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.