This morning we traveled to Mwanje which is a village school built by the Germans that’s pretty close to our schools in the Domasi district. The National Social Studies Association (I think) has a very close tie with this school is responsible for the majority of their funding. It’s absolutely beautiful, but still has many problems. There is no well, so the girls at the school have to travel awhile to bring back buckets of water, and this is a huge deal. The goal in the next year or so is to install a well that will last them. We went today so we could hand out backpacks to the older students. Last year, the Standard 7 and Standard 8 students received them so this year we were handing them out to children who didn’t get them last summer. It was such an incredible experience. I loved this school because there was sooo much more music and dancing involved among the instructors and students and they even got a few of us dancing with them (James!). Of course, Jess and I were the only one’s that started to cry when they were singing for us in the classroom. It was cool because they even had a big drum they played, which they didn’t have at all the other schools.
Once we handed out the backpacks they were all so grateful that they went out into the schoolyard to have a huge celebration. It was basically the drum in the middle with all the students dancing and singing around it in a big circle, I have amazing video footage of this (that I didn’t delete, yay!). We arrived about an hour and half late to our school assignments but that was okay. Jess and I handed out pens to our class and they loved it! Katherine told us that many kids get discouraged because they never have anything to write with, especially not pens, and it hinders them from excelling. Towards the end of our stay we will hand out even more. Tomorrow we will teach their English, Math and Music lesson. We were thinking about teaching the hokey pokey for music, I think it will be a lot of fun, and a great way of teaching them body parts in English. Twister is another good game for this that we’ll do later in the week. I’ll definitely let you know how it goes.
During our class discussion at MIE afterwards we discussed what our project/gift should be for our school that we take on every year. I really wanted to paint some of the classrooms since they really have nothing on the walls and all their posters are destroyed for the most part. The problem is in the coming weeks they’re going over all the walls in the classroom with a base paint so that next year the students that come can paint things on the wall with a fresh start. This was supposed to be done last year, but the schools never got around to it. Last year we also paid for all their windows to be fixed as well as locks to be put on all the classroom doors. Apparently, the supplies closets were supposed to be rebuilt as well as ceiling tiles replaced, but they never did that either. Since they still have the money though, they should be getting around to that soon. Ultimately, we decided we would try to create some visual teaching materials in the form of posters that we’ll have laminated in town, as well as repainting all their blackboards. It’s getting so hard to read what’s written up there because they never wash them. Dr. Kelly said this needs to be done every few years anyway, so they will really enjoy it.
I have to write a 10-page paper or so that will be due sometime after I return home. I can’t exactly decide what I want to focus on yet, but I definitely want to draw on the paper that I had written for my Senior Seminar in the Spring semester. I might focus on the educational aspect of the Malawian culture and weigh it’s importance compared to other things, like agriculture. It’s easier to understand these things after being here even for only a week. Schooling here is compulsory, and only about 50% of children in Malawi even start school. Of those 50%, less than 10% make it to higher levels of education. It’s very interesting. They also focus on the collective class rather than the individual which is opposite of how it works in America. This can be attributed to their large class size (classes of 90+!) and may just be the easiest way to teach. I am also looking at the role of female school children compared to male. Their roles are drastically different and it would be worthwhile to look further into that as well. Since both of my teachers in 4B are women, I’m sure they could bring a lot of insight into the topic. We’ll see though, I still have awhile to observe and get it narrowed down.
Today was tiring, I can’t seem to sustain any energy here. I think it’s the diet, everything is fried and high-carb, which I’m not used to eating on a daily basis. The good thing is I’m going to bed before 10 each night so hopefully I can carry that habit back home with me. Oh, and the power went out while I was showering today, that wasn’t fun. Now I know not to take a shower between 5:30 and 6 because it will get very dark and very cold.
Tuesday, June 30, 2009
Sunday, June 28, 2009
Happy Birthday Dr. Liz & Todd! (June 28)
Another relaxing day. Everyone went to church this morning, the service started at 8:30am for English, even earlier for the one in Chichewa. Jess and I didn’t go - we really needed to sleep. So we slept until 10ish and we figure we’ll go another Sunday since we have plenty of time. Jess, Angela and I walked down into town to Tasty Bites for lunch because it’s much cheaper and we’re all going broke since we can’t exchange any more money until tomorrow after our classes. It was pretty good, we got chicken and beef samosas, and a cupcake since we’d all been craving sweets. The walk back is all uphill but its great because we need the exercise. Everyone thought we’d be losing weight here but that is sooo not happening! All the food here is fried and so unhealthy, I feel like a walrus. I eat a few bananas every morning instead of all the bread but lately they haven’t had any. I think I’m going to try that walk every day maybe twice just to work off some of this fried chicken.
We spent the majority of the afternoon sitting outside learning Chichewa from our interactive CD so that we could start planning our lessons. It’s a little difficult because we have to know Chichewa so the kids will understand our English translations. I think that tomorrow we’re going to talk more with the teachers and not really start planning out an actual lesson until tomorrow night to use for Tuesday. For the most part I sat around and read my book and just relaxed. It was great, and I’m reading My Sister’s Keeper by Jodi Picoult, which is amazingly addicting, I can never seem to put it down.
Today was Dr. Liz’s birthday!! Todd’s was the day we left so we decided to celebrate his as well. We had a huge dinner outside (for FREE) and it was by far the best thing I’ve had here so far. They made us chicken curry, and I had ordered it here earlier in the week but it was nothing like what we had tonight. We passed around the cards we gave then and even had a cake made (which was also fantastic). Afterwards, we gave the last of the cake to the workers and they were sooo thankful. I don’t think anyone ever gives them stuff because they were so appreciative and hesitant to even take it at first. Naomi is the bartender here and she’s great. We’ve all made great friends with her and she’s so fun. The power went out right before dinner and the music we were listening to cut off so she started dancing and singing the rest, she’s so cute.
