class (about 60). Most are around 100-150, which would make finding enough supplies difficult. The actual classroom is about the size of a small America classroom, but with only 16 desks that the children share. They also share books, and most have notebooks, but some of those are shared as well. They are so willing to do whatever you ask them. There is no back talk or saying to no to a request. Since everything is so novel, their interest is heightened to the max! It is not just the novelty, but also the genuine fullness of their hearts and desire for more. Everything is just so different and interesting.
Saturday, June 18, was supposed to be a day where we ventured to the market and got skirt material, but we found a place on Ku Chawe Mountain along the Zomba Plateau where we could ride horses. So, that is what I ended up doing! Maggie and Brian (the stable owners) were such nice people. They had us all straightened out and ready to ride in about an hour. We split up into two groups, one of nine and another of eight. It was so nice to see the area atop Zara, my beautiful dark brown horse. Following this, some of us went to eat at Tasty Bites in town. It was very good and relatively cheap for what I got. I tried the chicken samoosas and chips (Malawi’s version of french fries). Samoosas are a type of pastry filled with a chicken mixture. You can also get them in beef or cheese. They were very good! And, guess what to go with my chips? Ketchup! I went to the store and bought it while waiting on the food. You just don’t realize how much you take some things for granted.
Only a few days ago, we were saying that we had only been here a few days. Now, it’s been a week, and I cannot believe it! I already have so many stories and pictures for everyone. I am looking so forward to making my lessons and teaching all next week!
Katlin Wohlford
Kelsey Post 2: Saturday Experience!
Saturday, June 18:
This morning and afternoon was amazing thanks to Simion! We all woke up and had breakfast then headed towards the mountains at about 9 am. We arrived to Ku Chawe Mountain, on the Zomba Plateau, at about 9:30 am and went immediately to the horse-barns. I don’t know if I have ever been on a higher peek or seen a more beautiful mountain. About 8 “new” riders went on the first round of horses while the rest of us “experienced” riders hung out by the barns, took pictures and ate an early lunch. I was in the second group, and we headed out when the others got back around 11:30 am. My horses name was “Nick A Quid” and he is an old race horse! It’s humorous that I was in the “experienced” riders group but I told them I wanted to go fast and wasn’t scared so they put me in the second group, which I am so glad they did! Simion and I were at the front of the line and were told to go off on our own because we were way faster than the rest of the group. I got to trot, canter and gallop up and down mountains, passing a waterfall, surrounded by sunshine and pine trees. After an hour plus ride, we got back to the barn at about 12:45. For over an hour of horseback riding, in the beautiful mountains of Africa, we only owed 4000 kwatcha which is about 20 US dollars. What kind of amazing deal is that?
After the rides, we went up to the hotel on the mountain while Dr. Kelly and the other professors got beer and relaxed and us students shopped around. As we were pulling out, we were swarmed again by all of the vendors throwing things in our windows. Apparently this is what we need to do at all of the markets: we refuse to pay the prices, and then when our bus is on its way out and the vendors see that we are really leaving, they lower the price by at least ½. Dr. Kelly said that their initial offer is 7 times greater than the actual price of the item because they tend to take advantage of “clueless” American tourists. Not us! I have yet to buy anything except food because I honestly think my pictures and memories are good enough souvenirs. I’d rather save all of my money to be able to donate at the end, but I would like to get a bag and something for my parents at the big market next weekend.
We got back from the adventure at about 3 and most of us got on the internet (finally!) and then took a nap. For dinner tonight I had a vegetable pie, which was like a vegetable hot pocket. It was very good and the portions here make me feel skinny. That’s always a plus haha! Now Katie and I are about to start our lesson plan for Monday, which is hard because our teacher gave us no direction. Honestly, I don’t know how much we will be teaching but more-so just putting smiles on the kids faces and making them feel loved.
Tomorrow morning we are going to Church at 9 am which I am so excited for and really have no idea what to expect. Dr. Kelly said it will last at least 2 hours because of all of the music, but the mass is in English and Chichewa which will be great. I will try to videotape it! Talk tomorrow. Peace, love, Malawi.
This morning and afternoon was amazing thanks to Simion! We all woke up and had breakfast then headed towards the mountains at about 9 am. We arrived to Ku Chawe Mountain, on the Zomba Plateau, at about 9:30 am and went immediately to the horse-barns. I don’t know if I have ever been on a higher peek or seen a more beautiful mountain. About 8 “new” riders went on the first round of horses while the rest of us “experienced” riders hung out by the barns, took pictures and ate an early lunch. I was in the second group, and we headed out when the others got back around 11:30 am. My horses name was “Nick A Quid” and he is an old race horse! It’s humorous that I was in the “experienced” riders group but I told them I wanted to go fast and wasn’t scared so they put me in the second group, which I am so glad they did! Simion and I were at the front of the line and were told to go off on our own because we were way faster than the rest of the group. I got to trot, canter and gallop up and down mountains, passing a waterfall, surrounded by sunshine and pine trees. After an hour plus ride, we got back to the barn at about 12:45. For over an hour of horseback riding, in the beautiful mountains of Africa, we only owed 4000 kwatcha which is about 20 US dollars. What kind of amazing deal is that?
