Karen's Ride for Malawi

The New Year is upon us and I plan to really start 'gearing up' for it and preparing for our year of fundraising. A big event being planned is that I, Karen, will ride my bicycle 500 miles to raise money and awareness about the education conditions in Malawi. We are hoping to complete our current project this year so that the children have a classroom to be in for the next school year. I will be riding through 5 New England states to promote, advertise and gain sponsorship and money for Educate Malawi.

I will be training and promoting and recruiting so stay tuned for more information!! Also, check out this video that someone very kindly offered to us that talks about education issues in Malawi...

www.rumblelimited.tv/malawi

Thank you!!

The new year is here!

I know that it's only November 29th, but we have set some goals for the coming year and we are all getting ready to begin the new fundraising year!

We have a lot of exciting events planned and there is a lot of work to be done, but we feel confident in our goals and ability to reach them!!

The latest batch of letters has gone off to Malawi with Abraham; he will return in February and hopefully have pictures and letters to return to Sunderland Elementary school. It will be a very exciting time for us and the children I think!

Stephen and I have been doing some driving on the route that I plan to ride in September...we have purchased a GPS for the car which has been an enourmous help finding our way. It sometimes takes me a while to catch up with technology, but I am glad we did with this gadget!! Now, I just have to find one for my bike and think we will be in good shape for directions for this ride.

I am getting ready to begin the big push for sponsors after the Christmas holiday. Our new website is not coming along as quickly as I would like, but I am accepting that it will just take more time than we thought and we are doing the best we can with it all! I have plans to recruit riders for this big ride as well to help raise funds in addition to finding sponsors for myself.

More to come...so stay tuned!!!

Week of November 13th

An eventful week for Educate Malawi, Inc. I picked up letters on Monday from the Sunderland Elementary school and met with the kids to answer questions that they had about Malawi. I also wanted to thank them for their interest in participating in this pen pal project! Their excitement was amazing and I was grateful for the teachers who spent so much time preparing the letters and helping the children learn about Malawi. Thank you to Lee Worthley for all her enthusiasm and hard work with the kids and for coordinating this project with both her second grade class and the fourth grade class. She took pictures of the meeting we had and they can be found on her blog at:

http://www.sunderlandgrade2.blogspot.com/



We also had a presentation at the Westfield Athenaeum and had a wonderful time sharing our story and photos with the folks who came out to listen. Thanks go out to the library folks who have continued to support us and welcome us back! Chris and Ralph have both been extremely supportive and we thank you!



Our fundraising efforts continue and we are getting ready to announce some new events so stay tuned for that!

Pen pals

Our pen pal program continues with a collaboration with Lee Worthley in Sunderland, MA. Her second grade class is working on letters to send to Malawi. Check out her blog to see her class learn about Malawi. Her blog details almost daily the hard work she does to teach her students a wide variety about their world in a lot of hands-on methods. Keep up the great work, Lee, and thanks for your willingness to share about Malawi and connect the students between here and there!!

http://sunderlandgrade2.blogspot.com/

More later....

It has been some time since I have written...trying to keep up with all the different things we have going on: had our cut-a-thon and the West Springfield, MA DiGrigoli hair salon; we raised $365 with their help....THANKS DiGrigoli!!!!

We have a fundraising concert coming up this Saturday; this is our first attempt at an event like this...we will hope for a good turnout.

We are beginning to get orders for various fabric items...now I will have to get sewing again and trying to recruit some fellow sewers to help with these order! We have beautiful fabrics and some real nice and useful items...I will try to post some photos of those items soon.

We have cards to be sold with new photos from this most recent trip...also might try to share those images as well.

The Pen pal project is still moving forward; we completed our first exchange which was a success and very enjoyable by all. We have another opportunity coming up that we are very excited about. Lee Worthely, a woman I was in High School with (a lifetime ago) teaches second grade and is interested in participating in our program. Sunderland elementary school is where she teaches and she does an amazing job with the children and has a lot of energy, enthusiasm and is an inspirational teacher. Check out her blog to see what I'm talking about!!

http://sunderlandgrade2.blogspot.com/

The photos at the top of the page are from the first pen pal program; the girls in the U.S. are from a residential program and could not be photographed for publication, but their letters are shown above. I uploaded these pics, and thought they were positioned differently...enjoy them , anyway!!

More later....just wanted to update quickly for tonight!

I am attaching the link for the most recent news article printed about our 'happenings'. We have had a couple exciting inquiries this week. As a result of this article, we had a man email saying that he spent time in Malawi in the late 60's. He is in the area frequently, as his daughter, who was born in Malawi, lives near us. We have also received an inquiry from a teacher who is interested in the pen pal program! We are excited about these developments. I hope to be able to attend to these new inquiries while working my other jobs, the paying ones!

We will soon be updating our website, because we have outgrown the one we have used for these past couple years. It is exciting that in these next 6 months I could be retired and have more time to devote to Educate Malawi...I really look forward to that and hopefully it will all go well for me to be able to do that. Always so many things I want to do to fundraise and involve more people...in time, I believe, it will all happen.

http://www.courant.com/community/hc-community-articleresults,0,5942637,results.formprofile?Query=35656HC

Enjoy the article....also, I will be posting photos and some sample letters from the pen pal program. It was exciting and we got some nice pictures and letters.

