Reflections on Camp Hope

By Intern Zoey Ponder

As this summer’s sessions of Camp Hope wind to an end and World Camp begins to prepare for our year-round programming, we all take the time to pause and reflect on our time spent at Camp. I was lucky enough to spend four days at two different camp sessions this year and will forever remember how touching this opportunity has been. 

Camp Hope is held in a beautiful setting, sort of off the beaten path about an hour outside of Lilongwe. The campsite lies against the backdrop of amazing rocky peaks and surrounded by quiet villages and farmland. The last fifteen minutes of the drive in is filled with kids yelling “azungu” (a friendly nickname for someone with light skin) and waving at the car as we bounce up and down on the dirt road. The campsite itself has large boys’ and girls’ dorm rooms as well as a huge dining hall in the center. Off to the right of the dorms and dining hall is a soccer field and the main hall and classrooms are over on the far side of that. 

Meal times are some of the silliest times. Kids have three meals and three snacks each day to help teach the value of nutritious eating and to provide valuable nutrition they may not receive at home. It was at Camp Hope that I tried Malawian food for the first time. Everyone is encouraged to eat as much as they want, as it was explained to me by an enthusiastic camper, “This is Africa, EAT EVERYTHING!” Meal times are also utilized to teach campers important food groups, staying hydrated and to celebrate the “Super Campers”. Super Campers are campers who are celebrated for their accomplishments at Camp during “Camp Kawawa” - which is essentially a big party of singing and dancing and giving out awards for any number of accomplishments that can earn one the “Super Camper” certificate. 

Outside of mealtimes the day is filled with loads of activities, special classes on all sorts of topics from the stigma attached to HIV to arts, crafts and campfires. I was very impressed to see the kids memorizing their ART (antiretroviral therapy) treatments and pill names so they can advocate for themselves and understand their treatment. Kids at Camp Hope get the chance to learn a lot about HIV and how they can help keep themselves healthy, like the importance of taking your treatment each day and the value of nutritious food. 

One of my favorite activities was the creation of a goals book. Campers got a picture of themselves taken in front of the Camp Hope sign, which many of them were very excited to share with me—and let me tell you these kids know how to strike a pose! Inside their books, they are encouraged to write what they want to achieve with their lives. Many of them wrote professions like a nurse or an accountant. They then wrote how to achieve these goals, what might stand in their way and how to overcome those obstacles. It was amazing to see kids who very seriously wanted to figure out how to achieve their goals. They were even asking me how to reach their goals and wanting me to share my goal book to them. It was an honor to have them want to share their books with me. 

Camp Hope really is a wonderful place for these kids. I saw so many of them laughing, holding hands, dancing together and sharing stories of struggle and hopes of a very bright future. These kids face a lot every day, but they are brave. Together, I saw them standing tall, whether it be dancing on the stage at Stage Night or in the lunch room receiving their “Super Camper” award. I am very proud of everyone who took part in this year’s Camp Hope and I can only hope that Camp Hope will continue to reach more kids each and every year.

Reinier Terwindt Continues His Involvement with Malawi - Even in Grad School

Our much adored former Program Development Coordinator, Reinier Terwindt left Malawi after this summer to earn his second Master's. This one will be from Columbia University in New York City in International Education. Despite moving from the Warm Hear of Africa to the Big Apple, Reinier is still focused on Malawi. In fact, this week he will be presenting his research on decentralization of Malawian education at the Comparative and International Education Society Conference along with members of the Malawian Ministry of Education. We are proud to consider Reinier a part of the World Camp family, and honored by his continued participation in our work. Below you can find the abstract of the research he will be presenting. Many of the groups mentioned in his abstract are the very groups World Camp works with in it's partner communities to try to improve school management and education delivery.

