My Mom Knows People

My mom works part time at a tax office and one of the clients, Mr. M, is from Malawi but lives in Burke. She told him about my trip and he was very excited to hear that we will be visiting his homeland. My mom suggested calling and talking with him about Malawi before I left. So Sunday I finally called Mr. M and I am go glad that I did! I told him some of the places I was going and he was familiar with almost everything. He has a friend who is from one of the villages where we will be teaching. He told me that he knew his friend would be going to Malawi sometime soon and that he would give my information to her and so we could contact each other. Mr. M thought she would be able to help me out with some of the questions I had about supplies and teaching.

He also knew that a Malawian was at Virginia Tech getting his Phd but would soon be back in Malawi. Mr. M had heard that the student was at VT and has been emailing him but they never actually met. Dr. Kelly gave us the student’s email as a contact person because he is the acting director of one of the Malawi schools and is a former VT student. Small world! I was surprised how many connections he had. Mr. M reminded me that Malawi is a very small country and if someone from his country is close to him in the states, chances are he knows them or has talked to them.

When I asked about what to teach and supplies to bring he recommended flash cards, crayons, pencils and he said bandanas would be something special we could give to the kids and they would remember us forever. He has worked with kids in Kenya and would bring bandanas to give to the children. As far as teaching, he said he would have kids read books and then write down any words they didn’t know and make them define the word and write a sentence with it. That sounds like something I used to do in school!

I also asked about presents to bring to the maids and teachers that they would find useful. He suggested bed sheets and/or towels. He said they would be very thankful and it wouldn’t be something they would think to get themselves. If they couldn’t use it, they would give it to a family member who could.

We are going to a resort called Club Makokola at the end of our trip. Mr. M told me about MCV, Malawi Childrens Village that is close to the resort. Maybe we can stop by on our way.

I asked him about Malaria pills, and he said he knows of people who took Lyraamin and had hallucinations. So I am definitely staying away from that drug.
Talking to him and hearing how excited he was that I was going to Malawi really helped me feel like I am going to have a great experience. Like I said, my African studies teacher convinced me that going to Africa is looked down upon, but after talking to someone who is native to Malawi it helped me realize not everyone agrees with my professor. I can’t wait to contact Mr. M when I return and tell him all about my trip!

Talking with Jean-

It wasn’t a couple hours after I talked to Mr. M, that I received a phone call from his friend, Jean, who is traveling to Malawi this summer as well. I talked to her Sunday night and she was packing and getting ready since she was leaving on Tuesday. She left Malawi and moved to the states (She lives by George Mason University) 27 years ago because of her husband’s job with IMF. She has 3 grown daughters who work in Chicago, NY and Capital Hill.

She has her own project that she works closely with in Malawi. It’s a childcare type of program with about 100 kids. She has been busy just like me gathering supplies to bring over for the children. Jean is actually working with another group and they have arranged for doctors and medical professionals to come to their village on June 8th,9th and 10th. Many locals have never been seen by doctors so this is a wonderful opportunity for basic care. Jean is leaving early so that she will have enough time to spread the word to the locals. She is also going to be the translator because many of the older generation don’t speak English. She is going to have a busy week but after that she doesn’t have anything planned. So we are planning on meeting ! I would have loved to have been there when the doctors were there, maybe next time!

I asked her about safe medical facilities and her aunt is actually a nurse in town! She said the private clinic is better than the government facilities, unless I would need more advanced care. And her uncle is a teacher at one of the schools! We are staying at a hotel called Annie’s Lodge and Jean is a good friend of Annie! She knows everyone! Jean said that Annie takes very good care of her guests, so if I have any questions or concerns, feel free to talk with Annie and she can take care of it. She also reminded me that June is their winter so it will be cold at times, especially at night.

My mom wanted to ask about shipping and Jean said that there is an issue with people stealing your packages because the country is just so poor. She said that the best way is DHL.

I asked if she had any suggestions on presents to give to the maids, and she said a little purse would be something they would enjoy. Most women are small/medium size… no large women in Malawi. I thought this was very sad; she told me that one time she baked cookies for the kids and the kids had never seen cookies before so they didn’t know what to do with them. They just looked at them. Finally she explained to them that they are food and so they ate them just because they knew they should. They didn’t enjoy it as a treat. So I guess my idea to bring traditional Oreos isn’t such a good idea.