September 26, 2010

It has been a very busy month since we returned from Malawi!

We have spoken for two organizations: Zonta International and the Cavalry Episcopal churh in Stonington, CT. Both organizations welcomed us warmly and were supportive and gracious to us. We thank you both very much!

We have compiled the information and photos from our 2 pen pal projects we conducted while in Malawi and will soon share that information with the children here in the U.S. We hope to continue with such projects as they seem to be a wonderful way to build understanding and awareness of the world at large while illustrating the great smiliarities we all share!

We have many fundraising activities in the works including a cut-a-thon that will be held October 3rd in West Springfield at DiGrigoli Salon and a Jam for Malawi concert to be held at Fly Wheel in Easthampton, MA on October 16th. More details about both events can be found on the website.

We have also begun to plan and organize the Ride for Malawi to begin on September 1, 2011 when Karen will ride 500 miles through 5 New England states to raise funds and awareness about the country of Malawi. The goal is to raise $10,000 to complete the current project, a classroom block which will hold 2 classrooms.

Stay tuned for more details about all the Educate Malawi happenings!!

Thanks to all who continue to support us and help to EDUCATE MALAWI!!

We have been back for one week today....time is such a funny thing!!! It was easier getting back into 'the swing of things' this time back, but life here is so busy and hectic that it is overwhelming at times!! Yesterday I was overwhelmed with all the things I could have been doing, that I did nothing!!! Oh well, today is another day and we will see how that goes!!

I am so grateful for so many people who are interested in what we are doing and willing to help in so many ways!! We have a lot of exciting upcoming events and speaking engagements and we are very much looking forward to all of that! I will be doing some work in this coming week on the website to post some more pictures and information. Also will be sending in some press releases to the papers to acknowledge the folks we have worked with on our pen pal projects, etc.

We did a pen pal program with Journey House; part of Natchaug Hospital in Mansfield, CT., a photo project with an organization out of Amherst, Saralinda Lobrose helped coordinate it, we will be speaking to the Zonta organization in Palmer this month, as well as the Calvary Episcopal church in Stonington, CT. We are working on a fundraiser concert to take place in Easthampton, MA next month, and are having a cut-a-thon at DiGrigoli Salon in West Springfield October 3rd!

We are working on some other exciting things as well...so stay tuned for those details.

I have sent out this information in other places, but will post it again: A wonderfully easy way to help Educate Malawi, Inc. is to change your home page on your computer to GoodSearch; everytime you search for something on your computer, a penny gets donated to us. Go to Goodsearch.com for details of how to do this and search for Educate Malawi, Inc.

Thanks all for being here!!

Off to work!!

Well, it is a little late, maybe, but I wanted to write one last entry about this most recent trip.

The last entry was while we were still in Cape Maclear, which was several days ago, now...the last 3 days (Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday) were spent travelling. I will share:

We had a wonderful day last Sunday, our full day in Cape Maclear; we enjoyed the beach, the water, visited with some people I had met before while there, and met some new friends and enjoyed their company very much! We had a nice dinner before we left (Hawiaan pizza), and slept until about 4:30 a.m. We were to catch a minibus at 5:30 to head towards the capitol city of Lilongwe to prepare to catch our flight the following day to go home.

The bus came at about 5:40 and we were on our way. We spent about an hour driving around the village picking up passengers...it's somewhat of a frustrating process in comparison with our bus system (not that I ride the bus at home, but...) At home there is a schedule, the bus comes to this stop and this time and if you are there you get on and if not, the bus leaves, period. Easy. In Malawi, the buses do come somewhat regularly, but they stop a million times between point A and B, and it is random; wherever people are standing is where the bus stop is. And the driving around the village for an hour is about trying to find people to fill the bus to make as much money per trip as possible (understandable) but a tremendous usage of fuel! And when gas is about $7 per gallon and unavailable in some places, it is crazy!!

We finally we were full enough to continue on and made our way to Monkey Bay, about 20-30 minutes away. We were to catch the "big bus" from there at 8:00 to head to Lilongwe. There were some guys there who wanted us to get on their matola or truck or minibus, but we refused and said we were waiting for the Big bus. We were very excited about the Big bus; it tends to be more comfortable, makes fewer stops and you reach your destination quicker. We met a man who is from Italy who had been at the same lodge as us and was also waiting for the Big bus...we all waited together and declined the requests to ride on the other buses. The drivers were a bit relentless and it gets old. We tried declining many different ways to make the point: mine was, when they asked where I was going, I told them to the United States and asked them if they had a big boat, because that's where I wanted to go and that's what they would need to get me there. I did this smiling and kind of in a joking way, but I was still a bit frustrated with the 'hard sell' they continued with. 'The bus broke down, come with us, you will be stuck here, I'll give you a good price....' As time went on (it was now 8:30) and still no Big bus, we started to cave a little...I suggested that maybe there was a break down of the Big bus, it's entirely possible!! We ended up negotiating a ride on a Matola (a flat bed truck, with short sides on the back and a flat nosed cab). Stephen and I rode up front and our new Italian partner had to ride in back; we felt bad because were were going to all sit in front (out of the sun) but they told us we couldn't...the irony! They are always squeezing people in where there truly isn't room, and now they say there's not enough room! We headed on our way....drove up and down the street for another period of time picking up passengers and filling up the vehicle, and then stopped for gas; the gass station was about 3 miles from where we had started out, 3 HOURS BEFORE!!!

