I recently submitted a grant to build more houses for my health centre. We are so short-staffed at my health centre and that is a result of poor housing in the area. I hope to fix that problem and thus turned in a grant. The executive summary:
Mhalaunda Health Centre is a rural health centre which opened in 2003 and currently serves a population of approximately 14,250 people. It is located in the southern part of Mzimba district and is one of several health centers under the management of Embangweni Mission Hospital. The initiation of the project was undertaken by the health center staff as the problem directly affects them. They have assumed the responsibility of organizing the community at large in the collection of sand, provision of bricks, and all other aspects of community involvement as well as the overall organization and implementation of the project in its entirety. They have researched the cost of materials and created a budget and timeline for the implementation and completion of the project. The community recognizes the need for healthcare professionals to reside near the health center, but they do not have access to enough monetary resources to solve the problem on their own. They have proposed to collect sand, mould and burn bricks, and provide transportation of materials to build another house on the health center campus and therefore ease the situation significantly. Their hope is that the remaining materials can be covered with a successful Peace Corps Partnership Program grant. The completion of a house would greatly improve the availability of healthcare and services in this community.
If you're interested in contributing, I encourage you to visit the link below, check it out and give a little. The community will all benefit.
https://www.peacecorps.gov/index.cfm?shell=donate.contribute.projDetail&
projdesc=614-231
Monday, September 26, 2011
Monday, September 12, 2011
Friday, September 9, 2011
Camp G.L.O.W.
Camp GLOW, Girls Leading Our World recognizes the tremendous potential of women worldwide. Camp GLOW was first established as an initiative of Peace Corps Romania in 1995 and was implemented in Malawi in 2003. Since then, over 400 young Malawian women have participated in Camp GLOW and taken what they've learned back into their communities. Camp GLOW seeks to help young women do away with the challenges and barriers they face today, replacing them with knowledge and skills which will propel them into active citizenship, shaping Malawi's tomorrow. That's a bit from the executive summary, to give you an idea of what GLOW is.
This year the camp was held from July 31st to August 7th, a week to be remembered surely. The camp brings together girls from across Malawi, from Nsanje district in the very south all the way to Chitipa, on the border of Tanzania. The girls converged on the campsite starting July 31st, piling into minibuses, big buses, and all manners of transportation to make it to Mponela, the site of the camp. They arrived an excited bunch, queuing for dorm keys and room assignments, and all the while giggling and making nervous introductions. We started off the week riding on this wave of excitement.
GLOW GLOW
GLOW Team GLOW
Shine Shine
Shine Girls Shine
GLOW Team GLOW
Shine Girls Shine
Let's Take Charge
So this chant was the chant for Camp GLOW. As we started sessions, as I quieted the girls to give directions during dinner, and even to greet the First Lady, the chant was ubiquitous. Let’s Take Charge was the theme for this year’s Camp Glow, encouraging girls to be assertive with their decisions, their goals, their body, and in whole, take charge of their life. To us, the coordinators and counselors, this theme evoked the feeling that strong, confident girls should have when pursuing their dreams. Take Charge indicates that we are active citizens, decision makers, and role models. We take charge not only of ourselves but for one another; we, as a united front of young women, are a family. Throughout the week we shared stories, moments, and an education to give us strength and endow us with courage to be the leaders of the future.
Each day of camp gave a new focus to our theme Take Charge:
- Monday began with Take Charge of My Self, a day centered on giving these young women the tools necessary to reach their full potential, to build self-esteem, self-confidence, and the ability to communicate well.
- Take Charge of My Heritage day featured influential women in Malawi and discussed the role of women in development, knowing that women have always been, and must continue to be an integral part of the development of our nations.
-Take Charge of My Future day, gave direction on how to achieve goals, including a panel by career professionals and a session on career counseling and guidance, as well as how to pursue higher education.
-Take Charge of My Body day, explored women's specific health issues, gender-based violence and the catastrophic impact of HIV and AIDS on women.
-Take Charge of My Choices day emphasized active citizenship, civic engagement, and public speaking.
-The final day, Take Charge of Our Future, we learned to take charge of our future by making a pledge to use the knowledge and skills learned at Camp GLOW to make decisions in our lives. We learned that planning for our futures is just as important as dreaming them up.