After the rides, we went up to the hotel on the mountain while Dr. Kelly and the other professors got beer and relaxed and us students shopped around. As we were pulling out, we were swarmed again by all of the vendors throwing things in our windows. Apparently this is what we need to do at all of the markets: we refuse to pay the prices, and then when our bus is on its way out and the vendors see that we are really leaving, they lower the price by at least ½. Dr. Kelly said that their initial offer is 7 times greater than the actual price of the item because they tend to take advantage of “clueless” American tourists. Not us! I have yet to buy anything except food because I honestly think my pictures and memories are good enough souvenirs. I’d rather save all of my money to be able to donate at the end, but I would like to get a bag and something for my parents at the big market next weekend.
We got back from the adventure at about 3 and most of us got on the internet (finally!) and then took a nap. For dinner tonight I had a vegetable pie, which was like a vegetable hot pocket. It was very good and the portions here make me feel skinny. That’s always a plus haha! Now Katie and I are about to start our lesson plan for Monday, which is hard because our teacher gave us no direction. Honestly, I don’t know how much we will be teaching but more-so just putting smiles on the kids faces and making them feel loved.
Tomorrow morning we are going to Church at 9 am which I am so excited for and really have no idea what to expect. Dr. Kelly said it will last at least 2 hours because of all of the music, but the mass is in English and Chichewa which will be great. I will try to videotape it! Talk tomorrow. Peace, love, Malawi.
Freedom Gardens :)
Tuesday, June 14:
Last night we had our first Malawian meal and it was surprisingly good! Chicken with some rice and leafy greens, and then the most delicious bananas. The bananas here are about half the size but five times sweeter than bananas at home. After dinner we all hungout in our rooms and were passed out asleep by 9:30 pm. It was a long day! This morning we woke up at about 8 am, had eggs and pineapple juice for breakfast and then headed to Freedom Gardens about 30 minutes away from Lilongwe. I really didn’t understand what we were going into, and it wasn’t something I would seek out on my own, but it was so inspiring and greatly informative. Freedom Gardens is the only land in Malawi that uses sustainable farming. A lady in her 50’s owns the land with her son, Daniel, who is 24 and went to college in Africa. Daniel now runs the land and gave us an amazing tour of the 25 acre property, which was initially sold to them from the government as a “wasteland”. Daniel’s parents believed that they could turn things around, so they took the land and “started small”, hoping to learn through trial and error to become a successful sustainable property. Daniel showed us the natural ways of composting, by recycling all the old branches and leaves and putting them in a 4 foot pit where everything eventually decomposes and can be crushed into soil. By recycling vegetation like this, you not only are helping the environment and being sustainable, but you are producing richer soil for your crops.
Then we were shown techniques to make your own pesticides which do not kill the good nutrients that soil fertilizes. These integrated pesticide management techniques, such as “hedging” and crushing certain leaves and crops and mixing it with water, are ways to work towards sustainability. Lastly, we learned about water harvesting with a natural irrigation system. In the middle of the property was a huge pit that collects rain and is stored during the dry season. Because the pit is underground, the water is then immediately dispersed to the surrounding trees and plant-life. All of the natural irrigation systems were somehow inter-connected to eachother through pipes or man-made holes. The whole day was very inspiring for these people coming from nothing still have the determination to work towards sustainability, and are actually brilliant agricultural individuals.
After our three-hour tour, we were served another home-cooked Malawian meal, but this one I was not a fan of considering we saw and heard them collecting and killing the chickens. Yuck. Thankfully Anna brought PB crackers so I had those which held me over. We left Freedom Gardens around 4 pm, and this is when we experienced the highlight of our days. As we were pulling out from the property, some of the workers children started sprinting after our bus screaming things (we think they were asking for money). Either way, they were absolutely adorable and were keeping up with the bus for a good 5 minutes. Anna then decided to throw two packs of fruit snacks out of the window, and the kids started going crazy! One of the professors from UN A&T had a huge bag of “Cracker Jacks” in her bag, and followed by throwing those out the window. The children all raced to the bag and the little boy who got to it first started screaming and held it up in the air like a trophy. It was the most adorable and funniest thing I have ever seen, and that’s how every day will be like once we get to the schools in Zomba!
