Wishing I could go back!

I remember how helpful it was to get tips/suggestions from the group who went the year before us, so I wanted to do the same for the group going this summer. The '08 VT group compiled a list of hints/tips for them. Everything from packing hints, traveling tips, what to expect while you are there, health suggestions, teaching tips, cultural FYI, info about the internet access, and our own words of wisdom. I sure hope it helps them and it will be a great reference if I am able to go back in my future!!

Two students from our group last year are going back this summer on their own for 3 weeks! Amy (RU) and Brian (NC A&T) bought plane tickets and they are planning on meeting up with Peter while in Malawi. I am so jealous!! Brian is coming to VT in the fall for a doctorate program! He came to Blacksburg in the spring and we were able to grab coffee and catch up. I can't wait to hear the stories about their trip!

The study abroad group left this morning at 10am for Africa. Many of them set up blogs and these are the ones I know of:

http://www.malawistudyabroad09.blogspot.com/ (Rachel)

http://toddmalawi.blogspot.com/ (Todd)

http://africaabroad.blogspot.com/ (Kacey)

http://www.malawistudyabroad.blogspot.com/ (Dr. Kelly)

http://utkelizabeth.blogspot.com/ (Carolyn)

http://hacklerhash.blogspot.com/ (DeAnna)

http://annmaryroberts.wordpress.com/ (Ann Roberts)

http://bethdickey.blogspot.com/ (Beth)

http://www.kkelsa.blogspot.com/ (Kelsey)

I am anxiously awaiting to hear that they arrived safely. I can't wait to follow these blogs and re-live my trip. I cannot believe it's been a year since I left for Malawi. I remember it like it was yesterday!

Articles, movies and more

As you can tell, anything and everything African related perks my interest. I wanted to share some of the articles/movies/TV shows that I have recently come across.

1.Virginia Tech won a grant to work with two universities in Sudan to develop and strengthen agriculture and natural resources programs! Way to go VT!!!

http://www.vtnews.vt.edu/story.php?relyear=2009&itemno=381

2.A New York Times journalist published an article about Malawi in the Travel section. He went to Zomba, Lake Malawi, Mvuu Camp and even more of the same places as us. The article captures him experiencing the sights and sounds of Malawi for the first time and encourages tourism. Warms my heart to read such a great article about Malawi!

http://travel.nytimes.com/2009/05/10/travel/10explorer.html?emc=eta1

3.Since I was going to Africa, my mom encouraged me to read The No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency (I have yet to read it...oops!) because it takes place in Botswana. Now HBO has started a TV series based on the novel. http://www.hbo.com/no1ladiesdetectiveagency/

We just got HBO a few weeks ago, so I'm excited to follow the show!

4.ABC aired a two night special, Diamonds. It's very similar to Blood Diamonds and follows 5 storylines about the global diamond trade business. My dad and I loved it, it kept us on the edge of our seats!

5.Another friend told me about the documentary, God Grew Tired Of Us. I only watched the trailer, and I started to get emotional! It documents the story of Sudan refugees coming to America and getting a fresh start.

6.Another friend sent me this article about 60 elephants being evacuated, starting in Malawi. Apparently farmers get violent to protect their crops from the elephants so the International Animal Welfare got involved.

7. June 20th was World Refugee Day. Angelina Jolie released this video to raise awareness to refugees all around the world. Angelina was in DC making speeches and attending events for World Refugee Day. (I should have gone to DC to try and find her!) I volunteered with refugees in Blacksburg, so I am able to put a face to the stories. I am so impressed with everything Angelina has done for the UNHCR.

8. E! Online reported that Madonna's appeal has been approved and she is now allowed to adopt Mercy James from Malawi. Mercy is on her way to meet Madonna and her family in London. Here's the article: Mercy leaves Malawi to meet Madonna in London Here's the CNN article on the appeal approval: Madonna wins adoption appeal in Malawi

9. ABC's World News reports on a "Person of the Week" each week (obvi). This week a little 7 year old girl from Kansas was named person of the week for her philanthropic efforts to sell greeting cards with her artwork on the cover. She has raised thousands of dollars and was able to build an orphanage in Haiti. She is continuing to sell artwork and her next orphanage will be in Malawi!!

Check it out:

http://abcnews.go.com/video/playerIndex?id=8056275

10. NBC's got a new TV series called The Philanthropist on Wednesday nights at 10pm. I watched the pilot a couple weeks ago and it reminded me of my time in Malawi last summer. The scenery, the people, the dancing, the children, the outfits all brought back so many memories. And most of all I completely related with the main characters desire to help the people suffering. It's a show worth tuning into!

11.As many of you know, I struggled with the idea of visiting a 3rd world country and having an American influence on them. I didn't know if that was a good thing or a bad thing. Well, I came across this article that talks about a woman who went to Malawi and had the same concerns. The article talks about how the Malawians helped her realize the answer. It's a great article! Check it out: http://www.aawmag.com/story/14114

Gosh, I am such an African/Malawi nerd!

