The new year is here and Educate Malawi is in full swing! We had a board meeting in December and have 'mapped' out our year's fundraising events. They are soon to be posted on the website and also in a newsletter...we have some great events and look forward a successful fundraising year. Our project is really, really nearing completion. There were some issues with the cement that we had sent funds for, and the classroom floors needed to be re-done. This was a bit disappointing but the last we heard things are back on track and we have one of the classrooms left to complete before we can say we are entirely done with construction. We have not raised funds for desks, etc. at this point, but our initial goal will be met which was to secure a place out of the elements for students to remain indoors during the rainy season! Hoorah!
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I have been looking back at some old emails about the first trip made to Malawi...that's a little ahead of where I left off in my last blog - 2 months ago!! That is not how I see this year going; my hope is to update more frequently on the blog to keep folks posted, etc.
Shannon and I planned our trip to be for the Fall of 2007, that was when she would be completin high school and she decided she would forego college for the first semester to go back to Malawi! I requested a leave of absence from my job at the prison, and was granted it, and we began fundraising. Our trip was 2 years away and we decided we would need to raise about $10,000, maybe more, in order to cover travel costs, living expenses while in Malawi, and bills that were not put on hold at home. We held fundraisers, set up a special account to save our money, and we did a weekly Sunday newspaper route together for 10 months! Without knowing it, that paper route was a good indication of our time together; I wish now I had paid a little closer attention so I could have been better prepared! (more on that later)
We received some support from local businesses and organizations including the Rotary Club and a local Episcopal Church. We felt blessed to have the support of people who we did not know and who did not know us. Those 2 years were a little bit of a blur, and events unfolded continuously that let me know we were on the 'right' path. Our decision to travel to Malawi and volunteer was what we were 'meant' to do. We also received support from family and friends and our goal was realized in September 2007!
I have saved some of my emails from that first week of our journey and it took me a long time to be able to look back at them...again, I am getting ahead of myself and my story, but I am better able now to read them. There were a lot of emotions we went through and it was a challenging time for both Shannon and I, for our own reasons. I can best speak about mine, obviously, and will. In my next post!
Peace to you all for now!
Karen
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