On our way home, we stopped downtown at the “black markets”. SCARY. It was literally unlike anything I have ever seen before, and I wanted to videotape it but my camera died. Party fowl. The second the bus pulled into the circle, we were bombarded by people trying to sell us things. I had experienced this in Jamaica before, but the marketers and beggars are on a completely different level. It was humorous at first, but then it just got kind of uncomfortable. Thankfully, the market in Zomba is not nearly as intense, but Dr. Kelly wanted us to experience it so we had somewhat of an idea of how the market works. They did have pretty culturally unique items, so I definitely will be buying stuff at the Zomba market.
Now, we are back at the lodge (the power just went out) and we are leaving for our “special party” at 6:30. We have no idea what this consists of exactly, but Peter planned it and sent out invitations to locals, exc. It is outside the premises of the lodge, and we were told to dress up and there will be a buffet dinner (nervous) but that is all we know. We are all joking that we are going to Madonna’s house, because Dr. Kelly said once we find out the place we’re going, we will have heard of it from the news. However, for those of us who don’t watch the news, I might still have no idea where we’re going. Either way, I will obviously be taking a lot of pictures and will upload them later tonight when/if the power comes back on. Tomorrow we head to Zomba where we can finally unpack and get settled in; I am so excited!! Touch base later.
Last night we had our first Malawian meal and it was surprisingly good! Chicken with some rice and leafy greens, and then the most delicious bananas. The bananas here are about half the size but five times sweeter than bananas at home. After dinner we all hungout in our rooms and were passed out asleep by 9:30 pm. It was a long day! This morning we woke up at about 8 am, had eggs and pineapple juice for breakfast and then headed to Freedom Gardens about 30 minutes away from Lilongwe. I really didn’t understand what we were going into, and it wasn’t something I would seek out on my own, but it was so inspiring and greatly informative. Freedom Gardens is the only land in Malawi that uses sustainable farming. A lady in her 50’s owns the land with her son, Daniel, who is 24 and went to college in Africa. Daniel now runs the land and gave us an amazing tour of the 25 acre property, which was initially sold to them from the government as a “wasteland”. Daniel’s parents believed that they could turn things around, so they took the land and “started small”, hoping to learn through trial and error to become a successful sustainable property. Daniel showed us the natural ways of composting, by recycling all the old branches and leaves and putting them in a 4 foot pit where everything eventually decomposes and can be crushed into soil. By recycling vegetation like this, you not only are helping the environment and being sustainable, but you are producing richer soil for your crops.
Then we were shown techniques to make your own pesticides which do not kill the good nutrients that soil fertilizes. These integrated pesticide management techniques, such as “hedging” and crushing certain leaves and crops and mixing it with water, are ways to work towards sustainability. Lastly, we learned about water harvesting with a natural irrigation system. In the middle of the property was a huge pit that collects rain and is stored during the dry season. Because the pit is underground, the water is then immediately dispersed to the surrounding trees and plant-life. All of the natural irrigation systems were somehow inter-connected to eachother through pipes or man-made holes. The whole day was very inspiring for these people coming from nothing still have the determination to work towards sustainability, and are actually brilliant agricultural individuals.
After our three-hour tour, we were served another home-cooked Malawian meal, but this one I was not a fan of considering we saw and heard them collecting and killing the chickens. Yuck. Thankfully Anna brought PB crackers so I had those which held me over. We left Freedom Gardens around 4 pm, and this is when we experienced the highlight of our days. As we were pulling out from the property, some of the workers children started sprinting after our bus screaming things (we think they were asking for money). Either way, they were absolutely adorable and were keeping up with the bus for a good 5 minutes. Anna then decided to throw two packs of fruit snacks out of the window, and the kids started going crazy! One of the professors from UN A&T had a huge bag of “Cracker Jacks” in her bag, and followed by throwing those out the window. The children all raced to the bag and the little boy who got to it first started screaming and held it up in the air like a trophy. It was the most adorable and funniest thing I have ever seen, and that’s how every day will be like once we get to the schools in Zomba!
On our way home, we stopped downtown at the “black markets”. SCARY. It was literally unlike anything I have ever seen before, and I wanted to videotape it but my camera died. Party fowl. The second the bus pulled into the circle, we were bombarded by people trying to sell us things. I had experienced this in Jamaica before, but the marketers and beggars are on a completely different level. It was humorous at first, but then it just got kind of uncomfortable. Thankfully, the market in Zomba is not nearly as intense, but Dr. Kelly wanted us to experience it so we had somewhat of an idea of how the market works. They did have pretty culturally unique items, so I definitely will be buying stuff at the Zomba market.