So, a pretty uneventful day, but I still can’t believe I’m in Africa! It’s been unbelievable so far I can’t wait to see what we’ll do the rest of the time we’re here.
We spent the majority of the afternoon sitting outside learning Chichewa from our interactive CD so that we could start planning our lessons. It’s a little difficult because we have to know Chichewa so the kids will understand our English translations. I think that tomorrow we’re going to talk more with the teachers and not really start planning out an actual lesson until tomorrow night to use for Tuesday. For the most part I sat around and read my book and just relaxed. It was great, and I’m reading My Sister’s Keeper by Jodi Picoult, which is amazingly addicting, I can never seem to put it down.
Today was Dr. Liz’s birthday!! Todd’s was the day we left so we decided to celebrate his as well. We had a huge dinner outside (for FREE) and it was by far the best thing I’ve had here so far. They made us chicken curry, and I had ordered it here earlier in the week but it was nothing like what we had tonight. We passed around the cards we gave then and even had a cake made (which was also fantastic). Afterwards, we gave the last of the cake to the workers and they were sooo thankful. I don’t think anyone ever gives them stuff because they were so appreciative and hesitant to even take it at first. Naomi is the bartender here and she’s great. We’ve all made great friends with her and she’s so fun. The power went out right before dinner and the music we were listening to cut off so she started dancing and singing the rest, she’s so cute.
So, a pretty uneventful day, but I still can’t believe I’m in Africa! It’s been unbelievable so far I can’t wait to see what we’ll do the rest of the time we’re here.
Saturday, June 27, 2009
A day of rest! (June 27)
Finally, a day to relax! But not sleep in, unfortunately. I had to be up around 9 because everyone was going into town by 10 because things start to close around noon for prayer, and a lot of things don’t open back up afterwards. The walk really wasn’t bad, and I think we all liked the exercise anyway. Once we got there we looked for numerous money exchange places but either the rate was too high or they were closed, so we have to go back on Monday after our classes. Dr. Kelly showed us the fabric store where they sold beautiful fabrics and lots of it, for cheap! Each of us bought a few so that we could take them to the tailor and have cool things made for us, apparently they usually get them made just in time for us to go back to the states.
The town here is much different from Lilongwe. I like it a lot better, probably because it’s smaller. There are still many people who come up to you and try to sell you their things, but usually it’s overpriced so we bargain. It reminds me a lot of Mexico, but more impoverished than Acapulco was. All the roads are dirt, and it takes a bit to get used to the fact that people drive on the left here. The driving however, really reminds me of Mexico! Crazy drivers, and you really have to be careful because they’ll honk their horn but they don’t stop for much of anything.
We stopped at the market where they had tons of fresh fruits and vegetables; too bad we can’t eat them because they looked wonderful. I did buy tangerines though, because they usually don’t have them at the hotel during breakfast. On the way to get lunch, we looked around at an area where they were selling really amazing art work and wood carvings. Later in the trip we are actually travelling to where the wood carvings are made, and Dr. Kelly and Liz told us that we can get the same stuff for cheaper there, so I didn’t buy anything, but I wanted everything.
Lunch was at Tasty Bites, and it was alright, I’m getting tired of the food here. I would do anything for a real pizza or Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups, or Chipotle! Anyway, tonight we’re all staying in after that crazy night last night. Tomorrow is Dr. Liz’s birthday though so we’re having some kind of party at Annie’s again. Looking forward to it. I still haven’t seen a monkey, but everyone else keeps seeing them! I don’t think they come down to where our room is, we’re pretty secluded. There’s a stray cat that always comes up to me at dinner, and he’s soooo pretty! I asked Harold (one of the workers) if he had a name or belonged to anyone and he said no. So I named him Chunk, since I clearly am not getting my dog anytime soon, I though I’d let the cat borrow the name until someone gives him a home. J
The town here is much different from Lilongwe. I like it a lot better, probably because it’s smaller. There are still many people who come up to you and try to sell you their things, but usually it’s overpriced so we bargain. It reminds me a lot of Mexico, but more impoverished than Acapulco was. All the roads are dirt, and it takes a bit to get used to the fact that people drive on the left here. The driving however, really reminds me of Mexico! Crazy drivers, and you really have to be careful because they’ll honk their horn but they don’t stop for much of anything.
We stopped at the market where they had tons of fresh fruits and vegetables; too bad we can’t eat them because they looked wonderful. I did buy tangerines though, because they usually don’t have them at the hotel during breakfast. On the way to get lunch, we looked around at an area where they were selling really amazing art work and wood carvings. Later in the trip we are actually travelling to where the wood carvings are made, and Dr. Kelly and Liz told us that we can get the same stuff for cheaper there, so I didn’t buy anything, but I wanted everything.