We were on our way...Stephen is always encouraging me to tell 'the short version' of stories, because I like the longer ones, but not everyone does...it is 5:25 a.m. on Friday morning right now and I am going to work in about an hour and a half, so I might have to try the short version for the remainder of this story. It's not easy for me, though!!

The very short story: 8 hours after getting gas, we arrived in the Capitol city....we had had a biscuit all day and a coke, and had not used any bathroom facility. We argued with the bus driver who had lied to us about where we were going and how we were getting there, we waited 2 hours for a connecting bus after being dropped somewhere we had never beenm, we hit a goat with the matola, the sound of which is still in my head, and our new sidekick from Italy, though we all stuck together, we feel pretty confident that he wanted to get far away from us, but couldn't. We were absolutely exhausted by the time we arrived and just wanted a shower a meal and a bed...which we got and were in bed at 8:00!!

Our plane was scheduled to leave at 1:00 the next day, but we happened to check our emails in the morning and our flight was changed to 3:00...we were changing 1 connecting flight but still arriving home at the same time, which was pretty good. the next 2 days were really quite a blur; 30 hours of traveling (including a 4 hour layover in Washington D.C., so close but yet so far!) and arrived at Bradley at 2:00 p.m. on Wednesday afternoon. There, short version!!

I returned to work on Thursday, which continued the whirlwind of the week...and got back in the swing of things quickly.

We look forward to sharing more pictures and have many opportunities in the coming months of events and fundraising opportunities which we are excited about!!

Thank you to all who have been following us and sharing your encouragement and support; it is greatly appreciated!

August 22
I just re-read what I wrote on the 21st of August, I must have been tired - whew...that was crazy! First, I want to say that I am aware that there are many people have experienced much worse travel experiences than we did...but for us, it was difficult! Our journey on the 21st started when we left Peter's Lodge at 5:45 a.m. and started the 3 mile walk to the bus depot. We arrived there at about 6:30 and it didn't take long to find a bus that was willing to take us to Cape Maclear...the price was easy to negotiate, we were willing to pay what they offered since it was less than we had budgeted for; we bypassed the bartering so early in the morning. That ride was pretty distressing; the bus driver drove like a bullet. It wouldn't be so bad, but on these roads, there are pedestrians and bicycles on both sides of the road with no shoulder and 2 lanes of traffic with cars and trucks all travelling at rather fast rates of speed. There were several times that we looked at each other and then just looked at the floor and prayed...I'm happy to report that we arrived at the bus stop where we switched buses in about 2 and a half to 3 hours. We got on the next bus which took only about 20 minutes to fill with passengers and we were able to continue on our way. That ride was pretty uneventful except for the girl sitting next to me throwing up into a plastic bag under her chitenja (scarf). We were getting off the bus at the turnoff we were told to get off, then the people on the bus convinced us to go to the next stop that it would be quicker to get our connecting ride to Cape Maclear. I don't know if it was quicker or not; we didn't leave that town for about an hour and a half or so. We had to barter for that ride and made out good; but we were in one vehicle for about 20 minutes before they decided to start loading people in another vehicle, so we switced. The bus proceeded to drive up and down the street many times to load more and more people in. I felt like the clown bus, except going in the opposite direction; just when you thought more people or items couldn't fit, you were wrong and they somehow did!!! There were people sitting on top of each other, buckets and packages and bags of grains loaded in and on top of the vehicle. It was really getting annoying and tiresome...we were only about 30 minutes from our final destination and we couldn't seem to get there. You might wonder why we didn't want to walk? It was about 1:00, and very little shade and a mostly dirt road...we hadn't eaten but a biscuit at 5:30 a.m. and had both our days packs and bag packs. We are somewhat adventurous, but still quite 'American' when it comes right down to it and would rather ride in a vehicle than walk for a couple hours...even if that means waiting an hour for the ride to leave! There was a little bit of breath-holding and praying during that short ride, but it was mostly just dusty and loud and the road was not smooth and the bus sounded like it might vibrate to pieces, but somehow that didn't worry us too much!
We found our lodge, checked in, set up our tent, ate some food and did a little sightseeing in the village; mostly to just move our legs and not be in a sitting position for a while.
I was surprised to look at my watch and it was 5:30 p.m., and I thought for sure it was closer to 9...I didn't know how I could stay up to a reasonable hour to go to sleep. We didn't stay up too late, too tired and decided it would be better to be rested so we could enjoy our full day in Cape Maclear. We had a pretty restful evening and pretty good night's sleep. I was awake at 3:15 a.m. to go to the bathroom and really didn't sleep much after that, but think I was rested enough.
We got up about 6:00; other campers started to stir and move about before that, but we felt no need to get up that early. Had a nice hot shower; I believe the water is all heated with solar energy, but not sure. We decided to go for a walk around the village early and 'sight see' a little bit (I wanted to show Stephen some of the sights I knew in the village from my previous trip here). While we were walking, we ran into some men who I had met before, here, so we stopped and chatted with them. We proceeded down the road and ran into someone else I knew, and chatted with him. It was nice to see some of the familiar faces from last visit. We stopped at the place I stayed from the last visit because I wanted to see one of the cooks who we had met before; we were able to see him and talk with him a little. It made me happy to see him and hear that he is doing well. We saw 2 of the dogs that Shannon and I befriended from that last trip, and one of them continued walking with Stephen and I through the village. One of the other dogs that we knew is not alive anymore; he bit someone and I think he was probably 'put to sleep' as a result. The relationship with villagers and the dogs here is not quite the same as at home. They run more free through the village, and there is a lot of tension between them; I have seen the children throw rocks at the dogs as they walk by, unprovoked. So it seems as though it goes both ways; the dogs bite the people, people throw rocks, dogs are scared, people are scared, they hurt each other....
We continued walking through the village for a bit, hoping to see some baboons/monkeys that I had seen last time near the National Park, but we did not see any. We saw a lot of goats, more than I remember seeing before; got a great picture of a goat in a tree, and two others trying to get in there also!!
We came back for breakfast at our lodge around 9:00; banana pancakes and coffee. The pancakes are like crepes wrapped around a banana and the coffee was pressed...it was so good, we ordered a second pot after we ate and drank it while we read our books and sat under an umbrella looking out over the water. It was a beautiful couple hours!!
We just finished reading through the letters we collected from the children at the school; they were interesting and fun to read. A couple of them talked about the poverty they experience and the hunger they experience, but they also talked a lot about games they like to play, music that they like and subjects they like in school. There was also several who talked about their religion and belief in God and how they feel that that helps them in their lives.