Now, we are back at the lodge (the power just went out) and we are leaving for our “special party” at 6:30. We have no idea what this consists of exactly, but Peter planned it and sent out invitations to locals, exc. It is outside the premises of the lodge, and we were told to dress up and there will be a buffet dinner (nervous) but that is all we know. We are all joking that we are going to Madonna’s house, because Dr. Kelly said once we find out the place we’re going, we will have heard of it from the news. However, for those of us who don’t watch the news, I might still have no idea where we’re going. Either way, I will obviously be taking a lot of pictures and will upload them later tonight when/if the power comes back on. Tomorrow we head to Zomba where we can finally unpack and get settled in; I am so excited!! Touch base later.
Observing our the lovely Standard 6
June 17th, 2011: Alison Reynolds
Second Day of School at the Domasi Government School
Today was our first day of actually being in the classroom. When we arrived at school we were greeted warmly by cheering children as our bus was engulfed by them. Bebe and I met our Standard 6 teacher, Gertrude. Gertrude is wonderful and really seems to be happy and excited to have us in her classroom. It is an amazing feeling to be welcomed into such a diverse environment. We got a feel for our class as we observed our teacher, she first taught about inequalities. Gertrude then proceeded to teach Life Skills. Much to our surprise Gertrude began a lengthy casual conversation about the different abbreviations associated with HIV/AIDS, the meaning of the human race, and how to promote the rights of people living with HIV/AIDS. Bebe and I held back tears as this real life issue was openly discussed. Until this week it had not occurred to me the reality of the HIV/AIDS epidemic I would be facing in Malawi. After my first day at school the harsh reality became very apparent. After Life Skills the children went up to the front of the class in groups of ten or so and performed a dance for us. The children were amazing dancers, the way they could shake it was truly amazing. One student named Frank stood up and performed a perfect rendition of Justin Bieber's song "Baby". We were surprised by his choice of American song and happily joined along. I couldn't help but think that this is what America is sharing with the world. Gertrude then gave the children a fifteen minute break. She shared with us that the Muslim students would leave at this time to go to the Mosque. Bebe and I did the Hokie Pokie, Grey Squirrel, and Simon Says during break time but it was basically just 50 plus kids copying everything we did and said including random animal noises. After break Gertrude said she was tired and we sat outside the classroom chatting while the students were inside. The students sat patiently as the 15 minute break grew to 45 minutes. We found it interesting that the teachers seem teach whenever they feel like it.
After school we traveled to town because the main internet transformer blew up in an adjacent town and we wanted to e-mail our families on the DSL computers. The internet was sooooo slow and I really felt my impatient American tendencies beginning to show. I have much to learn from the patient Malawians.
Second Day of School at the Domasi Government School
Today was our first day of actually being in the classroom. When we arrived at school we were greeted warmly by cheering children as our bus was engulfed by them. Bebe and I met our Standard 6 teacher, Gertrude. Gertrude is wonderful and really seems to be happy and excited to have us in her classroom. It is an amazing feeling to be welcomed into such a diverse environment. We got a feel for our class as we observed our teacher, she first taught about inequalities. Gertrude then proceeded to teach Life Skills. Much to our surprise Gertrude began a lengthy casual conversation about the different abbreviations associated with HIV/AIDS, the meaning of the human race, and how to promote the rights of people living with HIV/AIDS. Bebe and I held back tears as this real life issue was openly discussed. Until this week it had not occurred to me the reality of the HIV/AIDS epidemic I would be facing in Malawi. After my first day at school the harsh reality became very apparent. After Life Skills the children went up to the front of the class in groups of ten or so and performed a dance for us. The children were amazing dancers, the way they could shake it was truly amazing. One student named Frank stood up and performed a perfect rendition of Justin Bieber's song "Baby". We were surprised by his choice of American song and happily joined along. I couldn't help but think that this is what America is sharing with the world. Gertrude then gave the children a fifteen minute break. She shared with us that the Muslim students would leave at this time to go to the Mosque. Bebe and I did the Hokie Pokie, Grey Squirrel, and Simon Says during break time but it was basically just 50 plus kids copying everything we did and said including random animal noises. After break Gertrude said she was tired and we sat outside the classroom chatting while the students were inside. The students sat patiently as the 15 minute break grew to 45 minutes. We found it interesting that the teachers seem teach whenever they feel like it.
After school we traveled to town because the main internet transformer blew up in an adjacent town and we wanted to e-mail our families on the DSL computers. The internet was sooooo slow and I really felt my impatient American tendencies beginning to show. I have much to learn from the patient Malawians.
First Day of School
Lindsay Teague **Sorry this is a few day's old but today was our first day with internet!!
