Remember Camp Hope this Holiday!

It’s the season of giving and World Camp asks you not to forget the children of Malawi as you make your holiday shopping list this year.  When you dedicate a donation to send a child to Camp Hope, you will undoubtedly transform a life.  Through our program, children living with HIV/AIDs are able to experience a positive atmosphere designed to empower them to regain their sense of optimism, self-confidence, and hope.  What better way to make a difference this holiday season than to open up a world of possibilities to a child living with a life-threatening illness. 

TEACH A CHILD TO READ & WRITE

It's a simple solution - literacy and education are essential to escaping poverty. Basic language skills dramatically improve success in school and can lead children to a brighter future. $5 provides a child access to after school literacy workshops for a week. Suggested gift: $25

TRAIN & EQUIP COMMUNITY LEADERS

It takes a village - leadership workshops engage all community stakeholders in the process of establishing goals and services.  Engaging and mobilizing all stakeholders builds a legacy sustained by the community themselves. $5 sponsors a community member's participation in a leadership workshop. Suggested gift: $75

PROVIDE BOYS AND GIRLS LIFE SKILLS TRAINING

Life skills projects are designed to foster educated, valued, and healthy adolescents who are decision makers and the future leaders who will drive positive social change in their rural villages. $10 sponsors a child's participation in a four day  life skills camp. Suggested gift: $125

SEND A CHILD WITH HIV TO CAMP HOPE

Camp Hope Malawi is the result of World Camp's partnership with the Paul Newman Foundation and the Baylor International Pediatric AIDS Initiative. Built upon the Association of Hole in the Wall Camp's model this project provides HIV positive youth the social and emotional support to regain their sense of optimism, possibility and hope. Sponsor a child this Holiday and join World Camp in building the self-worth and confidence in 60 HIV+ youth at Camp Hope Malawi. Suggested gift: $275

Possible Civil Rights Changes Afoot in Malawi

In a recently released announcement Malawi’s Justice Minister, Ephrain Chiume, stated, “In view of the sentiments from the general public and in response to public opinion regarding certain laws, the government wishes to announce to the Malawi nation that It is submitting the relevant laws and provisions for review.”  The “laws and provisions” referred to include sections of the penal code criminalizing homosexuality, labeled as “indecent practices and unnatural acts” under Malawi law.

The announcement represents a sweeping change in sentiment for the African nation, which sentenced a gay couple to 14 years in prison just last year.  That case, as well as an otherwise poor record on human rights, prompted big donors like the U.S., Britain, and Germany to suspend their aid to Malawi, which depends on hand-outs for as much as 40% of its budget.   Recently, the U.S. proclaimed that it would examine the treatment of gay, lesbian, and transgendered citizens when allocating foreign aid, which may also have contributed to the change.  Other laws that will be under scrutiny include provisions allowing the Information Minister to ban newspapers; law suits by or against government and public officers; and laws permitting police officers to search or make an arrest without providing reasons.

To read the entire article on AfricaNews.com, please visit:

http://www.africanews.com/site/Malawi_to_review_antigay_law/list_messages/40577

Cure: No Longer a Four-Letter Word in the Fight Against HIV

A diagnosis of HIV/AIDS used to mean nothing short of a death sentence.  More recently, with the development of effective antiviral drugs, it has meant something closer to a lifelong, chronic illness.  Now there is new hope in the possibility of a cure.  Two main approaches to curing HIV have demonstrated recent success: the sterilizing cure and the functional cure.  While the former focuses on eradication of the virus from the body, the latter allows the patient to remain healthy without antiviral drugs, although it does not eliminate the virus.  

Timothy Brown is an example of the sterilizing cure’s success.  Brown, who had both HIV and leukemia, has been living virus-free for almost four years after undergoing two bone-marrow transplants to treat his cancer.  While living in Berlin in 2007 and 2008, Brown received bone marrow from a donor among the 1 percent of Northern Europeans who are naturally resistant to HIV infection because they lack CCR5, a protein on the surface of immune cells that the virus uses to enter the body.  Although Brown’s recovery is astounding, experts worry that replicating his results would not be feasible for many patients because of the high cost and risk associated with bone marrow transplants.  Furthermore, they point out that it would be next to impossible to find not only immunologically matching donors, but also ones with the CCR5 mutation.  

