Sharing Resources

So, I really just am so amazed how resourceful Malawians are. I am guessing it is how resourceful most Africans are, but … my experience was in Malawi.

This picture depicts water being transported through a homemade tube made from two soda bottles. RiseMalawi staff were planning for the youth activities for the day ahead, and thus, the contraption to complete the work of collecting water from the tap.

“Africans bend what little they have to their will everyday. Using creativity, they overcome Africa’s challenges. Where the world sees trash, Africa recycles. where the world seeks junk, Africa sees rebirth.” –William Kamkwamba (Malawian, and coauthor, The Boy who Harnessed the Wind)

To You, Our Dear and Loved Family

This was the address on the letter I received from my favorite family in Madisi.
Carrot, his Mother and his brother Stephen, and their younger siblings have played a significant role in my experiences and life in Madisi.

The are my neighbors, they live on less than $1.25/day. They are practically raised by a single mother, since daddy is practicing polygamy and is usually out of the house.
Mom is a provider, trying as she sells groundnuts, and offers herself to do piece work within the community, resiliently, she smiles.
The Ibrahim family, and their smiles, oh my goodness, they are contagious. Carrot and I initially met back in 2010, when his smile captured me from across the room, and commanded my smile back. Now, I have memories of sitting inside on the simple bamboo mat in one of the two rooms of their mud/brick house, by candle light — telling stories. My Malawian momma, as I call Carrots’ mom, illuminates this small room, and humbles me with her words, as she calls me family, banja (in chichewa), O’hana (in Hawaiian, one of my favorite ways to say it). We sat, and she shared how she was scared to see me leave June 2012, and how she was worried, she would never see me again.. She faithfully prayed and thanked God for bringing me into her and her families’ life. She told us this, and I felt her love. My heart felt.
She then let me introduce Ally and Holly, and with Stephen and Carrot helpfully able to translate, they were interpreting the girls’ stories into Chichewa. I was sharing how Holly re inspired the faith I had, in order to trust God, that coming back was in His plan. I shared how Holly had never been on a plane, yet had met friends in the U.S. that were from Malawi, and how she wanted to see the impact they are making in their own communities around Malawi. As for Ally, she has always dreamed of coming to Malawi; she has been praying for this country since she was a child. Her family was connected to a couple who served as missionaries in Malawi, hence, all the prayers. All this was shared, and translated and love was lit up in the eyes of mom, Carrot, Stephen, Ally, Holly and I. Pure joy was abound, and I am constantly thanking God for that night, and the unplanned moments in our trip, that made it more worthwhile.
—

Leaving Madisi, after 8 days was particularly difficult for my team, since they were absolutely in love, and impressed by the RiseMalawi Ministry and the impacts they are making on the young people. We said goodbye at camp, but could not leave without visiting our family, one last time.

Me and my Brothers..

 

 

Carrot in Red, Stephen next, Holly, Ally and Shebo the younger brother.

 

Kids at Play

This just reminds me of the joy of play. These are some of the kids at RiseMalawi, and they are awesome! We had so much fun running, dancing and celebrating wins!

Places & Names

So, Malawi part 3, hmm, how to talk about it, how to sum it up? 

Considering, I am still thinking about it, and the lessons I learned, I think ill start off by talking about Madisi, RiseMalawi, and some updates of the kids I mentored last year, as well as the role my group played there. 

Madisi, the trading center in between the Capital, Lilongwe and the next dot on most maps, Kusungu. I have only ever seen Madisi on one map. (I think God made that map, just for my heart) So, Madisi has changed quite a bit in the course of a year; some people have left, businesses gone and some changes I was not ready for. I must define a trading center. In my words, I’d say it is  like a rest stop. In my context, if you were driving on a highway for hours, and hours, and all you see is scenery, then the upcoming sign notifies you can pull over and take a rest in 4 miles… you are greeted with vending machines, restrooms, and sometimes even a restaurant or two. As for Madisi, in the context of Malawi, a mostly rural country, Madisi is off the M1, THE main road there, and the trading center is the shops, the market, the place to meet a cabanza (bike taxi), or catch a minibus to the next stop on the map. You can walk right through the trading center, its where you would do your grocery shopping, or even for some buy meat. (yes, this is where you might see the whole dead cow hanging… for sale)

Most of that stayed the same, the set up of the actual trading center was the same, but upon first glance, I could not find my favorite cabanza bike guy…and a friend had found me walking though the area, and told me his mom has passed away…some businesses had gone, after the devaluing of the kwacha, businesses could not gain.