August 14, 2010
It was another long day in Malawi; we were able to retrieve our bags from the airport (all 6 of them arrived safely and seemingly intact) and we got our phone up and running. Aside from that, we did some walking (to and from town) and sat waiting for a ride and not much else! One thing we continue to note and notice is how our brains have to adjust to this different culture and the way things work here. At the phone store, there was a very long line and we commented about how at home people would be very impatient and not wanting to wait in a line like that for very long. Gas prices are high and the person we were waiting on to bring us to the airport had to find gas because some of the filling stations had no more. We saw prices for about 2.54; which you might not think is bad, but it's per LITER and it's Malawi kwacha! That's about 6.00 per gallon. Not uncommon in other parts of the world, which we easily forget!!

August 15, 2010
We decided to set our alarm (phone) to wake up early so we could shower and give our towels a chance to dry before we got on the road. About 1:00 a.m. we were both awake, me because of a mosquito that wanted to eat us and Stephen because he was uncomfortable due to space restrictions and heat. We both tossed and turned for about 3 hours and fell back asleep. The alarm went off at 5:30, and we stayed in bed until 6:15...decided to get up. It was a cool morning, which wouldn't be so bad, but the shower/bath house is open air. We did have hot water, which was really nice, but the reality was, we had to shut that off at some point and face the cold air being wet. It was worth it in the end, because we were clean and able to wear clean clothes, the first in 3 days (which includes the 25 hours on the plane). Breakfast was the same as the previous morning; cheese omelet and yogurt with muesli, which we shared both of. And, of course, coffee...Ricoffy, to be exact; it's a Nescafe instant product...very good, but not Starbuck's!! We did eat outside in the sun and were able to view some beautiful birds in the trees...it's really a wonderful way to start the day.
We plan to leave here at about 11:30, after Leah gets back from Church. We will then make our way to the 'bus station' and catch a bus to Zomba. That will take approximately 4 hours...so will be there around dinner time. It's a bit frustrating that travel takes as long as it does, but we will be able to start our work in Zomba sooner than originally planned, so that is a good thing.