The week was packed with various activities, sessions, lectures, guest speakers, games, arts and crafts, and on that evoke our theme as well made the camp interactive and fun. We ended the first full day of camp by having an “I Can't” funeral. We built a magnificent bonfire (thanks go out to the “Bonfire Coordinators” for making it possible, i.e. Chloe and Ben) and gave each of the girls scraps of paper. They were instructed to write something on it that someone, or maybe even themselves, said they couldn't do, for example “I can't finish secondary school” or “I can't become a nurse.” And then one by one the girls threw the pieces of paper into the fire, symbolizing the end of that negative thought. It was touching to watch the girls dance around the fire and then when it came to be their turn they threw it into the fire with so much gusto, it almost felt like a pagan ceremony.
The final activity we did was a candle lighting ceremony, the closing ceremony for the camp. Each girl was given a candle and again we formed a circle around another magnificent bonfire. One by one, each girl lit her candle and as she did so she talked about her way forward from here, how the knowledge she learned at camp would guide her through the proverbial darkness. As the circle went from just a few lit candles to each and every girl holding a candle and lambent light flickering on every face, you could feel the power bursting forth. It was beautiful. At the end, everyone raised their candle and I made a speech to all of them. This may be the end of camp, but this was not the end of their journey. Times may be hard and you may feel as though you are engulfed in darkness and struggle, but this is why we have a candle. This is the way forward, a light for when times are dark, a light to symbolize a new beginning, and together we are a strong source of light. Everyone with their arms outstretched to the moon, holding a candle, it was a moment burned into my memory. I will never forget that moment and that feeling, feeling as one.
The week was both powerful, beautiful, and exhausting. I teared up numerous times throughout the week. We did one activity where the girls identified their role models, and wrote out their name on a card and posted it to their role model inspiration wall. One of the counselors came and got me after the session to point out one card in particular, a card that had my name on it: My role model is Chelsea Mertz. It made my heart ache, and I went to go give a big hug to Chance, the girl from my village who posted that card.
I can honestly say that doing this camp, having this experience has been the most profound and rewarding thing I've done while I've been in Malawi. It was trying, I got little sleep, felt stressed trying to direct and coordinate the camp, but in the end it was more than worth it. To watch those girls board the buses on the way back home, you could see the difference in them, they carried themselves with a newly endowed purpose. And I know for certain that Camp GLOW is one thing we all share and we shall never forget.
If you'd like to explore Camp GLOW more please visit our website, newly redesigned by the wonderful and talented volunteers Briana Scroggins and Ashley Stafford, at www.campglowmalawi.com
This year the camp was held from July 31st to August 7th, a week to be remembered surely. The camp brings together girls from across Malawi, from Nsanje district in the very south all the way to Chitipa, on the border of Tanzania. The girls converged on the campsite starting July 31st, piling into minibuses, big buses, and all manners of transportation to make it to Mponela, the site of the camp. They arrived an excited bunch, queuing for dorm keys and room assignments, and all the while giggling and making nervous introductions. We started off the week riding on this wave of excitement.
GLOW GLOW
GLOW Team GLOW
Shine Shine
Shine Girls Shine
GLOW Team GLOW
Shine Girls Shine
Let's Take Charge
So this chant was the chant for Camp GLOW. As we started sessions, as I quieted the girls to give directions during dinner, and even to greet the First Lady, the chant was ubiquitous. Let’s Take Charge was the theme for this year’s Camp Glow, encouraging girls to be assertive with their decisions, their goals, their body, and in whole, take charge of their life. To us, the coordinators and counselors, this theme evoked the feeling that strong, confident girls should have when pursuing their dreams. Take Charge indicates that we are active citizens, decision makers, and role models. We take charge not only of ourselves but for one another; we, as a united front of young women, are a family. Throughout the week we shared stories, moments, and an education to give us strength and endow us with courage to be the leaders of the future.
Each day of camp gave a new focus to our theme Take Charge:
- Monday began with Take Charge of My Self, a day centered on giving these young women the tools necessary to reach their full potential, to build self-esteem, self-confidence, and the ability to communicate well.
- Take Charge of My Heritage day featured influential women in Malawi and discussed the role of women in development, knowing that women have always been, and must continue to be an integral part of the development of our nations.
-Take Charge of My Future day, gave direction on how to achieve goals, including a panel by career professionals and a session on career counseling and guidance, as well as how to pursue higher education.
-Take Charge of My Body day, explored women's specific health issues, gender-based violence and the catastrophic impact of HIV and AIDS on women.
-Take Charge of My Choices day emphasized active citizenship, civic engagement, and public speaking.
-The final day, Take Charge of Our Future, we learned to take charge of our future by making a pledge to use the knowledge and skills learned at Camp GLOW to make decisions in our lives. We learned that planning for our futures is just as important as dreaming them up.
