This morning was a 5am rise for one of the most beautiful experiences of our trip, mass at Stella Maris. Francis and Charity greeted us with warm smiles as we made our way past the stunning Kabula balcone view and round to the car.
As we started our drive, it was amazing to see just how busy the streets and roads were, even at this time in the morning.
Like back home, Sunday is a special day of worship and seeing everyone dressed in their finery on their way to celebrate mass was incredible.
We made our way up the hill to Stella Maris and as soon as we stepped foot out of the car, we could already hear the girls singing.
Queue the goosebumps…
The church was packed, as always. The sight of all of the girls was really something to behold and to be honest, incredibly emotional.
We quickly took our seats before mass started and our eyes and ears were drawn to the young girl conducting the choir at the front of the church. Mass soon started and Father gave a beautiful homily about putting our trust in God, working hard and supporting each other to achieve.
As mass carried on, it was wonderful to see so many of the girls (who were wearing beautiful pink and light blue sashes) taking on leadership roles in the mass. They made their way around the church to support with organisation of the collection and receiving the Eucharist.
There’s nothing quite like hearing the girls sing in harmony together. It’s fair to say we all had goosebumps as the passion and warmth radiated out from the congregation. It really was incredible.
As mass drew to a close, Thomas (choir master and teacher at Stella Maris) greeted us and welcomed us to Stella Maris.
We were invited to speak to the girls and as I nervously made my way up to the altar, I was greeted by lots of warm smiles from the girls at the sides on the pews. I started off by trialling out some of my very questionable Chichewa, but it provided some laughs which is always good!
I introduced the incredible team that I have the privilege of being out here with and told them a little bit about the training we would be delivering this week.
As we reflected back on Father’s sermon about trusting in God, we spoke about how one educated girl can inspire many, but many educated girls can inspire a nation.
Before we left, we were treated to some more stunning singing from the choir. They were very kind and let us record some videos - if you haven’t already, make sure you watch them on MLOL's twitter feed!
Sister Eunice and the other Sisters welcomed us at breakfast. We had a wonderful chat about all things education, MLOL and previous partnerships with Holyrood Secondary. The Sisters also told us how excited they were to have opened a nursery and primary school for Standard 1 and 2 learners.
More numbers to add to the current 530 girls who attend Stella Maris. As we walked through the grounds, it was incredibly tranquil. The girls were busy doing chores such as washing and cooking, and many girls had found a little space to get on with their studies.
Sheer dedication and passion, particularly on a Sunday morning.
The maize plants were in full bloom and the six large urns were full to the brim with rice, preparation for the day’s food. Sister told us of the ASN classroom which once supported a blind girl, who then went on to become a teacher in Stella Maris and who is supporting some of the blind children who now attend there - the sheer power of education!
We are so grateful for the continued partnership and communication with Stella Maris. Sister Eunice asked how Marie was and was happy to hear when I told her she had been my teacher when I attended school. She laughed and smiled as we talked about how the students have become the MLOLs and how we are hopeful this would continue in the future.
After Stella Maris, it was our usual visit to good old Shoprite. We grabbed the essentials (crisps, chocolate, juice and water) and then headed back to Kabula for some preparation before our planning meeting. This future of the partnership and the impact of the project was a strong topic of discussion and we wanted to make sure everyone has a role and responsibility to take things forward and continue this journey.
We decided to use the Growth Coaching Model to discuss our goals and reality for the week. They both focused on very similar themes but ultimately it was all about improving learner outcomes and experiences. After a quick disco nap, we were joined at 2pm by Cryton, Alfred, Wilson, Hastings and Charity - MLOLs past and present.
After our opening prayer (huge shout out to Karen who delivered this beautifully by the way) it was straight onto business.
We gave a quick overview of the content for the teacher and leadership training and Charity also highlighted the importance of the DEM and PEA presence and interaction at these. It was mentioned how short our time was here in Malawi and that this is sometimes challenging, but we’re hopeful that throughout the week we will have lots of colleagues joining and interacting in the sessions.
After finalising our TDC locations for training and timings, we then discussed our Growth Model. Our colleagues were in full support of the shared outcomes and we discussed ideas of the reality. We can’t wait to revisit these towards the end of the week and discuss and affirm our roles and responsibilities as we move forward together.
Finally, we all completed our Practice Pledge for the week. This is something we have embedded into both training sessions and we felt it was important that all attendees knew that everyone is working together to get the most out of this week. ‘Share a positive mindset.’ and ‘To participate fully.’ were particular favourites. Let’s hope we have more positive dialogue at the end of the week when revisit both our Growth Model and pledges.
After our meeting, we got straight to work prepping our flip chart posters, organising resources and chatting through our training together. This was followed closely by pizza on the Kabula balcone whilst enjoying the view and sound of the torrential rain. Stunning. It’s an early night for us all tonight as we get ready for our first day of training tomorrow, and I can already tell it’s going to be a good one.
Zikomo x