The difficulties associated with a sterilizing cure such as Brown’s have prompted scientists to explore functional cures.  For example, researchers are working on eliminating CCR5 in patients’ own immune cells, making them resistant to infection.  The case of the “Trenton Patient” has led to further optimism that functional cure may be possible.  Although he wished to remain anonymous in the press, the Trenton Patient shared his remarkable story, claiming he “felt like Superman” after his treatment.  As part of an experimental trial, doctors removed white blood cells from his body and treated them with a gene therapy developed by Sangamo BioSciences in order to create proteins that would interfere with CCR5 genes.  The treated cells were then injected into the patient’s body and he went off his antiviral medication.  Although the amount of HIV in his blood rose initially, by the end of the twelve week trial period, it had dropped to an undetectable level.  While the Trenton Patient’s results are amazing, five other patients involved in a similar study did not fair so well.  

Despite the fact that both Timothy Brown and the Trenton Patient’s cases represent results that could not likely be replicated in large numbers of patients, their triumphs have renewed hope that a cure to HIV/AIDS is on the horizon.  “‘It’s hard to understate how the scientific community has swung in thinking about the possibility that we can do this,’ said Kevin Frost, chief executive of the Foundation for Aids Research, a nonprofit group.  ‘Cure, in the context of H.I.V., had become almost a four-letter word.’”

http://www.nytimes.com/2011/11/29/health/new-hope-of-a-cure-for-hiv.html?pagewanted=all

World AIDS Day Candlelight Memorial Vigil in Asheville

Join the Western North Carolina AIDS Project and World Camp for a candlelight vigil in Pack Square on December 1st from 7-9 pm.  
Be sure to visit the 2011 AIDS Memorial Quilt, which is on display from today through December 3rd at the Pack Place Pavilion.  For more information, please visit:
http://www.wncap.org/wad/

Holiday Gifts that will EDUCATE.INSPIRE.CHANGE.

Team up with World Camp this Holiday season by dedicating gifts that will transform communities in Malawi. Choose the projects you want to support and dedicate your gifts in the name of loved ones. We'll send them notification of your gift with a special Holiday card and connect you to the communities you help!

TEACH A CHILD TO READ & WRITE

It's a simple solution - literacy and education are essential to escaping poverty. Basic language skills dramatically improve success in school and can lead children to a brighter future. $5 provides a child access to after school literacy workshops for a week.

Suggested gift: $25

TRAIN & EQUIP COMMUNITY LEADERS
It takes a village - leadership workshops engage all community stakeholders in the process of establishing goals and services.  Engaging and mobilizing all stakeholders builds a legacy sustained by the community themselves. $5 sponsors a community member's participation in a leadership workshop.
Suggested gift: $75

PROVIDE BOYS AND GIRLS LIFE SKILLS TRAINING

Life skills projects are designed to foster educated, valued, and healthy adolescents who are decision makers and the future leaders who will drive positive social change in their rural villages. $10 sponsors a child's participation in a four day  life skills camp.

Suggested gift: $125

SEND A CHILD WITH HIV TO CAMP HOPE

Camp Hope Malawi is the result of World Camp's partnership with the Paul Newman Foundation and the Baylor International Pediatric AIDS Initiative. Built upon the Association of Hole in the Wall Camp's model this project provides HIV positive youth the social and emotional support to regain their sense of optimism, possibility and hope. Sponsor a child this Holiday and join World Camp in building the self-worth and confidence in 60 HIV+ youth at Camp Hope Malawi.

 Suggested gift: $275

Please visit our website and choose your gift that will

EDUCATE.INSPIRE.CHANGE.