Although, meaningless to most map makers, Madisi will always be valuable in my memories.

RiseMalawi Ministries, ugh, they impress me still! With Tinashe in the states, getting her Masters degree, RM has hired a female staff, Kattie. From when I was at RM last year, one of the best updates I had heard was, all 5 of the camp leaders that I helped interview and pick for the camp leader position, had ALL been selected for UNIVERSITY! This was amazing, so, to see RiseMalawi this time around, and see all new camp leaders, wow! Not even to see them, but to see them in action, that is what is beyond impressive. Everyone put on your “thinking cap,” and visualize that trading center I created for you earlier. Add houses made of bricks and various roofs made of sticks or metal, and spread things out. There is a lot of land, and people come from far and wide. Our camp leaders, they come from villages in and around Madisi, some of our kids, walk 1 hour to program. So again, you must picture this scene, and when we were there, brown and green dried land, as it was the season where what was left of the crops were being burned down and ready for the next growing season. Now, see one 20 something year old camp leader girl or guy leaving their house to arrive at the office by 10am. One guy, Isaac, he comes from 7kms away. (I will let you do the math on that one) These young people have so much responsibility from waking up, and doing chores at thier homes, drawing water, taking care of family members and then off to work. Upon arrival, we as a complete team, us visitors and all, jumped right into a Bible study, worship session or time of prayer. RiseMalawi is intentional from start to finish. After a time of worship, we talk about the days’ schedule and assign what camp leader is in charge of what topic. Another great technique that RM uses, is critical thinking and teamwork. Before we head to program, we share what topic we are teaching, how the lesson plan looks and open the room for questions, critiques, and concerns. This is a bit intimidating for me, but when my team shared what they liked about RM, this was one of the standout praises! Really thinking critically for the planning allows for the program, and teaching to be successful!

I could go on and on about RiseMalawi… the camp leaders are just amazing, so I am happy to share about them, and their talents! The Staff, Kattie, Za and Mavuto, they are really doing a great job of leading by example, opening their homes, and schedules for the community as well as expanding RiseMalawi, by dreaming big! (If you want to see if for yourself, Id love to guide another trip)

Lastly, you can see, and read that we had a fun time introducing ourselves, Molly, Holly and Ally(pronounced OLLY) and we were there to do service with RiseMalawi, incorporating ART and MUSIC! Holly and I had been planning this trip, since she has wanted to go for awhile, but never been on a plane. We had planned for so long to have more than just the two of us, however, when buying tickets came up, we lost interested folks because of the cost of the flight. Totally understandable, just sad, Holly and I were aiming to have a group..

In God’s timing, and humor I’d like to add, He introduced us to Nina who knows Tinashe from Philadelphia, as well as her church having some connections to another UrbanPromise International ministry who was interested in traveling with a group, and Ally who has always prayed for Malawi and dreamt of a day she would actually go! I am blessed to have worked, and interacted with each young woman. Holly, Ally and Nina have all taught me things, I will cherish, motivated me, and became really unique friends of mine. 

A Day In The Life Of An African Child

Night of March 8, 2012

Excitement maybe, anticipation…. yes! Tomorrow is my first day of school! “Ide ku pita ku Madisi Primary School.” I am happy to walk the path my students walk, sit the floors they sit, and experience how they learn. Everyday. Friday, March 9th, 2012 will my my first day back to grade 6. lol. I will be joining Fatima and Falida. They are Risemalawi students and also my neighbors. I am thankful, ndatakoza for this opportunity. I believe this will give me a better understanding of the challenges each child in Africa must endure for their chance at education (survival). Although, I am excited, I am praying we have sun in the am, so we do not have to walk in the rain and mud. I am not looking forward to staring the journey at 645am, in order to to get to school by 730.
Will my uniform be alright by the standards of the teachers? What about the students who come from deeper into the village.. no food in their bellies… I desire to hold onto that feeling of hunger, just to have a glimpse of the shoes these precious kids fill.

