We just finished our first full week of teaching in Malawi. Not only did we teach in the Chamwala Full Primary School, we also ran a short program educating the Dzaleka Refugee camp about HIV and AIDS. The Chamwala Full Primary School was wonderful to work in, the teachers and students were all very eager and excited for us to be there educating them. In fact, our first day of work happened to fall on a public holiday that we were not aware of. The Headmaster, Alfred, was so excited for us to be there that he had all the teachers and students who were participating in the program come into school that day. After introducing World Camp to the students and explaining that we were here to educate them about HIV and AIDS, as well as the environment, we began with a few morning songs as a sort of ice breaker between ourselves and the students. One song that we did, called "Go Bananas" became sort of the theme for the week, as almost all the students tried to apply the lyrics and rhyme scheme to many different subjects. Everyday when walking around the school you could hear anyone from the youngest students to those in the older grades that we were teaching singing the song. Watching the students get so involved in something and enjoying something so much and participating side by side with all the World Camp volunteers was really exciting.
Although teaching the curriculum in itself was quite the experience, a moment that will always stay with me is when we were leaving on the third day of camp. As we drove out of the village, on this bumpy, rugged, dirt road that the teachers said no one drives on, we passed so many of the students walking home to their villages. Although the school is in a village, many of th
e surrounding villages send their children to the Chamwala school, so it acts as more of a regional school than a school for just one individual village. As we were driving we passed a group of the children who were in our groups that we have been teaching. As we passed them, all holding the pinwheels we had built together to show them how the wind could be used for energy, they all began to chase the van. One girl in particular, named Zione, who was one of my students, continued to chase the van. She ran with us for about five minutes singing and dancing along next to the van "Peel Bananas, Peel Peel, Bananas. Eat Bananas, Eat, Eat, Bananas. Go Bananas, Go, Go, Bananas!" Watching her chase after the van singing along the song we had taught the children to get them to trust us and open up to us was really exciting. We had all the windows open singing along with her as she ran next to us. Seeing that she was so excited to be able to sing us the song we had taught them made me really feel as though we could actually make a difference.
After spending the four days at the primary school, we taught a shorter program at the Dzaleka Refugee camp, which we drove past every day on the way to the primary school. Driving into the camp it was so clear the poverty and struggles that these people are facing every day. We worked with about 30 or so men and women, some who were HIV positive. We talked about the proper ways that they could prevent the spread of the disease and answered any questions that they had. The first day we also toured the camp. Seeing a refugee camp for the first time in my life really struck a chord within me. It was emotionally draining to walk around and see all these people with permanent residences (read: shacks), with no hope of going anywhere else, no hope of going home. We saw their lack of resources, lack of jobs, visited their primary school and also the Clinic that was in the camp. One of the camp's three doctors came out to talk to us about the clinic and the resources that they have available to them, which although limited, had more than I expected. However, the next day of discussion that we had with our group at the camp told us otherwise. Hearing these men and women tell us that the medical care they receive is sub par, that no one wants to get tested for HIV because they'd rather live with it and not know or have anyone else know was incredibly disheartening. They told us that they do not have the proper nutrition in order to take the Anti-Retrovirals (ARVs) which prolong the life of someone living with HIV, so instead many choose to go without because their quality of life was better without them. Hearing that a medicine that is actually supposed to make one's life better is in fact making someone's life worse is a very hard thing to hear and come to terms with. Life has been so difficult for these people and I hope that our presence in the camp and the information that we gave them and discussions that we facilitated can help them to improve the lives of others. Visiting the camp is an experience and place I will never be able to, nor would want to, remove from my memory.
Submitted by: Marissa Hurwitz
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