The week was packed with various activities, sessions, lectures, guest speakers, games, arts and crafts, and on that evoke our theme as well made the camp interactive and fun. We ended the first full day of camp by having an “I Can't” funeral. We built a magnificent bonfire (thanks go out to the “Bonfire Coordinators” for making it possible, i.e. Chloe and Ben) and gave each of the girls scraps of paper. They were instructed to write something on it that someone, or maybe even themselves, said they couldn't do, for example “I can't finish secondary school” or “I can't become a nurse.” And then one by one the girls threw the pieces of paper into the fire, symbolizing the end of that negative thought. It was touching to watch the girls dance around the fire and then when it came to be their turn they threw it into the fire with so much gusto, it almost felt like a pagan ceremony.
The final activity we did was a candle lighting ceremony, the closing ceremony for the camp. Each girl was given a candle and again we formed a circle around another magnificent bonfire. One by one, each girl lit her candle and as she did so she talked about her way forward from here, how the knowledge she learned at camp would guide her through the proverbial darkness. As the circle went from just a few lit candles to each and every girl holding a candle and lambent light flickering on every face, you could feel the power bursting forth. It was beautiful. At the end, everyone raised their candle and I made a speech to all of them. This may be the end of camp, but this was not the end of their journey. Times may be hard and you may feel as though you are engulfed in darkness and struggle, but this is why we have a candle. This is the way forward, a light for when times are dark, a light to symbolize a new beginning, and together we are a strong source of light. Everyone with their arms outstretched to the moon, holding a candle, it was a moment burned into my memory. I will never forget that moment and that feeling, feeling as one.
The week was both powerful, beautiful, and exhausting. I teared up numerous times throughout the week. We did one activity where the girls identified their role models, and wrote out their name on a card and posted it to their role model inspiration wall. One of the counselors came and got me after the session to point out one card in particular, a card that had my name on it: My role model is Chelsea Mertz. It made my heart ache, and I went to go give a big hug to Chance, the girl from my village who posted that card.
I can honestly say that doing this camp, having this experience has been the most profound and rewarding thing I've done while I've been in Malawi. It was trying, I got little sleep, felt stressed trying to direct and coordinate the camp, but in the end it was more than worth it. To watch those girls board the buses on the way back home, you could see the difference in them, they carried themselves with a newly endowed purpose. And I know for certain that Camp GLOW is one thing we all share and we shall never forget.
If you'd like to explore Camp GLOW more please visit our website, newly redesigned by the wonderful and talented volunteers Briana Scroggins and Ashley Stafford, at www.campglowmalawi.com
Back with a Vengeance
I feel I should start off by apologizing. It's been a long time since I've posted anything. The only excuses I can offer is that I've been busy (which accounts for only have of the onus), the other is that I've now been here for 15 months and I've reached that cardinal point where so few things seem novel. It's all part and parcel of my daily activities, seldom do I feel the inspiration to write any longer. Well I vow to change that, I owe it to my loyal readers, my parents.
I do have a renewed motivation to write thanks to a package I received just this week from Jessie Garrett. Jessie sent me a package, full of New Yorkers (yay!), and with a letter introducing herself. She ran across my blog through facebook and started reading. I guess she appreciated and enjoyed what I had to write. I hope she sees this shout out! Her letter really made my week and made me remember that friends and family might not call as often anymore, but I'm not forgotten. But due to a mail system that could rival the Pony Express, I didn't receive it until Tuesday this week (September 6th) when it was mailed in April. So yeah. I'm working on a response letter as well. Because of her package I've made myself sit down and put my fingers to the keyboard to get back to writing. Allow me to give an update on my life:
So I spent July planning for Camp GLOW, which I wrote about in the post right after this one. We'd been prepping for the camp pretty actively since March. We being me and the other 4 coordinators. I served as the Programming Coordinator, so I was responsible for booking guest speakers, putting together the camp curriculum, finding people to lead sessions, and being the director of the camp while there. Oh yes, I was the one standing in front of a group of 80 adolescent girls and counselors leading camp songs and shhing them for speakers, and what not. I now understand why camp directors are a little kooky and have an ego. It's necessary in order to both keep people in line and to keep them interested. I'd say I did a pretty good job, but then again I was the one standing in front leading the group in “Make new friends, but keep the old, one is silver and the other gold.”
