Another Amazing Week in Malawi

Muli Bwanji everyone!

For the quick lesson in Chichewa for this blog post, we figured we'd explain our blog URL. As some of you may have noticed, we decided to use the words "kutali" and "anzanga" both of which are phrases in Chichewa. Kutali means far away, and anzanga means friends. So, kutali-anzanga would roughly translate to "far-away friends."

This past, and sadly last, week was just as amazing as our previous week working with the children of the Mtogolo Village Project. We bonded even more with the children, and this made it very sad to separate from them on Friday evening. By then, most of them knew our names, or some variations of them, and felt comfortable giving us hugs, high fives, and the occasional cuddle, which we were of course eager to accept. We feel as though we made some breakthroughs with the children this week as well. We introduced a few art projects to the kids this week; experimenting with watercolors, popsicle sticks, pipe cleaners, markers and more. On the first day, we introduced how to make popsicle stick picture frames to the older kids. Once each child constructed their picture frame, using 4 colored popsicle sticks and glue, they got a small square piece of paper to put in the frame and markers to draw with, as well as stickers to decorate the frames. They also made self-portraits using water colors, which were very exciting. They really got the hang of watercolors quickly! As for the younger kids, we tried introducing pipe cleaners to them, but those did not go over well. No one really grasped the concept, even after we made multiple examples. In lieu of this, we introduced crayons. Though it again took a while for them to understand what to do, they ended up being a hit as well! Next thing we knew, they were scribbling and doodling. We wrote the names of the kids on each of these projects, so that at the end of the week they got to take them home and show them off. This caused a lot of excitement, and we even got a comment from one of the grandmothers that she was very impressed by the art work.

At first, the children were hesitant with all of these projects. They would often sit staring and waiting for us or the teachers to draw a picture for them, instead of grabbing the crayons and scribbling, just as a typical 2-5 year old would do. As the week progressed, we noticed that creativity is an issue with these children, and we worked hard to help them express themselves. Due to lack of resources and untrained teachers, the students are not given much of a creative outlet. The kids are also used to a very structured classroom, in which teachers are strict and practice a lot of reciting premeditated responses. Children often don't answer for themselves; teachers will often call out the proper response to a question, and then the children will answer, simply copying what the teacher had said. Because of this, we felt that these art projects and other fun activities would be very effective.

Another way that we strengthened our bond was through new games and dance. We taught them "Duck, Duck, Goose" which came to be known as "Duch, Duch, Go!" Though it sometimes turned into chaos and was hard to get everyone settled down in a circle, eventually the kids caught on and really enjoyed it. We also played a variation of tickle tag, which was very popular. We would cover our eyes, count to three, and chase after the kids as tickle monsters. The kids were very enthusiastic about this game, and often bent the rules, tickling us back. Renee found dancing a successful way to bond with the kids. She's not sure how it started, but before she knew it she was being asked to do leaps, splits, pirouettes, and dance battles. She was also asked to participate in many freestyle dance sessions with the little kids, who loved showing off their moves (many of which were quite impressive and amusing). Sarina was also taught a variation of War, the card game, and enjoyed playing this with the kids. Kumbo, one of the slightly older boys, would often give her advice and help her out, allowing her to place second in most of the rounds. We absolutely adored the nursery songs that the little kids sang and danced to during the day. Though we often didn't understand the songs or know the correct words, they would always get stuck in our heads, and we would often be found singing them, to the best of our ability. Occasionally, we would be asked to lead the kids in song, or prayer, which was particularly awkward for us.

As for our afternoon programs, one particular project stood out. We were introduced to the Orphan Care sector of the Mtogolo Village Development Project. On Wednesday, we were accompanied by two youths from the Youth Development Project and visited two orphan care homes; one in which a grandmother took care of five orphans, as well as her own kids, and the other where two young sisters, only 19 and 21 years old, took care three other orphans, as though they were their own. It was an amazing opportunity to learn about the poverty and hardships that these two families had to deal with. We truly admired their bravery and courage in learning about their day-to-day lives. The next day, we returned to these two families, and provided them with food and soap. We wish that we had more time to get to know the families, and that we had learned a little more about this small project ahead of time, though, so as to make it a more effective experience.

