Program Updates: August ‘09
Bola Moyo in the News!
First off, Program Manager Margaret Nandoli and Field Director Desirée Cooper were interviewed, along with some of Bola Moyo’s beneficiaries, by a reporter who works for Voice of America in Malawi. The story has been published here (http://www.malawionline.net/Audio/Lameck-Masina__MOL__Report.mp3) and will soon be available on the Voice of America website. We were thrilled to have the opportunity to talk about the joys and challenges we experience in our work. (Please note: although the story reports that we provide small business loans, this is not currently part of our programming.)
Student Spotlight: Agnes Mpeta, Adult Literacy student, age 66
Agnes Mpeta is one of our star pupils at 66 years old. In a country with a life expectancy of 38 years and where nearly half the population is under the age of 15, Agnes is a true elder!
Agnes gave birth to 5 children, two of whom are surviving, and she has three young grandsons. She never had the opportunity to attend school as a child because her parents chose to send their sons to school instead of their daughters. Four years ago, she decided she needed to learn to read when she accidentally took the wrong bus due to her inability to read the route and destination on the front of the vehicle. Agnes has been a dedicated student of our Adult Education Headteacher, Rose Mbendera, since that time. She has since learned to read Chichewa, Malawi’s national language, and can do arithmetic, which helps her in her small business of selling charcoal and firewood. For the first time she is learning English at Bola Moyo’s ALiCE program. She can now read the newspaper and can even read passages of the Bible at her church. She is also enjoying learning about other cultures and countries outside of Malawi.
When reflecting upon her long life and experiences, Agnes tells this to the young ones of Malawi: if you know how to read and write, you have everything.
Community performances and upcoming promotional video
In partnership with the local chief near our community center, we held two performances within a week for the larger community to showcase the educational opportunities we provide. The showcase included singing, dancing, and plenty of theater performances. As a result we’ve attracted many more students in our youth and adult literacy programs. We were also able to capture plenty of video and images from these days, which we plan to make part of our upcoming promotional video.
Bola Moyo Library opens to the public
We’re also happy to announce that our library, previously only available to our program participants, is now opening to the public. Members of the Balaka community can become Bola Moyo Library members when they pay a nominal membership fee to receive their library card and mandatory library training. We’re delighted to be able to provide this service to the larger community. As part of this program we’ve taken on an Assistant Librarian, a girl named Maria, aged 15, who has been part of our youth center for the past 4 years. She and Grace, our Head Librarian, will conduct the trainings for our new members and supervise the library on open days.
Adult Literacy and Continuing Education: Good luck on your exams and congratulations to the graduates!
During the month of September, some of our Continuing Education participants will take their Standard 8 exams. All the best to these dedicated and hard-working women!
Additionally, our literacy students will go through the annual graduation ceremony. We look forward to congratulating our second graduating class!
Preparing for Volunteers
Our staff are also preparing for our new volunteers, who will begin arriving in January. Volunteers can teach and assist in our existing programs with youth and women, and we are also seeking to expand the programs we offer with a new HIV/AIDS support network and a Girls Empowerment program. However, we are open to any new ideas from prospective volunteers with particular passions. For example, we look forward to offering a Science camp to the community when a volunteer with this particular passion arrives to work with us next April. Additionally, we are investigating the possibility of entering into more active partnerships with local primary schools where volunteers may also receive placements in the future. You can find more information about volunteering with us, both in the US and Malawi, here: http://bola-moyo.org/volunteer/. Please note that the deadline for applications for a January volunteering start date in Malawi is September 15th. Please email volunteer@bola-moyo.org to submit your completed application, and for further information on costs and opportunities.