African Risk Capacity Program Responds to Rise in Extreme Weather

A new report linking climate change and recent extreme weather events was released today in Kampala, Uganda by the U.N. Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC).  The report is the culmination of a two-year process involving 100 scientists and policy experts and predicts that certain types of extreme weather will multiply in number and intensity as human-induced global warming increases in the future.  Specifically, the IPCC found that there is at least a 66% chance that greenhouse gas emissions caused by human activities, including coal-fired power plants and fuel burned through transportation, have led to an upsurge in climate extremes.  Although the report was hesitant to draw any conclusions relating human-induced greenhouse gas emissions to hurricanes, tropical storms, and tornadoes, it did cite human activity as the likely culprit for the rise in record-high temperatures, fewer record lows, and greater coastal flooding.  

Furthermore, the report stated that damage incurred through recent weather catastrophes has become exorbitant due to the “[r]apid urbanization and growth of megacities, especially in developing countries . . . [which] have led to the emergence of highly vulnerable urban communities, particularly through informal settlements and inadequate land management.”  While the industrialized world worries about economic and insured losses due to extreme weather, developing nations’ losses are typically measured in human lives and proportion of gross domestic product.  

To cope with the increased frequency of extreme weather and its effects on vulnerable populations, the African Union has created the African Risk Capacity (ARC) program.  As an alternative to the current system, which provides funding for disasters only on an ad hoc basis, the ARC would establish contingency funding that could become available automatically when extreme weather hit.  The ARC is modeled on the Caribbean Catastrophe Rick Insurance Facility, a program that “uses a parametric instrument to trigger payouts, which means that the payment is triggered by measurements of the intensity of the event rather than an assessment of damage incurred, thus ensuring quick release of funds at times affected countries need it most.”

For more on the African Risk Capacity program:
http://www.africanriskcapacity.org/about/background

For coverage of the IPCC’s report:
http://www.washingtonpost.com/national/health-science/report-climate-change-means-more-frequent-droughts-floods-to-come/2011/11/15/gIQAfwqHXN_print.html

To find out more about the IPCC:
http://www.ipcc.ch/

Is an AIDS-free Generation Possible?

In a speech given Tuesday at the National Institutes of Health, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton announced a major shift in U.S. fight against AIDS, which she hopes will lead to an “AIDS-free generation.”  Whereas the previous focus under President George W. Bush was on ABC: abstinence, being faithful, and using condoms; the Obama administration wants to concentrate on circumcision, mother-child transmission and “test-and-treat” solutions.  In other words, the strategy is no longer aimed solely at prevention, but rather at scientific intervention and treatment.

Mrs. Clinton’s speech was praised by many, including Dr. Unni Karunakara, international president of Doctors Without Borders, who called it “very encouraging to see the U.S. government wanting to turn the latest H.I.V. science into policies that will save lives while beginning to reverse the epidemic.”  Others, like Dr. Mead Over of the Center for Global Development, were more cautious, stating that “[Mrs. Clinton’s] vision for an AIDS-free generation is ambitious, but we don’t have strong evidence yet that we can achieve that.”  

While Mrs. Clinton did not address many details, such as funding, she did articulate one specific goal: to eradicate mother-to-child transmission of the disease by 2015.  She also emphasized the importance of circumcision for men, multidrug cocktails for pregnant woman, and treatment of patients from the date of infection instead of when symptoms first appear as measures to slow the spread of HIV/AIDS.

Drug companies such as Mylan, maker of an antiretroviral drug which treats one third of HIV/AIDS patients in the developing world, are encouraged at the shift in the administration’s policy.  In reaction to Clinton’s speech, Mylan’s president Heather Bresch commented, “

While the generics industry has made significant contributions toward making HIV/AIDS medicines more affordable, we believe the focus must now turn to expanding access to treatment for more people.  As such we’re heartened that the Obama administration is embracing treatment as prevention and rallying global leaders to help end the global HIV/AIDS pandemic by making the creation of an ‘AIDS-free generation’ a policy priority.

AIDS activists across the world also applauded Clinton’s speech and the administration’s bold new scientific focus in fighting the disease, which is thought to infect nearly 34 million people worldwide.  