Today was our first day in the schools! All of us went and visited all three schools. The schools are only about a fifteen-twenty minute drive from Annie’s Lodge so it is nice we won’t have to travel very far! The first school was the Malemia primary school and all of these children live in the surrounding village. We watched them eat lunch, and I found it emotional to watch them eat their “porridge”. If the child did not have a cup to put it in, then they simply just didn’t get to eat. The most touching part of this was that the children who did have a cup would share with their friends who didn’t. I find this amazing and puts their poverty, but genuine caring nature into perspective.
We then went to the Domasi Government School (VT’s) and lastly the Domasi Demonstration School. Each of the schools had between 50-100 students in each classroom. The children at all three are absolutely adorable and were so excited to see us that they would just surround our bus! So far this has been a truly wonderful experience and I know we all can’t wait to start teaching them! Tomorrow we go to our classrooms and shadow the teacher’s whose classrooms we will be working in. I can’t wait to see what a full-day of school is like for them! We will all be beginning to plan our lessons this weekend!
After we visited the schools we went to the market to get water for the next couple of days. It was fun to see Zomba during the daylight today because we arrived last night in the dark and the market is a little more centrally located in town. It will be fun to explore our new home for the next month over this weekend because we will be exploring the market’s more on Saturday.
Today was our first day in the schools! All of us went and visited all three schools. The schools are only about a fifteen-twenty minute drive from Annie’s Lodge so it is nice we won’t have to travel very far! The first school was the Malemia primary school and all of these children live in the surrounding village. We watched them eat lunch, and I found it emotional to watch them eat their “porridge”. If the child did not have a cup to put it in, then they simply just didn’t get to eat. The most touching part of this was that the children who did have a cup would share with their friends who didn’t. I find this amazing and puts their poverty, but genuine caring nature into perspective.
We then went to the Domasi Government School (VT’s) and lastly the Domasi Demonstration School. Each of the schools had between 50-100 students in each classroom. The children at all three are absolutely adorable and were so excited to see us that they would just surround our bus! So far this has been a truly wonderful experience and I know we all can’t wait to start teaching them! Tomorrow we go to our classrooms and shadow the teacher’s whose classrooms we will be working in. I can’t wait to see what a full-day of school is like for them! We will all be beginning to plan our lessons this weekend!
After we visited the schools we went to the market to get water for the next couple of days. It was fun to see Zomba during the daylight today because we arrived last night in the dark and the market is a little more centrally located in town. It will be fun to explore our new home for the next month over this weekend because we will be exploring the market’s more on Saturday.
A Week Without Internet
Patricia Kelly, advisor
Because of internet problems this entry covers from when we left Dulles on June 12 through today June 18, a week of adventures with Study Abroad. The trip was shorter to Addis Ababa because we did not refuel in Rome. We had one of the new fuel efficient planes and that saved at least an hour and a half in travel time. So we arrived in Addis Ababa in 13 hours. But the trip to Lilongwe took 6 hours because we stopped in the Congo for passengers to get off and get on. Finally in Lilongwe, almost 23 hours since Dulles, we arrived. Our bus and trailer for the luggage were waiting. The trailer is new this year so we can now take 27 people on Study Abroad. However, the Malawians told us the bus would hold 32 – Malawians pack a bus to the max, so I had subtracted five. Lo and behold as tightly as we could squeeze on one person is still standing or sitting in the door step. We might have to lower the number next year.
On Tuesday, we went to Tikwonde Freedom Gardens, started in 1982 by Dr. Chinkhuntha, an economist, and his wife, a teacher. Of course, the first thing upon arrival, we had to have tea and scones in the truly British way. I had lemon grass tea that was to die for. Then Daniel Chinkhuntha, Dr. Chinkhuntha’s son started the lecture. After years of working for others, his father had a dream of living an independent life off the land. A chief gave him land, a small plot that was arable and a whole lot of swamp land. Thus began almost 30 years of hard work to build a sustainable farming system. Everything is done organically: natural fertilizers, companion planting for insects as well as different plants they combine to make a natural insecticide. Daniel and his workers demonstrated dribbling the insecticide on with a tiny “mop” made from corn husks. Students practiced mashing the plants and putting on the insecticide. Farther along, they dug the field debris back into the soil with huge hoes. They saw the irrigation system based on gravity that Dr. Chinkhuntha devised. We walked the fields until 1 o’clock when we ate a Malawian meal cooked by village women that belong to a group Mrs. Chinkhuntha began to earn money to support their families. They run a kitchen in a grass hut and open fire; they bake things for sale as well. We departed full and happy.