In 2010 Malawi initiated its Primary School Improvement Programme (PSIP) to expand equitable access, increase quality and relevance, and strengthen governance and management in education – that is, to achieve key objectives in the country’s National Education Sector Plan. With technical assistance from USAID’s Education Decentralization Support Activity (EDSA), PSIP was initiated in six districts in 2010-11 (Phase 1) and expanded to twelve districts in 2011-12 (Phase 2), with plans to include thirteen more districts in 2012-13 and the remaining nine districts in 2013-14. A key element of PSIP is having school management committees (SMCs) and parent teacher associations (PTAs) lead a process of developing, implementing, and monitoring school improvement plans (SIPs), which are supported partially by funds from proposed and approved school improvement grants (SIGs). Besides giving more decentralized authority and responsibility to head teachers, PSIP encourages parents and other community members to participate in school governance through the SMCs and PTAs, especially in relation to the SIPs and SIGs. This presentation reports on findings from studies conducted in March 2012. One study consisted of structured interviews with head teachers, SMC chairs, and a parent in 81 schools, which are located in the six Phase 1 districts and which had received SIGs during 2010-11 and/or 2011-12. The interviews elicited perspectives on their school’s experiences with the SIP and the SIG. A second study collected data from primary education advisors on the SIG budget decisions for 2010-11 and/or 2011-12 of all 1084 schools in the six districts included in Phase 1 of PSIP. Findings indicate that community stakeholder meetings were held before and after developing the SIPs in at least 75% of the schools, although the percentage decreased slightly over the 2010-2012 period. Moreover, over 70% of head teachers, SMC chairs, and parents interviewed reported that the SIP process had contributed “to a very great extent” or “to a considerable extent” to improvements in access and equity, quality and relevance, and especially governance and management. In comparing SIG budget priorities for 2010-11 and 2011-12, we observe an increase in the percent of schools employing teaching assistants, and decreases in the percentages of schools procuring teaching and learning materials, constructing latrines, and purchasing materials for school management and record keeping. However, we did not find differences between schools which had received SIGs for one versus two years in how they implemented the process nor in the percentage of schools budgeting for various items as part of their SIGs (with the notable exceptions of teaching assistants and learning materials). Moreover, the percentages of 2011-12 SIG funds devoted to employing teaching assistants and to buying teaching and learning materials were not significantly associated with the school’s pupil-teacher ratio, dropout rate, repetition rate, and Primary School Leaver Certificate Exam pass rate (in 2011), indicating that other factors informed their SIG budgeting decisions. These and other findings are discussed to illuminate opportunities and constraints on efforts to engage community members in enhancing educational quality in countries like Malawi.

World Camp Clubs

New Programming: World Camp Clubs

In early November we introduced World Camp’s new geographic focus, the Malikha Zone. We’re working hard to initiate sustainable programs and interventions for locally challenging issues.

Students and youth are a key part of any and all solutions taking place as they are future leaders, members of their community, and a massive force for change! They have a vested interest in the wellbeing of their communities and neighbors, and should be involved in community development projects.

To this end, World Camp will establish a World Camp Clubs (WCC) at each of the 11 primary schools in Malikha Zone (and we’ve already done so at the five schools we visited in 2012!). These clubs foster and encourage youth activism and involvement in community projects that address issues such as deforestation, stigma surrounding HIV positive patients, youth rights, and community infrastructure.

Liwera World Camp Club members

Each WCC is led by two teachers and at least five students elected by their peers. The addition of elected student leaders fosters youth ownership, responsibility, ability, and power; something that can be lacking in many of the communities we visit. In September, Teacher Mentors went through training to equip them with the basic knowledge of encouraging student activism, budgeting, reporting to WC, planning effective outreach activities, and many other skills! WC will continue to work with Teacher Mentors every month to provide support, answer questions, facilitate idea sharing, and encourage Zone-wide events. Additionally, WC will visit each Club at least once a month during one of their meetings to check-in on logistics, observe discussions, and provide on-site support.

In the few short months since their inception, WCCs have been a huge success: Mkhoma WCC planted 40 trees in their community to combat deforestation and Liwera WCC participated in a quiz to show off their knowledge of HIV (see the video here!). All five Clubs have developed detailed action plans for the 2012-2013 school year to ensure continued progress, and we can’t wait to see where the students of Malikha Zone take this project!

