NEWS FROM MALAWI
JUNE 2007
Training day
Today was the first day of the coldest month here in Malawi, but I think its ok because we had warm weather and the sun shine all day, except for a short while in the afternoon we had some rain but it went quickly away, but rain here is always very heavy. The DIs did a wonderful training day and the teachers had a marvelous time. One games and teaching method, can you see on the photo.
To Use the body as a tool and make letters is something that i hope they enjoy, this monthly training days are one way to help the preschool teachers to get more knowledge’s, and to make them more inspired and teach the children more. there is always problem with that teachers not teach so good and that they have to big classes, the parents also keep children home when they are old enough to work in the field, so the dropout is very high in primary schools especially with girls drop out.
\nfirst Lady of Malawi died this month and was berried in Blantyre; they also\nmade it a national holyday. We opened finely the pedagogical workshop in\nMtengowambalawe, we had the opening the 12 of June and it was a nice day with\nspeeches, and songs by the children and one local song grope, this opening will\ngive the possibility for local to learn computer, and be able to borrow books\nform the library, they can also watch TV or see a movie on Sundays In\nthe news paper could we read that one woman in Mzuzu was beaten up by local\npeople, because they suspect that she teach the children witchcraft in school,\nto read something like this is horrible but very common here, but it still\nexist , And in Lilongwe have one school in lack of classrooms made one toilet\nto a classroom, of course should learning take place in a good environment, the\nsystem lacks of enough of virtually everything from qualified teachers to\nteaching and learning materials that includes classrooms and I have seen in\nmany villages that classroom is in the church, and if they are lucky can all\nget inside when it rains, the common site is that there are about 6-7 teachers\non 700- 800 students and its almost impossible for them to make good classes,\nthe pictured shows one school in Alinaffa that collapsed and that is because\nthey don’t use cement but clay to build with and when it rain the clay\nget wet and the building fall and this is sadly enough a very common sight but\ncement is very expensive.
We\nhad also a sad incident not far from TTC six of teachers training collage\ntrainees was robed, and one girl was dragged out in the Busch and raped, the\ninformation I got was that several men enter their house with Pangas (machete)\nduring the night, and when the guard come to help them got injured in the face\nand had to go to the hospital, one girl succeed to escape and phone her husband\nand he cal the police but when they arrive was the robbers gone, ",1]
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The first Lady of Malawi died this month and was berried in Blantyre; they also made it a national holyday. We opened finely the pedagogical workshop in Mtengowambalawe, we had the opening the 12 of June and it was a nice day with speeches, and songs by the children and one local song grope, this opening will give the possibility for local to learn computer, and be able to borrow books form the library, they can also watch TV or see a movie on Sundays

In the news paper could we read that one woman in Mzuzu was beaten up by local people, because they suspect that she teach the children witchcraft in school, to read something like this is horrible but very common here, but it still exist , And in Lilongwe have one school in lack of classrooms made one toilet to a classroom, of course should learning take place in a good environment, the system lacks of enough of virtually everything from qualified teachers to teaching and learning materials that includes classrooms and I have seen in many villages that classroom is in the church, and if they are lucky can all get inside when it rains, the common site is that there are about 6-7 teachers on 700- 800 students and its almost impossible for them to make good classes, the pictured shows one school in Alinaffa that collapsed and that is because they don’t use cement but clay to build with and when it rain the clay get wet and the building fall and this is sadly enough a very common sight but cement is very expensive.

We had also a sad incident not far from TTC six of teachers training collage trainees was robed, and one girl was dragged out in the Busch and raped, the information I got was that several men enter their house with Pangas (machete) during the night, and when the guard come to help them got injured in the face and had to go to the hospital, one girl succeed to escape and phone her husband and he cal the police but when they arrive was the robbers gone,
The\ngirls are now staying at TTC and go from there to work in there schools,) this\nis not a common incident, but still it shows that we as DI’s should be\ncareful and not walk around in the dark alone.
But\nhere is happening good things to we had the first training day for the\ncommunity members in the villages, and that was a success her was over 300\npeople, and they got a lot of information from our teachers here that held some\ncourses in Chichewa, we DI’s were involved in planning and making I\nwent back to the prison this month, and it was so nice to see that Nick and the\nother DI’s had make big difference in there, especially on the female\nsection they was now knitting and held classes so that they can get some\neducation before they come out, the room that was full of maize last time, was\nnow cleaned and the desk was nice with black board full of lessons, and the\ninmate that teach was so good, she really tried to teach and was clear and\nprecise, we sat for a lesson and to see how little education some of them had\nstunned me, even if I know that many here have no read or writing skills, when\nyou see it like this and that they tried so hard to read and follow the lesson,\nthis words and sentence she used was for the small children in preschool, but\nstill it was difficult for some of them, and they was so happy when they answer\ncorrect we even participate in the classes which was fun, azungo We\nhad also a sports day with info about HIV/AIDS for local schools they come to\nTTC and had sports, the students here was performing about HIV/AIDS in songs\nand sketches, especially these two made them the children laugh and smile,\nas you can see on the picture.

