World Camp for Kids- Malawi, Africa

Lauren Barrett, 2011

For winter term, I traveled to Malawi, Africa to spread HIV/AIDS awareness. Before arriving in Malawi, I was unsure of what I was getting myself into. I had hardly read anything about the World Camp program, but had a friend who referred me to the program so I decided why not? It will be a great experience. When telling anyone about the adventures I was about to embark on, the most common response was, “That is going to be such an amazing experience” and I would just nod and agree. But it was not until I actually arrived in Africa that I could actually put those words into action. The “amazing experience” that I had imagined I would live was not anything like what I stumbled upon in Africa. Everything I witnessed in Africa was unlike anything I could have ever prepared myself for.

For the month of January myself and ten volunteers, five coordinators, and various Malawian translators traveled to six different rural schools around the city of Lilongwe to teach about HIV/AIDS and the environment. We spent three days at each school, cramming as much information as we could into those three days. Every volunteer was assigned a teaching partner, changing partners from school to school, together teaching a class of around 30-40 kids. Each pair worked with a translator because the kids did not speak English. In the villages we were teaching in, they spoke Chichewa. The language barrier was very difficult for me to adjust to and in many cases left me feeling very vulnerable. At first I was incredibly frustrated that I could not talk one on one with the kids. This meant I could not go around the classroom while the kids were working quietly and comment on their work, or help them, without the translator. Not speaking their language also made me feel very vulnerable at times. When the translator was not in the room, like during lunch, there was no way to converse with the kids. Many times the kids would come up and surround me, talking in Chichewa. Since I could not understand them, there was nothing I could say back. After they spoke they would turn to each other and laugh. This left me feeling very uneasy because I had no idea what they were saying about me. Were they making fun of me? I had no way to tell. Every day we taught from 10 am- 3 pm beginning and ending the day with songs and games. The curriculum we taught the kids was very detailed and the kids were so interested in learning. They were some of the best-behaved children I have ever interacted with. Beginning the day with songs and games was always a pleasure. Playing games and singing songs got the kids to really open up to us. Along with getting the kids to open up to us, the songs and games really opened my eyes to a great aspect of Malawian culture. It was fascinating to watch kids from ages 9-16 sing and dance to the songs that we taught them. The songs were equivalent to songs we would sing in the U.S. at around age five. The kids loved the songs, and it was great to watch because it was so different from how I would normally see 9-16 year olds behave in a similar situation. If anyone were to try and teach kids in the U.S. the songs we sang with the Malawian children, they would think we were crazy and majority would not sing along or dance. Later, I found out that singing is a huge part of the Malawian culture. This is one aspect of their culture that I would love to adopt to American culture. At multiple points during the day the kids would just burst out into song, and everyone would sing along. They sang about everything from fruits and vegetables to god and living a healthy life. Not only would they all sing together in harmony, but they all had great voices! There were definitely some staple songs that we heard over and over at the different schools, but it was great to listen and watch the kids as they all sang together. The kids would sing when walking to and from their classrooms, back and forth from lunch, and then if any class ended early you often found the kids outside the classroom in a circle singing and dancing.

Being in Malawi really opened my eyes to what it means to really have nothing. The people living in the rural villages are so happy with nothing. They do not have electricity, running water, or even furniture. Still, with so little, they were some of the happiest people I have ever met. We did a home stay in one of the villages and the people were so welcoming. The families we were assigned too were so giving with the little that they had. They would provide us with the best room in their house, leaving them only one room for the rest of the family to sleep in. They pumped water and heated it for us so we could bathe in the morning. They made sure we were satisfied and were willing to do anything to help us. It was really comforting to feel so welcomed into their village and treated with such respect. All of the kids in the family were so interested in us. The father of my home stay family spoke some English, which made it easier to converse. He translated for me so I could talk with the kids and the mother. They were so interested in my life and what America is like. I did not want to share too much about what like is like in America because one of the reasons why they are so happy is because they do not know what else is out there. They have never been exposed to life in America, so they do not know what it would be like to live with running water or electricity.

Going to Malawi was a very challenging experience for me, I put myself in a place that was foreign to me and had to adjust very quickly. However, all things considered, I think I performed well and gave it everything I had. I went into every day with high energy, even when I was exhausted. Something I like to remember is the last week of being in Africa. During the last week, I was exhausted, and fairly ready to go home. I was really starting to miss home: my bed, good food, my family, everything. However, I was going to make the most of every day while I was there, because I did not want to look back on the experience and have regrets. It took a lot of motivation to rally for the last week, especially because I was starting to get sick, not just homesick, but physically sick. During the last camp I had a high fever. I could have easily not gone to the last day of camp and stayed home sick, but I gave it everything and went to camp. It was one of the longest days of the entire month but at the end of the day, I felt good about my decision. Going to every day of camp for the entire month is something I congratulate myself on.

The following students also participated  with World Camp for Kids:

Christopher Chung, 2010; Stephanie Henderson, 2011; Monica Ralston, 2009;

Please feel free to contact the Career Services Office or visit www.worldcampforkids.org for more information on this internship!