We talked a long time about the school system and what would be good to teach. She said that a major concept the students didn’t understand is how multiplication, dividing, adding and subtracting all relate. For example, the concept that you can check your multiplication by dividing is not one they understand. Or that multiplying is really adding the same number over and over again. They were lacking the “big picture”. She said if we could teach them that, then it would be really helpful in their future. She suggested bringing or using physical objects to help teach them about math.

The 3 schools we are going to, one is a Government School which has the nicest materials and is more strict, one is the Demonstration School which is supposed to be similar to the Government School and set an example, and the 3rd is Malemia Primary School which is in Jean’s village. Apparently her mom used to own the land where the school is located. Her mom lives very close. However, Malemia School is in a village and it is very poor. Jean said parts of it don’t even have a roof. They have few supplies and the students are not passing their exams. There is a government test that all students must take and she said that the Demonstration School and the Malemia School are failing that test. I want to learn more about this test because that would be perfect to teach them and help them pass. Jean said that all 3 schools are close to each other and within walking distance. They used to have no schooling until they were 6 years old and began school. The concept of preschool is new but they are trying to teach kids basic things before they start school at age 6.

She said the most useful things to bring would be mathematical tools. Rulers, (they use the metric system) flashcards and any type of math instrument would all be good to bring. They do not have these available to them and they are very much needed. Even flashcards with vowels on them would be useful. I was concerned with bringing ABC posters that have pictures of airplanes and other type of things they have never seen before. Jean assured me that it’s okay to teach them things they have never seen. Just because they don’t know what it is, doesn’t mean they shouldn’t learn it. They need to know it exists. So I’ll probably go back to the teacher store and get a set of alphabet letters for their classroom!

She said last time she was in Africa, she taught them London Bridge is Falling Down, and of course they had no idea the story behind the song but she explained what a bridge was and where London is. Jean said that when she was in school it was a time when the Peace Corp was teaching them, so she remembers learning pop music because that’s what the Peace Corp would listen to. At the time she had no idea what it meant but enjoyed learning the songs. She didn’t understand the words and lyrics until she came to the states. I want to teach them the hokey pokey!!

Jean also explained to me how serious the AIDS situation is in Malawi. About 10 years ago most of the teachers died because of AIDS. There was literally no one left to teach the students. They were on the streets begging anyone to be a teacher even though they had no training or certification. Finally within the last 2 years they have made sure all the teachers in the classrooms are approved to be teachers. They are making progress.

I asked her about bringing other supplies. She said yes to everything! Kids often use leaves to stop the bleeding, so Band-Aids would be very useful. Toothbrushes, toothpaste, floss and medications would all be great. Jean talked about a store in town that she called the Costco of Malawi. She said plenty of bottled water is available there and books, paper and lots of supplies. That’s great to know! It’s much easier to buy the supplies there than try to pack them. I’m already worried about my weight limit.

I told her all the places we are going; she said we have a wonderful trip planned and that we are going to some of the greatest places! Her house is actually on the new road that we will take when we go to Mt. Mulanje. There is another hotel close to Annie’s Lodge called “____ Inn” I’m not sure exactly how to say or spell it. But Jean said we should stop by because the view is amazing! Since Malawi was colonized by Britain, the Queen and even Prince Charles would often stay at this hotel and the view is known as the “Queens View”.

We talked for hours and I tried to write down everything as fast as I could, I had a wonderful time talking with her! She was so helpful and excited for me! Jean said she got a phone call from Mr. M saying that a group of VT students were coming to teach in her village. She couldn’t believe they were coming to her village! She told me that we “bring hope” by coming to Malawi. I have her email address and I’m going to email her our itinerary so that we can meet each other. She will be a great resource while we are there. And her house has Internet access, so my parents are very happy to have her as a contact person. My mom talked to her briefly when she answered the phone, and when we ended our conversation Jean said how much she enjoyed talking to me and my mom and that to tell my mom that I “will be in good hands.”

After I hung up I told my mom everything and she said she wished we could have met before the trip, but I think it’s half the fun and anticipation of meeting across the world when we only live across town from each other in Fairfax!