Monday, July 21, 2008
Home Sweet Home!
Monday, July 14, 2008
Malemia Feeding Program
Instead of going to our school assignments today, we all went to
Malemia Primary to see the start of a feeding program. Malemia is
where the Radford students are working during our time here. Last
year, a student was able to donate $100 to start a program at the
school. It was enough money to feed the close to 800 students at
Malemia twice a week for seven months. We were able to make another
significant contribution for the next year.
When we arrived at the school, some of the children were playing and
waiting for their breakfast. Each child brought a cup to school to be
served. The women of the village started working at 6 a.m. on a large
container of porridge for the students. The container was the size of
a large metal trashcan you might see at a carnival or fair. They made
the porridge with maize flour, sugar, salt, water and a little milk.
We found out later that to make the porridge nutritious for the
students, the women MUST put milk or groundnut flour in the mix. They
did not put enough milk in the mix today, so our professors had to
talk to the head of the program to make sure it's more nutritious.
After working on the porridge for about 4 hours, it was about ready.
The women poured a portion into two separate smaller containers for
distribution. The children started to line up with their cups and
spoons. They started with Standard 1, and then they called each class
one by one. Some children did not have spoons, so they used leaves,
sticks and their fingers. Others did not have cups, so they shared
cups with their classmates. Teachers provided some cups.
I took some footage of the process on my camera and of the women hard
at work. It was great seeing the children's faces as they received
their porridge. This is one of the poorest schools in the area, and
the majority of the children were malnourished. I did see some
children with enlarged stomachs (a sign of malnutrition). As I taped
the morning's events, I found Sarah with a young girl. I didn't
realize why she was sitting with her until I really looked closer. I
came up to ask what was wrong, but the child was very upset. Tears
were streaming down her eyes, and she tried to cover her face. Neither
one of them spoke a word, but you could tell they both understood each
other. Sarah had realized the child did not have a cup, and the child
spoke little English to tell her what was wrong. Sarah was comforting
her without saying a word, but it really upset her as well. It was
like a child in America forgetting a P.E. uniform or lunch money, but
this child was going to miss out on a warm meal she desperately
needed. You could see that Sarah had really connected with this child,
and it really got to her. I wasn't even involved in the situation and
it upset me. I can't imagine what she was feeling at the time. She was
showing such compassion towards the child, and in the moment there was
nothing she could do. Luckily, a teacher nearby had a cup, and the
problem was solved.
We helped the children line up to get them fed quickly. The women
would scoop a cup at a time per child, and then the children would go
around the corner to eat. Sarah and I sat in circles with the
children. I felt bad because I didn't want to distract them from
eating their food while it was warm, but I think they enjoyed the
company. I encouraged them to sit and relax while eating. I just wish
we could have given each of them a full meal. They were so happy to
have a small come of hot porridge, but it's just not enough. With the
contribution this year, they should be able to have the feeding
program every day.
We spent the next couple hours celebrating with the students and the
local villagers that were passing through the schoolyard. A couple of
the Radford students asked Innocent, one of the teachers, to make them
a drum. He brought them to help celebrate. While some of us were
playing with the kids and helping serve, others got a hands-on lesson
in drumming! Lexi and Brittany also joined in with some of the older
boys. They started off slow, but then they were able to make some
great music for our celebration! I got a lot of it on tape and
continued to dance and play with the children. Each one of them is so
special, and one of my goals has been to make each one really feel
special in the little time we spend together. Even if I'm unable to
give them anything, just smiling or giving a high five goes a long way.
It seemed like we danced for hours, and those kids can dance! I try my
best to imitate their dancing, and the village women seem to love it!
We danced around the circle, clapped, sang and tried to catch our
breath at the same time. It was so much fun! The children love to
include you in the dancing and make you feel welcome. I don't believe
any teaching was done on Friday, but at least the children had a great
day!
After celebrating for a while, we headed into the office to collect
our things and say goodbye for the day. Some of Vandy's (a student
from Radford) girls from her class were being measured for uniforms.
Dr. Kelly and Vandy are funding the uniforms for these girls to reward
them for staying in school and encourage them for the future. If
anyone needs help, these girls do, and I'm sure it'll be a great
surprise. They'll be distributing them on Tuesday, our last day.
