Well done, well done, shua!

01.05.2013

Well done, well done, shua (sure) are the words shouted by the kids at the nursery school when someone does something correctly.    

Hello from Malawi!

As I seat here writing, a cold wind is blowing. The temperatures have started to decrease dramatically in the night. The rainy season ended and the green and lush vegetation is now dried. The rain, however, has not been generous in Lifuwu this year; most of the rice fields which depend on the rain as the only source of irrigation died and people in the village start being very concerned about the coming months. The months of April and May are the so called “hungry season’ as the old harvest has been exhausted and the new one is not yet ready. Due to the drought, the “hungry season” may be longer this year and people will have to cope with food insecurity.   

The past month has been a great one at help2kids with our volunteer Megan, from South Africa. As the primary school of Kazembe was closed, we focused on the Tiyanjane Nursery School. When I arrived in Lifuwu last November, the nursery was less than a school, the kids were just sitting inside a small room, no windows, no games, waiting for the share of porridge. Little by little the kids and the teachers have received the much needed attention they deserve from our volunteers and the changes and the improvements are great. The little room is now colourful and decorated; Megan financed the construction of the windows and a blackboard, and donated the cutleries to serve the porridge. The store room has been cleaned and organized, and the office of the CBO which runs the nursery school is now completed. A structure to the day, a set routine, and program have been introduced but it will take time to digest. There is so much to do still; and the number of kids attending the nursery school keeps growing day after day. A big thank you Meggi!! We miss you.  

Our new volunteers are also settled into life in Lifuwu; Miri, from Australia, Caro, Maria and Lory from Switzerland, and our first Italian volunteers, Silvia and Marghe J . With more people available we have been able to start the programmes in a proper way. For the morning session, Miri and Silvia assist the teachers and the students at the primary school, and the others help out at the nursery. The afterschool programmes at Kazembe encompass English lessons, art & craft, games and sports. The kids are simply excited to have so many a’zungo friends around, and they follow our footsteps everywhere. Although the activities pose loads of challenges, we really hope to make them educational and rich in experience for the students who join the afterschool programmes.

As our volunteer Caro says “No stress, we are in Africa!”.