good bye Malawi

My one year went by so fast. As my flight took off, I couldn't help crying because of an overwhelming sense of appreciation. Right now, I am back in St. Vincent and the Grenadines, the eastern Caribbean, reflecting my one year.

I will still continue posting some more blogs about things I didn't have enough time to write about when I was in Malawi. But today, let me thank some special people I met that made my stay so memorable.

First and foremost, my two local supervisors, Shake Steven and Vincent Zuze (photo #6). They have the true spirit of volunteerism, working voluntarily for the sake of preschools in underprivileged community. They work day and night with the international volunteers like myself. They go to preschools everyday with them, guiding the community and translating Chichewa into English for the international volunteers. Shake is 70 years old and Vincent is 59 years old. They still ride bicycle with them for hours and hours on a daily basis. Without them, this preschool project is simply impossible. Thank you Shake and Vincent. I will never forget you.

I would like to thank all the volunteer preschool teachers and the committee members that I worked with. Like Shake and Vincent, they also work for the development voluntarily. Some more active and dedicated than others but they do so much for the sake of their community's development and the better future of their children. I post pictures of those people and the preschool building I assisted in constructing (photo #5). I also post pictures from my goodbye party they prepared for me (photo #1 and 4). From December to February is what they call "hunger season". They simply don't have enough food so they only get to eat once a day if they are lucky. Despite such hard time, they somehow managed to prepare rice, nshima, and even chicken. People in the village only get to eat chicken once a year for Christmas. I was overwhelmed with so much appreciation that day. They also gave me lots of vegetables and chitenji (clothes women use for rap-skirts) as the farewell gift. They are my treasures.

I should not forget about my colleagues (photo #3). We worked and they are still working so hard for a great cause. It's our mission to inform as many people back home as possible about what we saw and did. World peace can start from one's change in awareness. I hope to stay in touch with all of them.

My project leader Hyson Masache (photo #2) also helped me a lot. We organized so many trainings and meetings for the sake of the preschool development project. He was doing all the behind-the-scene work, and I shall thank him for that.

And my Malawian family... I will miss them so much. I just hope to have a reunion sometime soon in the future.

I left Malawi on January 19th and I am already missing my life there so badly...