Just Some of the Latest from Balaka, Malawi
note: Sorry for the lack of pictures in this blog post. I'm posting this in Malawi and the connection is too slow to allow for the required uploading. -Dustin
Note from our Program Coordinator, Margaret Nandoli
Hello, Muli Bwanji (How are you)? My name is Margaret Nandoli, I am Bola Moyo’s Program Coordinator in Balaka. I am a widow with one child. I met Cara and Dustin Pattison in 2005 and in 2006 helped them start the projects here. I want to personally thank all of you in the US for your support of Bola Moyo. When we started the project we had no idea we would come this far. All the time, we are having more children join our youth centre and we are always hearing how happy the parents are of what the children are learning and who they are becoming. By being a part of our youth clubs, these children are able to keep away from more harmful behaviors and pastimes. Many of them are showing great potential, some in music, some in art, some in writing, and some in sports. We are also very joyful over the ‘Adult Education’ Program that began in January. It is headed by Rose Mbendera. She has registered a total of 48 women in this program and expects that, by next January, it will have grown even more. I want to thank you again for your support of these projects.
On behalf of the rest of Bola Moyo’s Malawian staff, we say ‘God bless you’ and ‘Moni kwaonse’ (Greetings to all).
Margaret Nandoli, Program Coordinator
Note from the Director
As I write this, I sit at the dining room table of the Bola Moyo house in Balaka, Malawi. Because the sitting and dining rooms are really one large space, I am surrounded by windows. If I look through the window to my right and strain my ears a bit, I can eavesdrop on the group of about 40 children who are debating and discussing the issue of deforestation in Malawi (‘The Environment’ is this week’s theme at the Youth Centre). If I turn my head to the left I see a group of 15 women, ranging in age from 20 to 65, sitting in the shade of what we like to call ‘the summer hut’. They are busy learning how to read and write. This is the ‘Adult Literacy’ group which is a part of our new ‘Adult Education’ Program. Looking straight ahead, I can marvel (yes, marvel) at the ingenuity and skill of the youth in our PRIDE Program who have erected a beautiful structure from local materials in our side yard, whose purpose is to provide a hospitable environment for growing edible mushrooms. This mushroom project is just one of the income-generating activities that are helping Bola Moyo move toward a self-sustaining future. All around the Bola Moyo house, one can feel the excitement and the strong sense of belonging that has developed around this place and these projects. Keep scrolling down the page to find several brief articles and stories meant to give you a sort-of snapshot image of what is going on here in Balaka. Enjoy!
Khalani Bwino,
Stay well,
Dustin Pattison, Director
Adult Education Update
In case you’ve not yet heard, we are excited to introduce you to our new Adult Education program! The idea for this program came from our Malawian staff as they recognized that many of the parents of the youth attending the Youth Centre did not know how to read or write. We went to these parents and asked them whether they might be interested in learning these skills and they said “Of course!” To head up this program, we hired Rose Mbendera, who has a stellar reputation in the Balaka community for her efforts in the area of Adult Literacy. These adult students are not only learning to read and write but, through this program, will be able to continue their studies up through a junior high level (and hopefully up through high school once we have enough teaching staff). Almost every one of the participants started formal schooling at one time or another but for various reasons were forced to drop out. Through participating in this program, students learn basic and valuable skills of reading and math that allow them to better navigate life in Malawi (buying and selling in the market, reading basic signs and prescription labels, etc.) and, what’s more, by continuing their otherwise thwarted educations, they will be able to fulfill dreams of making better wages and building a better life for themselves and their families. Our board member/volunteer from the US, Desiree Cooper has been working closely with this program and has been building relationships with the students, getting to know their individual situations and needs. Three of our students just took the 8th grade test that will get them into high school (Desiree has written a profile of two of these students, Martha and Violet, that you can read below). We are extremely excited about this and eager to hear the results when they are posted in late November. A big thank you to all our supporters for helping us get such a great and meaningful progam off the ground!
Adult Ed Profiles: Martha and Violet
By Desiree Cooper, Board Member
Martha and Violet are two students in Bola Moyo’s Adult Education program who took their Standard 8 (equivalent to 8th grade) exams in early September. In Malawi, every student must pass these exams before they are eligible for Secondary School. Martha and Violet attend classes at Bola Moyo every weekday afternoon in preparation for these exams. I adored seeing them both study so diligently, and I felt an immense sense of pride in Bola Moyo's work seeing them improve every day. They have built a strong friendship with each other and assist one another with their studies.
Violet, now aged 25, originally dropped out of Standard 8 back in 1999 because she fell ill and was too sick at that time to register and study for her exams. She married her husband in 2000 and now has two young children by him.
Martha, now aged 23, finished Standard 8 back in 2000; however, she never took the Standard 8 exams because her father died during the school year, and as often happens in Malawi, his relatives came to their home after he passed away and took all of their belongings. She then had no one to pay her exam fees. She married her husband in 2002, and like Violet, now has two young children. Her infant son, Limbani, comes with her every day to classes.
