Kitchen Project

Our building committee has been meeting fairly regularly to secure the community contributions needed to build our school kitchen. Yesterday, I spent all day moving and counting bricks as we transported them to the school from a nearby village where they were made. We’re using between 25 and 30 thousand bricks, so as you can imagine it was quite a long day! We’ll continue tomorrow and after that it will be time to find the sand and quarry needed for construction.

Of course, we are still waiting on funding for the rest of the project. The other funds will pay for labor, cement, nails, tin sheets, and all other building materials. We’re eager to get started and already working hard to get the project going before next school year!

If you’d like more information or to donate to our project, visit the link below!

https://www.peacecorps.gov/index.cfm?shell=resources.donors.contribute.projDetail&projdesc=614-214

Thanks to those who have already donated or who are working on raising funds within their own communities and groups!

This is a picture of our current kitchen. You can see why it's so important that we build a new one!

Game Count

I made my second visit to Liwonde National Park a few weekends ago, but this time I was actually doing work, helping with the annual game count. With the help of volunteers, every year all of the large animals including elephants, sable, impala, wharthogs, kudu, etc. are counted and logged in the records of the park service office.

I was glad to help for the weekend and had a really great time hiking and counting animals with some of my Peace Corps friends and armed park scouts. They were of course armed because some of the animals, elephants especially can be very dangerous if provoked.

I didn’t really see much on the hikes, but definitely enjoyed myself. The most exciting part of the trip was when our scouts spotted what they thought was a poacher in the forest. We snuck up on the supposed poacher, caught him and watched the scouts bring him into custody! We found out the next day that he probably wasn’t a real poacher and was likely released as soon as he was brought in. It was exciting nonetheless!

Gwangwa Girls Club

This will likely turn out to be one of my favorite and most memorable activities at site. After attending a girl’s empowerment camp put on by Peace Corps Volunteers, two of my girls came to me to ask if we could start a girls club at our school. So the GGC has been meeting two or three times a week after school. We sing songs, dance, talk about women’s issues, play netball and football (soccer… this is a big deal for girls to be doing!)

We have three rules:
1. No boys. (Mitsikana Basi)
2. Don’t be shy. (Osachita Manyazi)
3. Be respectful and helpful to all girls at all times.

It’s pretty fabulous. I’ve added some pictures of one of our meetings to the "My Puictures" Link and will soon add more from our upcoming football/netball event next week!

Graduation

The Form Fours celebrated their graduation a few weekends ago. It was a fairly large deal, like any graduation in the states. We had t-shirts made in town, had a giant feast, a disco, and invited lots of guests including the Deputy Minister of Education and the Member of Parliament for our area. My favorite parts of the day were the events that featured students, especially the speech that was given by the Head Girl and the plays put on by the other students to entertain their friends. Unfortunately, I had to miss out on the end of the festivities as I made my way to the airport to welcome the newest class of education volunteers to Malawi. It was pretty neat to be on the other end of this ordeal, seems like not too long ago I was in their shoes.

There are pictures from both graduation and the airport on my picture page!

Good Thoughts

I’ve been in town the past few days going to meetings and sending out fundraising emails to Malawian businesses to try and raise money for Camp Sky, our large “summer” camp in December. I needed some motivation and looked again at the evaluations from my science mini-camp to keep me going.

Here are some of my favorite comments from the evaluations, in case you too, need to brighten up your day:

“I thank Madam Kelly and Mike and all invited teachers for the recommendable job you done. It is unusual thing in our country and this has assist me to know where I am going and God may bless you all.”

“I can see that my brain is now working as electricity…SO FAST…and as well am not seeing any reason I can fail to speak english because now I am intelligent in speaking english because of you teachers.”

“I really appreciate for the good you did to us. This is not what I was expecting to happen. I really cherish you and this is not for granted and you need to continue this to assist others.”

“I have noticed that the Peace Corps are doing a big job in our country. So there is a need to thank you all our teacher. You taught us like your children, kindly which is lacking among only the malawians. You were our source of comfort.”

“I have learned many things during this camp which I have never learned before and because of this now I have a key to go to university and I will still work hard on my MSCE Exams in order to become a successful woman.”

I arrived in Malawi exactly one year ago, today.

Love and Good Thoughts,
Kelly

Kitchen Project

The Gwangwa CDSS Kitchen Project is in full swing! I’ve been meeting with a group of PTA members, teachers and chiefs from my area in order to design and plan to build a kitchen at my school. We started a boarding program last term, which has been quite successful. Next year, I’d like to see it expand to a lunch only option, so students if they are able, can pay to have a meal cooked for them at mid-day. Right now we are using a small, roofless, open building as a kitchen. It’s not really very hygienic, could certainly be more efficient with more space and definitely won’t hold up in the rainy season.

I submitted a proposal to Peace Corps Washington to get a space on their website in order to raise donations and money from back home to build the kitchen. The site has been posted today, so you can click below for more information and to donate to the project.

https://www.peacecorps.gov/index.cfm?shell=resources.donors.contribute.projDetail&projdesc=614-214

The kitchen is going to be an 11 x 6 meter building, divided into three spaces for food/materials storage, food preparation and cooking. The cooking and food preparation area will have a roof, but will have half-open walls that are enclosed by a screen to prevent flies from entering but will allow smoke from the fires to exit. The cooking area will have three large places for very large pots for cooking and space below for firewood. I hope I’m describing it well, but soon enough (hopefully!) the plans will turn into an actual kitchen and I’ll be able to share photos of it online.
Once the money is raised through the Peace Corps website, it will go to my account and I along with the committee will be in charge of purchasing materials and ensuring that the building is constructed in a timely manner according to the budget. Hopefully we can raise the money and build the kitchen before the beginning of next school year.

If you or any group, school, church, organization you know of are interested in helping me raise funds. I’d be happy to share more information about the project, my school and Peace Corps Malawi.

Thanks for Your Continued Support!

I'm coming close to my one year mark in Malawi and as I'm looking back on my work, I have to stop and thank everyone who has been so supportive to me throughout the year.

Thank you to everyone who keeps both my mailbox and inbox full of emails, facebook messges, letters and packages from home.

Thank you to those who have donated to my projects like the Camp Sky Summer School fund on the Friends of Malawi Website. This includes a long list of friends, relatives and even the Northern Illinois Poker Tournament who raised $300 at their last event, thanks Dad and Friends!

Last nut not least, thanks to all those who periodically check in on me and read my blog!

Zikomo Kwambiri!
Kelly

Wedding at the Boma

Well I don’t personally know either Doreen or Lawrence, but I was sure happy to attend their wedding a few Saturdays ago at Ntchisi Boma. Mr Zimba, one of the teachers at my school is an uncle to Lawrence and as such was the chairperson of their wedding committee. Lots of important things are planned by committees in Malawi and weddings are no exception. As the chairperson, Mr. Zimba was in charge of all of the organizing of the ceremony and reception. He handles the program, the invitations, everything or at least delegated to others on the committee. He invited me to attend so that I could view a Malawian wedding, especially one at a boma (city, main trading center) because they are quite different from those in the village. This was also a good chance for me to meet Mr. Zimba’s entire family. He lives in Ntchisi Boma near the secondary school he used to teach at, so I had yet to visit his home.

I set off on Saturday morning to wait for a bus or hitch to the boma. I arrived still early in the morning and was welcomed by Mr. Zimba’s wife, four (out of five) daughters and 10 month-old son. Mr. Zimba was of course busy somewhere preparing for the day. I chatted with the girls and waited until Mr. Zimba arrived and asked me to follow him to the parade of cars going to the church. I got to ride in the front seat of one of the pick-ups carrying guests, behind those carrying the bride, groom and wedding party.

We waited for a while for the ceremony to begin as another wedding was taking place beforehand. The ceremony was performed in a CCAP, Central Church of Africa Presbyterian, church and though I’d never been to this particular building, I’ve attended CCAP services many times before.