To read the New York Times recap:
http://www.nytimes.com/2011/11/09/health/policy/hillary-rodham-clinton-aims-for-aids-free-generation.html
And for some reactions from Africa:
http://www.menafn.com/qn_news_story.asp?storyid=%7Bfacbe32c-ab0a-4cce-83ec-3e0dc4cbda31%7D
Watch Clinton’s entire speech at the NIH here:
http://link.brightcove.com/services/player/bcpid52223497001?bckey=AQ~~,AAAAAGWqYgE~,KxHPzbPALrFyReeXAVeKZGa43PKUv3A9&bctid=1265084101001

War on Malaria

When most people think of disease in Africa, HIV/AIDS typically comes to mind as the most severe problem; however, malaria claims more lives annually and creates a miserable yearly routine for many Africans.  During the rainy season in Malawi, which runs from November to April, many villagers end up contracting malaria multiple times.  It is difficult to find a Malawian family that is untouched by the disease, which is the leading cause of death in the country.  In a “From the Field” article on the Malaria Vaccine Initiative’s website, the Jackson family from Chakwindima, a rural village west of Lilongwe, is profiled.  Despite taking precautions, the Jacksons contracted the disease a total of 14 times between 5 family members over the course of the 2007-2008 malaria season.

“We sleep under bed nets every night,” said Jacques Jackson, 36, the father.  “But we also spend some time in the early evening outside,” a time thick with mosquitoes, which transmit the disease-causing parasite to humans when they bite them.

Mary Jackson, the mother, “prepares food for us and cooks outside.  The children like to be close to their mother, and so they are outside with her.  And maybe they even are bitten when they sleep under the nets, because they often roll right up against the nets, where the mosquitoes can get them.”

http://www.malariavaccine.org/FromthefieldSeptember2008.php

By James Ratemo, jratemo@ke.nationmedia.com
Posted  Wednesday, October 19  2011 at  15:32

In fact, malaria claims close to 800,000 lives annually, most of which are young children living in Sub-Saharan Africa, and costs African countries more than $12 billion in lost GDP.  With staggering figures such as these, it is easy to see how a potential solution to the malaria crisis could change the lives and futures of millions of Africans.  Although malaria vaccines have been in the works for decades, none have come close to the success of the recent Phase III trials of RTS,S, a drug first developed by GlaxoSmithKlein over 25 years ago to be used by the U.S. military.  More recently, the project has been backed by grant monies from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, which is committed to eradicating malaria worldwide.

Preliminary results from Phase III trials of RTS,S, released October 18, 2011, show that it protected nearly half of the children who received it with acceptable safety and tolerability.  Clinical trials will include tests of over 15,000 children and are scheduled to continue through 2014.

To read the entire article:

http://www.nation.co.ke/News/africa/New+vaccine+fights+malaria+better++study+shows/-/1066/1258052/-/item/0/-/frsujp/-/index.html

And check out this video from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, whose $200 million grant is contributing to the development of RTS,S:

Educational Follow-Up: Mkhosi and Matapila

Muli Bwanji!

Reinier and George are back in Lilongwe after spending two awesome weeks in two of our potential partner communities: Matapila and Mkhosi.

We’re glad to say that our experience could not have been any better and the Educational Follow-Up Program has proven to be a big hit in rural Malawi!

Upon arrival, we received a warm welcome by all the teachers, students, and community members who remembered World Camp from our camps and homestays this summer.

The headmasters of both schools invited us to stay with them for the week, something they probably regretted after realizing that we couldn’t stop asking them about education, HIV/AIDS, activism clubs, hyenas, and black mambas. However, all these questions as well as meetings with key stakeholders in the communities helped us to develop a clear understanding of the structures, struggles, and opportunities that exist. We soon became amazed about how much was being done by the village headmen, SMC/PTA committees, support groups, and many others despite the huge challenges that these communities face. Also, the constant quest for skills and training instead of “things” or “kwacha” really enabled us to have insightful talks about moving forward.

All these key stakeholders brought their energy, ideas, and concerns to our Leadership Workshop at the end of the week. Seeing the SMC/PTA talk about their responsibilities, village headmen discussing with students how they could help clubs to be more active, and teachers brainstorming about ways to increase peer education could not have been more inspiring. Our field assistants did an amazing job facilitating this process, because truly seeing the community discuss educational improvement among each other was exactly what we hoped for.

