Malawi Here We Come!

I am most excited to be returning to my beloved Malawi, Africa in the coming days.  I am thankful to have this opportunity.  I look forward to seeing all of my friends there.  Malawi makes me feel alive.  It is my second home.

This year, I will be accompanied by Radford University faculty member, Dr. Brooke Blanks and six bright and adventurous young women who are students in the College of Education & Human Development at RU.  Traveling with us will be faculty and students from Virginia Tech and North Carolina A&T.  I always enjoy our travel groups, getting to know each individual and collaborating to serve our school communities there. 

This Malawi study abroad program is a unique service learning opportunity for students, in which they work/teach in a village school (Malemia Primary School) in Malawi.  We hold class in the afternoons.  We participate in cultural explorations and events as well.  Students participate as active members of the Malawi Chibale Project. 

The Malawi Chibale Project was founded in 2007 when students from Radford University, Virginia Tech and North Carolina A&T learned that $100 could feed up to 1,000 school children twice a week for 7 months!  Since then, the project has established an ongoing feeding program at Malemia Primary School, a scholarship program for students to earn secondary education and a girls’ project aimed to encourage girls to stay in school. 

The Malawi Chibale Project continues to embrace new projects each year with the partnership of organizations and individuals in the community.  This year, students and the Malemia Village community will build a water harvesting cistern for Malemia Village, which will be a life-changing project for this community.  Thank you to the Rotary Club of the Roanoke Valley for sponsoring this meaningful project in-full, and thanks to the many individuals who contributed to the Rotary fundraising effort for this cause.  Blacksburg Presbyterian Church houses our project and is most wonderful part in every way. I appreciate all BPC does to support and pray for the project.   The Virginia State Reading Association has donated a collection of English Picture Dictionaries for the school, which will be most useful to the students as they strive to learn English.  The Community Bible Study (Blacksburg Evening Class) has donated Bibles for the school, a contribution that will be most appreciated and valued  by the teachers and students.  Maggie R with the Salem High School Interact Club organized a pencil and school supply drive that literally has equipped us with hundreds of pencils, pens etc. to give to the students and teachers at Malemia Primary School.  Alpha Delta Kappa has contributed to our project in gracious and generous ways this year, as well as the Business Men's Club in Roanoke.  And, countless individuals have lifted up prayers and/or donated funds to our efforts to make a very big difference in one small, but special, corner of the world this year. 

We'll soon be "off" to see the world!  I look forward to sharing our adventures with you along the way!