On our last day, there was no afternoon youth program. Instead, both youths and young children, as well as some parents, gathered there for a sort of goodbye ceremony for us. We had a few hours to bring out all of the toys--jump ropes, bouncy balls, chalk, beanie babies, pipe cleaners, kick balls, and more--and play a massive game of "Duch, Duch, Go" with the kids. It was extremely enjoyable for everyone, until it came time to say the actual goodbyes. The nursery school kids gathered and sang all of their favorite songs and prayers, which happened to be our new favorite songs as well. It was so sad to think it would be the last time we would be seeing their little marching feet and hearing their surprisingly loud voices. It was absolutely adorable, but also incredibly moving; Sarina laughed at Renee because she almost cried. Then, along with Mrs. Kalinga, we were asked to sit down and receive gifts from the teachers of the school. They presented Mrs. Kalinga with bananas, eggs, nuts, and more, and then gave us hats, that are hand woven and completely awesome. Don't be surprised if you see us wearing them out and about. When it got dark out, and after many hugs and "goodbyes," we finally left the village. We really miss the kids!

Another bond that we formed this past week was that with Wyclef, Mrs. Kalinga's two-year old nephew who lives next door to her mother's house. He is perhaps the craziest bouncing boy we have ever met. Along with his obsession with cars and violence, he also had an obsession with Sarina. He would often pretend she was a car, sitting on her and making noises that would resemble a truck engine. He also would never stop talking; his high, energetic voice became a constant background noise for us during our lunch and evening breaks. We will definitely miss him as well!

As we pack up and prepare to embark for home early tomorrow morning, we want to thank Mrs. Kalinga, and all of the Mtogolo Village Community, for opening up to us and providing us with this fantastic experience. It truly was phenomenal, and a "Ulendo of a lifetime." We plan on writing letters and sending pictures to the kids, in order to keep in touch with them, as well as finding other ways to continue our relationship with this small organization. We want to continue to contribute to and learn from the children, thus maintaining our title as "kutali anzanga," far-away friends. We truly hope we get the opportunity to reunite with them in the future.

Pitani Bwino to all,

Sarina and Renee

P.S. We will upload photos and videos upon our return. The internet connection here is very poor!

Our First Week

Muli Bwanji and greetings from Blantyre!

We arrived yesterday evening from Zomba and the Mtogolo Village community. As we drove down the dirt road to the children's center for the first time we heard a little girl yell "Azungu! Azungu!" At that, all of us, including Mrs. Kalinga and her nephew Kwame, burst out laughing. Azungu means white people in Chichewa. Children ran after our car waving and screaming, and we got many stares from the village people.

Our first day at the Mtogolo Village project was mainly an orientation, and gave us time to familiarize ourselves with the children. They are all absolutely adorable! When we first pulled up, all the kids ran outside of the classroom laughing, waving, and of course "azungu-ing," at us. But, when we stepped out of the car and approached some of them to say hello, they were very shy, and somewhat taken aback. Eventually, though, they warmed up to us. Because the teachers couldn't get the students back in the classroom, they decided it was a good time to walk over to the clinic, which they do weekly. At the clinic, young mothers and babies joined the teachers and children to listen to a talk about "family planning." Thomas, or "Thom" for short, the leader of the Youth Group and helper at the nursery, explained to us that this is one of the ways the try to raise HIV/AIDS awareness. They explained that a family is not merely a man and a woman having a child, but making sure that it is planned, and that the father remains part of the family in order to support his wife and child. They stress joint effort when it comes to parenting.

After the talk, they weighed the children, which we both found an amusing process. They put the babies in a burlap sack with holes for legs, and hang them from a scale on a tree. It was a very chaotic process; children flocked to the scale as teachers yelled out numbers for some of the other helpers to record.

It was hard to communicate with the children because many of the helpers didn't speak very much English, and neither did the children. Our main ice breaker was the camera. We would take pictures of the children and then show them on our digital camera screens, and they all went nuts!!! They rammed each other down to get in the pictures and flocked us constantly. It was madness. Besides the cameras, though, they also loved the toys we brought. We were told to give out the toys in moderation and plan what we wanted to do with different supplies each day. On the first day, we gave out bubbles, big balloons, and kick balls. All were a huge hit. It was also very frustrating for Renee, because apparently, that is a very difficult name to pronounce. The children all remember Sarina's name perfectly, and are often heard yelling "Sarina! Sarina" throughout the day, but you would never here a "Renee!" We have heard many variations on that name, and none seem to be correct.

On the second morning, we arrived in time to see the children sing the national anthem. They were given little Malawian flags to hold, and stood in 2 single file lines, marching and chanting. That day we gave our first lessons. It was hard to gist what level the children were at. There are two classrooms in the nursery building; one for children between the ages of 2 and 3, and the other for children 3-5 years old. The younger children knew almost nothing, while the older children knew more than we expected. We taught the younger children shapes. We would draw a shape on the board, say the name out loud, along with how many sides it has. We would ask them to repeat the name, and then they were each given paper and markers. We went around helping each child draw the shape, and then showed them how to make the shape with their hands. It was a fun lesson, and we think that the children learned from it. However, it is always hard to tell if they retain what we teach them after the class.