Last, during both weeks we started Empowerment Writing Workshops with St. 8 students. We had contacted NGOs, World Camp alumni, and other experts on how to effectively teach young people about creative writing but still were a bit nervous to see how it would play out in practice. We worked closely together with all the teachers and carefully explained what short stories, poetry, and journaling are all about. The students insisted to write in English and both the boys and the girls were excited about becoming awesome writers. We told them that they should see the journals that we gave them as new friends that they can talk to about anything, which helped to really make it an empowerment writing class.

Read Alefa's introduction to her short story to get a bit of an idea what their stories were about:

“My Birthday”

“A long time ago there was my birthday. But this day was very happy because there were many people on this day.

I welcomed many friends, these friends are Charity, Dyna, Cathirin and Yustina.

This birthday started at 2:00pm and finished at 6:00pm.

When it finished there were two girls and two boys, these children were going to the forest at 7:30pm and this one girl was HIV positive.

At the forest was sexual intercourse.

Because of sexual intercourse they contracted HIV. Then all the girls died and the boys contracted HIV.

When I go there two years later the boys are also dead.

Many people in the area suffer from HIV and AIDS and in our area, population is decreasing and children of orphanage are increasing.”

It was amazing to see that many of the students were able to give some of their sad stories a positive twist by looking critically at themselves and describing how they could do something to put a smile on their own face and on that of others.

These students definitely made us smile, and writing this blog puts a smile on my face again. What makes me even happier though is thinking back of how involved, excited, and helpful all the teachers were during these workshops. Seeing these teachers work incredibly hard in overcrowded classrooms and being able to provide them with new ideas on how to empower their students is what cannot make me stop smiling!

Let's make sure we water it!

Muli bwanji!

It has been over a month since the last interns and coordinators left Lilongwe after two awesome summer sessions. John, Vito and Angoni still talk about how much fun they had with the mzungus over the summer and they hope that you will all come back sometime soon!

Over these past 4 weeks Reinier and Michael have been working hard on developing ways in which we can make our work even more sustainable. Many brainstorm sessions, phone calls, and headaches later we developed what we call the “Educational Follow-Up Program”.

This summer we started meeting with key stakeholders in our target communities: the School Management Committees and Parent Teacher Associations. These committees argued that they would like to be more involved with World Camp’s activities in order to make the entire community part of educational improvement. Their call for community participation and follow-up support encouraged us to return to 2 potential partner communities, Mkhosi and Matapila, in order to respond to this identified need. Both these communities struggle with high student/teacher ratios, many social barriers related to HIV/AIDS, and a general lack of basic knowledge on HIV.

Our team, consisting of Michael, Reinier, Chikabachi, Cyrus, Cathy, Winter, and George, will be working on several activities.

First, we are going to conduct an in-depth community assessment in order to better understand issues surrounding stigmas, healthcare, educational outreach, and many others as well as the role of the local CBO in this. This information will help us develop a clear picture of our potential partner communities and enable us to more effectively conduct possible future activities.

Second, Reinier and George will be staying with the community for a week to facilitate an empowerment writing workshop. We have identified that our empowerment sessions need more sustainability and strongly believe that creative writing could help students get certain things off their chest and make sensitive topics discussable.

Third, at the end of the week we will conduct an intensive educational follow-up workshop. We will divide the community up into 4 groups (teachers + headmaster, community members, students, and the SMC/PTA) and each field assistant will work with a specific group of their choice. We’ll be strengthening activism clubs, provide follow-up teacher training, increase awareness among the SMC and PTA of their responsibilities in improving educational standards, and conduct HIV/AIDS workshops with the wider community. At the end of the day each group will participate in a collective “Jungle Walk” and present their action plan on working towards educational improvement related to HIV/AIDS to the other groups.

We are all very excited about this as we truly believe that this follow-up program will increase the continuation of our impact in our partner communities!