As we left Malemia, some of the village women were still gathered
around the drums and children celebrating. We said goodbye to some of
the children and danced a little more. One of the older women (A go-go
for grandma) came up and danced with me, and the ladies formed a
little circle. It was great! She showed me some good moves, and the
village women thought it was hysterical watching me dance like her. I
thanked her (Zikomo) and gave her a hug before leaving. She definitely
made my day.
We started to make the trek toward Domasi. It's about a 30-45 minute
walk. The Radford students walk to our school from Malemia every day.
Some of the children followed us for a while and kept us company. As
we crossed the main road, we saw a lot of people gathered on the road.
There was a band in the back of the truck coming down the street. It
was really neat! I felt like we were in the Caribbean. We continued on
toward Domasi, our school, and crossed the soccer field and river
along the way.
We passed through our schoolyard and saw our teachers standing
outside. School was out for the day, but they were having a meeting.
We talked to our teachers, and I apologized to Macdonald for not being
at school for part of the day. I told him to anticipate us at school
for about an hour, but we didn't make it in time. He's so
understanding, and said it was o.k. He did say that the children were
so sad that we did not come, and they anxiously peaked out the window
all day looking for us. I felt so bad! I told him we were very sorry
and we would make it up to them on Monday. He also reminded me that we
were invited to his home on Tuesday to meet his children. Lexi and I
are excited, and we're bringing lots of goodies for his family!
We spent the rest of the afternoon before we left outside eating
lunch, chatting, journaling and making bracelets with materials Heidi
and Amber had brought. It was relaxing, but we were restless after a
while. Our professors met with the "head" of the school district to
discuss our work and plans for the future. Specifically, they
discussed the contribution to Malemia for the feeding program, our
chalkboard renovations at Domasi, Vandy's uniforms for her class and
other individual progress. She was very pleased!
We headed to town for the afternoon and picked up pictures for our
class. About a week and half ago, we took an individual picture of
each child with a disposable camera. We had them developed, and we
can't wait to see their reaction when they get them! We know they'll
be so excited because many of them do not have an individual picture
of themselves. We also stopped by the grocery store for water and the
fabric store for some fabric to take home. I picked out two more
patterns- one for mom to make a skirt if she'd like (I hope you like
the fabric, mom!) and the other for a tablecloth for my Malawi table
setting pieces. They're beautiful! Sarah and Lauren looked through the
market for oranges, but there were not any for sale. We headed towards
the vendors to look around.
I now have a friend named Martin, and he's my jewelry guy. I bought
this great necklace and bracelet from him last week, and he said he'd
make me more. I bought earrings today, and he said he'd have more for
me on Monday to buy before I leave. I'm excited! It's good to get
close with a vendor so they'll "make you good price". Our last stop of
the day was Tasty Bites, of course! We ordered beef samosas, Fanta,
and chocolate cake! We're completely hooked on the samosas, and
they're so bad for you! But when you crave them, you crave them! Ben
and Johnny, our Canadian friends who run Africycle, stopped by and
visited.
We had a relaxing night, and tomorrow we're going to Peter's orphanage
and with Annie to a few places. Tomorrow night is Annie's big party
where we get to show off our Malawian dresses, so that should be fun!
I can't believe we're leaving in a week! I have so much left to enjoy
here…
Friday, July 11, 2008
T.A.L.U.L.A.R.
This morning was really sad for all of us. Dr. Barber (Liz from NC
A&T) had to abruptly leave for Lilongwe to catch a flight to the
States. Her husband recently had a kidney transplant, and for the past
two weeks, he's been having severe health issues. She's been worried
about him everyday, and she constantly has to call or Email to see how
he's doing. She wanted to go home before, but she was waiting for
someone to tell her that she needed to. A family friend called this
morning and told her to come home because he's rejected the kidney.
We're so sad to see her go because she's so much fun and brings so
much enthusiasm to the group. We'll miss you Liz and hope your husband
is better soon!
When we got to school today, a lot of the children were outside (as
usual), so Lexi and I headed up to our classroom. The children in our
class greeted us with "Good morning, Madam." It never gets old.