That evening we traveled to Kumbali Village for a party that Peter Thompson, Annie Fletcher’s son who owns the Annie’s Lodges where we stay, had arranged for us. Kumbali Village is where Madonna goes when she comes to Malawi. Her house is somewhere near. But getting there was an adventure. Peter had said there was no way to tell anyone how to get there. He met our bus along the way and two cars led us through the bush , and at each fork the road got narrower. Some people were screaming, “Where are we going?” We hadn’t told them because it was a surprise. The party was in a large thatched building obviously set up for performances. In addition to us, Peter had invited select people, we were a party of 65 or so. After eating, two poets performed. Avery read lyrical, feminist poetry. Q. Malewezi, writes and performs hard hitting political and cultural “observations.” He is a rousing performance artist. These poets were followed on another stage by traditional dances mainly done by women. Most of the dances I had never seen before because many dances feature men with women as “backup.” But these women could DANCE! We got to dance with them, and then the band switched to dance music and the party began. We danced and danced. We departed at twelve because we had a long drive to Zomba the next day.
We loaded up on Wednesday morning and left only a half hour late – a record by Malawi standards. We traveled south to Dedza Pottery shop. What normally was at the most an hour in a car, and in the past years an hour and a half in the bus, was now a 2 ½ hour drive because we have 9 more people and more than 18 pieces of additional luggage. We figure 2,000 more pounds in weight and the largest mountains on the trip. Dedza Pottery was a little disappointing this year: the food was slow and expensive; credit cards were being rejected even those that had called their companies ahead of time (nobody wants to take a chance on Africa). We finally were on our way and in an hour got to Lizulu on the Mozambique border. Lizulu is a huge open air market stretching on both sides of M1, Malawi on one side and Mozambique on the other. We, of course, went shopping on the Mozambique side. A couple of us bargained for some ground nuts (peanuts), and we got a bag with about 15 pounds or more. I was carrying if over my shoulder, and Simeon Hendricks, one of the students from NCA&T and a big guy, took it to carry. We shopped and took in the colorful sights, sounds, smells, and general chaos of the market. We boarded the bus reluctantly because we knew had had approximately 7 more hours on the bus with no bathroom break, and the last 2 hours in the dark, something we try to avoid.
We arrived at Annie’s Lodge in Zomba at almost 8 o’clock. The scramble to get the bags off the bus and to the rooms in the dark – up the hills and steps – was fun because it was interesting to see them view their rooms, a step up from Annie’s Lodge Area 47 in Lilongwe. The grounds are lovely and the rooms large with a bathroom and two beds. The dogs from the surrounding area bark all night, of course. But they’ll get used to it.
We went to all three schools the next morning (Thursday, June 16) we visited all three schools – Malemia Village School, where Radford University places its students; Domasi Demonstration School, where NCA&T places its students; and Domasi Government School, where Virginia Tech places its students. It’s good for the students to see the differences in the schools. It’s also good that each university develops a deep, lasting relationship over the years with its school. Tech students like Domasi Government because it’s the largest, but also more needy than the Demonstration School but not as needy as Malemia. They chose the five teachers they’ll work with because they work in pairs. With as many as 100 in class and sometimes more, they need to work together. In the afternoon we went down to buy water for the next few days so the bus could bring us back up the hill.
On Friday they went to their individual classes with their selected teachers. They observed until noon and then we met in our classroom at Malawi Institute of Education (MIE). All three universities occasionally meet together to discuss general topics. The topic today was the influence of music in protest movements in Malawi – we have a reading for them on Lucius Banda. Of course, we tied it to the music of the Vietnam War that influence political action in the U.S. We are asking them to do this reading because Annie Fletcher has arranged for us to attend a concert where Lucius Banda will appear with others. Annie owns a concert hall. She arranges concerts and attendance is by invitation. So this will be another special party for the students.
Saturday was to be a slow day, go to pick out fabric downtown, shop around, and end up at Tasty Bites for an early dinner. However, Simeon convinced everyone to go horseback riding at KuChawe on the Zomba Plateau, which is at the end of the Great Rift in Africa.( Annie’s Lodge sits at the base of the Rift. We look out each day at the huge wall of rock and mountain that forms the Rift.) So we arrange the bus for the trip up the mountain. Eighteen of us ride through pine forests with ferns almost as high as the horse. KuChawe is so high it has an entirely different eco-system from the rest of Malawi. After the ride we look out across the valley and shop with the vendors on the mountain. We end up at Tasty Bites for dinner and walk back up the hill a mile to the Lodge by dark.
Malawi is experiencing several problems right now, especially in the Southern Region
where we are. There is a severe fuel shortage. Annie has been buying petrol on the black market in bits and pieces so we will have fuel. I’m not sure what we’ll have to pay, but we’re being taken care of. There are things we could normally get that are totally unavailable. The woman who runs the stable at KuChawe said that tourists just aren’t coming because of the fuel. We think we’ve noticed that the traffic isn’t as dense as usual on the Zomba road. The other thing that is troublesome is that a transformer blew out in Blantyre and they took the one from Zomba to replace it temporarily. That meant that Zomba had the capacity to only serve vital needs. Annie’s Lodge has a generator for the kitchen and the conference center only. The internet wasn’t working at all.