The ceremony was much the same as any American wedding ceremony I’d been to before. The only markable difference was in the way the bridal party walked, or should I say danced, down the aisle. There’s no solemn step-together-step to the wedding march, but instead a lively dance to the sounds of an upbeat keyboard. I took some videos with my camera and one day when I’m home I’ll have to post them here so you can really see what I mean. It was really cool, a tradition I think we should take up in American wedding ceremonies. The whole groups, bridal party, pastor, witnesses was dancing. It was certainly more fun than any wedding march I’ve witnessed thus far.

After the ceremony, the bride and groom were taken away in the back of their pickup truck and paraded with the rest of their entourage to have lunch in someone’s home. I had lunch with Mr. Zimba and the organizing committee, chicken, beef, cabbage and rice aplenty!

After lunch we all headed to an outdoor football pitch (soccer field) where the stage, DJ and tent were awaiting us. I sat with Mr. Zimba and his wife throughout the reception. It was much the same as any American reception, with lots of dancing by all. The difference being that in Malawi, you don’t give wedding gifts in the form of kitchen appliances or checks, instead you quite literally throw money at the bride and groom while dancing. The MC called different groups of people through the entire reception to “Perekani Perekani” “Please Give Please Give”. This is something that happens at a lot of events in Malawi. At first I was uncomfortable with the idea of people throwing their money to the ground and showing off how much or little they have to give, but after attending many of these events, I’ve grown accustomed to it. There really isn’t any harm and it’s actually a bit fun to Perekani Perekani, so of course I did my share during the reception.

Unfortunately I had to leave before what quite possibly would have been the best part, the cutting of the wedding cake. As you can see by the pictures it was beautiful and likely very delicious. It however had been a long day and I aimed to be home before dark as it’s unsafe for me to walk to my home from the main road after sunset.

I had a really great day celebrating with Doreen and Lawrence and all of their friends and family! I’m grateful for Mr. Zimba for letting me take part in all of the events and happy to have met his entire family. I’ve posted some pictures from the wedding on my “My Pictures” link for you to enjoy!

Science Camp

As promised, here's a bit more about our science mini-camp, Camp STAR. The camp went really well. We didn't end up with as many students as we had originally planned on, but still had a fairly large number of 41 students.

Most of the students arrived on Sunday afternoon. We let them get settled and chat with their new friends and then they had to take a pre-camp quiz which we used as part of our evaluation of the camp. After dinner, we met all of the students and had a video show where we watched Planet Blue! They absolutely loved it and it was so much fun to watch with them.

The next morning we had an assembly during which we divided the students into their smaller groups for the rest of the week. There were five groups of about 8-9 students so that each class could be very small in number in order to allow for more hands on lessons. As I said before, the students took courses in a variety of biology and physical science topics.

For my part, I taught a biology lab class in which I reviewed a variety of topics that are normally found on the biology lab practical portion of the MSCE. We went over biological drawings, magnification and dichotmous keys. We also spent some time reviewing plants, photosynthesis and leaf structure and the students were able to make their own sections of leaves to view with the microscope. At the end of class we also talked about microorganisms and looked at some of the moulds and bacteria I had grown on culture plates for them earlier in the week. I'm sure my my biology professor Dr. Dey is happy to know that all of the plant and fungal lab techniques he taught me have now been shared with students on the other side of the world!

Each day we also had some kind of additional activity planned as well. On Monday, we had a quiz bowl competition for the kids to test their science knowledge. One day we had a career talk in which professionals in the fields of teaching, community development and medicine addressed the students to motivate them and inform them about potential careers. The highlight of this activity was our female speaker, a nutritionist from a local NGO. She was awesome! She really motivated our girls! We also had an additional speaker who taught the students about forestry and careers in conservation and agriculture which also included a hands on tree planting demonstration. Of course, we had to end the week with a disco and variety show. We encouraged the students to come up with acts that in some way or another focused on what they had learned at camp. We witnessed songs about physics, skits about careers in sciences and a wide array of other performances as well. The students had a great time and followed the show with a disco at which we all, students and teachers, had a great time dancing!

On the final day, we had to say goodbye to our students and teachers but not without a morning of filling out evaluations and the post-camp quiz, as well as a science fair at which the students had to present their findings on the scientific investigations they were given to work on throughout the duration of the week.

All in all it was a great experience for everyone involved. Thankfully we did not have any major problems or conflicts and everything went as planned.

The camp has also gotten members of my group, myself included really excited for our larger camp come November, Camp STAR. This camp will host 100 students from all over the country together in the capital city. In addition to taking MSCE prep classes the students will hear from lots of guest speakers and get to attend really fun field trips. We're in the planning stages nd working on fundraising for this camp from our friends and families back home. If you'd like to help, you can click on the link below to make a tax -deductible donation on the Friends of Malawi website by clicking on Summer School 2009.

http://www.friendsofmalawi.org/grants/how_to_donate.html

Here’s a link to some pictures and information from last year’s camp :)

http://campskyinzomba2008.shutterfly.com/

A dollar goes a long way in Malawi, so anything you could give would be a great help!

Updates, Pictures, etc.

Lots to catch up on! Camp STAR was a huge success andhe students and teachers loved it. Also this week, I've turned in a proposal to build my school a kicthen and hopefully will be able to start raising funds for this soon. Planning for Camp Sky is still under way and I begin Term Three (the last term of the year) this week. Busy, busy, busy!

In a couple of weeks I'll post some more information about the camp, what we did, etc. as well as give you an update on my kitchen proposal. Until then, enjoy the pictures I've posted on my "My Pictures" link: new Mozambique photos and Camp STAR!

Love and Good Thoughts!
Kelly

Countdown to Camp STAR

There’s a lot going on right now. New babies, international vacations, grant proposals, meetings, marking exams, but the number one thing on my mind today is preparing for our science mini-camp, Camp STAR. I’m in town today picking up supplies and materials, printing welcome packets and evaluations, putting together MSCE questions, and gearing myslef up for hosting 50 students and 8 other volunteers!

It’s taken a good deal of preparation on the part of me and Mike (my sitemate), but luckliy we’re getting a lot of help and support from other volunteers. Seven other volunteers from my education group have agreed to give up a week of their term break and come teach. That means we’re gonna have a pretty full house at Gwangwa and lots of great classes: Cailtin – Genetics, Tim W. – Human Diseases, Kelly O. – Electricity, Adam – Mathematics, Joce – Human Body, Bryan – Chemistry Lab, Alyssa – HIV/Sexual Health, Mike – Physics Lab, and Me – Plants. I’m so grateful to all of my friends for agreeing to help!

I’m also so pleased with my Form Four students here at Gwangwa for their help in getting things ready around the campus. When I posted the names of the twenty students who would be representing our shcool at the camp, they organised themselves together to assign different jobs to one another in order to clean the campus and help me as much as possible. I love that about my students; they take initative without being asked and they’re proud of themselves and the things they are doing. So this means I’ve got some pretty excited students and a clean campus ready for 50 students on Sunday!

I’ll be sure to let you know how it goes and post pictures once it’s all over!

Vacation to Mozambique

I’ve been really busy with school and projects this past term but still found time to squeeze in a well deserved vacation! Last week, I went to Mozambique, a large country bordering Malawi, with my friends Kelly O, Bryan and Enrique. We had a fantastic time and were able to meet up with many Peace Corps Mozambique volunteers throughout the duration; they were really wonderful and offered us places to stay, tips on travel and insights on language and culture.
After traveling down to Blantyre to meet Kelly, I headed to Milanje, a town just across the southern Malawi/northern Mozambique border. In Milanje, we stayed the night with a Peace Corps volunteer and then climbed Milanje Mountain the next day while waiting for the guys to catch up. As soon as we crossed the border, everything was different. The smells, the houses, the money, the language; it was amazing to witness such a vast and sudden change.

We really enjoyed our hike and the view from atop the mountain. After lunch, the boys arrived and the four of us got a ride to Mocuba with another volunteer and her family. There we had a nice meal and spent the next two evenings at the house of yet another volunteer. From Mocuba, we took a LONG bus ride to Nampula, a larger city where we spent the following night.