March 9, 2012
Goodmorning… well I knew it would be, yet, 5:48 am did not scream good to me. When I saw that time, I thought, “Yes, ten more minutes!” Yes, I woke up at 6am.
Promptly, at 6:35 there was an “Odi” at the door. It was Falida, Fatima and Jessi the three girls I’d be walking to school with. They were as excited as a child on Christmas morning! I was still waking up. Feeling the pressure, I ate a few bites of milk-less cornflakes and a bite of Malawian Sweet Potatoes, brushed my teeth, and was out the door(Oh of course I got the “first day of school photo!).

The ground still muddy, with puddles from last nights rain, however, as I prayed, there was no rain for the 20 minute walk to school. Fatima and Falida, twins, grade 6 and their cousin Jessi, grade 2 lead the way avoiding puddles, minibuses, cars, and bicylce taxies. Seriously, a huge responsibility for so many children, walking, hoping just to arrive safely to school.

At the school building the kids began the day by singing songs, doing some stretches and singing what might have been a National Anthem. Lined up by grades 1-8, full of awe and shock to see me at school with them I was still welcomed. Students were dressed in a range of bright hues of pinks and greens, to dull and tattered uniforms. Some students wore shoes, others barefeet. Children were still arriving at 7:50am, sweating and tired. It was hard to watch as youth were barefoot, with one shoe and a few whom do not even own a uniform.
Too poor for a uniform & too poor to be ontime. What made them late? Was their commute an hour? Did they stop to find food? And this was all before a 6 hour day of school…

Eunice, the teacher of grade 6a was happy to have me in her class. Fatima was in this class, Falida in 6b. Fatima claimed her spot in the front row… I was a little intimidated, yet I went for the seat next to hers on the floor. No desks here, not even electricity. Just a brick building, windows for light and chalk for the teacher. The lessons were simple, the youth eager to be called on. Once called on the youth rises to his or her feet and recites the answer. There was a range of students in the class, much like any 6th grade classroom, however many of the RiseMalawi students were leaders. Many sat in the front row, answered questions correctly, and were the majority of who participated. This was a neat observation, for sure!

At 9:15am, I joined Falida in the grade 6b class and was way more impressed with her teachers. In 6a the teacher teaching English, was completely incorrect in her teaching. Of course that made me upset, because one of the girls I tutor is in that class, and it is no wonder she struggles. The lessons she learns in English in school is completely contradictory to my lessons. I know teachers make mistakes, yet now I know why Mureen is struggling. Back to 6a, again I pleaded with the teachers to let me sit on the red, dusty floor as they offered me a single bench. I politely refused. I replied with, “I really want to experience school as a child in Malawi…” They looked at me like I was slightly crazy, but let me be. They were engaging, fun and inclusive. I was “just here to observe” however when the class was learning about various topics, I was also treated as a pupil. Learning about Malawi and its physical features in Science, the question I answered was: name major lakes and rivers in Malawi? I raised my hand, stood proudly, dusted off my skirt and said “Lake Malawi!” The kids cheered me on, smiled and giggled!

With much thanksgiving in my heart, I have so much more to share about this day. As my day ended, and I was nearly home, Elijah, a friend Iv made asked me, “Is it true you were in 6th grade today at Madisi Primary School?” I said “Yes! But who told you?” Elijah replied, “My son, he is in grade 1. He said he saw you there…” Even with this little first grader in Malawi — he is observant and wise. I am thankful to all the teachers, the community, the kids who helped me in math class today… and to God! This special day is a day to remember. It is not everyday we get the opportunity to learn life lessons in such a humbling way. Zikomo Kwambiri.