Gifts for Macdonald

Krista and I knew we wanted to send gifts with the group going this summer for our teacher, Macdonald. Relationships are SO important in Malawi. And I understand I am representing America. I want Macdonald and his family to know we care about him and value our friendship. It would be very rude to "forget" about him and that would look bad for Americans! So over the last few weeks we have been gathering things for him and his family.

Macdonald sent us a letter asking for money and a camera. Krista was able to find a film camera that would be easy for him to use. Many of the teachers in Malawi have been given VT apparel so we wanted Macdonald to have some too! We got him a hat and shirt.

I thought it would be nice to give him the pictures I took from our trip last summer. I put together a Snapfish mini photobook with pictures from our visit with Macdonald and his family. I got some lollipops and little ball toys for the kids as a special treat!

Finally, Krista and I both wrote letters and sent some money for his education and his family.

As you may remember, Macdonald asked us for money to further his education. I asked Dr. Kelly what program he was doing and she was going to figure it out for me. A VT alumni from Malawi, Ndalapa, emailed us to explain:

"Of course many people especially teachers go to night schools for upgrading so that they can have better chances of doing a diploma or degree. However, the fees are not that expensive unless the night school is privately owned. Many Malawian teachers fail to go to even such cheap schools because their salaries are extremely low. So, I should imagine he is only asking very little so that his meagre salary remains intact for other day to day life activities. But, sometimes people here exeggerate their poverty. You give him what he will needs, but goes on to ask for more! I am not sure how much a public night school would cost these days. Sometimes it varies from one school to another, but its generally very low; possibly not exceeding $100 a year (this is on the higher side)."

One of the students going this summer was nice enough to pack it in his luggage and deliver it for me!

Malawi Elections

Tues May 19th was Malawi's Presidential Election day. This was a huge deal... Macdonald talked about it in his letter, Daniel from Freedom Gardens was talking about it on Facebook and many of the blogs I read were anxious about hoping the elections remained peaceful. From everything I read, it went very well and stayed peaceful. The current president, Bingu Wa Mutharika was elected for another 5 year term.

Check out this BCC article about the election. Take a look at the polling stations picture. The article also mentions the huge turnout, people were exercising their right to vote! Way to go!

I asked Dr. Kelly's input on the election and here are her thoughts:

"Yes, the election was good news. Perhaps Malawians are finally accepting a democratic government. I wrote the students in this summer's Study Abroad, explaining the significance of having the first peaceful election. I'm really happy that Mutarika won. He's a good man but had strong opposition from the former two regimes. My friends there say that it's evident people voted for candidates rather than the party. There were surprise wins. And that's good."

I stole this picture from another blog:

The sign says "Be proud of Malawi. Peaceful Elections. YES WE CAN!" Who does that sound like? Oh yes, Malawians love Obama! (Daniel became a fan of Obama on Facebook!) Apparently they even sell fabric with Obama's head picture on it.

Here is the BCC article about Mutharika's inauguration. I am so happy for Malawi! A peaceful election is a big deal!

Media Kit Completed!

For my Advanced Media Writing class each student had to choose a client and complete a media kit throughout the semester for the client. I chose the Malawi Chibale Project. It was very challenging since the organization is so new, I had very little to work with. Here is a picture of all the components:

-Title Page

-Title of Contents

-Fact Sheet

-Backgrounder

-Press Release

-Feature Article

-Public Service Announcement

-Brochure

-4 Page Newsletter

-Blog

-Powerpoint Presentation

I am very proud of the final product. I think we will be able to actually use some of the documents I created. At least it will give us something to work with!

Invisible Children

Website: INVISIBLE CHILDREN

Ever heard of it? You can watch the documentary on YouTube. There are 6 parts, so here's thelink to the beginning. For some reason part 5 is missing, but the other parts are all up.

The story is not over, Watch this movie to find out the latest news in the mission to end the war in Africa. I find the website very confusing, but they are promoting the "rescue" that was on April 25th.

My friend who studied abroad in South Africa last semester told me about this website. I never heard of it so I checked it out and watched the movie. I am so embarrassed that I had no idea this was going on. I knew parts of Africa were considered dangerous, but I never took the time to find out why. Basically 3 guys went on a trip to Africa and learned about a war going on and the thousands (30,000 to be exact) of children being kidnapped and turned into child soldiers. These 3 guys were determined to do something about it. They have created documentaries and a movement to end Africa's longest war (23 years) and rescue the children. This has been a 6 year long mission and they haven't given up. The invisible children are counting on them.

I am not one to go to a rally or protest (I'm not a political person at all) but after watching this video I am more than willing to do anything I can to help. I can't stop thinking about these children and I feel so guilty that so few people know this is going on right now... today...every day for the last 15 years. Do we ignore it because we don't want to know these awful things are going on? Why is there so little international attention? The evil man who is leading the troops is Joseph Kony. He is just as, if not more evil than Hitler. The world just doesn't hear about it because its Africa? Innocent people are being killed, tortured, and suffering. It's just as wrong to know about it and not do anything.