In August my two brothers came for a visit. If you know either of my brothers you know that we never really have a holiday or vacation, there is always some kind of agenda to it. Same goes for their visit to Malawi. We spent about half of their time here installing and working at the mission tenets of the Malawi Wifi Project, a non-profit established by my older brother G. Jason Schnellbacher. The Malawi Wifi Project holds as its mission to bring new, emerging technology to Malawi to extend internet capabilities to rural and hard to reach areas of Malawi. There visit was to establish the pilot project. That project is now underway in an area outside of Blantyre, located in the southern region of Malawi.
Giving the teachers the first go at how to use the computers.
In addition, my brothers brought computers donated to the project from Olathe Medical Center, located in Olathe, Kansas, and we distributed computers for use in my village. Several were given to my health centre, and several to youth leaders associated with the youth conference held at Mhalaunda and sponsored by the Church of Central African Presbyterian (CCAP), and several to my local secondary school where we also did a solar installation, a panel fixed to the roof, wiring, and the outlets, so that now the school has access to electricity.
Gabriel installing a solar panel at the secondary school.
My brothers visited my village to see where I live and work as well as to do the computer distribution and installation. But it wasn't all work, we shared several meals with my neighbors, forced them to eat nsima, the local “delicacy.” We took a hike around my village to see the local bush. And because there is no running water here, they were forced to use my chimbudzi, my outhouse. That was by far the most amusing as my little brother, Andrew, didn't adjust too well to the sticky, carb-y mass of nsima and was constipated for nearly a week. And then he was forced to squat over my glorified hole in the ground to squeeze it out. I suppose I didn't help matters by sneaking up on him and sticking a camera through the air vent to snap a picture. But then again what are sisters for? It was just too amusing to pass up. I promised him I wouldn't post it, but years down the road, if and when he gets married, that picture is making it into the slideshow.
For more information on the Malawi Wifi Project, please look us up on Facebook.
Well I have a new cat, the sister to Panda Banda, my other cat, in fact. Her name is Gizmo and she formally belonged to another volunteer that just COS-ed (Peace Corps is very keen on their acronyms, COS stands for close of service, the date our contract ends), Meg Watkins. I adopted the cat upon her departure to make my house feel a little less lonely. And I got a little more than I bargained for, besides Gizmo, I got her and her brood, 4 small kittens that upon delivery were only a week old. Right now, they're roaming my house. Well I suppose roaming isn't the right word, more like padding lightly in a 10ft radius of their bed. They are getting more active though, they don't sway like a drunkard when they walk any longer. And they're getting a little more playful and looking less like furry aliens. Which for me means they're both cute and starting to verge on obnoxious. I'm raising a household of kittens and a mother that's a tad crazy (her preferred meal is a piece of bread smeared with butter and sliced tomatoes). It's amusing as I go about my day, of course my whole village knows I have this new set of kittens, despite my attempts at privacy everyone knows about everything all the time. I have the same daily dialogue with people:
Me: Mwawuka uli? (How did you wake up?)
Villager: Tawuka makola, kwali imwe? (We woke well, and you?)
Me: Ah, nawuka makola. Ku nyumba wali makola? (Ah, I woke well also. And how is your house?)
Villager: Ah, wali makola. Na ku nyumba? (Ah, they are well. And your house? A play at the fact that I live alone)
Me: Ka chona wali makola chomene. (Oh my cats are doing very well)
Villager: laughs
And that's the end of the exchange, and I have it about 10 times a day, everyday, in its various forms, the morning, the afternoon, the evening, etc. But whatever evokes laughs and chortles from others is always good with me. Malawians are very genial, good-natured people and they love to laugh. So I make it my mission to crack them up whenever possible.
Ok, I'll end there. I think that's a decent return to writing. I plan to do more anecdotal posts in my coming entries, so that's something to look forward to! Any comments feel free to respond here or email me at chelsjaye@gmail.com. I have an iPhone in the village, so I do check my email everyday. With that, we're done.
Khalani makola, please stay well.
I do have a renewed motivation to write thanks to a package I received just this week from Jessie Garrett. Jessie sent me a package, full of New Yorkers (yay!), and with a letter introducing herself. She ran across my blog through facebook and started reading. I guess she appreciated and enjoyed what I had to write. I hope she sees this shout out! Her letter really made my week and made me remember that friends and family might not call as often anymore, but I'm not forgotten. But due to a mail system that could rival the Pony Express, I didn't receive it until Tuesday this week (September 6th) when it was mailed in April. So yeah. I'm working on a response letter as well. Because of her package I've made myself sit down and put my fingers to the keyboard to get back to writing. Allow me to give an update on my life:
So I spent July planning for Camp GLOW, which I wrote about in the post right after this one. We'd been prepping for the camp pretty actively since March. We being me and the other 4 coordinators. I served as the Programming Coordinator, so I was responsible for booking guest speakers, putting together the camp curriculum, finding people to lead sessions, and being the director of the camp while there. Oh yes, I was the one standing in front of a group of 80 adolescent girls and counselors leading camp songs and shhing them for speakers, and what not. I now understand why camp directors are a little kooky and have an ego. It's necessary in order to both keep people in line and to keep them interested. I'd say I did a pretty good job, but then again I was the one standing in front leading the group in “Make new friends, but keep the old, one is silver and the other gold.”
