Painting Blackboards: The End of a Good Week

Painting Blackboards: The End of a Good Week
July 3, 2009

Today Virginia Tech student painted blackboards at Domasi Government School and Radford University students painted them at Malemia School. Because Monday is Malawi’s Independence Day, there will be a three-day weekend, which may allow the boards to dry enough, although I am worried because it’s much colder and wetter than normal.

Anyway, the VT group began before noon; thankfully the standard 1 teachers had washed their boards. No other boards were washed. Two girls brought pails of water and rags to begin the washing. After the standard 1 boards were done, Todd helped the girls with the board washing throughout the other 8 classrooms. He carried the water for them, even trying to get them to see that filled halfway would be fine. They’re so used to filling the buckets to the top when they carry water for their homes! One older boy finally joined Todd in washing the board. Todd, of course, suggested that he continue helping that way in the future. I’m sure he helped because Todd was. It’s the task of girls to clean the schools. At all three schools, I saw only girls cleaning. They sweep the rooms with a handful of dried brush. They then use rags, and bending over at the waist, they mop the floor is sweeping motions with the rags. Meanwhile the boys are playing around the school. I have seen this scenario for more than ten years at many schools. Only if a head teacher insists on boys working will that be done. At Mwanje School last week, Moses Fox, from the NC A&T group, was carrying a suitcase with the remaining back packs to the office and two teachers, one male and one female, indicated to girls that they should take the suitcase from Moses. Of course, he refused and continued to carry it. No matter what the Ministry or curriculum might espouse about gender equality, nothing much has changed.

We had 10 boards to paint. These are the ones that are just plaster on the brick walls; they’re not slate. Jessica and Kacey painted throughout the entire time. Deanna painted by herself because Todd was elsewhere. The two Rachels were still teaching because they’re in standard 7 that doesn’t release students until after 1:00, and there lessons went over time also. They have been carrying a heavy teaching load but are enjoying it and doing well. They came in time to paint the three boards in the last classroom, with Todd pitching in to finish. We left the rest of the paint and brushes for the school.

All the students felt so proud of the work they had done. The boards were beautiful and will last until next year when they’ll need painted again. Coming home on the bus, Todd, sitting in the “shotgun” seat beside the driver, turned around and said to me, “It was a very good week.” Yes, it was.