Okay, I need to calm down. There are thousands of awful things going on in the USA and all around the world that very few people know about. Who wants to watch the news and watch all awful stories... its to depressing. I am obviously bias to Africa and children. Just puts life in perspective and makes me so thankful for everything I have. I will continue to think twice before I complain about a so called "bad day."

The Rescue on April 25th- The rescue is a symbolic way to raise awareness about the war and bring Kony (bad guy) to justice. Over 100 cities across the world came together to camp out and wait until two things happen:

1. Media must cover the event

2. The city must arrange for the attendance of at least one political leader

During the camp, participants will be writing letters to political representatives asking for support in rescuing Kony's child soldiers.

I followed the "rescue" carefully and sure enough, they caught Oprah's attention and made it on The Oprah Show! Check out their appearance here.

Student International Service Activity Showcase-April 27th

I am so glad I have found ways to keep up with this blog even though my trip is over. (Is anyone even reading this since I'm not in Malawi anymore?) Malawi has become a part of me and I am always finding Malawi related things to write about! I read bits and pieces of my daily blogs and I just love re-living my trip... day by day!!

Okay, so I received an email inviting international student service organizations to apply to participate in a showcase on April 27th in conjunction with Dr. Paul Farmer's visit to VT and presentation that evening. It sounded like a great opportunity and I figured I would enter the Malawi Chibale Project.

A couple days later I got an email saying we were one of 21 organizations to be selected to participate! We were asked to provide a 200 word description of our organization to be included in a document to be distributed to Dr. Farmer, university officials and journalists.

(Dr. Farmer is an American anthropologist and physician from Harvard University. Dr. Farmer is one of the founders of Partners In Health, which is an international health and social justice organization. He is the feature of a 2003 book called Mountain Beyond Mountains: The Quest of Dr. Paul Farmer, A Man Who Could Cure the World.)

We were asked to be in Burruss from 1:30pm until 4:30pm and then again at 6:30 as people arrived for Dr. Farmers presentation at 8pm. It was going to be a long day but thankfully I don't have classes on Mondays. Krista, Lauren, Sarah and Amber came to help! This is our booth:

The majority of the organizations were doing projects in Haiti and some of them had some very official posters. There were also booths with homemade presentations just like ours! But we had the best artifacts!!! Patti Talbot brought me the Chibale Project t-shirts to put on display and possibly sell at the booth. We made friends with the booths next to us and enjoyed their company throughout the day.

We were encouraged to come promptly at 1:30pm because Dr. Farmer would be arriving to come by and visit each booth. As we were setting up a photographer from the Roanoke Times asked to take our pictures. Of course we agreed! We began to explain our project to him and he brought over the reporter to talk with us more. We ended up talking for about 10 minutes as they were jotting down notes. They were very nice, but asked questions like "What was it like to go to Malawi?" Thats very hard to answer/explain in a short sentence!

Turns out the reporter and photographer really liked our project because we were selected to be in the article the next morning! Check out Tech students show off their passions

Next Paul Farmer came by our booth. I'm embarrassed that I had never heard of him until I found out he was coming to Virginia Tech. Here's the news release on his visit. He sounds like a really cool guy. He co-founded Partners In Hope!

He was running late so he didn't talk for long. He had been to Zomba but couldn't remember where he stayed. I didn't really continue the conversation with him because I didn't know anything about him and didn't want to sound stupid. (Especially with his entourage standing right there listening to our conversation!)

The provost came by to visit and a man tried to buy my wooden globe... sorry its not for sale!!

I was on a Malawi adrenaline rush!!! I was so excited to talk to the Roanoke Times because they were so interested in our project. The booth looked great and we were getting donations. This was all so wonderful and the evening shift hadn't even begun.

I came back to be at the booth while people were coming to Burruss for Dr. Farmers presentation at 8pm. I was surprised how many community members came to this event. Over half of Burruss was adults and just a handful of students.

I met a man who has been to Malawi 8 times through World Camp! That is the program I'm looking into for next summer. He was impressed I knew all about World Camp.

I met a lady who goes to Blacksburg Presbyterian Church and was at the Moni, Malawi Celebration. She knows Patti Talbot and many of the other people who work with Malawi.

A VT student who is going to Malawi came by the booth to chat. Amber and I tried to give her all the advise we could in 10 minutes.

We met a lady who teaches at Prices Fork Elementary and went to Malawi a couple years ago before it was a study abroad program. She actually made a PBS short documentary that Dr. Kelly showed us before we went on our trip. When she came up to our booth, we recognized her voice from the video! We absolutely loved talking to her! She knew many of the same people from Malawi and went to many of the same places. It was so great to talk to her and now she knows about our project.

Dr. Farmers presentation began. I enjoyed listening to his work and hearing his passion but a lot of what he said was jargon and over my head. Maybe thats because I haven't read his book yet.

The evening ended with people slowly walking out and looking at the booths. Many people are blown away at the sign on our poster " $2 feeds a child for an entire year". Many people got our their pocket books and donated every coin they had. We appreciate it soo much and know it will go such a long way in Malawi. We raised over $40 throughout the day!!

