A Day of Blessings

A Day of Blessings
July 10, 2009

The day began at 6 a.m. trying to get my blog up during the one break in the clouds. Ann and I have a spot where we sometimes get a fairly good signal before either the clouds, rain, or electricity interferes. But this morning it was the monkeys that caused our problems. With my lunch bread and banana beside my computer, I was focused on my computer with the minutes ticking away at almost $4 for 30 minutes. A monkey leaped onto the table and snatched by banana, which started a rush of monkeys seeking other bananas. Ann, of course, obliged and soon had them in a frenzy. But alas there were no more bananas, so my lunch peanut butter sandwich lacked its usual accompaniment.

Today Mrs. Alippo Ussi, one of the Primary Education Advisors for the Zomba District, arranged for us to meet the scholarship students that the Chibale Project has sponsored. The eight students are in Form 1 (freshman year) at Domasi Demonstration Secondary School. That school was completed a couple years ago by the Japanese government and serves as a lab school for Domasi College of Education. This is the first year of the scholarship program.

Each year the top students who take the eighth grade School Leavers Examination are selected to go to secondary school. The very top may be selected to attend the two or three government run top residential secondary schools at the government’s expense. Unfortunately, these are usually students who have had the advantage of tutors and private education. The next tier of students selected is assigned to various other residential secondary schools; however, the parents must pay for them to attend. The last tier is selected to attend community day schools in their catchment area. However, even though the fees are small by our standards, many parents cannot afford the tuition and uniforms that are required, thereby ending a good student’s opportunity for further education. One church in far southwest Virginia, the home church of a Virginia Tech student who went on Study Abroad in 2008, and a primary school in the Midlothian area, where the mother of a student who went in the 2007 group teaches, donated money for a worthwhile project. Thus the scholarship program was born.

Three students from each school – Malemia Primary, Domasi Demonstration Primary, and Domasi Government Primary, which are the Study Abroad schools – are selected by a school committee to receive the scholarships. The teachers know which students are needy and which are not because the point of the program is to further the education of deserving students (those who rank in the top 12 to 13 percent of all Standard 8 students in the nation). And so we met our scholarship students who have now completed two of three terms in Form 1.

There were two girls and six boys (one student had decided to live with an uncle to attend school elsewhere). Seven parents or family members attended for us to meet them. One student is an orphan who lives with his uncle. Another’s sister came to have her picture taken with her scholarship brother. We talked with them and with the parents (Mrs. Ussi translated). The money is in the fund to provide Form 2 scholarships for these same eight students, at which time they must take another examination to see whether they are selected to proceed to Form 3 and 4. I hope we can collect enough money to send so that another three students from each school can be given scholarships for Form 1 and 2. Ideally, I would hope to continue with the Form 3 and 4 years as well. This is the best possible way of making difference in lives. Dr. Ndalapa Mhango, a man who received his doctorate from Virginia Tech and is on the board of the Chibale Project, talk to us about the concept of “needy” when I asked. He said that oftentimes families will sell their goats to send a child to secondary school, only to have the student drop out at a later point when the goats are gone and the family is then destitute, having given up a source of continuing income. The cost for sending a student to community day school is currently about $35 per year with the initial uniform costing around $15. For $155 a student can get a secondary school education. To say the least, the morning was heartfelt and inspiring.

Off I went to MIE, where members of the choir from Malika Church found Dr. Ann, Dr. Liz, and I to thank us for again coming to their church and assisting them in a small way. They presented us with a painting and letters, saying how much they appreciated our support for their tiny village church. A couple years ago a priest from a larger Catholic church in the Domasi area met the group when we went to Malika and tried to convince me to bring future groups to his church rather than a village church. I’m sure Malika knows that because they say that they don’t take for granted our preference for them. It was a beautiful farewell experience made even more memorable by Ann singing to them a song about friends parting. Ann has a beautiful voice and they applauded her gift of song.

At the end of the day we stopped the bus in Zomba Town for a run to the ForEx, the store for water, and collecting photos for school projects. The bus stops and students disperse themselves in all directions to do business. At the ForEx they had my receipt written without even asking my name and lodging address. It’s rather disconcerting because they know who we are and our every move.

The day ended with a family style buffet by “forced” candlelight of course (translation – the electricity was again off), and a party later with dancing in the same area after the electricity came back on.