Wangari Maathai once said “until you dig a hole, you plant a tree, you water it and make it survive, you haven’t done a thing. You are just talking”. In a certain sense this relates closely to World Camp’s educational activities at our partner communities: we conducted educational camps and teacher training, now let’s make sure we water it and make it survive!

And now for a word from our Youth to Youth (Y2Y) team!

The Y2Y session in Malawi wrapped up last week after a very successful four week program. Here are some highlights from our three amazing volunteers, Maïlyse, Lindsey, and Lucy:

“It is the first day of our first camp, Balangombe, and the bus pulls up to school. Before we are even able to park we are bombarded with smiling kids who are yelling and cheering. I think that is when it finally hit us all that we are in MALAWI! Morning songs that first day were by the far the best of the whole trip. There was an overwhelming amount of energy from everyone. The whole morning was a whirl of excitement, especially when we got assigned our first class.

No other day of camp can compare to that first day, it was amazing and everything we wanted.

Our next favorite memory comes from Balangombe as well. It was our third day and probably the hardest, funniest, most exhausting day from the whole trip. This day was probably the most memorable day of our whole stay here. We learned how to keep control of our kids, how to NICELY tell them to be quiet, and most importantly, we learned how to laugh at ourselves, and be patient when things don’t go perfectly.

Our first weekend we went to Lake Malawi with just Y2Y, it was some great bonding time. The next day, we taught a modified HIV curriculum in a really great center for local disadvantaged kids. The kids were all ages, and had a ton of fun in class and showing us their gardens. It was a good experience!

We arrived at our third camp with a sign saying, “You are most welcome to Kasiya Primary School.” The minute we got off the bus, we knew this was going to be another amazing school! And it sure was!

At the end of our four days when it was time to give them their very own AIDS Ribbons, they were bouncing off the wall…literally. We definitely were thankful for their enthusiasm.”

Next stop was SAFARI! While driving to Wildlife Camp, we saw an elephant and Mailyse was…let’s just say, excited! We were greeted by the owner telling us that it’s not uncommon for hippos, elephants and even lions to come at our tent! We took a safari drive that night. It was beautiful to see the sunset and animals! We saw a leopard, hyenas and even a fearless honey badger.”

Thanks to our wonderful Y2Y volunteers for all their hard work, enthusiasm, and positive energy this summer! We are excited to start incorporating some new changes to the curriculum and program that this Y2Y group helped develop.

Submitted by: Maïlyse Ferber, Lucy Keener, Lindsey Wirht, Malawi Y2Y 2011 volunteers; Rachel Dudasik and Katie Sacca, Y2Y 2011 Program Coordinators

Chiyembekezo (Hope)

Heartbreak. At first glance, Malawi is heartbreak. A raw, unyieldingly vivid picture of the pains and sorrows of my heart. The landscape is barren for miles, sweeping toward a lone tree resting in solitude on its hilltop outlook. Girls tell me calmly, evenly, that an obstacle they face in achieving their goals is being raped and beaten by men. Children beg insistently for money, pencils, food, anything. Students ask innocent questions like: “If HIV is in the body, why can’t we just take it out?” that dig into me like thorns. Questions that leave me wishing it were that simple.

But then I close my eyes and open them again. And I see a changed Malawi. A Malawi that is happiness. I see Malawi for what it truly is. An earnest-faced teacher pats my hand and calls me his daughter while another shows me how to drive an ox cart community members volunteered for the purpose. Passerbies on the street always have a wave, a smile, or a thumbs-up to offer. Students run alongside our bus as we pull up to their school and crowd around the car door to greet us as we step out. Women welcome me into their homes and teach me to do chores while chattering away in a language I cannot comprehend. Standing in a dance circle under a still sky streaked with milky stars, my heart feels full and at peace.

Malawi: you have inspired me to keep on fighting on gritty step at a time. You are a hopeful country, a country with conviction and joy and dreams of a brighter future. So let us hold hands as brothers and sisters—equals—and march forward together towards that glimmering orb peaking over the horizon. Let us march together, struggle together, believe together, and keep moving forward. Forward toward that brighter future. One step at a time.

