Safari and last week of camp!

26 January 2010
After the long, dusty drive from Zambia, we arrived back to the World Camp House from an amazing safari weekend. It’s so great how this house is really beginning to feel like home.

Safari was awesome! (This coming from a girl who hates animals) We saw lots of elephants, giraffes, antelope, zebra, hippos, warthogs, and even lions! The highlight of the weekend was following a pride of 17 lions on the hunt for food. Although we missed the kill, being so close to the lions definitely was a major adrenaline rush. Wild Life Camp, where we stayed in chalets for the weekend, is in the heart of the Zambian bush. The first day we were there we saw elephants cross right in front of the dining room and had to shoo away monkeys and baboons from eating our food. Quite the experience…



Camp started on a Tuesday this week because we didn’t get home from safari until yetserday. The morning went smoothly. We start the first day of every camp by administering a questionnaire about HIV and deforestation in Malawi. We give the same quiz at the end of the week to gauge how effective our curriculum is. I like day one and day two of camp, even though they are longer days, because we do lots of 15-20 minute activities, which I think really helps the kids focus. Sometimes the kids get antsy if we focus on one activity for too long.

This afternoon, the empowerment session with the girls was great! I hardly used my curriculum at all because the girls were so comfortable asking questions. Usually for empowerment I have a script that I run through and answer any questions they have at the end. Today, the girls were asking questions as we went along which made for a great, interactive discussion.

After empowerment we usually do an hour of activities about the environment. However, today the rain started coming down harder, and earlier than usual, so we ended early. Many of the kids have a long walk to and from school. We wanted to make sure they were able to make it home before the storm became really heavy. I can’t believe it’s the last week of camp already. It feels like time is faster in Malawi than it is in the states! I’m not ready to go home yet...

Written by: Lizzie Faust, Volunteer

homestay in an african village

Hello everyone- so I survived my night in the deep dark bush of Africa- when the sun sets, it is pitch blackness.

The hut I stayed had a single candle, we stayed with a young family with four children under 5. Luckily, I had a translator staying with me- as we had many visitor's to the hut that night with many questions about why I am in Malawi, what does Canada think/know about Malawi,when will I come back.


An elderly women took my hand and made me give her my word that I would not forget about them when I return to Canada... just a tad bit of pressure.


In the the 2 room hut, we were given one whole room, where I am sure the kids normally slept.

I stepped outside in the pitch black and the stars were the brightest I have ever seen. Bed at 9:30pm, probably an earliest record for me.

The funniest part of the night; I was asking Amon, my translator, what was the noise coming from the corner of our room. A chicken, he replied, very nonchalantly, me thinking it was in a sealed pen took my flashlight out, only to see a chicken simply sitting in the corner of the room, no pen. I was then told that in the middle of the Fertilizer bags I was sleeping next too, was also another chicken.

Cut to 5 am and me feeling something running across my feet, suddenly awake, looked up to see the chickens standing at the door, like a dog, wanting to go out. For the next hour, I was awoken again by little chicks walking around the floor, then also a stray dog wondered in as well. Helped with some chores and then headed back to school for our last day of teaching this school.

So that's one to scratch off the life's need to do list.

As I was working as a Teacher Facilitator this week, these are the teachers I spent many many hours discussing their challenges. They are given very little curriculum to teach the students about HIV and very few resources, they even asked me, so humbly, if I could leave them a bottle of glue, that is how few resources they have to work with. This picture shows them singing and dancing for the students.

When I first met the woman in red, I asked her name, she told me Ann, I then told her that my mother's name was Ann and she said "Therefor, here in Malawi, you are my son". Today at lunch I mentioned that the necklace she was wearing was very pretty. At the end of the day as we were about to leave, she came to me with the necklace in her hand and told me to give to my real mother......... And you have to have imagine, these people have very few possessions. I thanked her but told her I could never accept such a generous gift. These people continue to amaze me every day.

That's all for now. Hope you are all doing well.
Tisomo

Written By:
Jason Doucet, Volunteer, Malawi January 2010 Development Team
14 January 2010

ARV distribution in Malawi

Malawi to open 60 new clinics to distribute Aids drugs, says Shaba
By Nyasa Times
Published: January 12, 2010

Malawi says it will to open more health facilities throughout for the distribution of anti-retroviral drugs-ARV to HIV/Aids suffers.

Dr Mary Shawa, principal secretary in the Office of the President responsible for HIV/Aids and nutrition.

“We started with very few clinics, there were central hospital, we moved to districts. Within this year our plan is to add addition 60 clinics that should be providing ARVs,” Shaba told Capital Radio.

She said the clinics which have already been identified will go along way to helping people who do not have easy access to health facilities that are distributing the life-prolonging drugs.

Currently over, 250 thousand people are on ARV’s, with health officials targeting another one hundred thousand at least by the end of this year.

The rollout of free antiretroviral has also been hampered by severe staff shortages.
Shaba also said the country will now follow WHO guidelines and they have recommended to be putting HIV patients on ARV when their CD4 count is below 350.

“The reason is when somebody starts ARV at higher CD4 count, the death rate is reduced tremendously,” she said.

Shaba said the roll out of free ARVs to Aids suffered has saved many Malawians

teachers, AIDS clubs, and a little hope for the world

19 January 2010

We're two days into our third full camp today at Chakhala FPS in Lumbadzi District (north of the airport, about 1 hr. 15 min from Lilongwe). Lizzie and I have been working in the Teacher Facilitator training workshop-a World Camp sustainability initiative that works in conjunction with the Ministry of Education to help facilitate conversations with teachers in primary schools about issues like HIV/AIDS and environmental degradation while training teachers throughout Malawi to continue education with these topics even after World Camp has left. Teachers are some of the most respected and influential members of rural communities, and we believe that the coming together of students and teachers is what will create a greater change in fighting these issues.