Macdonald wasn't in our classroom, but we quickly found him to find
what out what the children were working on. It's interesting because
you never know if the teachers will be present or what children will
show up. As Patty (Dr. Talbot) said, "Schools here seem to be four
walls with children." Everything else seems to vary.
We helped the students with Math for the first 45 minutes. They were
working on writing out inequalities from sentences. A lot of students
mixed up the symbols for "add" and "subtract". It's interesting to see
how the students make a lot of the same mistakes. Some students at a
table gave Lexi and I a little note with Chichewa words for us to
learn. We're afraid they're going to quiz us! Some of the phrases are
very hard to pronounce, but I guess we can try!
Lauren and Sarah (two students from Virginia Tech) let us borrow some
books they brought to donate to share with our class today. A lot of
them were classics- Amelia Bedelia, Dr. Seuss, etc. The students in
Standard 6 are truly at about a first grade reading level from what we
can tell. Most still look at just the pictures or are slow to sound
out the words. Some are very proficient in reading, but the majority
struggle. We let them read and share the books for about 30 minutes,
and they seemed to love it! All of their exercise books for school are
black and white with no pictures. They really have no access to
reading books for pleasure in or outside the classroom.
For break, we headed out to the play field for some games. Before we
could instruct them in a game, they started their own "Champion Game."
It was similar to a basic running long jump, but the children set out
three sticks. They had to run and only jump once in between each
stick. If you step in between the sticks more than once, you're out.
Each round, they moved the sticks farther apart, and wow, they could
jump! During the last round, the sticks were separated about 8-9 feet.
A couple children could still make it! They really enjoyed the game,
and we could definitely see their great physical ability. Lexi and I
were afraid that they would ask us to try. I probably would have fallen…
Following that game, we found a stick nearby to teach them limbo. Some
of them had played before, and they knew a song to sing. They had so
much fun trying to master each level. I feel bad though; we always
exhaust them during their break! They do love learning games! Lexi and
I commented that we were glad that Wednesday is the day for washing
uniforms because their mothers would probably want to kill us after
all the dirt that ended up on them today. We ended break time by
teaching them some relay races. They love to compete!
We walked back to the classroom with Macdonald and our students. We've
really come to love our teacher. He seems to care so much about his
students and works so well with us. He's so enthusiastic in all that
he does, and he always compliments our work. He even invited us to
come to his home next week! Lexi and I are going to meet his family on
Monday or Tuesday. He said he has four children (Lucy, Vincent,
Godbless, and I can't remember the other name). The oldest child is
13, and he has two young twin boys. We can't wait to meet them!
Before we left for the day, Macdonald gave us a watermelon! We had one
at Jean's mother's house yesterday, but we love getting fruit! There
are few fruits we can eat here, so it's always a treat. Some of the
children also brought groundnuts, sugar can and popcorn. They're
always so generous to give us things. We gave Macdonald his invitation
to the dinner we're hosting Tuesday night at MIE. Every year it's
hosted for the three schools and all of the teachers from each school.
Each teacher is allowed to bring one guest, and it's supposed to be a
great night for everyone. We'll get to recognize our teacher, and
we'll be recognized for the work we've done.
Lexi and I walked over to MIE for class with all of our goodies. I
thought we're supposed to take more to school than what we go home
with, but that's usually not the case. We enjoyed our lunches for a
few minutes. Today I ate my last pack of tuna for lunch… Sadly, I'm
going to have to make PB&J for the last three days of school.
Today was my day to discuss a chapter from the book. Each day, one of
us has taken a chapter from our book, The Democracy of Chameleons, and
discussed it with our Virginia Tech group. My chapter discussed the
changing status of human rights for people in Malawi, especially
women. With the fairly new multiparty system and democracy (only since
1964), government agencies are demanding human rights and freedom from
oppression for everyone. The issue is that culture has denied a lot of
human rights for women, and the people believe the new mandates are
"ruining" Malawi's culture. The actions within the culture are what
cause the most problems. Women are objected to initiations that
sexually violate them against their will. Men in the villages are
violent towards women without just reasoning. More men are able to
leave for a liberalizing education, but women must remain in the
village. Times are changing, but in almost all of the rural areas,
nothing is different. The Western connotations with human rights are
also a factor that deters people's opinion. Although human rights and
the multiparty system are a national campaign, the local
interpretations of "rights" are so different, and this is what is
slowing progress for women. It was a really interesting chapter with
many examples of field research in Malawi, and I'm sure that I can
find more examples at home.
