Looking ahead to January 2010

Even though the last of the volunteers departed less than a week ago, it's already time to start looking forward to January 2010 in Malawi. It seems our understanding of Malawi and its people grows with every year we work here. This increased understanding, combined with the invaluable input from our volunteers, has yielded some great new ideas and initiatives that will greatly increase the effectiveness of our programing here in Malawi. Here are just a few things we've been working on:

1) The Four-day Curriculum -This is something we've been talking about for a few years, but it is finally time to make the move. Our curriculum has grown so much in the past few years that 3 days is just not enough. Feedback has been unanimous - from the teachers to the translators to the volunteers - that we need to move to 4 days. While we still need to do a fair amount of curriculum development before January, it is safe to say there will be longer empowerment sections and more information on alternative fuel sources. If you have any input we'd love to hear your suggestions. Let us know!!

2) Possible New Camp Schedule - One of the main reasons we're moving towards a four day curriculum is because we want a more sustained relationship with the children and teachers with whom we work. Another idea we had - which we're going to try out in January 2010 with one school - is to teach a four day curriculum spread out over 4 weeks. Basically we'll teach at one school every Friday for 4 weeks. The idea is to give the kids and teachers more time to digest what we're talking about in order to spur more thoughtful discussion that will lead to concrete solutions for the problems we're addressing. We're excited to see how this new format works and to see the effect it has on the learning experience for kids and teachers.

3) Reworking the City Kid Project - One of World Camp's most unique projects is the City Kid Project where we work with at-risk orphaned or vulnerable children (OVCs) living on the streets in Lilongwe. These kids come to the streets for different reasons but once there they are exposed to a harsh life that can lead to risky behavior, higher HIV/AIDS rates, and multiple other issues. Our work in the past has been rewarding for both the volunteers and the children, but we're hoping to make the program even better in January 2010. We're going to devote Saturdays throughout the January session to working with these children. The hope is to educate them about HIV/AIDS and encourage them to get off the streets and back to their families. We hope that a full month of working with these kids will allow us to better understand their situation and lend a helping hand where we can.

4) New Teacher Facilitator Role - The Teacher Facilitator role is one of the most important positions during our educational camps. Encouraging teachers to continue talking openly and honestly about the issues we work to address is key to the sustainability of our message. All this makes the Teacher Facilitator role one of the more challenging positions. Also, we know some people are more comfortable working with a group of 10-15 teachers rather than a class of 20-30 kids. Because of this we are hoping to recruit two volunteers to work primarily with teachers during our camps. If you're interested you can get more info on our website by clicking here.

It's been a busy and exciting few weeks. We're really excited about January 2010 and all the new ideas and programming that we have planned. Now all we need is volunteers! If you are interested in working with us in January or next summer apply online now! You can find an online application by clicking here. Keep posted to the blog for more updates and news from World Camp!

Session II Departs

With the departure of the last 15 volunteers from session II yesterday, World Camp’s summer is drawing to a close. After a successful City Kid Project, the group headed to Cool Runnings, located in Senga Bay, Lake Malawi, for a few days of well earned relaxation. Volunteers got to work on the tans that had been eluding them over their 5 weeks spent inside the classroom teaching, while they went through curriculum changes and our final evaluation of the summer.

The session seems to have flown by. It’s hard to believe we had time to work with 5 different primary schools, the Yossa After School Orphan Care Center, and the Crisis Nursery. In total, we fed and taught almost 1800 primary students from standards 5 through 8, and met with over 60 teachers. In between all of this, the group squeezed in trips to Mount Nkhoma, Zambia, and Lake Malawi, as well as numerous locations in and around the city, and a home stay in Mpemba village.

Scott, Katy, Ashley, and I are still around for a few more days, closing things down at the World Camp house for 2009, and getting things ready for 2010. Some changes to note are a new, 4 day curriculum, which will be implemented in the January session and should allow World Camp to further and more effectively address the challenging issues the primary students we work with face every day. If you or someone you know is interested in volunteering with World Camp, contact us at info@worldcampforkids.org or apply online at our website www.worldcampforkids.org

In the meantime, thanks to everyone for all their hard work and what turned out to be an incredible summer. Keep checking back for more updates on Malawi and World Camp.

Jaren Folden