This event was very helpful with raising awareness about our organization. I am so glad the first real event was a great success! This is just the beginning of many more Chibale Project booths! I had such a wonderful day meeting so many people who share the same passion as I do.

Be Hope 2 Her

I'm copying the Be Hope to Her blurb from Facebook to explain the program:

BH2O+ is an experiential event that Nuru is bringing to educational campuses across the United States on April 23, 2009. The name BH2O+ is an acronym that stands for “Be Hope to Her.”

The purpose of BH2O+ is three-fold:
To bring awareness to the need for clean drinking water in Africa
To educate individuals on the plight of women in Africa created by the lack of accessible clean drinking water
To raise funds that will be donated to organizations that have the infrastructure and technology to provide clean drinking water to African communities, specifically through drilling wells

Less than half of the 700 million people living in Africa have safe drinking water. Drinking water contaminated with human and animal waste is a reality for most Africans and it’s killing them – 2.2 million people die each year from water-borne diseases, primarily children in developing countries.

In Africa, the burden of water collection falls on women and girls, and their daily lives revolve around it. They often have to walk long distances to reach the water sources and when sources dry up during drought seasons, they often have to wait in line for water for several hours. The long routes to the water sources present safety concerns for the girls making them vulnerable to sexual assault or even rape.The daily time commitment to fetch water keeps African girls out of school and women from income-generating work; further perpetuating the cycle of extreme poverty.

BH2O+ is designed to be a day of solidarity as students become advocates for those living without access to clean water in the developing world. During the event, ladies on campus will step into the daily experience of women in Africa by walking to a water source and carrying a bucket of water on their heads back to the rally point; simultaneously, guys will sweep the campus, inviting every student to embrace awareness and attend the rally following the solidarity walk.

www.bhope2her.org

Lauren told me about this program coming to VT on April 23rd. I donated but was unable to participate because I had class. I went to the drillfield after my class and caught the end of the walk!

The idea was to walk in the shoes of African women by carrying water on their heads. These girls walked across the drillfield with a bucket full of water on their head.

Way to go Lauren!

The walk ended at the chapel. This man did a short inspirational speech. The event made the 5:30pm news! Anything and everything Africa related catches my eye. I would have never been interested in this program before I went to Malawi.

Moni, Malawi!

Dr. Kelly has worked on many grants and many of them have provided scholarships for Malawians to come get an education at Virginia Tech. Over the years, many of the Malawians belonged to Blacksburg Presbyterian Church (BPC) while they were students at Virginia Tech. This started BPC sponsoring many projects in Malawi including hospitals, sponsorships and educational trips. Patti Talbot is a member of BPC and is involved in the Malawi committee. Once a year, the church has a big celebration called "Moni, Malawi" which means "Hello, Malawi." All the upcoming and past study abroad students, the international students from Malawi who attend VT and the church supporters are invited to attend this Malawi Celebration on April 19th.

The '08 group was so excited to have another reunion! Another great reason to dress up in our chitenji's! It was a potluck luncheon right after church. Here is the program:

I was excited to catch up with the advisors and students from the trip. The biggest news of the day is Dr. Jones is engaged!! We are all so excited for her! Jenny is in the process of graduating grad school and buying her first house! After spending a month with these people they really became like family. So it was great to see everyone again!

I talked to Dr. Kelly about Madonna's adoption controversy, and she brought up some interesting points. She said it's unreasonable to require people to live in Malawi for 18 months before they can adopt. She also said Madonna made two mistakes. 1. she wants to adopt a girl and girls are not valuable in Malawi, so they have no problem refusing her adoption. 2. Dr. Kelly pointed out that Madonna was inappropriately dressed during her visit to Malawi. She didn't wear clothes that showed she was taking this seriously. Dr. Kelly believes Madonna just has to donate more funds/programs to Malawi and that its only a matter of time before they will allow the adoption.

I also showed Dr. Kelly Macdonald's letter. She said she has never heard of night school in Malawi. Dr. Kelly emailed her credible friends in Malawi to research Macdonald's program and is going to let me know what he finds out.

Dr. Kelly told us about the group going this summer. 6 VT students, 5 Radford students and 4 NC A & T students. 4 students are boys! We just had one boy last summer, so that will be very different. Dr. Jones and Dr. Talbot (Radford advisors) will not be going this summer. A new advisor from Radford will be going to Malawi for the first time. I am so excited and jealous for the group going this summer... I would love to go back!

I met 3 of the students going to Malawi this summer. Two of them are actually adults teaching in Grayson County. They heard about the program and wanted to take advantage of this opportunity because going to Africa has been on their bucket list of things to do in life. I just kept rambling on and on about it and I gave them my contact to ask me any questions! I highly recommended keeping a blog! haha

After visiting with Dr. Kelly, we got lunch and the program began. The room was decorated with beautiful Malawian fabric and displays. I honestly felt like I was in Malawi again. There were about 100 people there and almost everyone had to stand and be introduced if they had a connection to Malawi. It took forever! But it was great to see how many people in Blacksburg care about Malawi.