Lunch was at Tasty Bites, and it was alright, I’m getting tired of the food here. I would do anything for a real pizza or Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups, or Chipotle! Anyway, tonight we’re all staying in after that crazy night last night. Tomorrow is Dr. Liz’s birthday though so we’re having some kind of party at Annie’s again. Looking forward to it. I still haven’t seen a monkey, but everyone else keeps seeing them! I don’t think they come down to where our room is, we’re pretty secluded. There’s a stray cat that always comes up to me at dinner, and he’s soooo pretty! I asked Harold (one of the workers) if he had a name or belonged to anyone and he said no. So I named him Chunk, since I clearly am not getting my dog anytime soon, I though I’d let the cat borrow the name until someone gives him a home. J
First Day of Class (June 26)
It was our first day with our classroom assignments, and the main purpose was just observation. We needed to see how these children learn on a day-to-day basis when we aren’t around, as well as become familiar with their schedule and learning styles. Jess and I are with Standard 4B at the Domasi Government School with teachers Katherine and Cecilia. The class needs the most help with their English lessons, and probably a bit of math, so that is where Jess and I will step in. We also came to the conclusion that once we’re done in the 4B classroom, we will repeat our lesson in the 4A class. We are going to meet the teacher of that class on Monday so we can work out a schedule between the two rooms.
Our arrival today was not nearly as crazy as it was on Thursday, but it was still difficult to move around between the masses of children. When we pulled up, all the kids came running while chanting something like “mzulu” which is translated to mean White person, or Wealthy person. The Head Teacher also told us that the kids have been waiting for us for months, and they asked everyday when we were coming, so they are so happy that we are here. I also learned the word for happy is “sangalala”!
We get to our classes around 9am everyday, and teach with them until noon. For the kids, their instruction starts at 7:30am, so they are already waiting when we arrive each day. Jess and I came during our classes English lesson, and we sat on a bench in the back of the room to observe. We were very surprised because we were under the impression that this school was further along than they actually were. It seems as though the school that VT students were assigned needs the most help as far as academics and development. Our Standard 4 kids are learning at a 1st or 2nd grade level. They are learning English, but they mostly repeat what the teacher is saying, so I don’t think they are really retaining anything at all. Plus, the teachers don’t even speak English very well. It will definitely be a challenge. At the schools where Radford and NC A&T are teaching, the students are much more advanced, and even as low as standard 2 understand a bit of English. The lessons here are insufficient. We even had to correct the teachers with some of the English. The vocabulary words they are learning are also pretty violent, as far as verbs go. On the chalkboard it read “He beats himself”, “She killed herself”, “They cut themselves” and the children had to match which pronouns went together, and then repeat. Jess and I thought all of these could definitely be used in different contexts, like beating rugs, and cutting materials, and killing their food.. but it was being used in regards to people. It was very interesting. Dr. Kelly said this is probably how it is written in their books as well. But the kids in our class don’t have books! The teachers have books! Their math lesson lasted 5 minutes and it consisted of them having to draw circles in their notebook, and out in the dirt in the schoolyard, and Jess and I walked around to help check off that they did this correctly. (All of the kids wanted us to grade their work so they kept drawing more circles and handing us their paper over and over again. It was so cute!) The walls of the classroom have posters with multiplication tables, but they haven’t learned this at all, I think it’s just something all the rooms have. So Jess and I will take some time to teach basic math as well. Everything else is taught to them in Chichewa, such as General Studies and Religious Studies. Katherine translated for us so we understood that in general studies they were learning about cleanliness, and in religious studies they were learning about the Quran (written on the board).
In our after class discussion at MIE (when all three schools meet back up) we learned about the politics and government of Malawi, from when they became independent in 1964 until present day. Mostly we were taught about their education and teaching principles. Its very interesting because in Standard 8 all students take a test, and it doesn’t matter how many sections they pass as long as they pass English. And from those who pass, some are selected to attend secondary school, Standard 9-10. In standard 10 they take another test, have to pass English still, and those who pass are selected to go on further. The same thing happens in 12th grade and then very few are selected to attend college. The highest dropout rate is also between Standard 4 and 5 and it is more common for girls. Because of this, I really want to make sure we are doing as much as we can to get through to these Standard 4 children even though it will be very challenging because of the language barrier.
On the ride home I accidentally erased all the pictures and videos from my memory card. Luckily this is only the beginning of the trip but I will miss the picture of me standing in two countries at once! And the video of all the kids running towards us on the first day. L
Oh! We went to a club tonight! Annie, the owner of Annie’s Lodge invited us to her home to pregame, which was beautiful! Then we went to a Malawian club, it was very fun and so different. Everyone wanted to talk and dance with us. And the music was incredible. They had dancers on stage doing crazy things while we waited for the main act. Lucious Banda was to be performing, and he is one of the most famous musicians in Malawi. He sings all about political movements and is actually the main influence for the band SOJA. It was very cool. Myself and a few others left around midnight though because we were exhausted. Tomorrow we are going into town to visit the market and shop for some fabric.
Our arrival today was not nearly as crazy as it was on Thursday, but it was still difficult to move around between the masses of children. When we pulled up, all the kids came running while chanting something like “mzulu” which is translated to mean White person, or Wealthy person. The Head Teacher also told us that the kids have been waiting for us for months, and they asked everyday when we were coming, so they are so happy that we are here. I also learned the word for happy is “sangalala”!
