Mission to Malawi

From Iowa to Thailand to New York City I have seen a wide variety of schools and classrooms– Smartboards (New York), carpeting (Iowa) air conditioning (Thailand!!!), but one thing has remained consistent–CHILDREN, smiling and eager to learn! I found this same spirit in the children of Malawi this smmer. As a World Camp volunteer I started my days bright and early. Along with 21 fellow volunteers I travelled from Lilongwe to  rural community schools and began my day singing songs and doing team-building activities with students. During the remaining part of the day students  learned about AIDS/HIV, protecting the environment and gender equality. Students concluded the day by working together to develop a project to share at the end of the week to educate their community.  All of your donation dollars were put to work. If you’re interested in volunteering for World Camp or would like to learn more, make sure to visit World Camp’s website.

Malawi

The Malawi Program is based in Lilongwe, the capital city of Malawi. Malawi is a small country situated east of Zambia, west and north of Mozambique, and south of Tanzania, in southern Africa. Malawi has a population of about 13 million people, most who speak Chichewa, one of their national languages, the other being English. About 90% of this population lives in rural areas, 54% of the population lives below the poverty line, and the life expectancy is 37 years. The staple crop is maize and the staple cash crop is tobacco. Malawi is made up of many diverse tribes, and those tribes vary considerably in their beliefs, music, dance, customs, and even in the ways they build their houses. The people of Malawi are warm and friendly as Malawi is often called the “warm heart of Africa.” Malawians typically live with their extended families in huts that are grouped together in villages. A spirit of cooperation prevails as family members share both work and resources. Lilongwe, the capital city of Malawi, is a city with a population of approximately 300,000 people.

Lilongwe is a common stopping point and overnight destination for thousands of travelers and backpackers each year. It is located on the main road between Zambia and beautiful Lake Malawi. Due to extreme poverty and starvation, many people are moving into the city to find work in order to pay for food. As a result, the population of Lilongwe is rapidly growing. One of the hardest hit groups is the children. Children from rural areas surrounding Lilongwe come into the city in order to beg for food, money, and shelter. Unfortunately, these children are often very unsuccessful. Thousands of children are estimated to die in Malawi in the next year because of starvation alone. On top of starvation, HIV/AIDS is devastating Malawi. Again, children are hit very hard by this disease. Thousands are left as orphans and homeless. Today, Lilongwe does not have a proper street shelter for these children. There are very few places a street child can go to receive food, a bed, clothing, shelter, and an education. Most are forced to stay on the streets to beg.

World Camp

World Camp was founded in 2000 by university students following their travels throughout southern Africa. Seeing the devastating effects of HIV/AIDS and the challenges it placed on children and their communities, these students met with various ministries of education in order to establish contacts and evaluate specific country and regional needs. The founding World Camp team consisted of ten university students who researched effective teaching methods and developed curricula for World Camp Malawi’s educational outreach programs. Since 2000, World Camp has worked with over 30,000 children in 150 rural schools and street shelters in six different countries.

How you can help

Thank you everyone for helping me reach my goal of $5,000! Lets do it again!