We had noticed from the first day that the older children tended to be pushy and often bullied each other. When asking to use bubbles or kick balls, they just said "Give me bottle!" and pushed through grabbing at things. We decided that it would be good to do a lesson on manners. We first wrote Please, Thank You, Sorry, and Excuse Me on the board. We would go through each word, saying it out loud and asking the children to repeat it, and then we would demonstrate a scenario in which that word would be appropriate. Then, two at a time, children would be called up to reenact the scene, using the polite words. At the end of the lesson, we treated the children to candy, but in order to get the candy, they had to put the lesson to use. We would say, "Would you like a piece of candy?" the children would respond with "Please," and after receiving the candy they would say, "Thank you." The lesson was a success, but it was hard to get them to use the words outside of the classroom. We plan on working on that some more.

On the third day, we taught the younger kids how to say different body parts in English. We thought it appropriate to sing "Head, Shoulders, Knees, and Toes," which the kids, and teachers, really enjoyed. With the older kids, we decided to do a story telling day. Each of us read a book in English to the class, and Thom helped us translate. In the afternoon that day, instead of having our typical discussion, the youth group led us up the nearby mountain (not all the way up... we would not have survived) to see the view of the nearby lake and the surrounding town. It was absolutely beautiful, and amazing to see how the little kids could run up the mountain fearlessly, while barefoot.

After working in the mornings, we go to Mrs. Kalinga's mother's house, which is a quick drive away from the village. Though her house now has electricity and running water, she still prefers to cook just as she did in the village. There is a small smoke room with fire wood and coal, and she often sits in there cooking chicken or stew. She is very sweet and frail, but she is always there to lend a hand.

We then return to the village and work with the youth program. The purpose of the youth outreach program is to spread awareness and prevention of HIV/AIDS, as well as promote a sense of volunteering and an ambition for higher education. They often discuss and play games, because they tell us that this keeps them from becoming involved in other temptations, such as drugs, sex, or more. Most of them don't have hopes of ever leaving the village for college or jobs, so we want to boost their confidence, and help show them that if they work hard and study it will pay off in the end. We feel, however, that we want to take it further than just discussing these issues. We hope to come up with a program that will allow them to put their ideas into practice, and hopefully, be more effective. We want to leave them with a program that they can continue when we return home. We will, of course, keep you all updated with the developments of the Youth Outreach Program!

Another brief highlight of our first few days was on the 1-2 hour drive home from Zomba to Blantyre, we got to sit in the back of the pick up truck. It really allowed us to appreciate the beautiful landscape, as well as interact with the people that we drove by. We also heard a lot more "Azungu!"s.

Well, we hope you enjoyed this not-so-brief update, and we will write again soon. We look forward to our next week working with the children!

Pitani bwino and bye for now,

Sarina and Renee

We have arrived!

Muli bwanji!

That means "How are you?" in Chichewa, and as it said on the posters in the Blantyre Airport, "Say Muli bwanji! It is how you make friends around here." We have been trying to utilize this phrase as much as possible. As well as "zikomo," which means thank you, and "Eee" meaning yes.

We finally landed in Blantyre last night after a very long journey. We were greeted by Mrs. Kalinga and her nephew Chris Kadzamira, who worked at the airport. We were relieved that all four of our bags arrived, with all of the contents still inside! The drive from the Blantyre airport to the Kalinga farm, about an hour outside the city, was a beautiful and exciting drive. It was evening, so many people were walking and biking home on the sides of the road. Some women were carrying heavy loads on their heads, and children were playing games and chanting. Throughout our drive, we saw some more traditional village huts as well as some brick homes. Mrs. Kalinga explained to us that many people move to Blantyre from their villages in order to be able to work at the airport and other shops in the city. We also were excited to witness a beautiful Malawian sunset; the sun was the brightest red we'd ever seen!

The Kalinga farm is absolutely beautiful, and the garden has provided us with multiple photo opportunities. After enjoying the luxuries of Mrs. Kalinga's hospitality, such as a hot shower, we plan on heading to Zomba this afternoon. In Zomba, we will stay in Mrs. Kalinga's sister's home. It is a short drive from the village of Mtogolo. We plan on getting a taste of the village this evening; meeting some villagers and having a sort of orientation. Tomorrow morning we should be with the children at the preschool, and in the afternoon, we will be interacting with some of the older children, as well.

We may not have internet access until the weekend, so until then...

Pitani bwino!

Renee and Sarina