A New Geographical Focus

A New Geographical Focus

Picture Ideas: map of schools in Malikha zone plus others

Hand-drawn map of the Malikha Zone

History: World Camp has been in Malawi for eleven years now and we’re proud of the progress we’ve made. We’ve worked with over 20,400 students  in over 190 schools. We’ve conducted workshops with hundresds community members and met with countless organizations to learn even more about Malawi and the work being done by others.

What we’re doing: We have added year-round staff to our Malawi office so we can implement a geographic approach in order to increase both our programming and presence in partner schools. For the next few years, World Camp will concentrate solely on one primary education zone that comprises 11 primary schools and their communities in order to create a stronger and more sustained impact.

Why we’re doing it: A geographic focus will allow us to delve deeper into locally challenging issues; we can identify needs and address them individually and specifically. With year-round programming, we can provide more sustained support to students, teachers, community members, and grassroots organizations. We’ll be able to improve our monitoring, tracking, and evaluation processes to more thoroughly assess our impact. 

World Camp Club Mentor, Cyrus Jenda
speaks with stakeholders at the Teacher
Development Center

Where we’ll be: The zone WC selected is called Malikha Zone. It is under the direction of a single Primary Education Advisor, Ms. Elizabeth Kasomekera. It’s located about 45 minutes outside the city, on the way to Salima (Lake Malawi). WC has already visited five of the eleven schools in the zone and is excited to continue meeting new students and teachers as we conduct educational camps and community workshops in the coming years.

What we’ll do: We’ll continue to host volunteers and hold educational camps focused on HIV, the environment, gender equality, and literacy. We’ll establish and support a World Camp Club at each school to foster youth activism and involvement. We’ll support teachers who go through our Teacher Workshop to ensure students continue to receive correct information and interactive lessons.

Who we’ll work with: We’ll continue to work hand in hand with the Primary Education Advisor, as she is directing and giving the final approval on a lot of our programs in Malikha Zone. We’ll meet regularly with schools to check on their progress, provide additional support, and answer any questions that arise as they implement new programs. We’ll meet monthly with World Camp Clubs to encourage youth activism and participation in community development initiatives. Students will remain our focus - they are, after all, the future of their communities!

Benefits for World Camp volunteers and interns: World Camp will give first time World Camp volunteers more information about the schools they will teach in based on experience, data collected, and current community projects. This can only benefit their teaching effectiveness and understanding of the situation of their students. World Camp Alum will hear more about the results of their efforts (and their past students!) as World Camp staff revisit communities, track the successes of clubs, test knowledge, and facilitate continuous learning and community growth.

We at World Camp are excited about this change, and would love to hear your feedback and ideas!

in the field: Meet Layne!

Hi everyone! My name is Layne Schwab and I’m a World Camp intern hailing from
South Burlington, Vermont. I am a rising senior at Colby College in Waterville,
Maine with a double major in Government and Global Studies. I’m interested in
pursuing a career in international development and in the past have interned
with the International Disability and Development Consortium and the Women’s
Microfinance Initiative. I absolutely love exploring new places so I’ve been lucky
enough to have a year filled with traveling. I spent this past spring studying the
European Union in Brussels, Belgium. At Colby, I’m a member of the cross-country,
indoor, and outdoor track teams, and serve on the Student Advisory Board of the
Goldfarb Center for Public Affairs and Civic Engagement and as co-president of
Colby Social Entrepreneurs. I chose to intern with World Camp because I wanted
to learn more about this region of Africa and HIV/AIDS, and to try teaching. I’m so
happy to have spent the last few weeks in Malawi as an intern with World Camp; I
have had such an incredible experience so far and have met so many people that I
will never forget. Malawi truly deserves its title as the “Warm Heart of Africa.”