We had a shortened class today so we could meet with the MIE professor
who is an expert in T.A.L.U.L.AR. T.A.L.U.L.A.R. stands for "Teaching
and learning using locally-available resources." The basic idea is to
use supplies that are available locally with little to no costs. I got
some of his explanations on video, so it will be a great lesson to
share at home. They use everything from old light bulbs, matchboxes
and cans to plastic bags and toilet paper rolls. One of the best
examples he gave us was a "television" made from a box with a roll of
paper inside and two sticks. It's basically a scroll inside the box
that a teacher can draw a story to explain a concept without
electricity. He told us a great story with it. He gave us a tour
around the room showing us a lot of the teaching materials. We got
some really great ideas to use in the classroom. The concepts are not
only resourceful for teachers in Africa, but teachers all around the
world can also use them!
Following his explanations and tour, we headed to town to get water
and exchange money. I feel like Zomba has become our home! We always
ask each other what we need to do in town, and we respond with "Oh, I
need to go to the tailor" or "I need to get some fruit from the
market." It's great. Charles waited for us, and then we headed back to
Annie's.
A lot of us ordered dinner right away because we were very hungry from
the day. If we order about an hour before we know we'll be starving,
it usually works out all right. Tonight, I had the Chambo Curry.
Chambo is a very popular fish in Malawi, and it's delicious. They
serve it with rice, greens and green beans. It might be my new favorite.
Lexi and I are in the room now catching up on our blogs and packing
for the safari in Liwonde tomorrow. It's supposed to be amazing there,
and we can't wait! There's an afternoon Jeep safari, an evening
safari, a night safari, and a sunrise safari. We'll be safari'ed out
before it's over, but it'll make for some great pictures!
I can't believe we'll be home in a week and a half! This trip has
really flown by, but it feels like we've been in Malawi for months.
Can't wait to share all my experiences when I get home…
Good night from Zomba…
Teddy's Village
Lexi and I decided to focus on English/ language development today.
She brought in a poster of the alphabet and I brought a set of phonics
cards that help with vowel sounds and the acquisition of vocabulary
for students. They sang the ABC's (somewhat similar to ours- but part
of the tune was different), and Macdonald said they learn it in
Standard 1. He enjoyed our lesson and said it would be useful for the
students because they have access to similar materials in their lesson
book, but there is no explanation or reinforcement.
We started to teach them hangman before their "break", but they got so
into it, that they never took their break outside! They basically got
the concept, but they sometimes had issues with how to play the game
and fill in the letters. Some of their phrases included, " Krista and
Lexi are our new teachers" and "I love Lexi and Krista." If that
doesn't melt your heart, I'm not sure what will.
Lexi and I brought 4 disposable cameras to take pictures of the
children (remember when we bought those Dad?). There's a place in town
to take the cameras to have them developed. We decided we want to give
each child a picture of him or herself. Lexi took the children outside
group by group to take their picture. They love it! Most children have
never seen a picture of themselves, so it will be a nice surprise!
While she did this, I taught the rest of the class "Heads up, Seven
Up" from elementary school. They loved it! I would repeat to the
children "No peaking", and he would reiterate it or tell a child to
sit down if they "Sneak a peep." They got the hang of the game right
away, and I think it's something they'll continue to play in the future.
You know, even if some children don't learn a thing while we're here-
at least they have a wonderful time at school. They each have
differing home lives, but some are much harder than others. Despite it
all, I hope school remains a safe and happy place to come to escape
any hardships.
We gave our class a treat with a piece of candy (gum, lollipops,
jawbreakers, Sweetarts- all from home) before we left for the day.
Overall, it was very eventful, and we were exhausted by the time we
left!
Today, the children brought us sugar cane and cassava (root of plant
with thick skin like a potato when boiled). We were so surprised! It
seems gift-giving for the guest teachers has become daily event.
