Post Numbala Four

August 10th, 2009

So in more news of the boNGO persuasion, we are still collecting funds and materials in preparation for our annual two week Early Childhood Development teacher-training. We've been involved in an ongoing discourse with UNICEF Malawi to the purpose of forming a partnership to support our teacher-training program for the long-term. The Malawian country director for UNICEF has been very positive with her feedback, and we are confident (albeit patient!) that this will be the beginning of a sustainable future in quality education for Malawi's teachers and children.

Within our partner community Tiyende Pamodzi, the platform for internalized and self-initiated development continues to strengthen. In their early childhood development programs, the main challenge they still face is a lack of proper structures to house school lessons. boNGO is still awaiting feedback from the U.S. Ambassador to Malawi's Self-help Fund, to whom we submitted a proposal for funds to build a new model preschool center with this community. We submitted this proposal in April of this year and are waiting for the U.S. Congress to pass its aid budget for Africa so that the U.S. Embassy in Malawi can issue its grants. In the meantime, Tiyende Pamdodzi community members are very eager to begin construction of the center and have organized tons of sand, quarry stone, building stones, and are wanting to mold and burn bricks to have everything completely ready.

In spite of this challenge, the recent successes at their preschool centers have been the provision of food to all children in the centers, quality training provided for the teachers, continuing monitoring and evaluation, support from the parents and the committee, and a good working relationship between partners. As well, the maize mill business which we helped this community to initiate has been one of the most successful programs the community has ever seen. Even though the mill has had its troubles with breakdowns and maintenance, the profits from the business have allowed the teachers at the community childcare centers to earn financial appreciation for the first time and for food to be purchased to feed the schoolchildren. The mill has been in operation for two years now, completely managed, operated, and maintained by the community itself.

The newest addition to our preschool teacher-training program is Mwaiwathu CBCC set up by the Fisherman's Rest Trust. The trust has supported the CBCC in identifying teachers, establishing an Executive Committee and training them in governance and management. They now want to set up an income generating activity of their own in order to secure the financial future of their school, so they are currently researching potential businesses to determine which may be most viable.

At the Umodzi-Mbame Community, host of boNGO's model preschool and teacher-training center, the Executive Committee is organizing materials to build new toilets for the center. With approval and a design from the Social Welfare Office, they are now consulting the Glass House for permaculture advice towards using and designing eco-friendly toilets.

Our after school youth program at Umodzi-Mbame, the Children's Corner, has been having some very interesting discussions amongst themselves and with their teacher-assistants. The topics of these discussions have ranged from which is better: to live in town or in the village, to be a man or a woman, to be black or white, to be educated or not, and more. These discussions are always lively and thought-provoking for the kids and spectators alike, I'll soon be sharing more details from these debates with you all.

I must here say how truly lucky we are at boNGO to have our Malawi Program Director Justin Namizinga. He is the hardest working and most sincerely and generously ambitious man I have perhaps ever met. He is the person responsible for keeping boNGO alive and growing these past years, so I feel like announcing to the world what a gem he is. Thank you Justin!

Thank you as well to all our friends out there who keep in touch with our efforts here in Malawi and around the world. boNGO is now registered in Switzerland and in the Czech Republic, so please click on the links to find out how you can get involved in these countries.

Love to you all,

David