Chiyembekezo

(Hope)

Submitted by: Michelle Ju, Malawi SS2 Intern

A night in the village

Today is my 30^th day in Africa! I can say without hesitation that the most beautiful and frustrating moments of my life so far have taken place here in Malawi. Last night we spent the evening in a nearby village and slept in villagers’ homes. I have never felt so welcomed in a new place. You know those moments where you look around at your surroundings and just feel grateful to be alive? Last night I experienced one of those moments. After being honored with a feast of nsima, the women and children of the village treated us to the most incredible song circle. When they asked us to sing our own songs, we burst out in renditions of The Lion King!! Then, I caught a glimpse of the sky; I have never seen stars like that before. With my neck tilted towards the stars, songs all around me, I just took in everything. I captured that moment to remember forever. So happy. I’m missing home, but much more thrilled to be here. Hello, from Africa!

Submitted by: Catherine Valentine, Malawi SS2 Intern.

Behind the Internship: The Carolina Way

Dean gives a shout out to the Carolina Way
on top of Mt. Nkhoma, Malawi.

I'm here, in Malawi, because of Eve.

During my final semester of high school, in March of 2008, I finalized my college plans. I was over-eager to end one chapter of my life. To me, my life was just beginning.

In that same month, UNC-Chapel Hill student body president Eve Carson, during her final semester of college, was murdered -- shot on the side of the road after being forced into her car and driven to ATMs to withdraw cash in the middle of night. The fourth gunshot ended her life.

Eve was exceptional.

On top of being elected student body president by her peers, she was a Morehead Scholar (UNC's most renowned and prestigious full scholarship), a member of Phi Beta Kappa (she had a 3.9 GPA), a tutor at local public schools, and a counselor for UNC's camp for incoming new students.

Her multitude of friends cherished her love for life and her capacity for compassion. They light up when they talk about her.

But before she was killed, Eve spoke of something that will never die. Something that I have come to find here in Malawi, 9,000 some miles away from UNC. We Tar Heels call it the "Carolina Way."

Eve's idea of the Carolina Way was something that UNC students have been putting into practice for years, even before she gave it a name. 

In 2000, a group of UNC students came to Malawi looking for adventure. They found poverty, disease and hunger in overwhelming amounts. But they also found the warmest people in Africa.

In 2001, World Camp was back. They came prepared with a curriculum to teach in primary schools across Malawi, hoping to combat the spread of HIV/AIDS -- which has devastated nearly 12 percent of Malawi's population. Their idea -- to use practical and sustainable approaches to educate kids in Malawi about the effects of HIV and how to prevent it -- is still in place today. 

Since then, World Camp's mission has developed significantly. But the core remains the same; World Camp works to empower children and communities through education. It approaches serious issues in developing countries with basic, engaging techniques. It strives to help communities have happy, educated kids.

Its mission, I've found, is exactly what Eve meant when she defined the Carolina Way. In October 2007 she wrote, "Inclusion, involvement, diversity, acceptance, 'seeking to be great but always remembering that we must be GOOD' - this is just the START of the Carolina Way."

Dean with kids at Chinguwo Full Primary School.

I'm the only Carolina undergrad this time at World Camp, but I see the Carolina Way in everyone I work with. I see it in Malawians too. The Carolina Way is global. 

Eve's legacy in Chapel Hill inspired me to do many things. But mostly, I think, it left me wanting to tackle problems -- to commit my life to working for a just and fair world. World Camp shares that notion. Its mission embodies so much of what Eve believed in. And I truly believe that too.

Every day here, my experience stretches any expectation I had before coming. Each conversation teaches me something new. Each interaction increases my love for Malawi. But more importantly, I think, World Camp has renewed my sense of idealism-- my hope that our world's most complex and painful problems can be addressed with simple solutions, small steps and compassion. And from the people of Malawi I see an equal amount of idealism -- a hope for friendship, for knowledge, for the power of mind to handle painful and difficult problems. 

World Camp is a product of minds committed to creating a better, healthier and more sustainable world. It is a product of selflessness, of tireless work, of an undying, persistent compassion for humanity.