After Nampula we finally made it to our destination Ilhya de Mocambique, Mozambique Island! It was absolutely beautiful and the sites were really breathtaking. Unfortunately my camera battery died and I was without the charger, but I’ve posted the pictures I do have on my "My Pictures" link and am waiting to get others from my friends for you to see.

Mozambique Island used to be the capital city of Mozambique while it was under colonial control by Portugal. Its a really beautiful place, with a low key atmosphere and a rich blend of African, European and Arab cultures. We didn’t get to go swimming at the island (besides at the pool in our hotel) but we did get to set foot in the Indian Ocean. You can see Madagascar from the shore as well! We visited a beautiful museum and many of the monuments, fortresses and building from years past.
After two days of Island life, Kelly and I headed back to Malawi while the boys continued on to another beach a ten hour bus ride away. We both had lots to do at our sites so we were happy to enjoy our short but wonderful stay in Mozambique. We took the same route back, spending one night each in Nampula, Mocuba and Milanje. This time we splurged on hotels and resthouses but were still able to meet up with one of our PC Mozambique friends in Milanje. Transport is much more difficult in Mozambique, especially in the northern region. We spent a lot of time on very crowded buses and in the back of overloaded trucks. Furthermore, the roads in Mozambique are much worse than they are in Malawi, MUCH WORSE. I’d imagine this is true because of the country’s civil war which ended in the 1990s.

We made it back across the border on Sunday, about nine days after we had arrived. Since I was in the southern region, I then got to visit Kelly’s site to see her home, friends, and school. It’s really nice to be able to visit other people’s sites because all of our experiences and situations are so different from one another. Kelly, for instance, lives in arguably one of the most beautiful parts of the country, where she is surrounded by British owned tea estates, with a Mission Hospital down the road.

I had a really wonderful time with Kelly, Bryan and Enrique on our trip. I’m glad to have taken the time to travel and am looking forward to making it to see other countries as well as the sites of my fellow Peace Corps Malawi Volunteers in the future.

My New Baby Sister

I am so happy to announce that I have a new baby sister! Esterey Prisca Fanni Kangulu was brought into the world on August 3rd 2009. She’s absolutely beautiful (as you can tell by the pictures). Mother and baby are both perfectly happy and healthy.
I say she’s my new baby sister because she is the daughter of my Head Teacher and his wife Susan. They’re my Malawian family and have taken good care of me since arriving at Gwangwa. A lot of the other women in my community joke that I am Susan’s duaghter and she is my Malawian Mother, so I couldn’t be happier to welcome my new baby sister Prisca to our family!

ATEM Activities at the Boma

ATEM, the Association for Teaching English in Malawi organizes events throughout the country to encourage secondary school students to practice and improve their English speaking skills. This past weekend I accompanied two teachers and a group of 15 students to our Boma to compete in this year’s activities. My students put together poems, a comedy, a drama and a debate to perform. Though there were supposed to be many schools present, only four turned up. Anyhow, my students were amazing and we had a great time!
We started the events with a prayer lead by one of my best Form Three students. Then we moved onto poetry in which a Form One student, Asumayiri, did an awesome job reciting his poem. I was amazed at how confident he was and how well he spoke in front of such a large group of people. He’s been an active member in our Debate Club and has improved so much in his speaking! He took second place!

Then they performed an original comedy/song about education, “the key to success.”. We were the only school to bring a comedy, which meant an automatic first place, but hey we’ll take it!
Then came the Debate competition. My students prepared opposing and proposing points of view on the motion “It is good to be a farmer, rather than a teacher.” They were fantastic and took first place! Again I’m so proud of them for being so confident and well prepared. The final activity was drama. Each school prepared their own 25-35 minute play on any topic of their choice. The first place school performed really well with a drama about Child Abuse in Malawi. In the play a set of parents from a village sell their child as a house servant to a wealthy couple from a tea plantation. In the end of the play the husband tries to propose the young girl and when caught by the wife, she reacts by killing her. Another school put together a play called “Behind Closed Doors” which was about the transmission of HIV/AIDS within a group of people inter-connected in various ways.

My students put together a drama entitled “The Effects of Peer Pressure.” In the play, a girl from a very rural village gets selected to go to one of the best private all girl school in Malawi located within the capital city. The girl begins as a great student, eager and happy to learn but then becomes influenced by her “cooler” city friends. They question and embarrass her about her life and lack of material things like cute clothes and cell phones and eventually set her up with a “Sugar-Daddy” in order to get these things. This as you can imagine, leads to a whole string of mavuto (problems). The girl becomes pregnant, gets kicked out of school and eventually thrown out by her parents as well. My students did a great job in writing the play and performing. The message, similar to the other plays, was very pertinent to all of their lives as child abuse, HIV/AIDS, and girls having sugar-daddies are real problems affecting Malawian students.

In the end we took third out of four in the drama competition, but I’m sure with a bit more time to practice we’ll come up with a second or first at the regional level!Overall, it was a really great day! We were all so happy when we left and the students encouraged me to request that we have a dance that night at school to celebrate! When we arrived at the school everyone was cheering, welcoming us and preparing for the dance. My students were so proud of themselves and so were their friends. We all sang the Malawian national anthem and headed to the dance. Actually, I headed home but could hear their music until nearly midnight!


I've uploaded pictures from the day on my picture site! Enjoy!

End of Term Exams

The end of Term Two has come, which means my students have been busy taking end of term examinations for the past two weeks and I’ve been busy marking their work. The school year in Malawi is divided into three terms: January – March, April – July, and August –November.

At the end of each term, students sit for exams for each subject including Biology, Physical Science, Life Skills, Mathematics, History, Geography, Agriculture, English, Chichewa and Social Studies. This is good preparation for their national exams which take place in September for Form Two and October for Form Four. Scores on the Junior Certificate Examination (Form Two) and Malawi Senior Certificate Examination (Form Four) determine the options available to Malawian students after completing Secondary School.

Actually without passing the JCE, students cannot continue on to Form Three. This is one of the reasons that my Form One and Two classes are nearly twice the size of Form Three and Form Four.

Transport

There are many ways to travel in Malawi. In the village you’re probably walking, riding a bike if you’re lucky enough to have one, or taking a bike taxi to get where you need to go. For longer distances, I try my luck with hitch-hiking which can be a cool way to meet people and get to where you need to go quickly and safely. You can also take mini-buses and matolas which are often over-crowded and make a lot of frequent stops. I guess it really just depends on my mood, whether or not I hitch or take a bus into town. There are pros and cons to both scenarios.

Sometimes waiting for a hitch can take forever, especially if you’re traveling with a lot of bags or your bike. Taking a bus can be nice too if you just want a long ride and have time with your book.
I recently hitched into town with my friend Alyssa and found this little surprise in the backseat which I couldn’t resist posting for you all to see!

Visit to Mr. Kasiya’s Home

One of the biggest problems in education in Malawi is the lack of teachers working in schools. There are many reasons why Community Day Secondary Schools like mine are severely understaffed. For one, a lot of the more educated teachers do not want to work in rural areas where there is no electricity or running water. Another reason is that there are very few houses for teachers and their families to live in at the schools. This is a big problem at my school in particular as two of our teachers must ride their bikes for over an hour back and forth each day to come to school. A few weeks ago, I decided to make a visit to one of these teachers, Mr. Kasiyamaliro in order to meet his family and get a sense of how far he travels each day.

Mr. Kasyia drew me a map and on a Sunday morning I hopped on bike and set out for a visit. It was a pretty well-drawn map, but seeing as how I’m not the best with directions I found myself a bit lost on the way. Lucky for me, being the only white women in my area makes me stand out a bit and pretty much wherever I end up someone is around to recognize me as a teacher from Gwangwa. I stopped a few times along the way to say hello to people and make sure that I was on the right track.

When I got to his home, I was greeted by his wife Mrs. Kasiyamaliro and their nine children. Each child introduced themselves and shook my hand, except for Princess, the youngest girl who was a bit afraid of me and ran behind her mother instead. We then proceeded to go to church which was a really great experience. I sang songs and danced with the members of their church and then listened to Mr. Kasiya deliver a sermon which began with an introduction of me. A small excerpt: “She has hair, we have hair. She walks. We walk. She eats. We eat.” Which lead to more discussion about how “We are all created by one God, in his image and he did not specify. We are all the same, here to live and pray together.” It was really nice and I’m fairly certain if my Mom was there she would have had tears in her eyes.

