Treats and Sweets

What a day! Before we went to our schools today, we stopped by a different village school to drop off some backpacks that had been donated by a social studies organization in the United States. The school was quite a drive on a long, dusty dirt road. On the way, we passed women and their babies outside of their homes, oxen pulling a cart, and many many chickens and roosters roaming along the roadside. Finally, we arrived at the school, which seemed to appear out of nowhere. Students in Standard 7 (what would be our seventh grade) received the backpacks as a gift for going on to Standard 8. In Malawi, free public education is available until eighth grade. In Standard 8, students take an examination. If they pass, they are eligible to go on to secondary school. Secondary school has fees, uniform requirements, etc. So, many students do not go on in school for this reason. Now, back to the backpacks….


When we entered the classroom of students, smiles filled the room. A drum was passed to a boy student and then all of the students started singing and dancing and clapping to the beat. They sang, “We are dancing in the land of God, alleluia, we are dancing in the land of God.” Song after song was sung. Words cannot describe the joy that filled the room. It moved my heart to think that what is such a normal school item to us in the USA is such a gift and treasure to the students here. It is a humbling experience.

Then, we were seated outside where the school had prepared a program for us. Prior to beginning the program, they asked a teacher to lead us in prayer, as they wanted all we did today to be in the hands of God. After the prayer, various speeches were made, including one given by a girl in Standard 8, who thanked us for coming all the way from America to provide materials necessary for their learning. She asked that the heavenly God would protect us and give us a safe journey home and that He would bring us back again someday. A gift was presented to Dr. Patricia Kelly from Virginia Tech, as she oversees this visit each year. The gift was a beautiful beaded picture of Malawi. It was a true work of art that had been handmade by a teacher. The program closed with prayer and then the children continued to jubilantly dance and sing. I just tried to soak it all in.

School was great today. Our RU students are so good with the children and work well with the teachers here. I am very proud of each of them. Sarah taught math, Carly taught math and English, Stephanie and Caroline taught a life skills lesson and Heidi and Stephanie are teaching colors to the little Standard 1 children. It is a challenge to teach in this setting. I don’t know how the teachers do it each day. There are literally hundreds of children in each classroom, no desks, no materials and it is difficult to see with little lighting. Our Malemia School has improved so much since I was here two years ago. Classrooms are well managed, the feeding program is organized and learning is the clear priority. I am so impressed with the positive change that I see.

After school, Innocent (one of the teachers at Malemia) taught us a song in Chichewa. We plan to perform it as a surprise at our farewell dinner in a few weeks. We’re excited to sing it and see everyone’s faces when we do. While waiting for some of the students to get on the bus afternoon, five little girls hung around the bus. We are new people, we look different, and the children are curious. I had five pieces of candy and gave it to one of our students to give to them. They knew they had been given something special, but clearly had never had candy before. They put the whole thing, paper wrappers and all, in their mouths. Our student on the bus had to show them how to unwrap it and then eat it. They followed her model and their faces lit up with smiles! They tasted the sweetness, savored it a bit and then wrapped up their candies. They were saving them for later. When we left, they waved goodbye and it made all of us feel good that we had provided perhaps a bit of something small but special to the day for these little ones.

Finally, we wrapped up the day with a visit to my favorite restaurant in all of Malawi, Tasty Bites. I had chicken samoosas, spicy rice and chocolate cake --- YUM. The chocolate cake at Tasty Bites is the best cake I have ever had -- ever. The food was delicious and the dinner conversation was excellent as well. So, our special day ended on a very sweet note!