Today when we got back from downtown everything changed. The internet was back on and being rewired so that we can access the internet from our rooms. Formerly, we sat outside in spots we could find. They’ve also made arrangement for a huge generator that will serve all functions of the Lodge. As they said, it will be five years before this changes, so they have to make arrangements if they’re going to keep the clientele. So after a week, everything is looking up!
Because of internet problems this entry covers from when we left Dulles on June 12 through today June 18, a week of adventures with Study Abroad. The trip was shorter to Addis Ababa because we did not refuel in Rome. We had one of the new fuel efficient planes and that saved at least an hour and a half in travel time. So we arrived in Addis Ababa in 13 hours. But the trip to Lilongwe took 6 hours because we stopped in the Congo for passengers to get off and get on. Finally in Lilongwe, almost 23 hours since Dulles, we arrived. Our bus and trailer for the luggage were waiting. The trailer is new this year so we can now take 27 people on Study Abroad. However, the Malawians told us the bus would hold 32 – Malawians pack a bus to the max, so I had subtracted five. Lo and behold as tightly as we could squeeze on one person is still standing or sitting in the door step. We might have to lower the number next year.
On Tuesday, we went to Tikwonde Freedom Gardens, started in 1982 by Dr. Chinkhuntha, an economist, and his wife, a teacher. Of course, the first thing upon arrival, we had to have tea and scones in the truly British way. I had lemon grass tea that was to die for. Then Daniel Chinkhuntha, Dr. Chinkhuntha’s son started the lecture. After years of working for others, his father had a dream of living an independent life off the land. A chief gave him land, a small plot that was arable and a whole lot of swamp land. Thus began almost 30 years of hard work to build a sustainable farming system. Everything is done organically: natural fertilizers, companion planting for insects as well as different plants they combine to make a natural insecticide. Daniel and his workers demonstrated dribbling the insecticide on with a tiny “mop” made from corn husks. Students practiced mashing the plants and putting on the insecticide. Farther along, they dug the field debris back into the soil with huge hoes. They saw the irrigation system based on gravity that Dr. Chinkhuntha devised. We walked the fields until 1 o’clock when we ate a Malawian meal cooked by village women that belong to a group Mrs. Chinkhuntha began to earn money to support their families. They run a kitchen in a grass hut and open fire; they bake things for sale as well. We departed full and happy.
That evening we traveled to Kumbali Village for a party that Peter Thompson, Annie Fletcher’s son who owns the Annie’s Lodges where we stay, had arranged for us. Kumbali Village is where Madonna goes when she comes to Malawi. Her house is somewhere near. But getting there was an adventure. Peter had said there was no way to tell anyone how to get there. He met our bus along the way and two cars led us through the bush , and at each fork the road got narrower. Some people were screaming, “Where are we going?” We hadn’t told them because it was a surprise. The party was in a large thatched building obviously set up for performances. In addition to us, Peter had invited select people, we were a party of 65 or so. After eating, two poets performed. Avery read lyrical, feminist poetry. Q. Malewezi, writes and performs hard hitting political and cultural “observations.” He is a rousing performance artist. These poets were followed on another stage by traditional dances mainly done by women. Most of the dances I had never seen before because many dances feature men with women as “backup.” But these women could DANCE! We got to dance with them, and then the band switched to dance music and the party began. We danced and danced. We departed at twelve because we had a long drive to Zomba the next day.
We loaded up on Wednesday morning and left only a half hour late – a record by Malawi standards. We traveled south to Dedza Pottery shop. What normally was at the most an hour in a car, and in the past years an hour and a half in the bus, was now a 2 ½ hour drive because we have 9 more people and more than 18 pieces of additional luggage. We figure 2,000 more pounds in weight and the largest mountains on the trip. Dedza Pottery was a little disappointing this year: the food was slow and expensive; credit cards were being rejected even those that had called their companies ahead of time (nobody wants to take a chance on Africa). We finally were on our way and in an hour got to Lizulu on the Mozambique border. Lizulu is a huge open air market stretching on both sides of M1, Malawi on one side and Mozambique on the other. We, of course, went shopping on the Mozambique side. A couple of us bargained for some ground nuts (peanuts), and we got a bag with about 15 pounds or more. I was carrying if over my shoulder, and Simeon Hendricks, one of the students from NCA&T and a big guy, took it to carry. We shopped and took in the colorful sights, sounds, smells, and general chaos of the market. We boarded the bus reluctantly because we knew had had approximately 7 more hours on the bus with no bathroom break, and the last 2 hours in the dark, something we try to avoid.
