Time flies. Especially when you are having a great time, in a beautiful country and working with an outstanding team of educators.
As I pack my bags and prepare myself for an emotional goodbye, I reflect on the end of an unforgettable journey.
Thursday morning, an early rise for Karen and I as we head to Limbe Primary school to meet another group of children who have will become pen pals for the Primary 4’s in Karen’s school. What a joy it was to see the excitement in the room as the children began reading about their new Scottish friends from Glasgow.
Soon after, we headed back to N’Drande TDC to prepare for training day four. When moving through the good lesson cycle, it was clear that teachers were really enjoying having the chance to plan a lesson together step by step.
When looking at the evaluations there was a clear message of teachers planning to investigate the learners previous learning experiences and use this to connect learning to relevant contexts. A big hit of the day was the KWL grid!
After training, we visited Godknows. Godknows and his wife Helen look after 110 children at Steka and opened their home to us to come and hear about the wonderful work they do. He informed us about the circumstances that have led some children to be in his care, and shared all of the work that he and his small team of 12 do to support these children and provide them with positive life experiences. We headed outside to meet some of the younger children who had finished school for the day.
They were full of joy and excitement. I was very lucky to have a few girls twist my hair for me whilst the other children decided that singing Christmas songs would be a great idea - and it was! I am so honoured to have met Godknows and his team, and more importantly find out about all of the invaluable work that they do.
Before I knew it, Friday was here and the fifth and final training day was upon us.
Today we were very lucky to observe a Standard 6 class during their English lesson. It was amazing to see how quickly the girls got into their groups and the conversations they were having during a collaborative task. Next, we headed to Standard 7 who were exploring a play called ‘The Gambler’.
When assigning characters, Karen kindly volunteered herself and it was awesome to see the girls interact with her and admire her expression of character. As scene 2 approached I should’ve predicted what was to come next. When there was an opportunity for another character to be assigned all eyes in the room fell to me (no pressure after Karen’s wonderful performance!).
I was delighted to join in on the acting fun and then finish up the class visits with our new friends in Standard 1. We have loved being with them for 3 mornings of the week and singing songs. I have especially loved meeting my new friend from standard 1 - Jane-Michael.
To have an excited and friendly face greet me every day with a big warm hug has been very special.
We finished the week with a final meeting and reflection between the Blantyre and MLOL team. It was great to see the positive impact that both training programs had provided throughout the week as well as look forward to future visits to see which new changes we could bring.
We were thankful for the support of the leaders of education in Blantyre, and appreciative of the most wonderful gift that I will treasure forever - a canvas map of Malawi.
The warm heart of Africa indeed.
As I write my final blog, I feel an immense sense of gratitude to have met, worked with and bonded with such an incredible team of Glasgow practitioners.
Laura - thank you for leading the team in such an organised, nurturing and legendary way. Watching you communicate the MLOL message and make speeches in multiple settings has been inspiring. I can’t imagine this trip without you.
Gillian - thank you for being the reassuring face of the team when nerves arose, keeping everyone smiling with your jokes and antics. To have a second experienced MLOL on the team was invaluable and your bright personality shone through.
And finally to Karen, my teacher training partner and friend. Thank you for being my shoulder to lean on since we learned that we were embarking on this journey together. Your enthusiasm and passion to share good practise with the teachers of Malawi was infectious. Your energy during training was invaluable and made all of the attendees feel at ease right away. I don’t know how we would have survived the week without your organised folders and sticky labels. It was an honour to share the floor with you and deliver training as a team.
I don’t think I’ll ever be able to capture in words how special of an experience this week has been, or how attached you become to the project and the people of Malawi. I will be forever grateful to Maureen and the MLOL team for this opportunity, and encourage my fellow passionate teachers to get involved.
Robyn