It’s amazing how fast time flies here. We spent last weekend at South Luwanga
National Park in Zambia camping with hippos and chasing leopards. No kidding!
Our safari trip managed to exceed my already VERY high expectations. We arrived
at the park Friday afternoon. We proceeded to pitch tents – a new skill for some
- while keeping an eye on the food we brought in case the dozens of baboons and
monkeys hanging around the campsite should try anything! Bright and early the
next morning we went on our first group ride in the park. It was an absolutely
beautiful morning despite a little wind. Before we had even arrived at the park,
we had the chance to see elephants and giraffes in the brush. Seeing a giraffe try to
gather his long, wobbly legs and try to break into a run was priceless. As soon as we
entered the park, we had our first lion sighting on the far side of the river. Later on
we also had the chance to see a warthog searching for some lady warthogs and to
stop our car among a heard of impalas who seemed to accept us. We took a break
at the river to drink coffee and tea and watch the sunrise amidst a lovely chorus
of hippo grunts and groans. My personal favorite part of this trip was watching a
leopard casually cracking a baboon skull with her teeth on a tree branch not all that
far above our car. The Saturday evening drive was also awesome. We had a driver
who was willing to go a bit off the road so we could get extremely close to groups of
giraffes and elephants from several angles.

Besides the two drives on Saturday, many of us chose to go on a second morning or
night drive on Sunday. Laura, Andrew, Wynndee, and Maysam all chose to go on
the Sunday morning drive and returned pumped about seeing two male elephants
bashing their tusks (helping each other with some strength training!). For both the
morning and night drives on Sunday we had a very detail-oriented driver Joseph,
who entertained us with fun facts about EVERYTHING that we saw (Did you know
that hyenas are terrible hunters? Or that hares eat their own feces? We didn’t
either). Andrew, Wynndee, Maysam, Windy, Karen, Laura, Donna, and I all went
on the Sunday night drive. I think we can agree that having a leopard crawl under

our car, posing with her head sticking out long enough for us to snap some pictures
before casually sauntering to the middle of the road to lie down in front of us, is an
experience they’ll we’ll forget.

We were fortunate enough to see every animal that we were hoping to see and from
much closer than we thought we would ever be to them. There really is no other
way to describe the experience than as once-in-a-lifetime. However, as much as I
loved Zambia, I was definitely excited to get started with our third group of learners
and to meet our latest homestay families back in Malawi!

Preservice Teacher Gains Experience Teaching in Malawi

Elizabeth Smith is a 5th grade teacher at Ira B. Jones Elementary School in Asheville, NC.

"World Camp has transformed who I am as a teacher because I understand and value the need for global education." 

Studies show that preservice teachers who have exposure to diversity are better equipped to teach in diverse classrooms - Elizabeth shares how Malawi influences her teaching.

"As I walked into my colorful, resource-rich classroom on the first day of school as nervous as I was I couldn’t help but remember that I had already stood in front of a group of children thousands of miles away and taught them life-sustaining knowledge. That classroom setting was different from my own classroom: dirt floors, broken mud walls, sometimes nonexistent roofs, sparse resources. I didn’t teach students the relevance of division in their everyday lives as I currently do with my fifth-grade students.  Instead, in working as a World Camp intern teaching at rural primary schools, I taught Malawian students powerful life-saving skills and knowledge of HIV/AIDS and health education, gender empowerment and environmental sustainability. Although I had never taught this curriculum and was in an extremely different environment than I had ever experienced I realized that what I was seeing in my Malawian students was the same thing that I saw in the eyes of my students here in Asheville. Children all around the world want to be set up for success in their lives. More specifically, students want to learn; they want to be captivated; they want to be inspired.

World Camp’s interns teach the curriculum through fun, interactive and engaging methods. The students’ eyes light up with interest, excitement and understanding. Teaching in the poverty stricken country of Malawi as a World Camp intern gave me an insightful understanding of education that has changed the way I approach my teaching here in the United States. I realized that I could teach difficult concepts through creative and interactive ways with barely any resources pulled from the destitute Malawian schools.  The students comprehended the content and transformed the knowledge into skills and practices in their daily lives. Surely then, I could easily teach the North Carolina Standard Course of Study through engaging and interactive lessons even if I didn’t have any of the teaching resources on which teachers so often rely.  Our American schools are so lucky to have the resources that we have however, teaching in Malawi opened my eyes to understand that even though a classroom may not have an Interactive SmartBoard, or enough science kits or laptops for every student, meaningful and enriching learning can happen for every child.