After church, we went back to their home, had lunch and spent the rest of the day talking about the kids and their progress at primary school. It was really a nice visit and I’m sure I’ll be going again soon. I’ve added a few pictures from church and of the Kasiyamaliro family for you to see.

June Update

Things are going well at school, just busy as usual. We had netball and football matches last weekend and my girls actually won this time! Term Two is quickly coming to an end, with only a few more weeks until break. The weather is still chilly at night and I hear it will only get colder!

I recently visited my watchman’s home and spent a wonderful day with him and his family. Here's a picture of him and his wife.

Plans for my mini-science camp are moving along great and hopefully it will be funded by a grant fairly soon.

We’re still working on our larger camp, Camp SKY and again if you’re interested in helping with this project you can donate online at
http://www.friendsofmalawi.org/grants/how_to_donate.html

A dollar goes a long way in Malawi, so anything you could give would be a great help!

I’m in town this week for a dentist appointment, which wasn’t a pleasant experience, but I’m okay now, no worries!

I've uploaded a few pictures this weekend from around school and the village.

Hope you’re all enjoying the summer!

Love and Good Thoughts!
Kelly

Camp STAR: Scientific Thinking Achieving Results

I’ve found that Peace Corps really loves acronyms, so we decided to call our upcoming science mini-camp Camp STAR: Scientific Thinking Achieving Results. It’s a bit lengthy of a title, I know, but I’m pretty sure we’ll be getting funding from a grant soon and the camp will hopefully be a success! We’ll be inviting fifty students from Ntchisi District, especially those who do not have laboratories or equipment at their school. We’ll cover chemistry lab, physics lab, electricity, genetics, plants, HIV and sexual health, human diseases and the human body. We’ll also have group activities including a career panel, tree planting demonstration, an MSCE (Malawi Secondary Certificate Examination) quiz bowl, and a viewing of Planet Earth!

Camp STAR is scheduled for the third week of term two break, August 10th-15th! I'll be sure to let you know how it goes and post pcitures when I have them!

Weekend in Blantyre

I finally made it down to the southern region of Malawi to visit my friends Kelly O., Tim, and Adam. We spent the weekend in Blantyre, one of the largest cities in Malawi, watching movies, indulging on good food, going out dancing, and watching a Malawian National Football Team game. The game was really exciting! It was a World Cup qualifying match against Burkina Faso. Unfortunately Malawi lost 2:1, but the crowd was still great and we had a really good time!

I’ve posted a few pictures of us at the game on my picture link as well!

Projects I’m Working On….

1. Girl’s Hostel

You may recall me talking about this earlier and posting a few pictures of the “hostels” my girls are currently staying in. It’s so much safer for them to be within our fence and to be able to focus on their studies, so I’m glad we have the space for them to do so. I’m happy they’re here, but it would be great for them to have a real hostel. The old classroom buildings are overcrowded with their mats and suitcases on the floors. Most of the windows have been broken out and I hardly see any mosquito nets, when checking in on them.

So, I’ve begun work with a committee of teachers and PTA members to make plans for building a girl’s hostel at Gwangwa. We’re sorting out exactly what we need and how much it will cost. I’m intending to get all of this approved as a proposal for Peace Corps, which will allow me to raise money back home for the project using space on the Peaces Corps website.

With that being said, if you’re interested in helping with this project, maybe you have an organization or group who’d like to do some fundraising for a good cause, please be patient and consider thinking of my girls in the near future. I’m hoping everything will be all squared way by the end of the summer and I’ll l have an easily accessible space on the Peace Corps website, for anyone to make tax-deductible donations. For now, just keep us at Gwangwa in your thoughts and I’ll continue keeping you informed with our progress and plans.

2. Camp Sky 2009

Each year, the education volunteers put together a summer camp (held in December, Malawi summer) for top students at Community Day Secondary Schools. This year we’re hoping to bring 100 students (50 female: 50 male) to Lilongwe, Malawi’s capital city from November 29th-December 11th.

The camp is intended for Form Three students to help them prepare for their Malawi Senior Certificate Exam, which they’ll need to take at the end of their fourth year and also to get them thinking about career and post-secondary educational opportunities.

We’re really excited about holding the camp in Lilongwe this year as we’ll be able to expose the students to lots of different things though field trips and guest speakers. We’re hoping to bring them to parliament, hospitals, businesses, game reserves, the airport and a ton of other fun, yet educational venues.

The camp is a long way away, but we've started work both planning and fundraising. For my part, I’m working on writing some grant applications to try and cover a portion of the cost as well as visiting local businesses in town to solicit general supplies and donations.

A lot of the funding for last year's Camp Sky came from volunteer’s friends and family members back home. As of now, we’ve just been given a spot on the Friends of Malawi website so that tax—deductible contributions to the camp can be made electronically. If you’re interested in learning more about Camp Sky, please send me an email. If you or your group or organization is interested in donating funds you can do so at the following website, by clicking on Summer School Camp Sky 2009:

http://www.friendsofmalawi.org/grants/how_to_donate.html

I’m sure I’ll be writing more about Camp Sky as we continue planning!

Here’s a link to some pictures and information from last year’s camp :)
http://campskyinzomba2008.shutterfly.com/

3. Science Mini-Camp

This is a smaller scale project, which won’t cost too much in terms of money, just some planning and effort on the part of me and Mike, my sitemate, a health volunteer who teaches at Gwangwa two days per week.

We’re hoping to have about 50 students, half from our school and half from neighboring schools, together at Gwangwa for a 5 day Science Mini-Camp. The Camp doesn’t have a name yet (suggestions?) but we’ll be taking Form Four students to help them prepare for their upcoming national exams and get them excited about science, while giving them opportunities to work in the lab. So far our list of activities will include review classes on the biology and physical science topics our students find most difficult, participation in lab practicals, creation of their own experiments, and fun educational activities like building mousetrap cars and musical instruments. We’re looking into other health related activities, maybe focusing on a particular disease, like Malaria and also environmentally focused activities such as a tree planting demonstration.

Basically, we just want to get our kids excited about science and ready for their MSCE. Physical Science and Biology are typically two of the most difficult subjects on the national exams. Gwangwa’s very fortunate to have a well-equipped laboratory and it will be great to set up a fun learning environment for our own students and those without labs.

Our budget’s looking like it will be pretty small and we should be able to get funding from a “mini-camp fund” established by a previous PC Malawi Country Director after submitting a proposal. It should be a great experience and a great time for us and our students. I forgot to mention, we’re inviting friends, fellow PCVs, to come and help us run the camp activities so it really will be a lot of fun!

I’ll be sure to update my blog with more information about these projects regularly. Feel free to email me with any specific questions, ideas, or words of advice!

Love and Good Thoughts,
Kelly
P.S. – Enjoy the pictures I’ve added this week!

Harvest Time

The rains have finally stopped and everyone has begun harvesting for this year. As I've said before, the staple crop in Malawi is maize which is used for porridge and nsima at practically every meal. For the past month or so we’ve been eating lots of fresh corn, mostly just roasted on the fire, but now’s come the time for harvesting, in order to save maize for the rest of the year.

Besides maize, some of the other major crops grown in my area include tobacco, soy beans, beans, pumpkins, squash and groundnuts (peanuts). Of course there are those who grow sugarcane, tomatoes, cucumbers, onions, and even peppers as well. Tobacco as you’d imagine is the biggest cash crop here and a lot of Malawians depend upon buyers in the U.S. and Europe in order to make a profit.

Also, I’ve been lucky to have a variety of fruits and vegetables over the past few months. Everything’s quite seasonal, especially the fruits. We moved from mango season, to guava season and now to orange season, though I’ve always been able to find bananas no matter what time of year.

