in the field: Meet Donna Stegall

left to right: Windy, Tzipora, Maysam, Laura, Layne, Donna, Andrew, Wynndee

Meet Donna:

Hi, I’m Donna Stegall and have been in Malawi with World Camp for almost a week now and couldn’t be happier with my stay! I grew up in a small town right outside of Charlotte, North Carolina and attended UNC Charlotte. I graduated last May and have seen been working as a Habilitative Technician for Turning Point Services in Charlotte. I work daily with a young boy diagnosed with Autism Spectrum Disorder and absolutely love it and miss him! I will be attending Graduate School for Occupational Therapy in Georgia upon my return.

I heard about World Camp through a friend who attended a few years ago. It has always been my dream to make it to Africa, and after seeing her pictures and hearing about the experiences she had, I signed up. I was a little nervous coming here not knowing anyone and especially about going to a foreign country that I knew little about, but I feel very at home and safe here. All the interns in my program are really nice and a lot of fun!

We have been living in the WC house in Lilongwe for almost a week now and have had the chance to go to the grocery store, fabric market, and golf course. I was very surprised by how American the grocery store and city are. I was able to buy yogurt, peanut butter and jelly, eggs, and even soda, which felt a lot like home.

The fabric market was an adventure! Women in the program must wear long skirts, so we went to a market with a plethora of fabrics to choose from. The best part is they were only about $4 a skirt! We walked to the golf course to play ultimate Frisbee and netball. We also introduced our Field Staff to the very American game of kickball. It was a lot of fun and we even got to play with a few kids from Lilongwe.

Today, we had our first traditional Malawian meal, nsima, which we’ll eat on all our homestays everyday for lunch and dinner. It was good and I enjoyed the relish!

Tomorrow starts our first trip to our homestays in the village. The curriculum is a little intense, so I’m somewhat nervous about teaching in front of a group of 20 to 30 kids, but also excited to experience what I came here for. Hopefully I can help lead and teach the kids, and hope to make a difference in their lives!