Overfilling with awesome

Previous days that were awesome:

1-4
5-8
9-14
15-19

Awesome Day #20

Today was a 2 for 1 special of Awesomeness. 

First, I wrote a grant for the nursery school at Machilika Village.  We need 100 meters of plastic to cover the roof before we use thatch so that we can be sure there are no leaks for rainy season.  A simple enough fix, we just need the money.  I wrote and submitted this small grant through the APCD Fund to our stand-in APCD at 10:41 am.  I received feedback at 11:15 am confirming the grant has been approved and the money will be in my account during the next pay period.  I was blown away at the speed that this went through – I jumped for joy!

Secondly, I received a sweet surprise!  I guess you could call us a Glee Club or cheerleaders of the hospital.  We’re a welcome committee, feel-better-soon-candy-striper-type group.  I knew we were going to visit Howa who was recently bitten by a snake so I was ready to meet with her, show her some love and pass along some nsima flour.  I bafa’d, put on a black shirt and my women’s group purple and gold matching chitenje and went to Ama Chimbutu’s house to meet with the women’s group (all that Ama Chimbutu asks of me is to please look nice...)  I got there and Ama Chimbutu told me to go back to my house.  So I did, confused.  Ten minutes later the whole group showed up to give me a huge bowl of rice and to wish me well.  They were so cute and sweet!  They wanted to make sure I was feeling better (not to go into gory details, but I’ve had a bad case of the di-di for days and of course everyone knows).  It was so generous and thoughtful, I feel so lucky to be a part of such a kind community.  Best of all, the women joke with me.  I feel less like an outsider these days and it’s such a wonderful feeling. 

Day 21 of Awesome

Field Trip!  Form 4 went on a field trip to Dwangwa to visit the Ilovo Sugar Factory.  We loaded up the mini bus (which was only an hour late) and all the students began singing and cheering and chanting “Form Fourlo” over and over.  When we got to the factory we watched a video (twice because we “needed to really appreciate sugar” says the tour guide) and then we went on the factory tour which lasted nearly two hours.  We split into groups and my group of 10 just so happened to be some of my favorites (are you allowed to have favorites when you’re a teacher?) because they are the sweetest – making sure I got a chance to look at the machinery and explaining things to me (a lot of the tour was conducted in Chichewa) and of course, ensuring I received the complimentary handfuls of sugar (we received one handful of brown sugar, one handful of white sugar, a dollop of syrup, a pinch of powdered sugar, plus any bags of sugar that broke during packaging were free game).  After the tour, we waited for the second group to finish where we played outside – taking photos and raising havoc (I probably should not be a teacher in real-life – I break too many rules).  We went on a brief tour of the sugar cane fields where workers showed us how they irrigated the land – really interesting, but a lot of the students headed back to the bus early as their sugar rushes were starting to wear them down.  Just a fun-filled day with my favorite kiddos, what can I say?!

Awesome Day #22

Elizabeth came to my site to lead two women’s health sessions where we discuss feminine hygiene and created reusable pads.  In Malawi, there are almost no resources in villages for women who are menstruating.  The products that are available are usually in bigger towns and are expensive.  Because of this, many girls miss school when they are on their monthly gem.  Elizabeth did some research and found some great patterns and organizations that have started hygiene programs for girls.  She is a phenomenal teacher with incredible enthusiasm.  The first meeting was Friday afternoon and only four women showed up, but they were eager to learn.  They were not embarrassed to ask questions and they were kind enough to help me with my sewing.  It was a lovely day and afterwards, Elizabeth and I were just so pumped we celebrated with a visit to the market with Ama Chimbutu where the three of us bought dresses and shirts and made a big scene.  Plus an amazingly unhealthy dinner of home-made brownies and wine – we worked hard, we deserved it!

Day 23 of Awesome

To piggyback on yesterday, three of the women who came to the training showed up for the Saturday morning training designated for secondary school girls (most were from my Girls Club).  Eighteen girls came (almost completely on-time!) and listened excitedly as Elizabeth worked her magic at the front of the room.  They were engrossed in the lecture and participated after a few jokes broke the ice.  The girls began sewing diligently right away – most of them have been sewing for years so it was just a matter of learning the pattern.  The women who came the day before were helpful in getting the materials organized and all the girls to finish well-before lunch time.  They sang as they sewed (mostly GLOW songs, as the two girls I sent were big leaders in organizing this training) and helped each other – it was such a whirlwind experience being surrounded by these happy girls who were making products that will keep them from being absent from school.  We have already started planning more trainings (as soon as I can get some materials) and we’re considering making a small business out of it. 

But that’s not all!  Steven returned from the Peace Corps sponsored natural medicine (anamed) training that I sent him to at the beginning of the week.  He got off transport and met me straight away.  He showed me his books (some of which he won for being the best participant at answering questions correctly) and posters.  We discussed some ideas – he was so excited – and then he went to talk to the Medical Assistant in charge of the hospital.  In thirty minutes he returned to tell me: 1) we were given a plot of land near the borehole where we can start our demonstration garden and 2) he has a friend who will build a fence for the garden for free.  He is on his game!  Then I heard from the leaders of the anamed training that Steven was an all-star and everyone really enjoyed him.

So pad trainings and anamed trainings are what I have to look forward to next!