August 16
Wow, only 2 paragraphs yesterday...I am not the best blogger in the world, that's for sure!! Although, there was not much to write about before 12 yesterday noon, all the noteworthy stuff happened after that. We got on the minibus about 1:00 in the afternoon...I can make it real short, we didn't get to Zomba until about 6:00 in the evening. So our whole day yesterday was spent sitting around. We are talking about an alternative to all this traveling around in country before we are able to make it to our destination...it's time consuming!
We took lots of pictures and Stephen took some video as we rode down the road on the minibus. There are so many thoughts that run through my mind as I watch out the windows during a trip like that. First, I still was a little surprised that I am back here again...it has been a real interesting 3 years this Malawi mission that has begun for us. Before we were able to actually get on the road, though, we had to get gas. It seems that gas can be difficult to find sometimes right now...maybe that's always, but I hadn't heard that before this trip. Gas costs 2.54 per liter, which I think I mentioned earlier...which is about a dollar fifty; so gas costs about $6.00 per gallon right now here. So, the minibus stopped at like a garage and they brought out gas cans, each holding about 5 gallons each, and they siphoned the gas. It was a crazy sight, the gas was going all over as they tried to get it into the tank. They finally did and it was enough to get us to our destination!
The bus we were on was larger than some of the other buses we have been on, and didn't make as many stops along the way to pick up and drop off passengers, which is nice. We did, however, make a coupel stops for people to go to the bathroom...on the side of the road, and not very privately. There are just so many things that I see as we make a trip like that where I think, boy, we have nothing to complain about! Some things that people endure and have to do to survive are way beyond my comprehension and my experience and it is helpful to maintain some perspective. I also get overwhelmed, however, by the tremendous poverty and great need in this country....I wonder if our little bit we are doing is very helpful at all. Then I remember the story (Stephen reminded me) about the boy and the starfish. He was on the beach, and there were millions of starfish washed up on the beach; he was picking them up one by one and throwing them back into the sea. His father came along and asked him what he was doing and he told him. His father said, don't waste your time, you won't get all of them, what difference will it make? The boy replied that it makes a differencen to each one he does send back. So, there we go, off to continue our work at the school and maybe make a difference for a few!
We have had some difficulties with technology, too. Another area that we take for granted...sit at the computer and it works, want to charge your phone, and there's electricity. Want hot water? turn the faucet....Our adapter has blown its fuse, so we need to try to find another fuse so we can charge Stephen's camera and the laptop...we are hopeful that we can find something today in town. Then, we need to try to find some internet access...we had it our first day, and after that, we were unable to connect for reasons we and others around us, couldn't figure out!! All the others were able to connect...it seems it might be our windows 7....don't trust those wonderful commercials you see, it's not all a great dream!! So, hopefully we can find some form of internet , even if we can't use our laptop...we will have to see!! It is very frustrating and we feel very out of touch; as if it's not bad enough being 7,000 plus miles away from home!!
ok...off to see if we can straighten out our bank situation; last time we went to transfer money they said there was no bank by that name showing up, even though we have done it a few times before!!! Aaaarrrggh!
August 16, later
We went to the bank and figured out that there was no problem with the account; there must have been some issue on our side when we went to transfer money and couldn't. The bank exists, the account exists...no problem! We also exchanged some more money then went back later to the bank to deposit it...that was an hour standing in line!! I haven't stood in a line like that at a bank since I don't know when!! In between those 2 visits to the bank, we went to the school to tell the headmaster what we had in mind to accomplish during this week's visit to the school. We also told him we wanted to gather a couple different groups of children to participate in some pen pal efforts between some U.S. children and those here. We also told him about the supplies we had to donate. We hope that it will all work out successfully! I feel like it was a successful day and productive, which I am very happy about!
One last cool note for the day...on our 2.5 mile walk back to the lodge, we looked up and saw 2 baboons crossing the road in front of us. We quickly walked up to where we saw them and got some pictures; there were baboons on each side of the road and each had a baby with her or him. It was funny, because they were aware of our being there and were cautious and the babies kept trying to wander away but the adult would guide the baby back, away from potential harm (us) which gave me the idea that we might not want to linger too long to give them the feeling of being threatened and thus coming after us!! It was a nice ending to a nice day!

August 17
An exciting day today!!! We went to the school and were able to accomplish everything we set out to for the day...that feels like a big deal in Malawi, where things tend to move rather slowly and take a long time to complete. We started the day going to the hardware/supply store and bought paint and brushes and cement for our project of the week. We then went to the school where we brought the school supplies and work supplies. When we arrived at the school the school committee meeting was getting ready for our meeting; they seem to like to meet with us when we bring the supplies especially. That way there is accountability and transparency with regard to those items. What we didn't realize, was that there would be members of the Pariament there to meet us as well. We met with a gentelman whose title was equivalent to a Senator, and then there was a man who has a title we can't remember. We will have to get those details, it all moved very quickly, and like I said, we weren't prepared for all that. They asked me to speak and I think I pretty much told them what I said last year; we have a love for Malawi and a committment to this project and we want them to understand that it is not easy to raise the funds but we are working hard to accomplish this goal. Leah spoke also in Chichewa to them, explaining about our organization and her role in it.
In addition to meeting with the school committee, the children were gathered like we asked and we were able to hand out cameras and pen pal letter to them with instructions of what we were hoping they would do with them. We provided them with paper and writing utensils and asked them to meet back at the school on Friday. They seemed excited about it and asked some questions. Leah did most of that work explaining in Chichewa so that it was all clear. We proceeded to begin painting and completed a good portion of one of the classrooms (not our new one that's under construction, but an existing classroom). It looks better and we also got an idea how much more paint we will need than what we first thought! It's good to know...so we will have to pick up many more gallons (5 liter) tubs of paint before we go back. There was another visitor, who wasn't happy about our visit, in the classroom; a bat kept screeching at Stephen as he painted and got close to his spot at the ceiling...we couldn't really see him, but boy could we hear him!! Here's a cool thing, when we bought the rollers, we realized that we would need a handle for them to be able to reach the ceilings...what we ended up with were bamboo that one of the men cut with a machete and sized just right to fit the end of the roller....it was awesome!!!
Well, we have made arrangements to meet with a friend for lunch tomorrow, following a meeting at the College where we will begin plans for a scholarship program with students who wish to become teachers. We look forward to both those meetings tomorrow and will write more when time and mostly internet allows!