We get to our classes around 9am everyday, and teach with them until noon. For the kids, their instruction starts at 7:30am, so they are already waiting when we arrive each day. Jess and I came during our classes English lesson, and we sat on a bench in the back of the room to observe. We were very surprised because we were under the impression that this school was further along than they actually were. It seems as though the school that VT students were assigned needs the most help as far as academics and development. Our Standard 4 kids are learning at a 1st or 2nd grade level. They are learning English, but they mostly repeat what the teacher is saying, so I don’t think they are really retaining anything at all. Plus, the teachers don’t even speak English very well. It will definitely be a challenge. At the schools where Radford and NC A&T are teaching, the students are much more advanced, and even as low as standard 2 understand a bit of English. The lessons here are insufficient. We even had to correct the teachers with some of the English. The vocabulary words they are learning are also pretty violent, as far as verbs go. On the chalkboard it read “He beats himself”, “She killed herself”, “They cut themselves” and the children had to match which pronouns went together, and then repeat. Jess and I thought all of these could definitely be used in different contexts, like beating rugs, and cutting materials, and killing their food.. but it was being used in regards to people. It was very interesting. Dr. Kelly said this is probably how it is written in their books as well. But the kids in our class don’t have books! The teachers have books! Their math lesson lasted 5 minutes and it consisted of them having to draw circles in their notebook, and out in the dirt in the schoolyard, and Jess and I walked around to help check off that they did this correctly. (All of the kids wanted us to grade their work so they kept drawing more circles and handing us their paper over and over again. It was so cute!) The walls of the classroom have posters with multiplication tables, but they haven’t learned this at all, I think it’s just something all the rooms have. So Jess and I will take some time to teach basic math as well. Everything else is taught to them in Chichewa, such as General Studies and Religious Studies. Katherine translated for us so we understood that in general studies they were learning about cleanliness, and in religious studies they were learning about the Quran (written on the board).
In our after class discussion at MIE (when all three schools meet back up) we learned about the politics and government of Malawi, from when they became independent in 1964 until present day. Mostly we were taught about their education and teaching principles. Its very interesting because in Standard 8 all students take a test, and it doesn’t matter how many sections they pass as long as they pass English. And from those who pass, some are selected to attend secondary school, Standard 9-10. In standard 10 they take another test, have to pass English still, and those who pass are selected to go on further. The same thing happens in 12th grade and then very few are selected to attend college. The highest dropout rate is also between Standard 4 and 5 and it is more common for girls. Because of this, I really want to make sure we are doing as much as we can to get through to these Standard 4 children even though it will be very challenging because of the language barrier.
On the ride home I accidentally erased all the pictures and videos from my memory card. Luckily this is only the beginning of the trip but I will miss the picture of me standing in two countries at once! And the video of all the kids running towards us on the first day. L
Oh! We went to a club tonight! Annie, the owner of Annie’s Lodge invited us to her home to pregame, which was beautiful! Then we went to a Malawian club, it was very fun and so different. Everyone wanted to talk and dance with us. And the music was incredible. They had dancers on stage doing crazy things while we waited for the main act. Lucious Banda was to be performing, and he is one of the most famous musicians in Malawi. He sings all about political movements and is actually the main influence for the band SOJA. It was very cool. Myself and a few others left around midnight though because we were exhausted. Tomorrow we are going into town to visit the market and shop for some fabric.
Friday, June 26, 2009
School Orientation (June 25)
Today was a busy and very overwhelming day, but in a good way, of course. We took the trip into Domasi to visit all three schools that we will be teaching at, so we could get acquainted with our specific school and be familiar with the others. The first school we drove to was Malemia, where the Radford students are teaching, supervised by Dr. Roberts. A dirt road led us onto the school grounds and when we turned around we saw tons of kids chasing after our bus, as well as running alongside of it. Once we got off they crowded around, and we were able to meet the Head Teacher (our equivalent of a principal) and toured the classrooms of each standard (1 through 8). All the kids were so excited and the thing they loved the most was our cameras! Each time we took a picture we would show them and they thought it was the coolest thing. Some would even start posing for us, and then get in pictures with us, just so they could look at themselves afterwards.
The class sizes were pretty large but interestingly, only about a third of the children enrolled were present. Today was Market day, and it’s pretty normal for many kids to not come to school on market days. They also all carried around little cups, because three times a week they get fed porridge through the food program. We played soccer with them too! It was so fun, but we had to visit the other schools so we had to leave.
The next school we visited was Domasi Demonstration School, where North Carolina A&T will teach, supervised by Dr. Barber. This school operated a lot differently than Malemia. The parents have to apply for their children to go here. It’s kind of like a private school, but it isn’t. It was a beautiful school! The children were also very well behaved and much more disciplined. We didn’t get any kids running up to us, they all pretty much stayed in their classrooms. We still took a tour to each standard grade and classroom, but it was much more calm.
Finally, Charles dropped us off at Domasi Government School, where I’ll be teaching with the rest of the Hokies, supervised by Dr. Kelly. I can’t even begin to explain to you this experience. Walking off the bus onto the schoolyard of this school is something that will stay with me the rest of my life. As soon as the bus pulled up, and the doors opened, we looked out and saw hundreds of school children in their uniforms running as fast as they could from all directions (and from very far!) just to come greet us. We could barely get off the bus and they swarmed around us, all wanting to shake our hands, learn our names and say hello. It was so hard to walk through them! I found many of them holding my hand and arms as I walked, they were so incredibly excited to see all of us. I took a great video that demonstrated them crowding around us toward the end of our visit.
We got to tour the classrooms like we did at the others, and meet some of the teachers. Jess and I really fell in love with the Standard 4B class, taught by Katherine. She was great, and the kids were adorable. They are learning at a rate similar to what a 2nd grader would be in the US, so the material we’d be teaching is exactly what I’m looking forward to. All of the children have even memorized greetings for our visit! This is how it goes:
We say: Good morning, how are you today?
They say: (All of them stand up) I’m fine Madame, how are you?
We say: I’m well, thank you!