I haven’t had a ton of experience harvesting in the fields myself. However, I did spend a day with Susan (my headteacher’s wife aka my Malawian mother and caretaker) and her two nieces Natalia and Monika harvesting groundnuts. We walked to the munda (ground) at 6:30 am and didn’t return until after 4:00pm. I spent the first few hours digging up the groundnut plants, but the majority of my day was spent sitting in the sun with Susan, picking the nuts themselves. We took a break to sit in the fields and eat nsima around lunch time when the girls brought us food they'd gone home to cook earlier in the day. Another day, I was also able to help them harvest the corn surrounding my house. I spent an entire morning with Susan and the girls cutting corn stalks and then taking husks off the corn cobs. As I said above corn is the staple food in Malawi. To me this may have been a morning of playing in the fields with friends, but to every other rural Malawian it’s an essential chore which if not performed could lead to hunger later in the year.

I’ve posted a few pictures of me and the girls. I still need to teach Susan how to use my camera correctly so I can get some more pictures of me for my mom. :)

Madam Kelly, Boarding Mistress

I’m very happy to report that we’ve begun a boarding (feeding) program at Gwangwa this term. As Boarding Mistress, I can say that according to our register we have 64 boarders. That’s about 20% of our students, which means we are off to a great start! We’re currently serving three meals a day, seven days a week to 43 girls and 21 boys.

Boarding fees for one school term have been set at K6500 ($43) per student. Those who can afford this option are staying within an old school block within our fence (for girls) and an old school block at the primary school nearby (for boys). Don’t worry, those girls who have not been able to afford the program and have chosen to continue as self-boarders are of course still allowed to stay within the fence in the second old school block. Currently there are 46 girls choosing this option, or rather who cannot afford the boarding fees.

We recently held a meeting with all of the boarders to go over a list of rules which I and the boarding Master put together for them, as well as to decide the best menu for our budget. It was pretty cool to be a teacher, watching your students make their own decisions, especially when not too long ago, I was in their shoes.

After a long meeting we decided on the menu below. It may seem a bit redundant to you, but keep in mind by having the same side dish for lunch and dinner, we’re able to cut costs on both firewood and labor. It’s a bit boring but my students are generally happy about it, especially with a morning tea break each day.


Breakfast Tea Break Lunch Supper
6:00-6:30 am 10:10-10:30am 2:00-2:30pm 5:00-5:30pm
S Porridge Tea with sugar Nsima with beans Nsima with beans
M Porridege Tea with sugar Nsima with veg. Nsima with veg.
T Porridge Tea with sugar Nsima with beans Nsima with beans
W Porridge Tea with sugar Nsima with meat(goat or cow, eggs for vegetarians)
H Porridge Tea with sugar Nsima with beans Nsima with beans
F Porridge Tea with sugar Nsima with veg. Nsima with veg.
S Porridge Tea with sugar Nsima with beans Nsima with beans

As Boarding Mistress, I keep an eye on my students and try to make sure they’re comfortable bringing any issues they may have to me. My girls have come to expect a visit from me at least once a day to make sure their “hostels” are being kept tidy and just to wish them a good morning or good night.

This past week, two of my Form Three girls came to me, concerned about a Form Two who was ill with malaria. I went to her in the hostel, phoned her parents and then arranged for her transport to the health center and home. She was back at school just a few days later.

Surprisingly there haven’t been too many discipline issues or quarrels amongst the girls or boys. However, two weeks ago, a pair of Form Four boys tried to organize a boycott of the feeding program when they weren’t given the meat they had been promised one evening. This little hunger strike was resolved without much trouble the next day, but I have to admit, I’m smiling just thinking about it. It’s encouraging to see my students stand up for something they believe in.

The Coming Cold Season

My sense of cold may be a bit different from what it was eight months ago, but it’s been absolutely freezing in the mornings and evenings here! I’ve grown accustomed to sleeping in my IWU sweatshirt, sweatpants, a fleece blanket and sleeping bag. I never would have imagined that I’d need a fleece blanket in sub-Saharan Africa. We’re also experiencing shorter days and longer nights which means the sun sets before 6pm and has just barely come up when I crawl out of my sleeping bag/cocoon of warmth around 6 am.

I’m told that it’s going to get even colder come June and July with temperatures inthe low fifties. The cold weather has even brought me to starting a fire in the morning, something I never did before, but having warm water and hot oatmeal is totally worth it on a cold Malawi morning. Cold Malawi morning, who’d have thought I’d ever being saying that?

Of course it’s still always warm and beautiful during the day. I’m still sweating in my tin roofed classrooms and my laundry has been drying much better that it did in the rainy season.

Sports Update

Gwangwa was entered in another District tournament a few weeks ago, this time for both netball and football (soccer). We took 30 players (12 netballers and 14 footballers) and 25 spectators to Ntchisi Boma, where each team played three matches throughout the day.

Our netball team played three really great games, ending up with a win, a draw and a very close loss by only one goal. My girls played great! They’re just getting better and more confident with each match. If you ask me the umpire was a bit unfair to them with his calls, but I suppose I am a bit biased.

Our football team played well also. They ended up playing in two matches, as the third team they were scheduled to play didn’t end up coming. I wish I could have been there to see them play. Unfortunately, the girls’ games were at a different venue and I stayed with them most of the day. From what I heard, my boys played well, ending up with a close 4:5 loss and a 1:1 draw.
I’ve added a few pictures from the girls’ matches. We’re in the gold uniforms with the black jerseys!

Lots to Catch Up On

Well I certainly had a lot of blogging to catch up on! It’s been a very busy month with a visit from my cousins, end of term exams, term break, our week and a half long inter- service training, and a trip to Kande Beach.

Hopefully the posts and pictures I’ve added will serve to fill you in!

As for me, I better get back to site and start preparing for Term Two come Monday!

Love and Good Thoughts,
Kelly

Field Trip to Mua Mission

On the last day of IST, we took a field rip to Mua Mission which is a cultural center and museum located in Dedza. It was probably one of the coolest places I’ve been since arriving in Malawi. It’s definitely a must-see on my list of places to take any future visitors.

Here’s the link for more information.
http://www.kungoni.org/

Also check out some of the pictures I’ve posted. It’s a really beautiful place with lots of interesting historical and cultural artifacts and information.

Inter-Service Training (IST)

It was back to the college in Dedza for my group for about ten days this month for our language intensive and inter-service trainings. It was really nice to be able to see everyone from my group that I’d been missing for the past three months and to hear about all of the different experiences we’ve been having. It’s really true that each volunteer has an incredibly unique Peace Corps service. Though we have similar assignments and are working toward the same goals, we each face different challenges and deal with our situations in very different ways. As I said it was really great to share our experiences as well as to get new ideas from one another.

The first few days of training were completely focused on language. We were divided into small groups and assigned a trainer similar to as we had done in PST. I was in a group with Kelly O., Tim O. and Bryan which really worked out well for all of us.

After a few days of Chichewa basi (Chichewa that’s all), we began or inter-service training which was really helpful to all of us in a lot of ways. Each day we participated in sessions focusing on a variety of topics including evaluating and improving our teaching as well as creating opportunities for secondary projects in our schools and communities. We also began discussing our plans for CAMP SKY, an annual camp that is held after Term Three by PC Malawi Education volunteers for about 100 Malawian students. I’m sure you’ll be hearing more about this in future posts as we get further into the planning and fundraising efforts. Probably the most beneficial sessions in my opinion were those focused on secondary projects, specifically on how to raise funds and how to best initiate and manage projects in our schools and communities. I think I’ll be well prepared for returning to site to get things really going on a few key projects I’ve been thinking about for my school and I’ll keep you informed.

We also spent our Easter Sunday at the college, which was very low key and for me centered around eating Easter candy that had been sent to me in various packages. Thanks! :)

Similar to PST, as a group we spent a lot of our time playing cards, games, gorging ourselves on delicious college food, going on hikes and walks, listening to music at Ed’s Bar and just relaxing.

I’ve posted a few random pictures of us at the college as well.

Highlights from Nicole and Jen’s Visit!

I could write pages and pages and pages on what it was like to have visitors come, but I’ll spare you the details and just share a few highlights from the week.