August 18
Today was supposed to be somewhat of a 'laid back' day, since we only had a meeting scheduled for the morning. It is an adventure every day and it always shapes up to be interesting in ways we couldn't have imagined!
We met with a representative of the Education Department of the University of Malawi, Chancellor College which is known for their Education Department. We met with him to discuss development of a scholarship program for students who wish to become teachers. It was a productive meeting and we did get a lot accomplished. We, Stephen and I, learned more about the Education system in Malawi and it was very interesting. We had had a mini-meeting on the plane on the way here, and drew up an outline of some criteria we had in mind and a sample application for the scholarship we are proposing. As our meeting progressed, we felt good that our ideas were closely on track with the ideas expressed by the representative at the College. Details of all that will be accessible as we make it more formalized and we hope to offer the first scholarship monies in December of this year.
When we left the college we had made arrangements to meet with Matt, an employee of HELP Malawi, an organization based out of Ohio, we met for lunch. It was a nice meeting and we met a Peace Corps volunteer and a volunteer for HELP as well as a new employee of HELP, Jordan. It was a nice lunch with conversation that varied from where we are all from and how we came to know each other and end up in Malawi, to the many insects and creatures that have been encountered in Malawi. We had some good food, some had a very hot sauce on their food, and some good laughs and I was very glad we were able to spend the time with them.
We made good time on the minibus on the way to Liwonde to meet our friends, about 45 minutes, but on the way back, it was a bit of a different story. The first glitch in the trip was a crashed minibus on the side of the road, with luggage and passengers hurt or crying on the side of the road. It was a horrific sight, probably the worst I've seen. There were about 30 people standing around, some may have been bystanders or those who stopped to help where they could. After we passed that sight, we saw 2 ambulances making their way to the scene, so it may have just happened before we got there. We were all a bit upset by the sight, I think, and I was surprised that the minibus driver didn't take the reminder that speed kills!!!! He drove just as fast, I don't think he was really reckless, just fast...maybe it's the same thing, right? So we drove on. We then came to a Police check point which is like a traffic stop. The policeman asked our vehicle to pull to the side of the road and the driver got out. He walked to the back of the vehicle and the policeman walked away. The driver then went and talked with another official, and then walked out of our sight. I thought I heard something about a license, and I wondered if maybe our driver doesn't have one!! The officer had a ticket pad in his hand, but don't know what happened with any of that. After a few minutes, the driver reappeared and we got on our way. By that time, I really didn't want to continue in that vehicle, but we didn't really have much choice...we did make it safely back and that is how I am able to write all this now!!
We have a busy couple days ahead of us; we will be at the school for the next 2 days finishing painting and collecting all the writings and stuff from the kids. We will also be seeing 2 of our friends from Blantyre who we were unable to see last weekend. One is coming tomorrow morning for a quick visit, he has to go to another district because his aunt is real sick; we will be happy to see him even if for a few minutes. Another friend is coming Friday and will go to the school with us to help paint! I am very happy that he will be able to spend some time with us...a couple long days expected but hopefully productive and enjoyable.