They say: Thank you, Madame. (All sit back down)
It was amazing! It took awhile to get out of the school yard because all of the kids wanted to follow us or kept hanging onto us. We walked over to the Malawi Institute of Education (MIE) which is a few buildings over, where we could rest and eat lunch. We then went into a classroom to have our discussion, with all of us and all 3 directors. It was a pretty loaded discussion. We went over a lot and it really got me thinking about our situation in America. It’s also important to note that while we are here helping these children, families and schools, we can’t feel bad for them. They are so happy, and it’s all they know, just like our lifestyle at home is all we know. These are some of the strongest people I will probably ever meet in my lifetime, and it’s worthwhile to point that out. I got to thinking a lot about what my responsibility is here, and how I can do all I can to help them with the little time I have. We have to make sure the knowledge we are leaving them will benefit them in the future, and not hinder them in any way. It’s so important to give them the means, knowledge and ideas for them to be able to continue flourishing on their own, without the aid of others. It’s much like the idea reinforced by Freedom Gardens.
My day was filled with every emotion imaginable, but I love my school assignment and I couldn’t imagine doing this anyplace else.
The class sizes were pretty large but interestingly, only about a third of the children enrolled were present. Today was Market day, and it’s pretty normal for many kids to not come to school on market days. They also all carried around little cups, because three times a week they get fed porridge through the food program. We played soccer with them too! It was so fun, but we had to visit the other schools so we had to leave.
The next school we visited was Domasi Demonstration School, where North Carolina A&T will teach, supervised by Dr. Barber. This school operated a lot differently than Malemia. The parents have to apply for their children to go here. It’s kind of like a private school, but it isn’t. It was a beautiful school! The children were also very well behaved and much more disciplined. We didn’t get any kids running up to us, they all pretty much stayed in their classrooms. We still took a tour to each standard grade and classroom, but it was much more calm.
Finally, Charles dropped us off at Domasi Government School, where I’ll be teaching with the rest of the Hokies, supervised by Dr. Kelly. I can’t even begin to explain to you this experience. Walking off the bus onto the schoolyard of this school is something that will stay with me the rest of my life. As soon as the bus pulled up, and the doors opened, we looked out and saw hundreds of school children in their uniforms running as fast as they could from all directions (and from very far!) just to come greet us. We could barely get off the bus and they swarmed around us, all wanting to shake our hands, learn our names and say hello. It was so hard to walk through them! I found many of them holding my hand and arms as I walked, they were so incredibly excited to see all of us. I took a great video that demonstrated them crowding around us toward the end of our visit.
We got to tour the classrooms like we did at the others, and meet some of the teachers. Jess and I really fell in love with the Standard 4B class, taught by Katherine. She was great, and the kids were adorable. They are learning at a rate similar to what a 2nd grader would be in the US, so the material we’d be teaching is exactly what I’m looking forward to. All of the children have even memorized greetings for our visit! This is how it goes:
We say: Good morning, how are you today?
They say: (All of them stand up) I’m fine Madame, how are you?
We say: I’m well, thank you!
They say: Thank you, Madame. (All sit back down)
It was amazing! It took awhile to get out of the school yard because all of the kids wanted to follow us or kept hanging onto us. We walked over to the Malawi Institute of Education (MIE) which is a few buildings over, where we could rest and eat lunch. We then went into a classroom to have our discussion, with all of us and all 3 directors. It was a pretty loaded discussion. We went over a lot and it really got me thinking about our situation in America. It’s also important to note that while we are here helping these children, families and schools, we can’t feel bad for them. They are so happy, and it’s all they know, just like our lifestyle at home is all we know. These are some of the strongest people I will probably ever meet in my lifetime, and it’s worthwhile to point that out. I got to thinking a lot about what my responsibility is here, and how I can do all I can to help them with the little time I have. We have to make sure the knowledge we are leaving them will benefit them in the future, and not hinder them in any way. It’s so important to give them the means, knowledge and ideas for them to be able to continue flourishing on their own, without the aid of others. It’s much like the idea reinforced by Freedom Gardens.
My day was filled with every emotion imaginable, but I love my school assignment and I couldn’t imagine doing this anyplace else.
Thursday, June 25, 2009
Zomba, Finally! (June 24)
Today we finally got to leave that crazy hotel in Lilongwe and start making our trip down to Domasi (where the schools are) and Zomba (where we will be staying). The luggage took up an entire 3 rows of the back of the bus so everyone was crammed in, and it was pretty uncomfortable but we managed. The drive down was 4 hours long but broken up by 2 trips. We first stopped at the Dedza Pottery shop and did some shopping. The pottery was beautiful and I bought a few things there. It is all hand crafted and hand painted, I was amazed at the talent these people have. We also ate there for lunch and it was great. The surroundings were sooo pretty, mountains everywhere and it was so peaceful to be in that type of environment. Funny thing happened though, I managed to drop my camera in the toilet (before I used it)!! Luckily, it was in the case and I grabbed it out quick enough that it wasn’t ruined.. and the case dried in the sun while we ate lunch.
Afterwards we drove a very short distance to see where they make recycled paper from Elephant Dung. I really wanted a journal from the shop but one of the people on the trip bought them all out! It’s okay though because the experience was still fascinating. When we left the shop we got to meet the man who actually made the paper and he showed us how it was done. So creative, and the paper was so lovely. The paper from elephant dung is a brownish color, and the other paper is white-ish. The best part by far though, was the little kids from the village. As soon as our bus pulled up they all crowded around and wanted to see us. They were pretty skeptical at first (I would be too!) and didn’t really understand what our cameras were, so they kept running away from us when we tried to get pictures with them. Once we showed them what they looked like on the camera they were so excited!! They loved it and a lot of them were even posing with us. We played some games with them in the street while we waited. The older kids spoke English, but the rest just followed us around smiled a lot. A few children even had their younger siblings on their backs. None of them had shoes and the little clothes they had were very insufficient. But what great kids, and fun!
