Some children don’t have proper clothes to visit school; others lack soap to wash their clothes. Still, many of my students have the dream to one day become a doctor, a lawyer, a pilot, a mechanic, a teacher, a nurse or even the president! What those children need most is somebody who believes in them and supports their dreams (the perfect role for me).

To get a better understanding of my students’ living situations, I visited some of their families. On those afternoons time passed too fast. I could hardly make it home in time before it got dark outside. The families welcomed me warmly in their homes; neighbors came by to tell me how happy they were that I came that far just to see them. Families, who rarely have soap to wash their clothes, stuffed my bag with eggs, maize and pumpkins! Others cooked lunch or bought biscuits and coke cans for my visit! Some are even sending pumpkins or cucumbers to my house days afterwards!

Their desire to share everything might be one of the most impressive parts of the Malawian culture. In my experience, many Europeans feel that they work hard for what they have and are therefore not willing to share their few luxuries – especially not with somebody who has more! Here it is different. Malawians are always ready to share.

I figured out that one of the best ways to show them my thankfulness is to come again for a visit! In order to not only be fed during my visits, I am going to spend my holidays harvesting in their maize and cotton fields. I enjoy spending time with my students outside of the classroom, especially with their whole family! And this time I am coming prepared with soap and candles (so that I can stuff their bags)!

The first few classes that I taught went well and the girls seemed excited and eager to learn.  Although most of the girls were shy to answer questions and share; this is pretty standard for the first few sessions of any group I’ve ever facilitated.  I was worried about the language barrier because I am not quite fluent in Chechewa yet and the students’ english is limited.  Ethel has been gracious enough to assist me with translation.  So as we proceeded with our lessons I discovered that ll the girls seemed to know everything about the life skills topics we were covering.  They had beautiful and articulate answers to define subjects and explained what they meant.  However, upon closer inspection (via further questioning,) I discovered that the girls had memorized the topics and their definitions and could rattle off many details about topics but had absolutely no idea what they were saying.  They didn’t understand the meaning of most of the words they were saying, but had been taught the answers in order to pass their exams.  This is the way their school curriculum is structured.  So, while this is a step forward in the direction of secondary school, it is a step backward from them living their lives.  They aren’t actually learning and understanding these very important issues that are affecting them.

So we have started from the beginning and are taking baby steps forward.  Last week I spent 2 hours teaching them the definitions of “self-esteem,” “assertiveness,” and “self- awareness.”  We broke down the words to their basic forms, looked at their tenses, and did lots of role playing to get the girls to actually understand the meanings and how these things affect their lives.  They are opening up and getting involved and are excited to actually learn about what they have memorized.  It is amazing to see their faces when they have that “ah-ha!” moment and connect the words to their meanings.  They were so excited last week that they have discussed it and decided that they wanted to continue their life skills classes while school is out of session.  So I told them that as long as they are interested in learning I will be there to teach them.

Now that Term II has come to a close I can report that the pass rate in Standard 5 has increased from under 30% to over 60%. While I am happy to see such a drastic change in numbers the greatest success Standard 5 has achieved this year is a boy named Admarc Kazembe. Kazembe is not exactly a straight-A student. Until recently, he never received over 5% on any of my assessments, constantly chatted in Chichewa, drummed his desk, dismembered grasshoppers, and sailed paper airplanes across the room. Even now his inability to avoid a fight makes him a relentless source of amusement for his friends and a frustration for his teachers. But at some point this term I began to notice his hand always in the air when I asked a question or his exercise book quickly in my hands after assigning a written exercise. He was even getting answers right and in English nonetheless. His first time receiving a good mark on an exam was followed by a string of passes. Although he did not pass this term, he did pass my classes, which is amazing after receiving a final grade of 18% last term. He has become one of my reasons to wake up at the crack of dawn every morning to teach another day.

Posted By: Matt Williger

 Thousands of miles away from Pepper Pike, Dr. Korosec, who is director of the fashion department at Ursuline College, Tiffany Mushrush Menzter, director of alumnae relations, and student Anne-Marie Gurko, taught adults and children how to sew at the Nanthomba Primary School. 

 The School was built by the african and children charity organization Hope, Education, Love and Protection Malawi, an organization founded by Jillian Wolstein, of Chagrin falls. Jessica Lowe, of  HELP, served as their guide. 

 Little did Ms. Mushrush Mentzer know that when she and Dr. Korosec sent a couple of “retired” sewing machines to the African community, it would be the precursor for a trip of a lifetime. 

 Ms. Mushrush Mentzer realized there was a great opportunity for partnering with HELP. She met Ms. Wolstein and the college’s fashion department initially sent a crate of sewing machines that had been retired, along with fabric, notions like snaps, buttons, zippers and sewing machines. Then, she got another idea. What’s the use of a sewing machine if no one knows how to sew? It didn’t take much to twist Dr. Korosec’s arm and fashion design graduate student, Ms. Gurko to get aboard. 

 ”Teaching the basic principals was the goal, starting with the organization of the sewing equipment, tools and fabric and notions,” Dr. Korosec said. 

 None of the woman in the class spoke English, but the language barrier did not hold anyone back. “They crowded the tables to learn anything,” Dr. Korosec said. “When the students tried using the foot pedals to operate the machine, it was like they were driving 100 miles an hour. Those machines were smoking,” she said with a chuckle. “So the women learned to use the pedals with their hands so they would have more control over the speed.”

 ”The women and kids were a teacher’s dream,” Dr. Korosec said. “They wanted to know everything,” she said. 

 ”The teaching was very rewarding and though we were teaching them, they were at the same time teaching us. I learned not to take everything in life so for granted and to really be more thankful for things that we don’t always realize are a luxury to us,” Ms. Gurko said. 

 The lesson plans were tossed out the window. Hundreds of children wore clothes that needed major mending, some had dresses that were falling off, others had sleeves that had been ripped apart, one wore his only shirt tied with raffia, and another wore slacks that had no zipper or button, but were kept up with a belt. 

 The smiling children flanked the women as they sewed buttons, fixed zippers and mended rips and tears while the kids were still wearing the clothes. 

 ”The kids and women are so proud of themselves, mending each other’s clothes, making fabric book bags, and learning a very useful skill,”  Ms. Lowe said. “They learned to make items that are mark able, like jewelry pouches for the jewelry HELP sells.”

 HELP has partnered with Wilderness Safaris to build schools in rural areas that surround the country’s national parks. Nanthomba Primary, is well equipped with classrooms and housing for teachers as well as a generator, fruit orchard, goats, chicken and crops that students plant and harvest. The school, which now has 900 students from nearby villages and children of park employees, is self-sufficient. 

 ”It’s all about giving them the tools they need to sustain themselves,” Ms. Lowe said. 

By: Sali McSherry 

Chagrin Valley Times

This program is a result of an innovative partnership between HELP Malawi and South Korea’s National Commission for UNESCO. Through this partnership, a South Korean volunteer has been placed near Kafulafula Primary School. The volunteer arrived in October 2010 and will remain in Malawi for two years.