August 19
We started out early, like we have been; had breakfast at 6:30, then got ready for the day by packing our bags, preparing our water and making sure we have all that we will need for the day. We bought some nice, fresh bread at the store the other day (I think I wrote about that), it was still warm! AND it only cost 99 kwacha; about 50 cents!!!! We also bought peanut butter and jam and some cookies, and that was what we packed for lunches...it was wonderful!!
We met Mathew downtown, and it was real nice to see him...we chatted for a while, then we all had to go our seperate ways for the day. We will see Mathew on the weekend in Cape Maclear. We also ran into Bob, from Chancellor College and we were able to take photos with him that we had missed the previous day!!
We met Leah as well at the same time as the others!! It was nice to feel like we know a few people here that are familiar to us!!
We went to find a vehicle to get out to the school, and we weren't sure we would be able to. We started making plan B when we ran into the driver, Martha, on the street!! We were excited to see her and she was able to bring us to get some more paint and supplies and to the school. We were excited to be able to get some work done....she said she would pick us up at 4:00.
The painting went very well, the 2 classrooms we were able to complete both look so much better! We were very happy with our progress. There were children hanging around watching us and laughing at us...I had a hard time staying focused on painting and kept stopping to take pictures. There was one little girl who was so huggable and cute and funny, that I took several pictures of her. Stephen teased me to stop being a politician and kissing the babies and paint!! Ha ha ha....I told him I couldn't be a politician because there was no one to see me kissing the babies!!
We ended our work and clean up a bit early, around 3:30, which was nice to sit for a few minutes. But time went by and the driver didn't show up and it was 10 after 4, then 20 after, then 4:30. We finally called her and she said she would have to see if she could find someone to pick us up!! yikes! We are about 10 miles out of town and it gets dark between 5:30 and 6...so we were a bit anxious. Plus, I hadn't been to the bathroom since about 7:30 in the a.m., and was beginning to worry about that. I am a bit of a sissy when it comes to outhouses, so avoid them if at all possible; I know that's not very adventurous or anything, but it's my thing.
We did finally get picked up at about 5:15; so it was ok, but made for a bit of a long day. We came back to the room, showered, and went right to dinner. We enjoy our dinners here; they take about 1 and 1/2 to 2 hours...and we play cards and talk and just relax. It's such a change from going out to eat at home; the atmosphere at most places at home is not conducive to sitting and relaxing in that way. I will miss that. Last year, we tried to re-create that when we went out to eat; we even brought a game to dinner with us. It was not the same, I'm sorry to say...we are too rushed all the time.
Tomorrow we hope to get to the school to touch up any areas that need it, patch some cement in the classrooms and collect the writings and cameras from the children!! I am excited and anxious about how that goes. If we don't get stuff back, I will be disappointed, as will some children from home!! Then we will pack up tomorrow night because we are leaving early Saturday morning for the long trek to Cape Maclear, it will take about 5 hours, we are thinking, maybe more!! But we hope it will be worth it to spend a day and a half there!!!
More later....

August 20
For our final day working at the school, Liston met us from Blantyre and came to the school and helped. We were not sure if we would get a ride or not to the school, but we ended up getting one. We got there close between 10 and 11. Leah and I met with the children who had taken letters and cameras and collected their work. All of the children with cameras showed up, but I'm not sure if they all took pictures; at a quick look at the cameras, some only had a few pictures taken, some had all and some had all but a few. They all wrote something about what their lives as we asked, so it should be fun to read them all (we haven't even had a chance to read the letters!)
We put a second coat of paint on the areas that needed it in the classrooms and touched up some other areas. We were able to patch the cement in one of the classroom blocks, and it came out nice. It was an interesting experience...we had limited tools to work with, but made due. I will be posting pictures on Facebook, for anyone who want s to see them, of the whole process of mixing cement and putting it on.
We were able to make a couple stops on the way back to our room and do a couple 'errands'. We bought some baked goods, biscuits, for our early start on Saturday on our trek to Cape Maclear. We stopped at the market and did some shopping for jewelry and paintings and some carvings to bring home. Stephen did a real good job bartering and we got some good deals. We then stopped at what Leah thought was still an internet cafe...and sure enough it was!!! It was Friday afternoon, it had been there all week, and we didn't even know it!!! So we spent a half hour checking and sending some emails and then headed back to our room.
We had an early night to prepare for our early and long day on Saturday. As I'm writing this, it is Saturday....
August 21
We have arrived at Cape Maclear after an endless bus ride...we did not eat anything or use the bathroom for about 8 hours and sat on the bus for a better part of that. That is why, I am not going to write anymore about today, today...because I am too tired and don't feel like writing any more now....but will after a good night's sleep, I'm sure!

August 12-13

We finally made it to Malawi; it was a mostly uneventful trip, but there were some delays along the way. We were able to catch all of our connecting flights but our luggage was not. We have 6 bags that are out there somewhere and we hope they will catch up tomorrow. This delay may change some of our plans, since we were going to leave Lilongwe tomorrow and now we probably won't be able to. It's ok, though...we are here!!!

Leah has noticed many changes in the capital city since she was last here in 2006...there is progress here! We saw a huge convention center that is being built that is just enormous. It almost doesn't seem to quite fit with the countryside in the background; it's a 5 Star hotel!

We will be going to dinner at Sam's families' house tonight; looking forward to meeting them and I know Leah is very happy to be here and around her family as well.

Will post more pictures and stuff later!

Had a nice visit with Leah and Sam and the girls, our friends from Malawi. We discussed some details about our upcoming trip and the excitement we share about all the plans we have. We have many people to meet with and tasks we want to accomplish; it will be a full 13 days and I imagine it will all be worth it!

We also intend to bring Stephen on the matola; a form of public transportation that is a unique experience! Anyone who has been on one will understand what that means. We hope to share pictures of that and more details of the experience.

I am new to this whole blogging thing and have recently attempted to 'follow' a couple of blogs; I think I joined twice, once as myself and once as Educate Malawi...so, for those of you whose blogs I am following, I am just a bit slow with the details of this form of communication and technology; please bear with me!!

Back to work in the a.m. and get the week moving!!

These are our most recent pictures of the project, in case you haven't seen them! We have walls!!! Stay tuned...we hope to be able to post more from Malawi in the coming weeks!