We arrived at Annie’s Lodge in Zomba at almost 8 o’clock. The scramble to get the bags off the bus and to the rooms in the dark – up the hills and steps – was fun because it was interesting to see them view their rooms, a step up from Annie’s Lodge Area 47 in Lilongwe. The grounds are lovely and the rooms large with a bathroom and two beds. The dogs from the surrounding area bark all night, of course. But they’ll get used to it.
We went to all three schools the next morning (Thursday, June 16) we visited all three schools – Malemia Village School, where Radford University places its students; Domasi Demonstration School, where NCA&T places its students; and Domasi Government School, where Virginia Tech places its students. It’s good for the students to see the differences in the schools. It’s also good that each university develops a deep, lasting relationship over the years with its school. Tech students like Domasi Government because it’s the largest, but also more needy than the Demonstration School but not as needy as Malemia. They chose the five teachers they’ll work with because they work in pairs. With as many as 100 in class and sometimes more, they need to work together. In the afternoon we went down to buy water for the next few days so the bus could bring us back up the hill.
On Friday they went to their individual classes with their selected teachers. They observed until noon and then we met in our classroom at Malawi Institute of Education (MIE). All three universities occasionally meet together to discuss general topics. The topic today was the influence of music in protest movements in Malawi – we have a reading for them on Lucius Banda. Of course, we tied it to the music of the Vietnam War that influence political action in the U.S. We are asking them to do this reading because Annie Fletcher has arranged for us to attend a concert where Lucius Banda will appear with others. Annie owns a concert hall. She arranges concerts and attendance is by invitation. So this will be another special party for the students.
Saturday was to be a slow day, go to pick out fabric downtown, shop around, and end up at Tasty Bites for an early dinner. However, Simeon convinced everyone to go horseback riding at KuChawe on the Zomba Plateau, which is at the end of the Great Rift in Africa.( Annie’s Lodge sits at the base of the Rift. We look out each day at the huge wall of rock and mountain that forms the Rift.) So we arrange the bus for the trip up the mountain. Eighteen of us ride through pine forests with ferns almost as high as the horse. KuChawe is so high it has an entirely different eco-system from the rest of Malawi. After the ride we look out across the valley and shop with the vendors on the mountain. We end up at Tasty Bites for dinner and walk back up the hill a mile to the Lodge by dark.
Malawi is experiencing several problems right now, especially in the Southern Region
where we are. There is a severe fuel shortage. Annie has been buying petrol on the black market in bits and pieces so we will have fuel. I’m not sure what we’ll have to pay, but we’re being taken care of. There are things we could normally get that are totally unavailable. The woman who runs the stable at KuChawe said that tourists just aren’t coming because of the fuel. We think we’ve noticed that the traffic isn’t as dense as usual on the Zomba road. The other thing that is troublesome is that a transformer blew out in Blantyre and they took the one from Zomba to replace it temporarily. That meant that Zomba had the capacity to only serve vital needs. Annie’s Lodge has a generator for the kitchen and the conference center only. The internet wasn’t working at all.
Today when we got back from downtown everything changed. The internet was back on and being rewired so that we can access the internet from our rooms. Formerly, we sat outside in spots we could find. They’ve also made arrangement for a huge generator that will serve all functions of the Lodge. As they said, it will be five years before this changes, so they have to make arrangements if they’re going to keep the clientele. So after a week, everything is looking up!
Monday, June 6, 2011
We Leave Soon
Everyone is excited about the pending trip to Malawi and collecting lots of materials for their projects in the schools. We leave Dulles on June 12 on Ethiopian Airlines, stop in Rome for refueling, and change planes in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, on the 13th for travel to Lilongwe. The Virginia Tech group is comprised of Ashley FitzGerald, Katie Fuson, Bebe Jolly, Kelsey Muffler, Alison Reynolds, Devon Rook, Lindsay Teague, Anna Tobia, Emily Wilson, and Katlin Wohlford. Two other universities go with us, Radford University and North Carolina A&T. There are 27 of us this year, made possible by now having a trailer for the bus to carry our luggage. Before, all the luggage had to go on the bus, which took up more than two rows of seats. This arrangement should be much more comfortable.
Can't wait to connect with old friends there. I've been e-mailing them to let them know when we will be at Annie's Lodge. Just found out that our itinerary will include a party our last night in Malawi, hosted by the head of public affairs at the U.S. Embassy in Lilongwe. That will be an added treat to end 30 exciting days in Malawi.
Patricia Kelly, advisor
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