The church members presented a slideshow of all the programs they started in Malawi. They have done an incredible about of work! They sponsored so many students and trips to Malawi over the years. Read more about BPC Malawi Partnerships.

Next a Malawian attending Virginia Tech, Daniel, took the stage to teach us about the Malawian culture. He explained the proper way to greet people, how laid back the culture is (afternoon could mean 1pm or 5pm) and explained the meaning of the flag. The black represents the people of Malawi, the red represents fighting for their independence, the green represents the land and the rising sun represents the dawn of freedom and hope for Africa.

At the end of the event we took a Malawi 2008 reunion picture!! Daniel is in the middle. We actually saw him in Malawi last summer. He met us one day to exchange paperwork with Dr. Kelly. When we told him we remembered seeing him in Malawi, he got really excited! I never meet anyone with that kind of excitement in the US, so it really made me miss Malawi.

By the end of the day, my heart was aching to go back to Malawi. Jenny brought a video camera to Malawi and put together a DVD for everyone of all her footage. I watched it as soon as I got home. It reminded me I really need to start making a movie with all of my tapes. That will be my summer project.

Mail from Macdonald!

I got a letter in the mail from Macdonald last week! It was in a sealed envelope. I had heard that was impossible to send mail out or in the country because people will steal it hoping for money. So I was very surprised a letter made it!  Krista got one too!  Here it is: 

Back in the Fall I sent him a postcard from snapfish.com. I made a postcard with the picture of his family on one side, and a short note on the other. I only send one because I didn't know if it would even make it. Now that I know it did, I can continue to send him pictures through the postcards. I also attached a photo of  Krista and I in the snow to an email. I wasn't sure  if the computer he uses would be able to see it, but he says it worked! I'm really excited I have multiple ways to keep in touch with him and send him pictures. 

But the real reason he wrote was to ask for money... of course!  He also asked me for a camera? That is a luxury item, not a necessity!  In Krista's letter, he asked for money and a camera too. He's trying to get two cameras out of us?  But then again, what is the harm in asking. 

Macdonald is very well off in Malawi standards. He has a brick house, all members of his family have clothes and shoes, he has electricity, a sink, TV (doesn't work), radio, furniture, and two incomes since his wife is a teacher also. He has four of his own children, and is also taking care of two family members who have lost their parents. 

I think it is great that he wants to further his career, I think he has so much potential. Out of all the teachers at his school, I noticed he was the most dedicated to his students. I wanted to send money for him with the group going this summer, but since he is so well off, I was hesitant. However, I would love to help him with his education. I'm assuming he is trying to become a teachers educator.... teach teachers how to teach. Helping him achieve that would truly be a gift that keeps on giving in Malawi! 

I emailed Dr. Kelly to ask her insight about his request. I honestly have no idea how much his tuition would cost. Dr. Kelly is going to talk to her friends in Malawi to verify he is in a program and find out the details.  She will get back to us. 

MADONNA UPDATE   BBC Article 

Madonna left Malawi last week without Mercy. Malawi rejected her application to adopt a 2nd child. Malawi's law to adopt  requires you to live in Malawi for 18 months. Since Madonna hasn't done that, they wouldn't allow her to adopt. 

I honestly don't know what to think about this whole situation. I see Madonna's side, but then again, I have to respect the Malawi government for following their own laws.  It sure is a mess. I'll ask Macdonald what he thinks about it and let you know. :) 

More rambling about Malawi

WORLD CAMP

Yet again,  I found myself searching for Malawi related things online late one night. I came across  a World Camp program based in Malawi.  There is a 5 week summer program based in Lilongwe were volunteers travel to different villages and set up camp. The camps include activities and classroom structure were HIV/AIDS curriculum is taught.  I would love to do back to Malawi but I don't want to do the exact same study abroad trip I already did. This program seems perfect.  I'm saving my money to try and go the summer after I graduate. 

Anyone reading this ever heard of World Camp? Does it have a good reputation? I need to find out more about this program before I set my heart on it.  If anyone has other suggestions of programs in Malawi, I'd love to hear from you! 

MALAWI NEWS

Krista sent me an article  about the Ex- Malawian president being accused of stealing $11 million worth of donor money.   Their government is very corrupt and Krista pointed out that this is a reason why privately funded programs like the Chibale Project are so much better for Malawi.  The poor villages will never see the money if you donate to the government.  I remember seeing Jaguar cars in the capital of Malawi. The money stays in the capital and those people get richer and the villages get poorer. 

24   

I'm a huge Jack Bauer fan, and in November they aired a special 2 hour "24 Redemption". The storyline relates to Africa and set up the plot for season 7. I haven't watched the 2 hour special yet, but I'd like to download it online sometime.  I'm am watching season 7 episodes now and it doesn't exactly put a positive image on Africa- since the terrorists trying to attack America are from Africa. However, it doesn't necessarily put a positive image of the US government either. I guess I shouldn't be so sensitive, its just good TV.  I can't imagine what my African Studies professor would have to say about this show relating to Africa. He would have a fit.  But I do love watching Jack Bauer save the world!  