Well, another week gone...we will begin packing for the upcoming trip this weekend. I know some people travel to Malawi often to do their work; we feel fortunate to be able to go as often as we have. We have wonderful people in Malawi helping us accomplish our goals as well as wonderful people supporting us here. We have a lot of supplies that people have donated and we will be sending some more money this week to be able to continue construction of our classroom block in Malawi. There are 2 and 1/2 days of work in this upcoming week and then we are off! We are flying a different route this trip than previous trips: Bradley (yea!) to Washington D.C., then D.C. to Rome, then to Ethiopia then on to Malawi. Unfortunately we don't get off the plane in Rome...just in D.C. - well, I've been there!!! It's ok...looking forward to the adventure.

I am excited to be expanding our work to include the children more with the pen pal program....I am beyond excited about the pictures I hope to get and information the children will share that we can bring back here. I have great visions of the power of the experience of the connections that can take place with this type of project and am overwhelmed by the idea of it...I look forward to sharing that with as many people as possible in as many ways as possible.

I was talking with some friends tonight about gratitude...and it was a wonderful conversation! I encourage all to take a moment to reflect on what you have to be grateful for...I know I am blessed in many ways, and hope you feel blessed also!

Be well!

We went to Journey House last night and picked up the items the girls there donated; they held a bake sale and raised money for Educate Malawi, and bought chalk, some toys (including silly bands!)and some teen magazines to share with the children in Malawi. In addition to that they wrote letters to the kids and some poems for us to bring with us. We plan to distribute the letters and ask the children in Malawi to write some of their thoughts back! It was a nice evening; the girls were very excited and wanting to connect and help the kids in Malawi. We are looking forward to this exchange and returning to share with the girls at Journey House. Thanks to the staff who supported this project and helped make it possible!! Lindsey was our contact and we are grateful for her efforts and willingness to help!!

July 25, 2010

We are getting closer to our next trip to Malawi, and really getting excited. There are a lot of wonderful things happening and a lot of wonderful people continue to show up in our lives to help with this project and on this journey.

I am hoping to blog as often as possible to keep people informed and with a way to comment or ask questions...so many things to do all the time and ways to share information. We thought reviving this blog for our upcoming trip and really notifying people would be a good way to share information!!

We have a couple different projects we are working on toward connecting children in the U.S. with children in Malawi; here is a description of one of those collaborations:

RavenWood Freedom Farm and Learning Center, Inc. is very excited about our latest endeavor, Through The Lens, a cross-cultural photo documentary project. We have received funding through 9 different Western Massachusetts Cultural Councils to implement this project. Through The Lens uses documentary-type photography taken by middleschoolers to try and bridge some of the gaps in understanding and tolerance between the urban Holyoke Community and the Rural Hilltown Community. By providing cameras for 10 Holyoke middleschoolers and 10 Hilltown middleschoolers and, with the support of a photographic artist, we encouraged children to explore their lives, families, and communities through photography. The two groups had opportunities to meet, view each other’s work, and explore issues of culture, bias, race, community, and assumptions that may arise. There will also be a chance to share photos with a group of students living in Malawi. This component of the project will take place during the summer of 2010 and result in a culminating photo exhibit which will travel around western Massachusetts.

This project is funded in part by the Massachusetts Cultural Councils through our local cultural councils. In all published materials and announcements regarding the activities supported by LCC funds the grant recipient must acknowledge the support with a written and/or verbal credit statement and by using the MCC logo. The credit statement is, “This program is supported in part by a grant from the following Local Cultural Councils: Ashfield, Buckland, Charlemont-Hawley, Colrain, Heath, Holyoke, Plainfield, Rowe, and Shelburne. Local Cultural Councils are local agencies which are supported by the Massachusetts Cultural Council, a state agency”. The logo is available at MCC’s website. This credit is required by the MCC and failure to comply may jeopardize future funding.

(The MCC logo would not paste here; but all credit for this grant is acknowledged by Educate Malawi, Inc.)

RavenWood Freedom Farm and Learning Center, Inc., is a non-profit organization which was created to provide educational programs for children and adults with a focus on human and ecological diversity including but not limited to farm, nature and arts programming. Programming is designed with an aim towards increasing awareness about racial bias and working towards ending racism. Our Mission at RavenWood is to provide an educational experience with a focus on the life sustaining importance of human and ecological diversity; where children can grow fully as they experience themselves as unique and essential members of their world and community. RavenWood is pleased to be receiving funding for this project through the 9 Hilltown Cultural Councils and the Holyoke Cultural Council.

The above project was coordinated with the help of Saralinda Lobrose; thanks so much Saralinda for your help and support!!

We are also working with Journey House, in Mansfield, CT. In 2004 Natchaug Hospital opened a 13-bed transitional living community on its Mansfield Center campus to provide intensive, comprehensive mental health treatment and special education for adolescent girls. The girls will be writing letters and sharing their thoughts with the students at Namitsitsi primary school when we go in August. They have also raised money for supplies for the students by holding a bake sale and purchased some school supplies for them to be sent with us in August. We are very grateful for their efforts and support!! Lindsay O'Sullivan has helped coordinate efforts and we are deeply grateful for her hard work!!