MARGARET NANDOLI ~~ PROGRAM COORDINATOR
Margaret is quite possibly the sweetest, sincerest, most caring and most jovial woman you will ever meet. Besides being “The Boss,” she is a devoted mother and grandmother. She is active in her church and in local politics. She is called “Mother” by the majority of the youth who come to be with and learn from her at Bola Moyo’s youth centre. She is, in many ways, the glue that holds her family and her community together and her role in Bola Moyo is no different.
Cara and Dustin, Bola Moyo’s co-founders, met Margaret in 2006 when they were holding community forums in Balaka with the purpose of learning how Bola Moyo could best be a part of meeting the community’s unique and many needs. She showed herself from the start to be a strong woman who held great respect in the community. During the forum, she was the one who kept raising her hand, offering up incredible ideas, advice, and even the occasional rebuke directed at those who were comfortable with the status quo. In Balaka, the town and the district, Bola Moyo’s programs have become the models of how community and youth leadership development should be done – and Margaret, more than anyone else, has been absolutely integral to this process.
ROSE MBENDERA ~~ ADULT EDUCATION MANAGER
Rose hales from Mchinji district in the far west of Malawi, though she spent many of her formative years in Zambia. She moved to Balaka in 1972 when she married her husband, who is a retired police officer. She has five adult sons.
Rose was a housewife for 32 years, but after her children left home she decided to dedicate her life to promoting adult literacy and education in her community. She developed her own adult literacy program and curriculum, which she taught in Balaka with spirited dedication, solely on a voluntary basis, for six years. In early 2007, we decided she was so talented that we swooped her up and gave her a job to continue doing what she does best.
She is an invaluable member of our staff and has been instrumental in the formation and the success of our adult education programs.
ATANAZIO NGUMBI ~~ CHIEF YOUTH OFFICER
Mr. Ngumbi (his name means Mr. Termite!) joined Bola Moyo’s team as a volunteer and has since made his way up the ranks to Chief Youth Officer. Mr. Ngumbi is in his late 50s, the father of 11 children, and married to his high school sweetheart. He is a small man with an incredible amount of energy – contagious and exhausting at the same time -and don’t even think about trying to engage him in a discussion of Yao culture (his tribe) unless you have a LOT of time to spare.
Mr. Ngumbi is perfectly suited for working with kids. He especially loves sports and drama and is always eager to teach the children new things. A while ago, he taught them how to create “running water” with a plastic bottle and a piece of string. But besides introducing new and innovative activities , Mr. Ngumbi is great at teaching and encouraging the youth to be thoughtful and respectful young adults.
ISAAC LIWOTCHA ~~ YOUTH OFFICER
Isaac also started as a Bola Moyo volunteer. He is a well-known musician in the town of Balaka. He mainly works with the centre’s drama and music clubs, teaching singing and rhythm and a bit of music theory. Isaac is in his mid-thirties, and married with two children. He is in charge of tracking the secondary school students we sponsor, calling them together for regular meetings, discussions, and grade report reviews.
MADALITSO ~~ ADULT EDUCATOR
YOTALA CHATAIKA ~~ ADULT EDUCATOR
WALLACE ~~ NIGHT WATCHMAN
DICK ~~ DAY WATCHMAN
Wallace & Dick - Left & Right, respectively
