July 24th 2009
Madisi is an hour drive North East of Lilongwe. It is a town that reminds me a lot of Luchenza, where Sullivan and ProjectTEACH are based. For only six months of operation, RiseMalawi is well established and making a profound impact in its community. Roughly 45 students attend the afterschool program, with 5 camp leaders heavily involved in academics and leadership building. Every morning, Tinashe, Za and the camp leaders gather for morning devotionals. The camp leaders then spend the rest of the morning studying and teaching themselves subjects that they hope to improve on for the national exams. On Thursdays, since there is no afterschool program, the team breaks into smaller groups and visits children’s homes in the villages. This is an extremely important relationship builder that invites the parents into the program. Since Wednesday was the last day of the school term, RiseMalawi, held an end of the term celebration, where songs and dramas were performed, and prizes awarded. Many community partners attend the event, which is always great to see. Of course, the biggest request was for the program to grow and include more children. Once again, the children of Malawi stole our hearts.
The other day Kristen, Lindsey and I were outside playing with a couple children. Before we knew it, a crowd of thirty or so gathered to play. We spoke to a few older girls, maybe 12 years old, and asked if they knew any games and songs to lead the little ones in. For the next hour or so, the children played games and sang songs to our delight, and just like that, we were holding our own program with leaders and all! That afternoon reinforced our discovery that there is a huge demand for UrbanPromise International in Malawi. AfterSchool programs with holistic child development are unique and are enthusiastically embraced.
To what I can only imagine was a sign of gratitude for playing with him, one little boy brought a dead mouse for Kristen. All the children found it hilarious when she squealed in surprise. Another ‘you-know-you’re-in-Africa’ moment came when a little boy approached us and said, “My friend will ride a donkey if you take his picture.” Sure enough, Kristen got out her camera and took pictures of this boy riding his donkey. It was priceless.
Our trip is approaching its end. RiseMalawi was the final ministry to visit. Next on our agenda is an orientation at African Bible College in Lilongwe with cohorts 2 and 3, then off to Lake Malawi, where a retreat will be held with cohorts 1 and 2.