Hi everyone! There is so much excitement at Kwithu CBO and at Mzuzu Academy right now. These are some of the projects and developments of the past few weeks:

Constriction of Play Area at Kwithu CBO

I am so excited about the construction of a HUGE brand new play area at Kwithu! Joe Kiwale and his Lilongwe Boys Carpentry have been working hard since last week to give the kids what they need- a place to run around and scream! I have been pushing for this for a long time, and it’s finally happening. Playgrounds are a very important environment for children. Research shows that playgrounds help develop motor skills, language development, and social skills. Furthermore, we expect our Kwithu attendance to become more regular with the addition of this play area. Thanks, Joe, for all your hard work!

Project-Based Assessment at Mzuzu Academy

Teachers at Mzuzu Academy understand the importance of differentiated instruction. Every pupil has a different learning style and a different set of strengths and weaknesses. Though students at Mzuzu Academy are used to ending each term with a one-week exam period, this term they will be challenged in different ways by working on projects for each subject. These projects assess a completely different skill set than exams. Projects demand team work, time management, problem-solving, and making cross-curricular connections. My Year 7 English students are creating “Book Report Alternatives.” Uchizi Tembo created a 3-dimensional diorama of a scene from Percy Jackson: The Lightning Thief, while Bansari Patel wrote an interview of the main character from the Judy Blume classic, Otherwise Known as Shiela the Great.

Needless to say, the students are working so hard and having a lot of fun. Our campus is buzzing with the sounds of collaboration and creative thinking!

New Classroom Furniture for Early Childhood

A big thank you to our carpenter, Emanuel, for finally finishing our child-friendly tables for the EC classroom! They look amazing and work very well with our classroom chairs, which came in our container. It’s really starting to come together, and the kids are eager to get into the classroom and work!

Last Thursday, after Patrick and I set up the tables, we called a few of the children into the room to try out the new tables. Their reaction was amazing. They walked into the room extremely tentatively, almost on tip-toes, not saying a word and reluctant to touch anything. It really hit me what a huge change this is from their classrooms in government schools. They’re slowly getting used to working at these tables, but I think it still feels very foreign and special to them. I know how much it means to them to have a special place of their own like this room. I know when it’s “finished,” they’ll be even more excited!

One of our board members donated the colorful mats that you see in these pictures. Thank you so much for everyone who contributed and is still working hard to make this happen!

We also got a very generous donation of art supplies from a special former student of mine, Peter Miller, age 9, of New Canaan, CT. Below, Kwithu kids have fun making him thank you cards.

Hi everyone!

Things are still going very well here in Malawi. Jake is extremely busy preparing Kwithu Kitchen for its big product launch, Mrs. Keys is here working on several projects at Kwithu and Mzuzu Academy, and I have been busy working on Early Childhood Education Program!

This is very exciting news for us! Kwithu CBO will soon be home to a daily nursery school for children ages 3-5. This program will also serve students in standards 1 & 2 who need after-school academic support. We are preparing to extend our reach even farther into the community and serve the smallest children among us! We can’t wait!

Recently, we’ve been preparing our bright, airy classroom to be a proper nursery school. Students from Mzuzu Academy assisted in painting child-friendly images on the walls:

Sol LeWitt? or Sol LeWhipple!!

I hope you are as excited about this project as we are!

I am happily posting a short article written by one of our Mzuzu Academy student contributors, Tanaka Chirombo. Enjoy!

Christmas at Kwithu

The Christmas Festival is a memorable time of year as most people spend time as a family. We at Kwithu also decided to spend time together as a family. Every child came to be with one another to help in celebrating this festival. Everyone came early to enjoy the day. The main event came when people started showcasing what they did throughout the year:

• People read poems
• They sang Christmas Carols
• Debates about whether Christmas is good or bad
• The nursery school students performed a song
• Local Traditional dance

This was also achieved with the help of the Mzuzu Academy students who taught their friends at Kwithu more information about Christmas, including Christmas Carols which were sung in English. The Kwithu women also prepared a nice meal for the children to enjoy, so that it should be a remarkable day for the whole Kwithu campus. Steve Ngoyi said, ”This has been the best Christmas I have ever experienced with the help of Kwithu.”

In December, students at Mzuzu Academy spent an entire day celebrating our earth. Students dressed in green outfits for prizes, planted trees, played games outside, and watched documentary films about protecting our environment. The day was sponsored by Wildlife Club, a student group here at the academy.

Enjoy these photos of the day!

We’re back in Malawi! After several weeks of travelling to South Africa and the US, Jake and I are all settled in back here in Mzuzu for another six months of work with Maloto. Jake is continuing with Kwithu Kitchens, and I am still splitting my time between teaching English at Mzuzu Academy and Kwithu CBO. Our holiday break was wonderful, filled with friends, family, and new places. We both feel rejuvenated and happy to be back in Malawi!

Before Christmas, there were many special events at Mzuzu Academy. Probably the most memorable was the Christmas Concert on December 8th, 2012. This fall, we were joined by volunteer music teacher Casey Georgi from Nyack, New York. Under Miss Casey’s guidance, the students at Mzuzu Academy learned complicated choral pieces from all over the world and performed them for fellow students, faculty, parents, and other members of the community of Mzuzu.

The concert was a great success! Even Mr. George Bowery, our Headmaster, was moved to tears. Year 7 performed a song entitled “Peace Begins,” which featured student accompanists on the recorder. They also performed a spirit rendition of “Do Re Mi” from The Sound of Music. Students in Year 8 performed songs from Ghana, while students in Year 9 performed several student-written songs. The concert concluded with a rousing gospel song, “This Little Light of Mine,” and the audience was clapping and on its feet.

The concert also featured a medley of Christmas Carols sung by the after-school choir, led by Mr. James Chinula, our technology teacher. Mr. Chinula also adapted our school song, “Let Us Unite.” We are so blessed to have such dedicated teachers with a wide range of talents!

Children in Malawi are natural musicians. As a result, students at Mzuzu Academy love music class and embrace the opportunity to perform and express themselves. We are thankful to Miss Casey, Mr. Chinula, and everyone else who contributed!