Macdonald took out his 35mm camera to capture the moment. We were so
grateful to the children, especially when we know they could enjoy the
treats themselves.
We met for class for just a bit this afternoon. Teddy, Katie Brogan's
teacher from last year (Katie is a student from Virginia Tech who was
in my Human Development class and is a friend of Lexi's) met us at
MIE. He was about an hour early, arriving at 1, so we talked with him
for a bit. Lexi had to do most of the talking since Katie had given
him her information and he seemed most comfortable with her. After
about an hour, Charles picked us up to take us to Teddy's village.
Teddy's village was a few kilometers away. Charles drove us all the
way to the village, which included some narrow and rocky paths.
Somehow that bus can make it through just about anything- it's amazing.
Teddy showed us all around his village. We met some of his children,
saw his home, the village gardens, and met some people living there.
In total there are 70 homes in his village with families, and Teddy is
the only one who has an outside paying job. We had a quick tour, and
Teddy told us about the renovations for his new home. It was very
nice, but probably not much bigger than a standard living room size.
The walls are made of bricks and mud, and the roof had metal
shingling. It had a few windows. Chickens and goats surrounded the
area, and women were washing clothes and hanging them out to dry.
We got back on the bus, and Teddy took us to where his gardens are
located. They were just a couple minutes down the street, but they're
hidden from the road. Charles parked the bus on the side of the dirt
road, and Teddy showed us the way through the brush and dried plants.
It was a narrow path, and the dry plants make a lot of noise. If we
were going to see a snake on the trip, I swore it was going to be
then. I'm still dying to see a Black Mambo!
We finally came upon his gardens, and they were beautiful! He was
growing Mustard lettuce and tomatoes, and he was preparing another
small plot for other vegetables soon. He's done a fantastic job with
creating trenches surrounding the plots for irrigation. His gardens
were a village-style Freedom Gardens. He uses similar practices to
pump water from a nearby river to irrigate his sunken crops. We walked
done near the river, and he showed us the pump that he uses. It was
disassembled and hidden under some plants, so it took him a few
minutes to assemble. When it was finally assembled, he showed us how
it works and explained how often he uses it. The pump was positioned
like a bicycle, so Teddy has to stand up on it and pump for about 3
hours twice a week. It seems like a lot of work, but Teddy keeps it up
all year along with teaching.
Charles picked us up, and we headed back to town. We saw Teddy's wife
coming back from the market on our way out. He told Charles to stop
the bus so we could meet her. She came on and was very shy, but she
seemed happy to meet us. We thanked Teddy for inviting us to his
village, and then he discretely invited himself to the annual
teacher's party before we leave. Although he is not a teacher from our
current schools, he remembered from last year. Dr. Kelly said it was
fine, but it was funny how he was so bold.
We had to stop at Tasty Bites today! It's our favorite place to go in
town, and it's a nice break from Annie's Lodge food. We ordered 22
Samosas for 5 of us with spicy rice, Fanta and the amazing chocolate
cake. They brought the cake out first, and you better believe we ate
it first! It was delicious.
While we were talking, a woman a few years older than us from Canada
and her guy friend came in and asked us what to order. Of course we
said Samosas, but then we struck up a conversation. She's living in
Mzuzu, which is a couple hours north of Lilongwe. She said she had
hitchhiked all the way down and wasn't sure where she'd be going next.
We asked her why she was in Malawi, and she said she was doing
research on sustainable agriculture. The first words out of our mouths
were "Freedom Gardens!" We told her all about our experience there and
how she just HAD to go there. I gave her Mrs. Chinkhutha's card, so I
hope she makes it there!
We walked the mile back up to Annie's, and on the way, we stopped by
the tailor's house right next to Annie's to see if our dresses were
ready. We got to try them on and tell them if we needed alterations.
Some people had more issues than others, but overall they were great!
We really liked how they turned out. The tailor's house is so nice!
Especially for this area, it's surprising to see such a nice place. We
realized she must get a lot of business. We're not sure how much work
she actually does, but she has three men working for her. They make
everything so quickly, and I'm sure she makes a huge profit.
We're always exhausted by the end of the day, so we had dinner and
planned for Friday's class. Our whole week of classes is almost over!