World Camp is a product of the Carolina Way.

At her funeral, former UNC chancellor James Moeser spoke of the Carolina Way that Eve believed in: "A commitment to others, a commitment of service to the community, to the state, and indeed to the world; a commitment to social justice, to fair play and equal opportunity for all; for the environment; for access to healthcare and affordable education." 

World Camp's mission is unique. It's inspiring. The way we deal with devastating problems is practical: educate children and their communities about the facts of HIV/AIDS, malaria and the environment. Make it interactive. Make it fun. Do it with energy. Do it with compassion. Do it for humanity. Seek to be great, remember to be good.

Submitted by: Dean Drescher, Malawi SS2 2011 Intern

Behind the Internship: A Fresh Perspective on Change

Going into World Camp, my plan was simple: go to college, get a degree, then work for a charity in order to aid the less fortunate. This had been the plan for years, and as far as I could tell, it would remain so. And then I went to my first Malawian school. I went in to teach the kids, but instead found myself learning and receiving, just as much as I was giving. They talked about their cultures, values, their views of azungus (foreigners), their morals, practices, and motives. A whole new world was opened to me, an entirely fresh perspective with which to view everything. It was within that school, within those first few hours, that my plan- my solid, rock-hard, immobile plan- took a one-eighty. Creating change is not about the haves giving to the have-nots. Creating change is about finding a junction where different cultures with different resources and knowledge and beliefs and solutions can come together and mutually give and take. That is where progress can spawn and issues can be resolved.

World Camp emanates this perfectly. While I did not recognize it at first, too full of my own untried notions, after I came to the realization myself, it became obvious that the way the curriculum is built, with the subjects of HIV/AIDS, environmental degradation and gender being discussed instead of lectured, supports and exemplifies this ideal. I have heard it mirrored in coordinators and volunteers alike, all of whom have either been affected by the program or have come to these conclusions individually, and hence have teamed up with World Camp knowingly, so that they too could be a part of the change that is being created here, day by day, discussion by discussion.

Submitted by: Elena Clark, Malawi SS2 Intern

Behind the Internship: A Word from KG

Alright, we are on Day 16 of World Camp. This is K. G., the only guy in this session other than Reinier, a Program Coordinator (cool dude; he’s from Holland). I’ve been having a great time so far. We finished one school and we’re halfway through the second one. Though we are in a peaceful country, yesterday was a political demonstration, so we stayed in the house just to be safe. That was fun.

Anyways, we hiked a huge mountain on Sunday. This was actually very entertaining, but incredibly exhausting. I’ve been having fun, and I’m certain that everybody else is as well. If anybody who can attend World Camp that hasn’t already is reading this, I sincerely urge you to do so. It has been the greatest experience of my life, and I’m not even halfway through! I’ll miss everyone when I’m in college.

Written by SS2 Intern KG Younger.

Malawi Demonstrations

Not since the establishment of a democratic governance for Malawi in 1994 has there been such political unrest sweeping the nation. Over the past week groups of demonstrators have taken to the streets in many municipalities across Malawi in protest of fuel shortages, dramatic fuel price increases and overall economic hardship. The demonstrations are unprecedented for this normally tranquil country and come on the heals of rising criticism for repressed civil rights.

We are disturbed by reports of violence in some areas of Malawi and hope that the people and government are committed to peaceful discussions. We want to thank family and friends of World Camp for all your emails and support and want everyone to know that everyone on our team in Malawi is safe and doing well. The location of the World Camp Residence was largely unaffected by the demonstrations and has remained quiet. Our team did cancel all projects for the week and have been taking a much deserved rest and focusing their energies on future program development.

We are all saddened by the loss of life and looting across the nation and hope that genuine dialogue for solutions to the persistent fuel shortages and general economic hardship prevail. World Camp remains committed to  supporting a new generation of adults who will help provide simple sustainable solutions to the complex problems of poverty and HIV in Malawi.

On behalf of the entire team in Malawi we thank you for your support and look forward to getting back to work as soon as possible.