I traveled to Malawi almost two years ago while I was still in college to learn how to become a teacher. Now, in my first year of teaching, my experiences from my time in Malawi continue to permeate my classroom on a a weekly basis. World Camp helped me realize that one of my goals for my students is for them to be aware of the world around them and to think globally. My fifth-graders have deep conversations about the differences in their lives and the lives of children in Malawi. They are beginning to open their eyes to the diversity around the world, understanding that there is an incredible world that exists outside of Asheville, North Carolina. World Camp has transformed who I am as a teacher because I understand and value the need for global education.

At eleven years old most of my students have not traveled outside the U.S. Even though they lack international travel experiences they still have intelligent, educated and meaningful conversations about the diverse world in which they live. It is my desire that my class becomes a springboard for my students' global interests. I want my students to leave my classroom at the end of the year equipped with an international awareness, knowledge of an empathy for other's situations around the world and a desire to experience the world around them. My teaching focuses on helping students learn about the world so that they will have a deep passion for helping, serving, and learning about others."

Farewell to the Warm Heart of Africa

It’s hard to believe our January session is over. We are all home safe and sound trying to get back into the swing of things in the “Western World.” Although it was sad to leave Malawi, I’m definitely ready to be back in a place where toilets with seats and running water are the norm.

During our last week in Malawi we continued our home stay in Mchezi and worked with the other half of Standard 7 at Mkhosa Full Primary School. In addition to teaching the regular curriculum in the mornings, we each took on projects with Mchezi Community Based Organization in the afternoons. I teamed up with Christine and our Field Assistant Rejoyce to work with an HIV+ women’s support group. We talked a lot about nutrition on the first day and focused on empowerment paintings on the second day. With a limited amount of time, we found this to be an easy, creative way for the women to bond and express themselves in an artistic manner they haven’t necessarily been exposed to in the past.  

Mark had a great time teaching Mchezi’s youth group how to play baseball in a two-day mini-camp. By the end of the week, all participants were excited and proud that they had mastered the “simple sport.”Tucker partnered with Field Assistant Cyrus to talk with local farmers about permaculture. The farmers were fond of the new techniques introduced, and many of them were already familiar with them and were excited to put them to use. They talked about water catchment systems, planting beds instead of rows, and the benefits of intercropping. The farmers viewed permaculture as a potential solution to the community’s struggles with poverty and poor nutrition.

All in all it was a great week. We met so many friendly and inspiring people in Mchezi, especially at the CBO and we are confident they will continue to do amazing working in their community long after we are gone.

To finish off the session we headed to Lake Malawi for the weekend, where we basked in the sun by day and sat around a bonfire by night.  For our last day as a group, we woke up at 5am and watched the sun rise over Lake Malawi. There couldn’t have been a better way to end the trip. 
 
It seems like a lifetime ago we all sat together at the airport for the first time, awkwardly introducing ourselves. We’ve come a long way since then, we’ve met so many remarkable people, seen some astonishing sights, and been inspired by so many stories. We’ve grown, learned, inspired and changed, and of course learned some really great dance moves along the way.

Zikomo, chinuo, peace and love,

Cara (with Christine, Mark and Tucker)

Week 1 at Mchezi

It has been an eventful, slightly soggy week in Malawi. We have successfully navigated another week of village living. This time the school was not too far from Lilongwe in a charming hamlet called Mchezi that we will actually be returning to for our last week as well. The school sits on a slight hilltop giving a most excellent view of the surrounding area, and some of the coolest sunsets we’ve seen. Mchezi kept all of us busy. We are now working with the Community Based Organization on personal projects for this coming week. I think it is safe to say we are all fairly excited about next week. Mark, forever the Red Sox fan, is organizing a baseball game and providing the

youth groupwith homemade bats and balls for after we leave. He is also working with the secondary school students on their more advanced math skills. Christine and Cara are teaming up to work with the local HIV/AIDS support group to bring in some new perspectives and resources. I will work with farmers from the area on the permaculture