MADONNA ADOPTING

This weekend Madonna will be in Malawi! She is going to adopt a 4 year old girl, Mercy (picture below).  This will be her second child she has adopted from Malawi.   Madonna has raised to much awareness about Malawi and done so many great things. Many people have never heard of Malawi, but after I tell them its the country Madonna adopted her child from, everyone goes "ohhh yeah!" 

I know Madonna has adopted two children from Malawi, set up an orphanage there, co-founded www.raisingmalawi.org, published a book and a documentary, hosted  hundreds of fundraisers and I'm sure she has done lots more.  I know it can have its risks and drawbacks, but I think its a good thing that Madonna is using her platform to raise awareness about Malawi. 

AFRICAN REFUGEE 

My friend told me about this African Refugee in Roanoke, VA. Here's the blurb about it: 

Pilot Street Project is a partnership with Refugee and Immigration Services. Together RIS and the Service-Learning Center rent an apartment at Maple Grove Apartments in Roanoke that serves as a community school for the families living there. The Pilot Street Project provides a range of programming for children and adults with the goal of building English language proficiency and assisting the families (90% of which are recent refugees, currently from various countries in Africa) in successfully resettling into their new culture.

Needless to say, I was very interested to learn more. The program arranges a van to come to campus every afternoon (Monday though Thursday)  around 4pm to pick up volunteers. The van drives us to Roanoke and we spend about 1.5 hours helping the kids with their homework. I've gone about 3 times so far and I've had a blast. Sometimes we work with the kids at a community center, other times we go to their home. Each family has a different story, but most of the children speak English, not necessarily the adults.  Although it is very different, just being with the kids reminds me so much of Malawi. My friend goes with me sometimes and we tell everyone we are going to "little Africa"! 

Back at School

SCHOOL PROJECTS

One of my sorority sisters was taking an International class and had to select a country for a project. She knew 3 friends who had been to Malawi, so we could provide her with a wealth of knowledge and even some props for her presentation.

At the end of our trip, Dr. Kelly talked about how we become ambassadors for the country of Malawi in our day to day lives. We are raising awareness and educating people about Malawi by simply talking about it. Many people have never heard of the country, and I know her class wouldn't have learned about Malawi if it wasn't for the connection to us. I feel like we are doing our part!

I'm in a media writing class that requires us to work with a client for the semester. The client can be any business or organization that needs Public Relations. Of course, I wanted to do The Chibale Project because of my passion for Malawi, but also because the project is so new, it would give me great experience starting from scratch. Throughout the semester I will have to write press releases, fact sheets, backgrounders, public service announcements, brochures and newsletters. I have already talked to Dr. Kelly and she has helped me get a head start.

MEETINGS-MALAWIAN STYLE

Our sorority has formal meetings once a month where we have to dress up instead of the normal sweatpants. Since Sarah, Krista and I are all in the same sorority, we wanted to formally dress up Malawian style! So the three of us wore our chitenjes (African outfits) to the formal meeting. haha Our sorority sisters thought we were ridiculous! We all got very sentimental wearing the outfits again, we really do miss Malawi!

This year I live in the sorority house with my roommate, Krista and Sarah just lives across the hall. Its so great living with them because we can talk about Malawi anytime we want and we actually understand one another. I couldn't imagine living without them, I need people who share the Malawi passion!

Our sorority house has a daily housekeeper. She is a delight but sometimes you could get caught up in a very long conversation and not be able to get out of it....she is very chatty! We have a bus schedule so if we knew our housekeeper was in the hallway we would leave a few minutes earlier to "chat" with her and still have time to catch the bus. Krista and I realized that it was just like in Malawi!! We left our rooms early each morning to have enough time to talk to Tenison!!

FACEBOOK IN MALAWI

Daniel Chinkhuntha from Freedom Gardens has joined facebook! During our visit, I remember him talking about getting internet at his home for emails, but I didn't know he even knew about facebook! All of us were surprised, but I just love reading his status updates about farming! Its a great way to keep in touch. We get tickled every time he writes on our walls and sends us messages!

Remember when we went to the bar with Annie and we met the police officer and her daughters? Well the two daughters joined facebook too! Sarah had given her information to them and they friended her!

I guess Africa isn't as technologically behind as most people would assume.

REUNIONS

The 7 VT girls wanted to have a reunion and reminisce about Malawi. One night we met for dinner! We talked about Peter, craving Malawian food (vegetable curry and somosas) and how we think about Malawi all the time. Oh, such fond memories we have!

(The VT girls at El Rods for our Malawi reunion!)

Patti arranged a reunion for the whole group in the fall. She invited everyone to her house in Blacksburg for pizza. The North Carolina gang couldn't come, but almost everyone else came. It was great to see everyone in "real life" and catch up. I was shocked to realize that most of the group experienced some type of illness after they returned. Mostly digestive/eatting issues that ended up lasting a couple weeks. How did I get so lucky to not experience anything?? I wish I knew my secret, but its a mystery.