Our next stop was the Lizulu Market that literally bordered Malawi and Mozambique. I got a picture of me standing with one foot in each country!! Totally reminded me of A Walk to Remember, but still cool. There were massive amounts of people it was ridiculous. We didn’t stay long because we needed to get to Annie’s Lodge before dark. We finally got there and once we did, they had no power. So we loaded our luggage into our rooms and used our flashlights to guide the way. In this part of Malawi though, they often lose power because it’s so expensive. But now they have a generator so we were able to go downstairs and still eat dinner, and have a beer, because they actually have a bar here. This place is beautiful and much nicer than the Budget Lodge in Lilongwe. Oh, and the land we saw on the drive down was mountainous and so empty; it was very peaceful and so weird to see because it was completely untouched. There weren’t even wild animals. Fortunately we got to see the sunset over the Shire River in passing, and that was incredible.
Tomorrow we’ll visit all three schools, even though VT is only teaching at the Domasi Government School. I’m very excited. But for now, it’s time to get hopefully a good night’s sleep, finally!
Afterwards we drove a very short distance to see where they make recycled paper from Elephant Dung. I really wanted a journal from the shop but one of the people on the trip bought them all out! It’s okay though because the experience was still fascinating. When we left the shop we got to meet the man who actually made the paper and he showed us how it was done. So creative, and the paper was so lovely. The paper from elephant dung is a brownish color, and the other paper is white-ish. The best part by far though, was the little kids from the village. As soon as our bus pulled up they all crowded around and wanted to see us. They were pretty skeptical at first (I would be too!) and didn’t really understand what our cameras were, so they kept running away from us when we tried to get pictures with them. Once we showed them what they looked like on the camera they were so excited!! They loved it and a lot of them were even posing with us. We played some games with them in the street while we waited. The older kids spoke English, but the rest just followed us around smiled a lot. A few children even had their younger siblings on their backs. None of them had shoes and the little clothes they had were very insufficient. But what great kids, and fun!
Our next stop was the Lizulu Market that literally bordered Malawi and Mozambique. I got a picture of me standing with one foot in each country!! Totally reminded me of A Walk to Remember, but still cool. There were massive amounts of people it was ridiculous. We didn’t stay long because we needed to get to Annie’s Lodge before dark. We finally got there and once we did, they had no power. So we loaded our luggage into our rooms and used our flashlights to guide the way. In this part of Malawi though, they often lose power because it’s so expensive. But now they have a generator so we were able to go downstairs and still eat dinner, and have a beer, because they actually have a bar here. This place is beautiful and much nicer than the Budget Lodge in Lilongwe. Oh, and the land we saw on the drive down was mountainous and so empty; it was very peaceful and so weird to see because it was completely untouched. There weren’t even wild animals. Fortunately we got to see the sunset over the Shire River in passing, and that was incredible.
Tomorrow we’ll visit all three schools, even though VT is only teaching at the Domasi Government School. I’m very excited. But for now, it’s time to get hopefully a good night’s sleep, finally!
Tidkondwe Freedon Gardens (June 23)
Tidkondwe Freedom Gardens
Tidkondwe (means “Be Happy”) Freedom Gardens started in 1982 with Dr. Livingston who was an accountant and economist. He started this because he wanted to achieve food sovereignty rather than food sufficiency. Daniel described food sovereignty as being about to have food wherever and whenever you want it, vs. sufficiency where you dig into your pockets to purchase your goods. He started cultivating a very small sphere of land, which was sold to him because the owners thought of it as useless because of how swampy it was, but he saw potential. It took him 3 years to drain the water out of the land, and another 3 years to remove the reeds in order to be able to cultivate the land. Once he was able to do this though, he created 2 channels with linear channels in between, which was how the river water would flow to the crops… WITHOUT pumps! There has never been a single pump used at Freedom Gardens and this is why it’s absolutely incredible. The main idea here was to recycle nature and maintain the natural balance. It started out being 10 sq meters and it has now grown into 25 acres of success. From the proceeds, 75% is put back into the land, and the other 25% is used for home consumption. Because the family wanted to live in harmony with nature, the decision was made not to kill the insects and pests that would affect the crops. Instead, they produce chemicals (organically, from their own crops!! Using India Tree leaves, aloevera, blackjack, garlic and others) to simply scare the insects away. They even use smart tactics like growing corn around the legumes and carrots because it protects them from flying pests. It was crazy because the water flows through little visible channels that surround the crops (which are sunken lower than the small channels), and they come from 2 main channels, and various wells around the garden that it gets pulled from. They harvest the water in the rainy season and then use it to irrigate the crops during the dry season. All without pumps. It’s amazing because you can see the water flowing around the crops on different paths, and farm hands just use shovels to push dirt into a channel if they need to cut off water supply to a certain crop or divert the flow elsewhere. They also have wells specifically for composting. All of their waste (minus plastic and bottles) are pushed into these areas and is connected to a canal that they use to irrigate the well once a week for half a day, and the compost is ready within a month! This is what they call their “fertilizer” but all it is, is leaves from crops, or fallen food, pretty much organic waste. They even demonstrated this in front of us.