Both women began loyally attending Bola Moyo’s Adult Education classes back in mid-January, after they heard about the program from friends. They both badly wanted to continue their education, but they had never before had the time to attend regular school and didn't have the money for exam fees. Now they take classes in English, Science, Chichewa (Malawi's official language), Social Studies, and Mathematics. Martha's favorite subject is Social Studies and Violet's is Math.
After they receive the results of their Standard 8 exams and have found that they have passed, both women desire to go on to Secondary School. They both hope to obtain employment after completing Secondary School; specifically, Violet wants to be a secretary at a government institution and Violet plans to be a nurse.
All my best to Martha and Violet as they continue on this exciting journey!
Youth Centre Update
The Youth Centre continues to go strong. We’ve added new activities such as small-group lessons for guitar, keyboard, and drums. The youth are getting really excited about the upcoming year with its line-up of interesting and inspiring guest speakers and field trips. We’ve been receiving great news from the guardians of many of our youth as to how their children’s involvement with Bola Moyo is positively influencing their behaviors at home and performances in school. Because of our reputation within the district (which is sort of like a county) and the dedication of our youth, three girls from the Centre were chosen by the District Youth Office to go to the Capital City this next year to represent the District in what is called the National Youth Congress. Congratulations Chisomo, Grace, and Maria!
Our New Football (as in Soccer) and Netball Teams
This year, a group of boys from Bola Moyo, with the help of Mr. Ngumbi, a member of our youth staff, are forming a soccer team. Possibly, the girls will also be forming a netball team (netball is similar to basketball). They will play in leagues that include other youth clubs from throughout the District. These team sports offer a great way to spread the word about what Bola Moyo is doing in the town of Balaka while building an even stronger sense of belonging, teamwork, self-confidence and fair-play among the Bola Moyo youth. If you or anyone you know would like to donate money or resources to these teams (we will need more balls and uniforms), please contact Dustin at 1-503-508-8898.
At the Crossroads
Right now begins the time for registering participants in Malawi’s big annual music competition, Crossroads, which takes place in late November (the local competitions) and January (the final national competition). A handful of our youth (six of them, to be exact) are very excited about this because they are entering the competition as a band (three djembe drummers, a keyboardist, and two singers). A member of our Malawian staff, Isaac Liwotcha, who is himself a fairly well-known and adored musician here in Malawi, is helping them to compose and rehearse the song with which they will compete. Crossroads starts as a week-long series of workshops where each instrumentalist and vocalist will be able to improve their respective skills. At the end of this week, the first local competitions take place. The winners of these competitions compete with each other in the Nationals come January and the group that wins the Grand Prize will get to travel to Europe and the US to perform! Keep your fingers crossed for the young musicians of Bola Moyo!
Note from our Program Coordinator, Margaret Nandoli
Hello, Muli Bwanji (How are you)? My name is Margaret Nandoli, I am Bola Moyo’s Program Coordinator in Balaka. I am a widow with one child. I met Cara and Dustin Pattison in 2005 and in 2006 helped them start the projects here. I want to personally thank all of you in the US for your support of Bola Moyo. When we started the project we had no idea we would come this far. All the time, we are having more children join our youth centre and we are always hearing how happy the parents are of what the children are learning and who they are becoming. By being a part of our youth clubs, these children are able to keep away from more harmful behaviors and pastimes. Many of them are showing great potential, some in music, some in art, some in writing, and some in sports. We are also very joyful over the ‘Adult Education’ Program that began in January. It is headed by Rose Mbendera. She has registered a total of 48 women in this program and expects that, by next January, it will have grown even more. I want to thank you again for your support of these projects.
On behalf of the rest of Bola Moyo’s Malawian staff, we say ‘God bless you’ and ‘Moni kwaonse’ (Greetings to all).
Margaret Nandoli, Program Coordinator
Note from the Director
As I write this, I sit at the dining room table of the Bola Moyo house in Balaka, Malawi. Because the sitting and dining rooms are really one large space, I am surrounded by windows. If I look through the window to my right and strain my ears a bit, I can eavesdrop on the group of about 40 children who are debating and discussing the issue of deforestation in Malawi (‘The Environment’ is this week’s theme at the Youth Centre). If I turn my head to the left I see a group of 15 women, ranging in age from 20 to 65, sitting in the shade of what we like to call ‘the summer hut’. They are busy learning how to read and write. This is the ‘Adult Literacy’ group which is a part of our new ‘Adult Education’ Program. Looking straight ahead, I can marvel (yes, marvel) at the ingenuity and skill of the youth in our PRIDE Program who have erected a beautiful structure from local materials in our side yard, whose purpose is to provide a hospitable environment for growing edible mushrooms. This mushroom project is just one of the income-generating activities that are helping Bola Moyo move toward a self-sustaining future. All around the Bola Moyo house, one can feel the excitement and the strong sense of belonging that has developed around this place and these projects. Keep scrolling down the page to find several brief articles and stories meant to give you a sort-of snapshot image of what is going on here in Balaka. Enjoy!