Last week we were also given the task of completing a cultural scavenger hunt - Boys vs Girls. I am not ashamed to say the girls won by a considerable margin, so tip of the cap in their direction. To win, they spent hours preparing the traditional Malawian dish of nsima, so they truly went that extra mile. I think I can speak for the group when I say that I hope it rains less this week than last. With a couple of well placed cracks in the roof you might be surprised how moist we got while sleeping. We are getting delicious Malawi tea in the mornings though, and that pretty much negates the nagging sogginess.lifestyle. So, in addition to teaching until two, we will also be filling our afternoons with these hefty projects. It should be fun, but we do anticipate drooping eyelids in addition to smiles come this Thursday.

In other news, we climbed a very cool mountain by the name of Nkohma on Sunday. It was a spectacular hike, and we hear that the views from the top are incredible, but somehow near the peak we found ourselves in a very persistent cloud, so our pictures from the roof of Malawi look remarkably like Scotland...

So, we are still all having fun in the sun. We are all excited to head out and teach and inspire for one more week. Time here has flown by so fast. I find it hard to believe that we will be prepping to leave one week from now. But until then, more kids, more songs, and more memories!

Submitted by: Tucker Johnson, January 2012 Intern

From Luzi to Zambia to Mchezi, a week with World Camp Interns!

Time is flying here in Malawi. After gaining experience teaching during our first week in Luzi, we began work on Monday at the Chimutu Full Primary School school with newfound confidence in the classroom. Chimutu is a city school in Lilongwe and we were commuting there each day, which luckily provided us with all of the creature comforts of the World Camp house.

The kids in Luzi spoke and understood a very limited amount of English, so we were used to relying heavily on our translators and not worrying about the kids overhearing our conversations in English. This was a bit different in the city, as almost every kid spoke

English well enough to carry on a conversation. While it was convenient at times, it was also a bit difficult as it challenged us to organize our thoughts better because the kids could understand what we were saying. Rather than sometimes using our translators as a clarifying buffer between our English lessons and what was relayed to the students in Chichewa, we were forced to clearly and concisely convey our material when we spoke English to our translators.

The school was grossly overcrowded—a pattern we have been noticing with education here in Malawi. The rooms were like saunas and there was not one desk in the whole place. It is no surprise that Malawian teachers have a tough time teaching, as a typical classroom was 90+ degrees and had 50+ students sitting on the ground—very few of whom had access to adequate school supplies.

It was a fun, challenging week and I think that we learned as much from the students as they did from us. It is always bittersweet leaving a village or a school, as you are exhausted and happy to be able to rest, but all the while the kids are opening up and telling you how much they will miss you. We finished off Thursday afternoon with these mixed feelings, but they quickly subsided as the excitement for our upcoming safari began to take hold.

We left early Friday morning for South Luangwa National Park in Zambia. After a long bumpy cozy ride in our driver Eddy's SUV, we arrived our Croc Valley Camp, our home for the weekend. Just as we were pulling into the camp, an elephant came out on the road and blocked us for a moment. This was a sign of a wonderful time to come. We stayed in the beautiful camp that was located on the river for 3 nights. The river was teeming with hippos that could be heard quite well throughout the day and night. Our porches were regularly visited by monkeys and baboons. For these few days, we enjoyed nice weather (for the most part), delicious food, amazing game drives, and plenty of beautiful African skies.

The drives were incredible. From the animals to the talented and knowledgeable driver Freddy to the beautiful sunsets, we simply had a blast. At one point, we came across 18 lions lying in the road—10 cubs and 8 adults. We waited and watched in amazement that began to turn into fear as they surrounded our truck. We watched for a while and then went on our way, untouched by the beasts. We saw countless other animals, including zebras, impalas, warthogs, a leopard, giraffes, crocodiles and many more. It was an unforgettable weekend, ad everyone got lots of pictures.

As our safari trip comes to a close, we begin preparing for teaching and staying in the village of Mchezi, our next excursion.

Submitted by: Mark Nelson, January 2012 Intern.

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

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!