This is why Freedom Gardens is so groundbreaking. Malawi struggles a lot with their agriculture, and it’s pretty much their only way of survival. According to Daniel, Malawi spends 19 billion dollars for things like fertilizer and pesticides - money that could be used on schools, hospitals, etc. It took Freedom Gardens 10 years to break even, but it would have taken a lot less if the land hadn’t been so difficult to begin with. But now, everything comes from within. And they profit, a lot, and it goes back into the farm. They are always able to feed themselves, and even sell to local markets and all over Malawi, even though it’s a struggle because it’s not widely accepted yet. Farmers from all over the world, students, peace corps, etc have been coming into Freedom to learn these amazing tactics with hopes to do this on their own or raise awareness.. it’s basically the future of farming and it can save a lot of people in Malawi with as little as determination and perseverance. Malnutrition would decrease a significant amount. People are starting to realize what Daniel and his mother have been doing!
They served us a fantastic lunch and we were able to eat everything without worry because of it’s organic nature. It felt so great to be able to eat vegetables! Lunch cost us 800K (about 5 US dollars) and we even gave Mrs. Chinkhuntha 20 US dollars on top of that, and she was extremely grateful. It means so much to them, and it really is incredible the difference they have made just from their one small farm. We gave Daniel and Moses a ride back to town with us, and they were so fun! They speak very good English and taught us a lot about the cultural things we would see on the road, and didn’t really understand before then. We got their business cards and they even have Facebook! Haha. I plan on getting in touch with them when I get back to the states, I would love to help the cause any way I can.
Tidkondwe (means “Be Happy”) Freedom Gardens started in 1982 with Dr. Livingston who was an accountant and economist. He started this because he wanted to achieve food sovereignty rather than food sufficiency. Daniel described food sovereignty as being about to have food wherever and whenever you want it, vs. sufficiency where you dig into your pockets to purchase your goods. He started cultivating a very small sphere of land, which was sold to him because the owners thought of it as useless because of how swampy it was, but he saw potential. It took him 3 years to drain the water out of the land, and another 3 years to remove the reeds in order to be able to cultivate the land. Once he was able to do this though, he created 2 channels with linear channels in between, which was how the river water would flow to the crops… WITHOUT pumps! There has never been a single pump used at Freedom Gardens and this is why it’s absolutely incredible. The main idea here was to recycle nature and maintain the natural balance. It started out being 10 sq meters and it has now grown into 25 acres of success. From the proceeds, 75% is put back into the land, and the other 25% is used for home consumption. Because the family wanted to live in harmony with nature, the decision was made not to kill the insects and pests that would affect the crops. Instead, they produce chemicals (organically, from their own crops!! Using India Tree leaves, aloevera, blackjack, garlic and others) to simply scare the insects away. They even use smart tactics like growing corn around the legumes and carrots because it protects them from flying pests. It was crazy because the water flows through little visible channels that surround the crops (which are sunken lower than the small channels), and they come from 2 main channels, and various wells around the garden that it gets pulled from. They harvest the water in the rainy season and then use it to irrigate the crops during the dry season. All without pumps. It’s amazing because you can see the water flowing around the crops on different paths, and farm hands just use shovels to push dirt into a channel if they need to cut off water supply to a certain crop or divert the flow elsewhere. They also have wells specifically for composting. All of their waste (minus plastic and bottles) are pushed into these areas and is connected to a canal that they use to irrigate the well once a week for half a day, and the compost is ready within a month! This is what they call their “fertilizer” but all it is, is leaves from crops, or fallen food, pretty much organic waste. They even demonstrated this in front of us.
This is why Freedom Gardens is so groundbreaking. Malawi struggles a lot with their agriculture, and it’s pretty much their only way of survival. According to Daniel, Malawi spends 19 billion dollars for things like fertilizer and pesticides - money that could be used on schools, hospitals, etc. It took Freedom Gardens 10 years to break even, but it would have taken a lot less if the land hadn’t been so difficult to begin with. But now, everything comes from within. And they profit, a lot, and it goes back into the farm. They are always able to feed themselves, and even sell to local markets and all over Malawi, even though it’s a struggle because it’s not widely accepted yet. Farmers from all over the world, students, peace corps, etc have been coming into Freedom to learn these amazing tactics with hopes to do this on their own or raise awareness.. it’s basically the future of farming and it can save a lot of people in Malawi with as little as determination and perseverance. Malnutrition would decrease a significant amount. People are starting to realize what Daniel and his mother have been doing!
They served us a fantastic lunch and we were able to eat everything without worry because of it’s organic nature. It felt so great to be able to eat vegetables! Lunch cost us 800K (about 5 US dollars) and we even gave Mrs. Chinkhuntha 20 US dollars on top of that, and she was extremely grateful. It means so much to them, and it really is incredible the difference they have made just from their one small farm. We gave Daniel and Moses a ride back to town with us, and they were so fun! They speak very good English and taught us a lot about the cultural things we would see on the road, and didn’t really understand before then. We got their business cards and they even have Facebook! Haha. I plan on getting in touch with them when I get back to the states, I would love to help the cause any way I can.
We've Arrived! (June 21 - June 23)
** I've been writing these every night and then posting them once I have access to internet, so each entry has the date of when i actually wrote it!**
I’m in Africa!! And safe! We boarded the plane at 9:30am on Sunday morning, and didn’t get off the plane until 3:00pm Malawian time (9:00am Monday morning at home). It was the longest plane ride EVER and we never even spent any time in the airport. We flew for 8 hours until we got to Rome to refuel, but we had to stay on the plane, and from there we flew another 6 hours into Addis Ababa, Ethiopia to catch our connecting flight which we were late for, but luckily they held it for us. We literally ran from the plane onto the one waiting for us in Ethiopia and flew another 4 hours to the capital city of Lilongwe in Malawi. From the airport it was about a 30 minute bus ride to our hotel. Everyone was exhausted! I was so happy to actually be off an airplane. But our day didn’t end there. We had an hour to load our things into our room. That was a hassle in itself because there is 18 of us, all having 2 carry-on’s and 2 huge 50lb suitcases each. We had to shove into the bus and then drag our luggage up a flight of stairs to get to our room, and the handle on my largest suitcase broke!!