Also, here’s the link to my cousin Nicole’s snappish page where she’s posted about 200 pictures and videos from their trip!

http://good-times.webshots.com/album/570827917Hrsxdv?vhost=good-times

My Head Teacher’s Family – My head teacher’s family as I’ve said before basically take care of me as if I’m one of their own. Mrs. Kangulu, my head teacher’s wife, has often told me that I am one of her children which is a comfort when you live so far away from everyone at home. The Kangulu’s were so happy to welcome my family to Malawi, in fact they even accompanied me to the airport to pick up the girls. It was really cool for me to bring them with especially as they’d never been to the airport before or had a chance to see a plane land. They invited us to dinner on their first day in country and served us rice and chicken, both of which are reserved for very special occasions in Malawi; chicken for the welcoming of visitors and rice generally only for Christmas.

At school – Despite their jet-lag, the girls woke up bright and early in order to accompany me to school Monday morning. Over the course of the day we visited each of the four classes, spent time with the other teachers in the staffroom and attended Debate Club.

Our first class of the day was Form 3 English. I had previously given my students an assignment to prepare some sort of dance, song, poem, or speech about Malawi which they could perform for our visitors. If you take a look at the link with Nicole’s pictures you can view some of their presentations. I was so proud of them! We heard many songs and learned quite a few new dances. In addition, we heard poetry, speeches and a beautiful reading from the bible which was used by one of my students to explain that we are all brothers and sisters no matter how far away we may live from one another and no matter what kind of lives we live. It was a really cool experience for both my cousins and my students. After their performances, Nicole, Jen and I showed them a bit of American culture too as we recited the Pledge of Allegiance, taught them the Hokey Pokey and the Electric Slide. We ended the period by allowing the students to ask the girls questions about America and American culture. Most questions began something like this “In Malawi we……., what do you do in America?” They learned a lot. Nicole and Jen learned a lot. I couldn’t have been happier.

We proceeded to each of the other classrooms in the same manner throughout the day and though I hadn’t asked any other classes to prepare anything I was equally impressed with all of my students and their eagerness to welcome my family. Basically we spent the day singing, dancing, disrupting other classes (oops), taking pictures, receiving hugs, and asking questions.

Every Monday we have Debate Club after school for about an hour and a half. I love after school clubs and activities and was really glad that we had something going on for Nicole and Jen to watch and even participate in. We try to keep Debate Club as student run as possible. I choose a student to be the chairperson each week and basically allow them to run the day’s meeting and debate. The students vote on a topic the week before and then have the week to think about points to use for the following Monday. They split themselves into teams of proposers and opposers and after some discussion hold the debate in front of the rest of the group. This week’s Debate Club topic had to do with alcohol and drug use of school secondary school aged kids. Nicole participated taking the position that students should not dabble in drugs or alcohol. Each time she raised a point my students listened to her with wide eyes and open ears. It was really great for them to work alongside her and get to show off their skills.

Liwonde National Park – Well, they wanted to experience the real Malawi that I experience, so for our trip to Liwonde we did a combination of hitchhiking and traveling on mini buses. The hitching down south into Liwonde actually went really smoothly. We had traveled to Lilongwe from my site the day before and were picked up in Lilongwe by a car after waiting for only twenty minutes or so. Unfortunately they were only going as far as Dedza, so we had to wait there for our next ride. After two more rides, we finally made it into Liwonde town and happened to meet the Chinguni Hills safari car, the vehicle of the place at which we were staying.

I had chosen Chinguni Hills upon the recommendation of some current volunteers and I’m definitely glad I did. It was very affordable and absolutely gorgeous. The staff was completely Malawian and extremely friendly. The food was amazing and the safaris were really cool. We were practically the only ones there, as it’s off season for safaris right now, so it felt as if we had the whole place to ourselves. We chose to do the boat safari, sunset and night safari drives. We saw hippos, crocodiles, a variety of birds, baboons, warthogs, kudu, antelope and lots of really interesting vegetation. Unfortunately we didn’t see any elephants on account of the grasses being so high and dense due to the rains. I’d definitely recommend Chinguni to anyone visiting Malawi. Check out the pictures for yourself!

After two days of relaxing, safari-ing and enjoying good food we took the safari vehicle out of the park and rode a minibus back to Lilongwe. Relatively speaking, it was a really nice minibus and not too long of a ride, but I’m sure long enough for Nicole and Jen to have an understanding of the difficulties of traveling in countries like Malawi.

Visiting my Student's Homes

I love the weekends. I can spend my time however I please, marking assignments, cleaning my house, listening to my ipod, reading, cooking, being at the school with my students, walking to the market with my neighbors, anything I want. Lately, I've been spending my Sundays visiting the homes of some of my favorite students.

A few weekends ago I made the two hour walk to the home of one of my Form Two's. Her name is Holiness Banda and when she invited me to meet her grandmother and sister, I was delighted to come. We spent the morning walking and chatting, arriving at her home around 10 am. I was warmly welcomed, there are so many nice things I can say about the hospitality of Malawians, especially Malawian women, they are so good to their guests. I met everyone in Holiness's family, all of her neighbors and friends and had a great day enjoying good food and conversation. We were caught in the rain on the way back, but all in all had a wonderful day. I've posted a few pictures of my visit!

The following weekend I was invited to the home of one of two of my Form Three's, Rosemary and Samuel Nkhoma. They're both incredibly bright students and I was glad to be able to praise them in front of their parents. They live very close to the school, as both of their parents are primary school teachers in our village, so there wasn't much of a walk to get there. After a very warm welcome and lunch, Rosemary and her father took me to see their garden. We walked through the maize, beans, fruit trees and other growing vegetables and had a wonderful afternoon. I ended up leaving with armfuls of fresh corn, sugarcane and yummy lemons and guavas, like I said above, nothing beats the hospitality and warmness of Malawian families !

Term One is Coming to an End?!?

I cannot believe that we are already in our 10th week of school! I've been teaching in Malawi for 10 weeks!

Unbelievable!

The 13th and 14th weeks of school are generally reserved for final exams, so really we've only got a a few more periods left to go. I thought it may be interesting to fill you in on some of the things we've been working on this term.

Things may have started out slow, but as my students and I became more familiar with each other it seems that all in all we've accomplished quite a bit!

PHYSICAL SCIENCE FORM ONE: My most challenging course. It's not the material that's the problem, but as I've mentioned before the language barrier between me and these very new students has been quite the obstacle for all of us over the past ten weeks. I'm happy to say that my students are now understanding me much better than they were before. I make sure to teach them the material as slowly and simply as possible and am starting to see the results in their assignments. We've gotten through a few units in this course mostly dealing with the process of formulating scientific investigations including lots of work with hypotheses, variables, taking measurements with various instruments and performing simple calculations and conversions using scientific notation. It was all very new material to my students, but I do think they're getting it. We'll be ending the term by continuing with a unit on forces.

BIOLOGY FORM TWO: My Form Twos, there are sooooo many of them! And they all want extra assignments all the time! Extra assignments? I know, I couldn't believe it either. We've gotten through quite a bit of material this term as it's been extremely necessary to catch up on things they failed to cover in Form One. Form 2s and 4s will be writing their exams at the end of the year, so its essential that I cover everything on their course syllabi. We began the year talking about nutrition and deficiency diseases which I personally found to be a very interesting topic to teach, especially as it hits so close to home for nearly all of my students. We continued with digestion and although I'm still answering questions in the library about the process of absorption in the small intestine, we're now working on ecosystems and the environment. Last week we all pretended to be ecologists and went out surveying the environment surrounding Gwangwa. In groups, my students took count of different animals and plants and made note of other observations about their environment. We'll be using this information over the next week to finish up this unit and discuss environmental problems and potential solutions.

ENGLISH FORM THREE: I'm not a trained teacher, especially when it comes to English, but I love teaching English to my Form 3s. They're way behind and often quiet in class, but they're so willing to work to improve their skills. I've spent a lot of time working on simple grammatical concepts, reading comprehension and essay writing. Last week, upon finishing a short story and comprehension questions, my students wrote their own short stories to read in front of the class. Some of my students are so creative! Each story was a joy to read! I'm slowly but surely beginning to see their writing progress.