(The girls are now staying at TTC and go from there to work in there schools,) this is not a common incident, but still it shows that we as DI’s should be careful and not walk around in the dark alone.
But here is happening good things to we had the first training day for the community members in the villages, and that was a success her was over 300 people, and they got a lot of information from our teachers here that held some courses in Chichewa, we DI’s were involved in planning and making it work.
I went back to the prison this month, and it was so nice to see that Nick and the other DI’s had make big difference in there, especially on the female section they was now knitting and held classes so that they can get some education before they come out, the room that was full of maize last time, was now cleaned and the desk was nice with black board full of lessons, and the inmate that teach was so good, she really tried to teach and was clear and precise, we sat for a lesson and to see how little education some of them had stunned me, even if I know that many here have no read or writing skills, when you see it like this and that they tried so hard to read and follow the lesson, this words and sentence she used was for the small children in preschool, but still it was difficult for some of them, and they was so happy when they answer correct we even participate in the classes which was fun, azungo (white man) as teaching material.
We had also a sports day with info about HIV/AIDS for local schools they come to TTC and had sports, the students here was performing about HIV/AIDS in songs and sketches, especially these two made them the children laugh and smile, as you can see on the picture.
there\nwas athletic, football, netball and volleyball which the children enjoy very\nmuch, the was almost chaos by the athletic run all wanted to see, and stood so\nclose that the runners bump in to some of them, but still they was so happy and\ncheerful and it was difficult to stop the from running with there friends\naround the The\nday was a success and all was happy even if it ended little late, and they had\nto walk back in darkness the sun falls down here so much faster than in Europe \nand at five thirty is it dark. I\nwoke up of I heard a noise it was one DI that had to go to toilet, I relaxed\nagain and listen to the sound of the night animal the moon was still high, so\nit was very early in the morning, I dose of and half sleep when he come back\njumping like a gazelle, I knew something was not as it should he rushed to me\nwith eyes big and breathing hard and tried to wispier elephant but it was not\nso easy he was so excited, I try to come out of my sleeping bag but stuck and\nfell over, while he woke up Nick, I finely get out of the sack and got my shoes\non, we walk slowly out from the porch and down to where he had seen it, we\ncouldn’t see any thing but suddenly we hear about fifty meters from us a\nbig branch crack, and there he was the big elephant standing still by the tree\nand eating Amarula a kind of sweet fruit that they like this was a weekend that we never will\nforget, we enter the park in the evening, and went to the rooms that we\nrented, me and Nick went with Jes the manager of the reserve down to a big\nporch, where we could sit and look on the animal when they come to the water\nhole, there was light so it was easy to see in the darkness and when the zebras\ncome for a drink the feeling I felt was nice and we went back to the others and\nmeet piggy the tame bush pig, after dinner we all relaxed in the evening and\nsaw al kind of animal that come for water, and when the light went out at nine\nthe moon light up the area, and we deseeded to sleep on the porch in a chair\nand hoped that we could see some elephant.",1]
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there was athletic, football, netball and volleyball which the children enjoy very much, the was almost chaos by the athletic run all wanted to see, and stood so close that the runners bump in to some of them, but still they was so happy and cheerful and it was difficult to stop the from running with there friends around the track,
The football, netball and the volleyball was the high light and the competition was intense.
The day was a success and all was happy even if it ended little late, and they had to walk back in darkness the sun falls down here so much faster than in Europe and at five thirty is it dark.
A little story of what you can experience here.
I woke up of I heard a noise it was one DI that had to go to toilet, I relaxed again and listen to the sound of the night animal the moon was still high, so it was very early in the morning, I dose of and half sleep when he come back jumping like a gazelle, I knew something was not as it should he rushed to me with eyes big and breathing hard and tried to wispier elephant but it was not so easy he was so excited, I try to come out of my sleeping bag but stuck and fell over, while he woke up Nick, I finely get out of the sack and got my shoes on, we walk slowly out from the porch and down to where he had seen it, we couldn’t see any thing but suddenly we hear about fifty meters from us a big branch crack, and there he was the big elephant standing still by the tree and eating Amarula a kind of sweet fruit that they like.
We had rented a buss on Friday and went down to Majete wildlife reserve, www.majete.org this was a weekend that we never will forget, we enter the park in the evening, and went to the rooms that we rented, me and Nick went with Jes the manager of the reserve down to a big porch, where we could sit and look on the animal when they come to the water hole, there was light so it was easy to see in the darkness and when the zebras come for a drink the feeling I felt was nice and we went back to the others and meet piggy the tame bush pig, after dinner we all relaxed in the evening and saw al kind of animal that come for water, and when the light went out at nine the moon light up the area, and we deseeded to sleep on the porch in a chair and hoped that we could see some elephant.
Wile we stood there watching the big elephant not being able to take a picture, and\nmaybe it was lucky that we not took any, the flash would irritated them, and\ncould made them attack us, we slowly go back to the porch and went to sleep,\nbut it was not easy to sleep to much adrenalin in the body and the pulls was\nsky high, at six o clock came Jes and took us on a safari tour with the\ntruck, and to see these impala waterbuck Hippos was so fun, and even if the\nmorning was cold did we enjoy every moment of the ride, he also show he’s\nhouse and make some coffee for us before we went to the waterfall, after that\nwe went back to the camp and waited for the next event the Elephant walk, all\nwas so existed and when we left in the afternoon to track them with radio, and\nwe found them at nyala lope we divided in two groups, I was in the first and\nwe went out in the jungle with two guards one with antenna and one with rifle,\nthe pulse raise very fast and when the guard said that we was close it raise\neven more and suddenly there they was a big male eating, a sound sow low like\nthunder they was talking to each other we could feel the vibration in the\nground when they sound, but we had to go back and let the other group see the\nguard talk to Jes and he said that we could keep on, because they had seen\nseveral on close distance so it was ok that we tried to get closer, and we got\nclose to at least one elephant that thought it was to close and he turned\nagainst us and start approaching, the guard told us to run back the adrenalin\nwas now sky high, to see a elephant bull making attack to us was. Well I have\nno words for it, but we was satisfied and went back on the way back to camp we\nsaw more animal, and in the evening we see more buffalos very close, in the\nmorning we went back but we stopped in a village and talk to the people and\nwere in a church in the afternoon we was back on TTC and said bye to the driver\nwho had he’s most exciting weekend in the hole life we also,