Khalani Bwino,
Stay well,
Dustin Pattison, Director
Adult Education Update
In case you’ve not yet heard, we are excited to introduce you to our new Adult Education program! The idea for this program came from our Malawian staff as they recognized that many of the parents of the youth attending the Youth Centre did not know how to read or write. We went to these parents and asked them whether they might be interested in learning these skills and they said “Of course!” To head up this program, we hired Rose Mbendera, who has a stellar reputation in the Balaka community for her efforts in the area of Adult Literacy. These adult students are not only learning to read and write but, through this program, will be able to continue their studies up through a junior high level (and hopefully up through high school once we have enough teaching staff). Almost every one of the participants started formal schooling at one time or another but for various reasons were forced to drop out. Through participating in this program, students learn basic and valuable skills of reading and math that allow them to better navigate life in Malawi (buying and selling in the market, reading basic signs and prescription labels, etc.) and, what’s more, by continuing their otherwise thwarted educations, they will be able to fulfill dreams of making better wages and building a better life for themselves and their families. Our board member/volunteer from the US, Desiree Cooper has been working closely with this program and has been building relationships with the students, getting to know their individual situations and needs. Three of our students just took the 8th grade test that will get them into high school (Desiree has written a profile of two of these students, Martha and Violet, that you can read below). We are extremely excited about this and eager to hear the results when they are posted in late November. A big thank you to all our supporters for helping us get such a great and meaningful progam off the ground!
Adult Ed Profiles: Martha and Violet
By Desiree Cooper, Board Member
Martha and Violet are two students in Bola Moyo’s Adult Education program who took their Standard 8 (equivalent to 8th grade) exams in early September. In Malawi, every student must pass these exams before they are eligible for Secondary School. Martha and Violet attend classes at Bola Moyo every weekday afternoon in preparation for these exams. I adored seeing them both study so diligently, and I felt an immense sense of pride in Bola Moyo's work seeing them improve every day. They have built a strong friendship with each other and assist one another with their studies.
Violet, now aged 25, originally dropped out of Standard 8 back in 1999 because she fell ill and was too sick at that time to register and study for her exams. She married her husband in 2000 and now has two young children by him.
Martha, now aged 23, finished Standard 8 back in 2000; however, she never took the Standard 8 exams because her father died during the school year, and as often happens in Malawi, his relatives came to their home after he passed away and took all of their belongings. She then had no one to pay her exam fees. She married her husband in 2002, and like Violet, now has two young children. Her infant son, Limbani, comes with her every day to classes.
Both women began loyally attending Bola Moyo’s Adult Education classes back in mid-January, after they heard about the program from friends. They both badly wanted to continue their education, but they had never before had the time to attend regular school and didn't have the money for exam fees. Now they take classes in English, Science, Chichewa (Malawi's official language), Social Studies, and Mathematics. Martha's favorite subject is Social Studies and Violet's is Math.
After they receive the results of their Standard 8 exams and have found that they have passed, both women desire to go on to Secondary School. They both hope to obtain employment after completing Secondary School; specifically, Violet wants to be a secretary at a government institution and Violet plans to be a nurse.
All my best to Martha and Violet as they continue on this exciting journey!
Youth Centre Update
The Youth Centre continues to go strong. We’ve added new activities such as small-group lessons for guitar, keyboard, and drums. The youth are getting really excited about the upcoming year with its line-up of interesting and inspiring guest speakers and field trips. We’ve been receiving great news from the guardians of many of our youth as to how their children’s involvement with Bola Moyo is positively influencing their behaviors at home and performances in school. Because of our reputation within the district (which is sort of like a county) and the dedication of our youth, three girls from the Centre were chosen by the District Youth Office to go to the Capital City this next year to represent the District in what is called the National Youth Congress. Congratulations Chisomo, Grace, and Maria!
Our New Football (as in Soccer) and Netball Teams
This year, a group of boys from Bola Moyo, with the help of Mr. Ngumbi, a member of our youth staff, are forming a soccer team. Possibly, the girls will also be forming a netball team (netball is similar to basketball). They will play in leagues that include other youth clubs from throughout the District. These team sports offer a great way to spread the word about what Bola Moyo is doing in the town of Balaka while building an even stronger sense of belonging, teamwork, self-confidence and fair-play among the Bola Moyo youth. If you or anyone you know would like to donate money or resources to these teams (we will need more balls and uniforms), please contact Dustin at 1-503-508-8898.
At the Crossroads
Right now begins the time for registering participants in Malawi’s big annual music competition, Crossroads, which takes place in late November (the local competitions) and January (the final national competition). A handful of our youth (six of them, to be exact) are very excited about this because they are entering the competition as a band (three djembe drummers, a keyboardist, and two singers). A member of our Malawian staff, Isaac Liwotcha, who is himself a fairly well-known and adored musician here in Malawi, is helping them to compose and rehearse the song with which they will compete. Crossroads starts as a week-long series of workshops where each instrumentalist and vocalist will be able to improve their respective skills. At the end of this week, the first local competitions take place. The winners of these competitions compete with each other in the Nationals come January and the group that wins the Grand Prize will get to travel to Europe and the US to perform! Keep your fingers crossed for the young musicians of Bola Moyo!
posted by Bola Moyo at 1:40 AM
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