BIOLOGY FORM THREE: We haven't covered too much in this course, but I'm happy to say that the time we've spent has been worth it as many of my students are really getting the material. Mostly we've learned about food making in green plants, photosynthesis, translocation, transpiration, etc. We've found some time to use the lab as well in order for me to demonstrate simple experiments dealing with photosynthesis as well as osmosis and diffusion. I'm still trying to figure out the best way to use my lab and its resources with my students, it's been difficult as materials are sometimes scarce and my students have never been exposed to a lab before.

LIFE SKILLS FORMS ONE-FOUR: I really enjoy my Life Skills courses. In the past weeks I've discussed a wide range of topics with each of my classes including the importance of self-esteem, positive and negative values, interpersonal relationships, teenage pregnancies, sex, abortion and many others. Basically I'm teaching my kids how to problem solve, how to think about their own lives and the choices they can make. Last week in Forms Three and Four we had some great debates on teenage pregnancy and abortion. It's so interesting for me to hear my students discuss these kind of issues with one another.

PHYSICAL SCIENCE FORM FOUR: Can't say I've covered much at all in this course as I just picked it up last week. The Form Fours have never had physical science before but it's such an important subject that my site mate, Mike and I have decided to work together to cover all of the Form 3 and Form 4 material with them this year. I'll be teaching the chemistry portion of the course as he works with them on the physics. It's a lot of physical science, very often throughout the week but my students are eager and excited to learn the material.

Last Weekend at Gwangwa

My students had the absolute best time last weekend! I was so happy for them. Our Saturday couldn’t possibly have been any better.

We started out the afternoon with football (soccer) and netball matches against Ntchisi Secondary School, a government boarding school at the Boma. They should probably have better teams than we do, but my students played so well, we ended up winning both games! Well, actually the netball game ended in a draw, but according to my girls this means that both teams won... they were so happy, how could I argue? The boys played great too and ended up winning their match two to one.

I wish I would have taken pictures Saturday at the game, so you could see how excited they all were. Many dressed up to show their supports and some cheered the ENTIRE time, running in circles around the fields. It was so much fun. Next time, I'll be sure to take pictures.

After the games, my students celebrated with a school dance!

Yes, high school dances are just as awkward and fun in Malawi as they are in America. There are those who sit along the wall as well as those who dance the entire time no matter what song is playing. We had a great time dancing and talking and listening to music. It was such good experience for my students to have, but exhausting! The dance lasted until 3am!! I couldn't handle this and left around 2am as they were still going strong!

I've included a few photos from the dance! Sorry if they're a bit dusty and hard to see, hopefully you'll still be able to get a sense of the great time my kids had!

Self Boarding at Gwangwa

Right now there about 50+ female students living in the old school blocks within our school grounds. The girls are from all four Forms and each week there are more and more moving in. I've been told that soon there may be close to 100 residing within the two rooms!

It makes sense for them to be living at the school as many live very far away. As of now we do not have a feeding program at the school nor do we have rooms that are in my opinion fit to be lived in. The girls sleep on mats and blankets they've brought from home and many do not have mosquito nets or other things they need. They usually arrive with a suitcase full of their belongings and clothing for the term.

As I said we don't yet have a feeding program at my school so after classes the girls take turns finding vegetables or cooking foods they've brought from home the weekend before. Not only do they have to find the food they wish to cook but they also have to worry about acquiring firewood as well. They do all of their cooking behind the building in a small room which has been built for their use.

Nonetheless they're happy and they're safe, residing within the walls of Gwangwa. I know this because I spend many of my evenings chatting with them, sharing nsima and answering questions about their classes and other topics. After dinner, the majority of the girls spend their time studying in the classrooms, reviewing the day's lessons and working on any assignments they may have been given.

It's great that they're at the school. This means they're not at home cooking, cleaning, and taking care of their many brothers and sisters. They're not walking back and forth across long distances each and every day and they're not being approached or propositioned by the men they may pass on their way.

They're at school. They're studying. They're sharing. They're learning from one another and they're working together.

I'm glad they're at the school but the conditions are certainly less than ideal. Many Community Day Secondary Schools have been able to raise funds for dormitories and actual kitchens so the girls can worry less about how they're living and more about their studies. I'm looking into how I can help these girls get the things they need. I'll keep on keeping you informed.

I've also uploaded a few pictures of the girls and the rooms I've been describing so you can get a better for feel for what I've been talking about.

Things I've Learned in the Last Month...

• Having a refrigerator is essential to eating left-overs. No matter how well you re-heat something, if not refrigerated you will regret it later. (Trust me on this one.)
• I can ride my bike much further and for much longer than I ever thought I’d be able to.
• Spaghetti noodles with brown sugar is a really delicious snack, especially when you have prepared it for a room full of smiling little kids.
• Peanut butter is FANTASTIC and definitely worth splurging for in Lilongwe to take back to your village.
• Teaching is a very tiring job, especially when you have many different classes and literally hundreds of students.
• Having clean hair is an amazing feeling.
• You should not give your cell phone number out to people who give you rides into town.
• My students want things that I’ve always taken for granted and never truly appreciated like good teachers, books, assignments, tests, and answers to their questions.
• When a child shows that she/he really understands what you’ve been teaching him/her, all of your previous frustrations disappear.
• Crocs are the best shoes ever.
• It’s okay to ask for and accept help. I can’t do everything and it’s okay to allow others to fetch my water, share their meal with me, start my fire, etc. when I’ve been busy at school all day.
• I have great site mates!

Love and Good Thoughts!

Kelly

Lilongwe for the Day

No I’m not skipping out on school today on purpose. It seems I’ve had a little parasitic friend named Giardia periodically reaping havoc on my intestinal tract. A common occurrence among volunteers and those living in Malawi, I probably picked it up from something I ate at the market or at someone’s house. No worries, one dose of antibiotics and I’ll be bacteria free!

Not much more to say. I’ve been keeping busy with netball practice, lesson planning, Debate Team, keeping track of my very highly utilized school library, coloring with my kids, visiting the self-boarders at the school, and chatting with my very friendly neighbors.

I’ll be back in town sometime over the next few weeks. I’d been trying to plan a weekend with some other volunteers, but my unexpected netball games have pushed that back just a bit.

In other news, my cousins Nicole and Jennifer have booked their flights for a visit late next month! They’ll be here for a week from the 22nd-28th of March!

I can’t wait and am already making plans for them to meet my students and friends, see the Lake, and visit one of the National Parks!

So exciting!

Thanks for all the letters, packages, emails, and comments on my blog I’ve been receiving!

Love and Good Thoughts,
Kelly

Form 3 Photo Shoot

Upon finding out that I’d be in town the next day to pick up something from the medical office, I figured I had better get a few pictures of some of my students. My Form 3’s, to whom I teach English, Biology, and Life Skills, had a prep period today which we used for a little photo shoot. I can’t tell you how much these kids love having their pictures taken. I can’t wait to develop these and allow them to take them home.

During our 40 minute photo shoot filled with laughter, ridiculous poses, and lots of “Please Madame Kelly, Please! Me next! Take my picture! Me next!” one of my students said “Madame Kelly, I think you love us all very much, don’t you?” I think I do.

Enjoy the pictures!

Netball Tournament

To be completely honest, I’d never even heard of netball before coming to Malawi. That is before being told that I would be the Sports Mistress and in charge of our girl’s netball team. Fortunately the girls are fabulous players and require little in terms of skills coaching. I may not have known much about netball before, but I sure have learned a lot over the past few weeks!

We’d been holding netball and football (soccer) practices after school on Tuesdays and Thursdays and decided to enter our girl’s netball team into a tournament in Ntchisi District called the Presidential Cup. From what I’ve gathered, the President of Malawi is trying to encourage sports and after school activities throughout the country and has created these tournaments, prize money included in many areas.

We paid our affiliation fee of MK500 (~$3.57) and before we knew it were scheduled to play the very next weekend. This of course lead to some serious, every day, after school practices, though it’s difficult to keep students too late after school because they haven’t had time to go home for lunch.