In August my two brothers came for a visit. If you know either of my brothers you know that we never really have a holiday or vacation, there is always some kind of agenda to it. Same goes for their visit to Malawi. We spent about half of their time here installing and working at the mission tenets of the Malawi Wifi Project, a non-profit established by my older brother G. Jason Schnellbacher. The Malawi Wifi Project holds as its mission to bring new, emerging technology to Malawi to extend internet capabilities to rural and hard to reach areas of Malawi. There visit was to establish the pilot project. That project is now underway in an area outside of Blantyre, located in the southern region of Malawi.
Giving the teachers the first go at how to use the computers. In addition, my brothers brought computers donated to the project from Olathe Medical Center, located in Olathe, Kansas, and we distributed computers for use in my village. Several were given to my health centre, and several to youth leaders associated with the youth conference held at Mhalaunda and sponsored by the Church of Central African Presbyterian (CCAP), and several to my local secondary school where we also did a solar installation, a panel fixed to the roof, wiring, and the outlets, so that now the school has access to electricity.
Gabriel installing a solar panel at the secondary school. My brothers visited my village to see where I live and work as well as to do the computer distribution and installation. But it wasn't all work, we shared several meals with my neighbors, forced them to eat nsima, the local “delicacy.” We took a hike around my village to see the local bush. And because there is no running water here, they were forced to use my chimbudzi, my outhouse. That was by far the most amusing as my little brother, Andrew, didn't adjust too well to the sticky, carb-y mass of nsima and was constipated for nearly a week. And then he was forced to squat over my glorified hole in the ground to squeeze it out. I suppose I didn't help matters by sneaking up on him and sticking a camera through the air vent to snap a picture. But then again what are sisters for? It was just too amusing to pass up. I promised him I wouldn't post it, but years down the road, if and when he gets married, that picture is making it into the slideshow.
For more information on the Malawi Wifi Project, please look us up on Facebook.
Well I have a new cat, the sister to Panda Banda, my other cat, in fact. Her name is Gizmo and she formally belonged to another volunteer that just COS-ed (Peace Corps is very keen on their acronyms, COS stands for close of service, the date our contract ends), Meg Watkins. I adopted the cat upon her departure to make my house feel a little less lonely. And I got a little more than I bargained for, besides Gizmo, I got her and her brood, 4 small kittens that upon delivery were only a week old. Right now, they're roaming my house. Well I suppose roaming isn't the right word, more like padding lightly in a 10ft radius of their bed. They are getting more active though, they don't sway like a drunkard when they walk any longer. And they're getting a little more playful and looking less like furry aliens. Which for me means they're both cute and starting to verge on obnoxious. I'm raising a household of kittens and a mother that's a tad crazy (her preferred meal is a piece of bread smeared with butter and sliced tomatoes). It's amusing as I go about my day, of course my whole village knows I have this new set of kittens, despite my attempts at privacy everyone knows about everything all the time. I have the same daily dialogue with people:
Me: Mwawuka uli? (How did you wake up?)
Villager: Tawuka makola, kwali imwe? (We woke well, and you?)
Me: Ah, nawuka makola. Ku nyumba wali makola? (Ah, I woke well also. And how is your house?)
Villager: Ah, wali makola. Na ku nyumba? (Ah, they are well. And your house? A play at the fact that I live alone)
Me: Ka chona wali makola chomene. (Oh my cats are doing very well)
Villager: laughs
And that's the end of the exchange, and I have it about 10 times a day, everyday, in its various forms, the morning, the afternoon, the evening, etc. But whatever evokes laughs and chortles from others is always good with me. Malawians are very genial, good-natured people and they love to laugh. So I make it my mission to crack them up whenever possible.
Ok, I'll end there. I think that's a decent return to writing. I plan to do more anecdotal posts in my coming entries, so that's something to look forward to! Any comments feel free to respond here or email me at chelsjaye@gmail.com. I have an iPhone in the village, so I do check my email everyday. With that, we're done.
Khalani makola, please stay well.
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