Wile we stood there watching the big elephant not being able to take a picture, and maybe it was lucky that we not took any, the flash would irritated them, and could made them attack us, we slowly go back to the porch and went to sleep, but it was not easy to sleep to much adrenalin in the body and the pulls was sky high, at six o clock came Jes and took us on a safari tour with the truck, and to see these impala waterbuck Hippos was so fun, and even if the morning was cold did we enjoy every moment of the ride, he also show he’s house and make some coffee for us before we went to the waterfall, after that we went back to the camp and waited for the next event the Elephant walk, all was so existed and when we left in the afternoon to track them with radio, and we found them at nyala lope we divided in two groups, I was in the first and we went out in the jungle with two guards one with antenna and one with rifle, the pulse raise very fast and when the guard said that we was close it raise even more and suddenly there they was a big male eating, a sound sow low like thunder they was talking to each other we could feel the vibration in the ground when they sound, but we had to go back and let the other group see the guard talk to Jes and he said that we could keep on, because they had seen several on close distance so it was ok that we tried to get closer, and we got close to at least one elephant that thought it was to close and he turned against us and start approaching, the guard told us to run back the adrenalin was now sky high, to see a elephant bull making attack to us was. Well I have no words for it, but we was satisfied and went back on the way back to camp we saw more animal, and in the evening we see more buffalos very close, in the morning we went back but we stopped in a village and talk to the people and were in a church in the afternoon we was back on TTC and said bye to the driver who had he’s most exciting weekend in the hole life we also,

Well this was June and now I have only one month left so my last letter will come in the beginning of august, until then,
Tiwonana
Alf Carlsson
Development Instructor