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!

Happy New Year from Malawi!!

We survived our first week here with minimal damage . After four days of getting acquainted with the city of Lilongwe, we ventured to a small rural village called Luzi to begin our first camp. We covered topics from HIV to deforestation, to gender empowerment and creative writing. Our students ranged from ages eight to sixteen and we were thoroughly impressed by their eagerness and enthusiasm to learn. Though the language barrier could be frustrating at times, our Field Staff Cyrus and Rejoyce were wonderful and made communication a breeze. Despite the seriousness of the issues we were teaching, we found that humor was one of the greatest teaching tools available and were grateful that our students could laugh along with us. By the end of the week, they were experts on the material and, on the last day of camp, preformed skits and songs for the community.

Village life was interesting to say the least. We learned to be flexible quickly in a place where chickens roamed freely in our classrooms as we taught and the only time we were close to getting run over in the road was by a heard of cattle. We had our first encounter with the local staple meal, nsima, a corn flour based starch that you eat with your hands. We came across several new types of bugs and Cara and Christine will be the first to admit that neither of them used the latrine after dark for fear of running into a family of large cockroaches.

We were overwhelmed by the generosity and kindness of the families that hosted us. They, along with the village as a whole, opened their homes to us as if they were our own. As warm and welcomed as we always felt, we often found ourselves feeling like an exhibit at the zoo, surrounded by (literally) hundreds of small children who were completely bewildered by the strange visitors. Though saddened by the remarkable amount of poverty we witnessed, we were inspired by the happiness and sense of community that surrounded us in the village. By far the highlight of the week was Mark's take on the Chichewa version of Head, Shoulders, Knees and Toes, which we sang with our kids every morning before class. Each time we got to “Chiuno” (hips), Mark would proceed to put his hands on his waist and shake his hips like a twelve year old school girl. It was hard to tell who appreciated this hilarious move more, the kids or the interns. Overall, it was an exhausting, wonderful, exciting, challenging, and hilarious week and we can't wait for the next.

Peace and Love from Malawi,

Christine, Cara, Mark, and Tucker

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.