Patti and the Radford group did a presentation to a group of professors and they showed us their powerpoint with some of Patti's videos and pictures. Seeing/watching Malawi things never gets old!

Patti also got "Malawi Chibale Project" t-shirts made for us! I had a great afternoon catching up with the study abroad group!

CHIBALE PROJECT

I am community service chair for my sorority. Part of my responsibility is to plan a holiday service party with a fraternity in December. This year we made blankets for the women's shelter and other service activities. I set up a Chibale Project table for people to donate and we were able to raise over $65!

I AM BECAUSE WE ARE

December 1st is World's Aid Day. Madonna's documentary I Am Because We Are had a special showing on the Sundance channel on Dec 1st. Luckily Amber has the Sundance channel and Tivo'ed it for us. The 7 VT girls went to Amber's one night for another reunion and to watch the documentary. I had been looking for this movie everywhere since before I went to Malawi, so I was glad to finally be able to watch it. Now it is finally online. If you would like to watch the entire documentary, you can see it at Hulu- I Am Because We Are. It's about an hour in a half. I recommend you not multitasking while you watch it. Stop what you're doing and pay attention to these stories. It's beautiful and heartbreaking.

There is also a photography book that I purchased that goes hand in hand with the documentary. The photos do a great job at showing the beautiful land and the people of Malawi. I kept saying " This is exactly what it looks like!" duh... its a photograph! However, I look at the pictures completely different after being to Malawi. Before, all the children would blended in but now I notice each child individually and wonder what their story is. I also notice little details that I wouldn't have picked up on if I had never visited. Things like nsima in the background, the types of trees, the clothing etc.

I thought the documentary & book did a very good job at showing the issues Malawi has, but I just wish they would show some images of how grateful and happy the people are. I know they are suffering and trying to raise money by showing the suffering. But I still wish they would show the dancing and celebrations! Despite their troubles, they are positive people and I think thats worth reporting about.

DID MALAWI CHANGE ME?

I was concerned that after I got back from Africa, I might get one of those stereotypical "there are people starving in Africa" attitudes. I know no one likes listening to people preach about that and I didn't want to annoy people with my "African expertise". Katie (she studied abroad the summer before me) told me... you will tell yourself you won't ask for anything for Christmas and that you will not buy name brands, but the reality is that probably won't last. It's very easy to get back sucked into American/college culture.

I will admit I still splurge on Coach purses (on sale of course), pedicures, and lots of things I really don't "need". I feel guilty about it every time I purchase something. I know that if I sent that money to Malawi, it would go so much farther and help so many people. I am saving money to send over with the group this summer. I want to contribute to Jean's project, the Chibale Project and of course give some money to Macdonald and his family.

I took a Marketing Management Course last semester and I'm taking Advertising this semester. I surprised myself that I was so disgusted with these classes. I didn't want to pay attention because I felt that in life's big picture, this material didn't really matter. The PhD professor spent her career researching advertising/marketing. So much money is spent in the advertising business and I couldn't help but wonder if my professor had focused her research on some type of issue in Africa and the difference her research could have made. I know that is not her interest, so its unreasonable for me to want her to study that. I couldn't believe my reaction to this class. I am becoming one of those "There are starving people in Africa".

I think about Malawi all the time. College life is full of tests and papers. After going to Malawi, I didn't really care as much about a test or paper like I used to. I wanted to focus on raising money for the Chibale Project because I felt like that was more worth my time- it has become my passion. However, I keep telling myself how fortunate I am to be in college and getting an education...unlike so many Malawians.

So yes, Malawi has changed me. And I'm glad it has. I wouldn't want to go to Africa and come back the same person I was before I left. Its very important for me to stay involved and I hope to continue to contribute somehow throughout my life. However, I do have to make a conscious effort around my friends not to bring up Africa stories/facts to the point where I annoy them. Even though it runs through my head all the time!

Malawi This, Malawi That

MALAWI IN THE NEWS 

In November, Nightly News reported on Malawi! The government provided a food subsidy program which helped produce record high harvests and reduce starvation. Although this was very good news, the clip gives the impression that no one is still starving in Malawi, but that is very far from the truth. 

Subsidies stave off hunger in Malawi 

OUR SOUVENIRS WORTH HUNDREDS??

My mom came across an interior design magazine with an African theme.  There was tons of zebra print, and beaded animals that looked just like ours!  Except they cost $328!!   I examined them and they are identical.  If we had known they would be so expensive over here, we would have filled up our suitcase! haha just kidding! 

And then I saw them again on Oprah.com  Oprah Store- Beaded Animals

My beaded elephant is mini, and I got him for 550 Kwacha which is less than $5.  I know girls got the large zebras for less than 1000 Kwacha.  We got a bargain! 

MALAWI BOOK 

Author, Shana Burg contacted Krista (my roommate in Malawi and close friend)  after reading her blog. Apparently she is doing research for her next book that is going to be somehow related to Malawi and/or Africa.   She spoke on the phone with Krista one afternoon and asked her tons of questions.  Shana Burg promised to cite Krista in her book and offered to put an ad in the book for The Chibale Project to help us raise money.  Shana sent Krista a copy of her 1st book to read and encouraged feedback.  The book is in the beginning stages, but I'll continue to post any updates I hear from Krista! 