After about an hour we got back on the bus (Charles is our driver, he is fantastic and so nice!), and headed into the city to the Money Exchange and the US Embassy. We started off by exchanging $100.00, and ended up getting over 17,000 Kwatcha for just that small amount. This will last us a good portion of our trip. The US Embassy was amazing. I have never had an experience quite like that before and we were even able to have a meeting with the US Ambassador Badde (I think that’s how you spell it). Apparently, no one really gets to do that, so it was a real treat, and even better because he gave us water... that we could drink! He told us all about various philanthropic projects going on in Malawi, as well as about the government there. Malawi just had one of its first peaceful and fair election process and it couldn’t be more exciting. He gave us fantastic advice and really suggested we get involved in Foreign Service or the Peace Corps. He was a real pleasure; we all wished we could have stayed because it was so beautiful and clean. Afterwards we headed to the Metro Cash & Carry to buy water to last us until we would leave for Zomba on Wednesday. Of course, we were starving! So it was dinnertime and the hotel managed a place at the end of the block called Pizzaland, and there was a Burgerland inside (Haha!). My roommate, Jess, and I ate, showered and passed out for the night.
The next morning we had to be up and on the bus by 8:30am so we could head out to Freedom Gardens. I’m not even really sure how to explain this experience. It can’t be put into words to do it any justice. The garden is managed by Mrs. Chinkhuntha, her son Daniel and his best friend Moses. This farm is entirely organic, and absolutely beautiful. It’s strange because organic materials are not widely accepted or sought after in Malawi like they are in the United States. I took a lot of notes as we were learning about permaculture so I’ll make a second post dedicated to only that.
Once we got back to the hotel we decided to head to the internet café and it only costed us 5K per minute, but the gentlemen working at the desk only charged me 100K when it should have been a lot more. Such nice people. We all split up, but Dr.Kelly, Dr. Roberts, Jess, Beth, Kelsey, Angela and I pretty much stuck together because we all wanted to check our email. The rest of the group met us at Ali Baba for dinner where we had pizza, and let me tell you, it was amazing. Afterwards we went back to the market because Jess and I were craving chocolate, and Dr. Roberts bought us all beer. One of the guys on the trip, Jeff from Radford (he has dreds, and is super cool), managed to make friends with these two local guys. I don’t remember one of their names but the other is John Banana, but we just call him Bananas. They both drank and hung out with us outside the hotel and it was a good time. We were a bit skeptical of them at first but they seem like good guys, always best to be careful though. Places around here close around 7, there isn’t much light, and it gets dark so fast! It gets a bit dangerous in the alleyways and things like that (pretty much just like it would in the states), so we’ve pretty much called it an early night so far, which is good though because Jess and I have been exhausted.
The people here are so different, as to be expected. They don’t have much, they try to sell you everything and they ask for money sometimes. All we can do is politely decline, but it’s so hard! Mostly because we all want to buy things, but there will be plenty of time in the next few weeks. But the people are so happy!
Anyway, there’s more to come. I can’t believe I’ve already had so much to talk about and we’ve only been here two days. We leave here at 8am tomorrow and have a 4 hour bus ride into Zomba where we will check into Annie’s Lodge. That’s where we’ll be staying the rest of our stay in Africa, so it’ll be nice to settle in.
That’s all for now. I miss you all!!
Saturday, June 20, 2009
11 hours to go..
I'm leaving in a few hours for the airport, and after a week of stress and going over lists in my head a thousand times, i'm ready to be there already! Our flight leaves at 10 am for Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. We'll have a layover in Rome to refuel but other than that we're on the plane from 10 until 8am (1am our time). We'll be in Ethiopia for an hour or so and then we're headed to Lilongwe, Malawi, which is the capital city where we stay for a night and visit Freedom Gardens. A day or so later we'll take a bus into Zomba, which is where i'll be staying the majority of my trip, because that's where the schools are.
So my giant suitcase is packed with nothing but snacks, school supplies, and about 10 backpacks that I need to put in there once I meet up with my director at the Airport. The smallest suitcase is filled with my clothes.. amazing how I was able to not overpack! I'm getting better at this. I also have two carry-ons. But I feel like this is normal, so I've heard. I will have my computer with me, and access to the internet every now and then.. mostly to update this blog and maybe send some quick emails. I have an international Blackberry, but its still so damn expensive I really don't see the point. Anyway, I am totally reachable! It's great news.
I'm really nervous. I have no idea what to expect or what i'm getting myself into. This will definitely be a challenge, but a very rewarding one at that I'm sure. Don't forget about me while I'm gone!! And i'll update when i'm able :)
<3!
So my giant suitcase is packed with nothing but snacks, school supplies, and about 10 backpacks that I need to put in there once I meet up with my director at the Airport. The smallest suitcase is filled with my clothes.. amazing how I was able to not overpack! I'm getting better at this. I also have two carry-ons. But I feel like this is normal, so I've heard. I will have my computer with me, and access to the internet every now and then.. mostly to update this blog and maybe send some quick emails. I have an international Blackberry, but its still so damn expensive I really don't see the point. Anyway, I am totally reachable! It's great news.
I'm really nervous. I have no idea what to expect or what i'm getting myself into. This will definitely be a challenge, but a very rewarding one at that I'm sure. Don't forget about me while I'm gone!! And i'll update when i'm able :)
<3!
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