Anyways, we are working with 12 male teachers with a spunk, openness, and dedication to HIV/AIDS issues in their community that we have not seen elsewhere.


Mr. BKK Soko, Headteacher at Chakhala FPS and Chief in neighboring villages

The school established an Edzi Toto (HIV awareness) club a few years ago that currently has over 100 student members and meets twice a week! They talk about HIV transmission and perform dramas about HIV for their communities. Two of the teachers in our group head up the club. Chakhala also offers a room for the community's HIV+ Persons Support Group to meet every Tuesday. The group was started by Noel, one of the first people in the surrounding villages to get tested for HIV and gather the community to openly disclose his status! His story is heartbreaking, but Noel's genuine spirit and willingness to answer all of our very personal questions quickly became a strong inspiration for our work here in Malawi.

Keep checking back on our blog and the World Camp websites for video clips of our conversation with him.

Written By:
Katy Lackey, Program Coordinator

hiking, eating, and babies-a perfect way to spend a Sunday!

JANUARY 10, 2010

Our first official day off and what a full fulling day it was! We started the morning by climbing Mt. Nkhomma. We left the house at 8:00 am and the hike itself took us about 3 hours. It was extremely rocky but we all, thankfully, made it to the top without injuries, practicing some of our teamwork and group building skills along the way. On the way Jaren lost his cell phone but Katy found it on the way back down!!! Jason and I thought at some point a call to 911 would be necessary, but our breathing eventually caught up to our hearts!

We got back to the house around 1:30 and had a massive lunch of the weeks leftovers-John's shepard's pie, baked mac & cheese, vegtable curry, and of course PB&J sandwiches. Everyone was famished. Some of the group then went for an ice cream run while the rest of us just relaxed.

The late afternoon was spent at the Ministry of Hope Crisis Center. We went there to help feed the babies. Women in Malawi can leave there babies at this nursery from the time they are born until 2 years of age, where they are fed, clothed, and provided with medical attention. This has become a safe
haven for many children, as many babies in Malawi suffer from malnourishment or lack of proper care during this crucial period.

Needless to say, there is never a dull moment with the World Camp group!

Until next time....

Written By:
Kate Faust, photographer, project assistant, and World Camp mom
January 10, 2010

first impressions and happenings at camp

JANUARY 5, 2010

This is the second day of camp and we started the day
with morning games. The students "go bananas" for our
parachute games, as most have never seen a parachute before. Afterwards, classes proceeded to their rooms to continue with games that seek to develop ideas of support, teamwork, and trust-concepts that become crucial when we discuss communities dealing with high rates of HIV infections. It is so wonderful to see the expressions of joy on their faces. Malawi really is the "warm heart of Africa."

The Head Master and Standard 8 Teacher devoured their tea and biscuits during the Teach Facilitator’s meeting, as Karen went over the condom demonstration we do with the kids. She explained to them that by using bananas and condoms the teachers could give their students a means for learning about the appropriate way of using the condom. In doing this it makes the awkwardness of the situation more comfortable. The teachers totally agreed.

Blood to blood contact is the easiest way to transmit HIV, as blood is carries a higher concentration of the virus than other bodily fluids. Yet, unprotected sex is still the most common way of HIV transmission, worldwide. Thus, the importance of approaching proper use of condoms, even though it is uncomfortable for students, parents, teachers, and sometimes even us!

During a discussion of the effects of deforestation in Malawi, groups built solar ovens while they learned about alternative energy options. Our mock solar ovens are built out of cardboard, black paint, duct tape, scissors, and aluminum foil. While they suprisingly heat up water quite well (!), a real solar oven would need to be much bigger and constructed from materials such as tin, bricks, and charcoal. Resources (including wood!) are scarce in rural Malawi. The teachers explained that tin is very expensive and they are currently looking for new ideas. Though they do feel that alternative energy is necessary and that this would help their villages. Villagers could use solar ovens to heat water instead of burning wood. Aside from saving trees, it would also allow families to cook without having to walk 4-15 km just to gather wood, as forrests continue to deplete throughout the country.


Written by:
Kate Faust, photographer, project assistant, and World Camp mom
JANUARY 5, 2010

Our team arrived around New Year's Day where John was overjoyed to welcome all the new faces home. A more intimate group this session made for quick bonding, and will be great for curriculum development. We are also excited to have a professional photographer on board for the session to document our work. See some of her previous work HERE.

Our programming is well underway in Malawi, after a busy orientation, volunteers hit the ground running last week at Mkhalanjoka full primary school. We were welcomed with a school yard full of ecstatic children, chanting the traditional welcome. Introductions, songs, then games, and before we knew it, everyone was in the classroom and testing the waters of our new four day curriculum. The first camp flew by, and in what seemed like no time at all, we were at the end of the fourth day, huddled under the shade of a Cassia tree watching some amazing class presentations.

On Saturday our World Camp team headed to the Yossa orphan after school center to spend some time with the kids singing songs, painting and drawing before heading back to the house to rest up for the Mount Nkhoma hike today. We couldn’t have asked for a better day for hiking, and I’m happy to report it was a successful summit push by all.

We have a busy week coming up, with another 4 day camp at Chigodi full primary school that includes a home stay on Wednesday. This is always one of the most interesting experiences for volunteers, and a great opportunity to get a better view of life in the village. Also we have a trip to Lake Malawi scheduled for the weekend, so be sure to tune back to the blog for more updates. Until then...