MORE MALAWI BLOGS

I find myself online searching for anything and everything related to Malawi on a weekly basis. I came across some blogs of families who are currently in Malawi teaching at African Bible College.  I really enjoy following their blog and reading about their daily life in Malawi. I miss Malawi, so I live vicariously though them!  Robbins Abroad  and The Stauffacher Family are my favorite! 

MALAWI HOTEL ROOM 

Our friends know about our obsession with Malawi so one of our friends told us about a Malawi Hotel Room they learned about in one of their hospitality classes.  The hotel is in Floyd, VA and each room is decorated differently with a theme about an important person, organization or place in Floyd. I'm going to have to check it out before I graduate! 

Summer Update

I don’t usually have time to update the blog during the school year, so I’m using my spring break week to catch up!

 I’ve finally uploaded all the pictures to the blog!  It took me forever, and believe it or not, that’s just the modified version. If you would like to look around at all the pictures, you can search through the group room I made on Snapfish. http://malawi2008.snapfish.com/snapfish

 

I came home and did absolutely nothing but sleep, watch TV and unpack for about a week.  I went to my beach house in Ocean City, MD because I needed a vacation for myself. I’m not an extremely social person so after spending a month with 18 people, I needed to sit on the beach and just listen to the ocean for a few days.  I found myself wondering “What would Macdonald think of this?” all the time. What would he think of Ocean City, the beach, the grocery store, parasailing?  I can only imagine his priceless reactions!

 It was time I started tackling the long list of things I wanted to get done before I went back to school.  I uploaded all my pictures to Snapfish and created the group room for everyone on the trip. That way we can share pictures.   We took pictures of all of our students using a disposable camera.  I kept the negatives and got them put onto a CD so I could upload them digitally. Little did I know that uploading those pictures would fill up my hard drive and cause my operating system to stop working. (You have to have at least 10 GB available to run your operating system)

 This was my worst nightmare. I panicked and rushed my computer to the Apple “Emergency Room”.  They told me I could get my computer back, I just needed to purchase more hard drive and make an appointment.  Well, when I went back a few days later, they told me they couldn’t get to my hard drive and  I needed the experts help at Mac Heaven in Chantilly.  Anyways, long story short, I spent the summer getting a new hard drive, new memory, transferring my life and getting an external hard drive.  On the plus, I learned a lot about computer’s hard drives and now I am always checking my hard drive space and backing up my data. Had to learn that the hard way!  Thankfully I had most of my stuff on my dad’s network and my Africa pictures were all on Snapfish.  I only lost a semesters worth of work.  1000+ African pictures was to much for my hard drive to handle and that was before the 5 hours of video. So a tip to students going on big trips...check your hard drive space before you upload all your pictures! 

 Between my computer troubles and babysitting, before I knew it, it was time to go back to school and I hadn’t gotten any scrapbooking done! So that is the reason it took me months to upload the pictures to this blog.  I had to download them from snapfish back onto my computer and organize them. It’s a very tedious job and I hadn’t gotten around to it until this week.

 My mom was nice enough to go back through my blog and edit for grammar and punctuation. Thank you mom!  It was a daunting task because I wrote so darn much, but she was happy to do it for me! I actually have never gone through and read my blog word for word after I got back. I have read parts to help me remember certain days but I wrote so much...who would ever read all this! haha   I am so glad I took the time to be so detailed. It was a pain and probably seemed pointless, but it is more of a memory for me. I just happened to publish it for others to read. 

 Over the summer, I did write my final paper and turned it into Dr. Kelly to earn my undergraduate research credit.  I basically compiled all the conversations, advice and observations I experienced before and during my trip to write how I came to my own conclusion about  Americans involved with Africa. I talked about how torn I was and what persuaded me to form my own opinions.  I included many of the topics and encounters  I wrote about in this blog.   I got an “A” on the paper and this was Dr. Kelly’s comments:

 Lexi: I liked the personal analysis you did that was based on not only research (gathering information from a variety of sources) but also observation. What you discuss is very complex, but you weighed evidence and came to conclusions for yourself. The "story" of your journey to those decisions was thoughtful and well organized. You were a super member of the Tech Team on Study Abroad. It wouldn't have been the same without you. Dr. K

 

OLYMPICS

 I knew Malawi would be participating in the Olympics, but I didn’t know what sport or how many athletics.  I watched the opening ceremony and literally jumped out of my seat and cheered with excitement! There were about 10 people representing Malawi!  I found myself cheering for all the African countries throughout the Olympics, I felt like they needed some more fans!

There were 4 Malawian Athletes participating in the 2008 Olympics.  Two for Track & Field and two for swimming. They didn’t make any records, but I’m glad Malawi was represented!  Malawi first participated in the Olympic Games in 1972 and has had 6 appearances since.