After petitioning for funding, I was granted money from our school’s tiny budget to take 15 players by minibus to Ntchisi Boma, about 40km for the games this past Saturday. We also organized lunch, bringing two large buckets full of rice and beans which had been cooked the morning before.

We arrived at the field a few hours early and the girls were able to wander around the Boma, go to the market, visit friends and family, etc. I walked around with the two other teachers who had come to watch the games, Mr. Kaunda and the Sports Master, Mr. Gama.

Our first game was against another CDSS team called Mphere; my girls played really well but unfortunately lost by one basket. The best way I can think of to describe netball is to say it’s like basketball but without the dribbling, you have to keep passing the ball and can be penalized for taking steps without doing so. Like I said we lost by one basket, with a score of 12 to 11. I think had it not been our very first game, we definitely would have won. We’ll certainly beat Mphere next time we meet.

The second game started about an hour or so later and we faced a community team called the Ntchisi Police. The best way I can describe this team is to share with you what my girls said to me on the court a few minutes before the game. “Madame Kelly,” they said, “We can’t play this team. We’re afraid! They’re too big!” They weren’t worried for nothing; these women were not high school aged girls. They were big, muscular, well practiced players. I was equally afraid for my girls but told them not to worry and just to try their best.

They were absolutely awesome! I can’t even tell you how excited I was for them! I was keeping score on the sidelines, jumping and shouting “Inde!” (“Yes!”) throughout the entire game. They played so well! This was a seriously good team and I was so impressed by how skillfully my girls from Gwangwa were able to shoot, pass, and keep the ball away from them.

In the end, we lost the game but it doesn’t matter because we put up a really great fight. We’re scheduled to play in another game this weekend against an equally good team, but I think after another week of practice we should be able to play even better this coming Saturday. Who knows maybe we’ll even win!

Check out the pictures of my girls at the tournament. There aren’t many as I didn’t want to bring too much attention to myself and my other players on the sidelines by having a camera, but I think you’ll be able to get a feel for the court and players.

Mbewa

I may be an entire ocean away, but I’ve still heard that my mom’s been spreading word of my recent, unexpected house guest. I suppose that means it makes for a good story and should be shared with everyone who hasn’t heard.

I woke up at about 2:30am a few Saturdays ago to the sound of rustling somewhere in my house. I decided the noise was coming from my sitting room, outside my bedroom door, but couldn’t quite figure out what it was. It didn’t sound like a person and I’ve always felt safe in my house, especially with my watchman outside, but nonetheless I was a bit nervous to get up and see what it was.

After a few minutes, I decided to emerge from my mosquito net, lit a candle and went to investigate. I’m not really sure why I chose a candle over my headlamp or a flashlight, but considering it was 2:30am I’ll excuse my lack of thought.

Anyway, after lighting my candle, I ventured into my sitting room, following the strange sound. Not only did I continue to hear the rustling but I was shocked to see an empty plastic rice bag moving across my floor!

Upon my entering the room, the bag stopped… and that’s when I saw him.

His long tail and nasty little face were quite visible through the clear plastic bag.

I wasn’t sure what to do. I’m not afraid of mice or bugs or anything like that, but still I didn’t grab the bag. Instead I unlocked my back door and found my watchman standing there, obviously wondering why I was up and what was going on. I looked at him frantically and said only “mbewa” the Chichewan word for mouse.

Well I’m sure he thinks I’m quite ridiculous. Mice are common house problems in Malawi and even more commonly eaten as roasted, side-dishes. Nonetheless, he entered my house, picked up the bag and escorted my unwelcome visitor outside.

Like me, you’re probably wondering what happened to the mouse. Unfortunately I was too embarrassed to bring it up in the morning, so we’ll never know for sure. It’s quite possible that he escaped, maybe even before my watchman was able to take him outside. Perhaps he’s still living in my house, looking for granola bar wrappers and dropped crumbs. But if I had to guess, I’d say the most likely fate of my little friend was death… by roasting.

I may have been shocked to find him, but I’d bet he turned out to be a tasty, late-night snack for my watchman.

Teaching: First Impressions

On the first day of school, I had my Form 3 English Class write me an essay (I know I'm one of those terrible teachers who gives an essay on the first day) telling me about themselves, their homes, their interests, their families, their goals, etc. I received many papers explaining to me (in broken English) conditions of poverty, life as an orphan and other daily problems. But each and every one also informed me (in broken English) of the importance of secondary school and of working hard in order to become nurses, soldiers, drivers, teachers, Members of Parliament, and even the President of Malawi some day.

I'm humbled by my students and what they are doing and hope to one day accomplish. I'm quite sure that I will learn as much, if not more, from them as they will from me.

As I noted above, my student's English skills are not very strong. Though they've been taught English since the last few years of primary school, it's very difficult for them as they haven't had enough practice and exposure to English in school and at home.

Unfortunately this means that many of them, especially those in Form 1 have a very difficult time understanding me. I'm trying to find ways to get around this as much as possible. I'm speaking very slowly in class and taking time to explain things as simply and thoroughly as I can. I've also let them know that they can ask me questions in both English and Chichewa after class. When possible I try to use some Chichewan words in the classroom as well.

Despite our difficulties in understanding one another, I have to say that I already really like my students and I know that I'm going to enjoy teaching them very much. They're all very eager to learn, listen, and participate in class. Even the female students who are fewer in number than males and typically much shyer, are becoming more and more comfortable each day to ask me questions both in and out of classroom.

As I begin to get a better feel for my classes and teaching, I'll be sure to post more thoughts and experiences as well as pictures of my students soon!

A Day in Ntchisi

My day begins around 4:30am, I crawl out of bed around 5:00 and greet my watchman who's been up for who knows how long sweeping, splitting firewood, rolling himself cigarettes, etc.

I start a fire for a breakfast of tea and rice or maybe peanut butter and banana sandwiches. After doing so, I make a trip to fill a water bucket for the day which now, I am proud to say, I am carrying back on my head every time, completely full.

Now that school's begun, I leave my house a few minutes before 7:00 to greet my neighbors and head to school. The classes I teach vary from day to day but usually I have 4-5, 40 minute periods throughout. The students are expected to be at school at 7:15 as classes begin at 7:30.

When I'm not in class, I'm either in the library or the staffroom chatting and writing lesson plans. I'm getting to know the other teachers quite well. They're all very nice and many are very dedicated, good teachers who really care about their students. Most of them live on or near the school grounds, but a few travel to work by bike or matola (minibus).

The school day ends at 2:00pm, but I usually stay until 5:00 or so watching them play sports, answering questions on a variety of topics (both school related and not), helping them in the library or checking on the girls who stay at the school.

When I leave for the day I'm greeted by my circle of primary school friends to dance, sing, color, and learn. As they leave I begin to make my dinner, usually consisting of pasta, rice or nsima and vegetables and/or beans. (I try and make sure to cook enough food to feed my watchman as well, who shows up around 5:30pm every evening.)

While dinner is cooking, I spend some time chatting with my neighbors, the primary school teachers who live nearby and most days head for another bucket of water as well.

After a warm bucket bath, I light a candle, settle into my mosquito net and either write letters or read until going to sleep, sometime after 8:00pm.

As far as the weekends go, my activities have definitely been variable. Sometimes I'm in one of the villages getting to know the women and children, chatting and discovering how they work and live. Some days I walk to the market by myself or with some of the younger teachers to buy vegetables or just to socialize.

Often times I find my coloring circle friends smiling at my door ready to play and draw pictures. Other times, I find myself at the school as students have shown up to use the library, to study, etc. On Sunday mornings, I attend church with my head teacher's wife and sons.

I also use my weekends to make time for household chores like laundry, mopping my house, etc. After doing so, I make time to take a nice bike ride or go for a good long walk. My absolute favorite weekend activity has been sitting under the big tree in my backyard, book in hand and ipod on.

I hope that helps in giving you a better sense of what it's been like living in Malawi. My days are simple and sometimes challenging, but always rewarding and full of smiling faces and good conversation.

Kuno ku Malawi. Here in Malawi.