Education Malawi Project #18788

Nurture and Inspire Youth Leaders in Malawi

by Art & Global Health Center Africa

Project Report | Apr 11, 2016
Meet our new mentors

By Helen Todd | Executive Director

The AGHCA team is really excited to be starting our next cycle of Students With Dreams. A series of information sessions have been getting prospective dreamers thinking about their visions for positive social change in Malawi, and we're enjoying reading their ideas as the applications roll in. We created a series of videos with last year's dreamers to share their experiences and tips with people considering applying for Students With Dreams, and we're also thrilled to share these with you, who made these stories happen!

One particular highlight has been welcoming a new team of mentors. Mentors are leaders who successfully completed our Students With Dreams program, and are inspired to support the next cohort of dreamers to make their dreams a reality.

Zola of Chancellor College shares: 'Not only am I a mentor, but also a project leader for Art beyond Bars, a project that uses art as a platform for expression in an attempt to attain full rehabilitation for prisoners. I want to see the youth initiate! I want them to be a part of the 'CHANGE' process instead of them just demanding for it in order to have a better Malawi.'

Lekodi, a Project Leader on 'LoudInk!' last year adds: 'I like to challenge my mind to try something new. The sky is the limit. The only limit to imagination and creativity are the limits we give ourselves. Granted not all things can happen, pigs won’t fly, but it shouldn’t stop you from trying. Right now I’m working to finish my degree and I’m writing a novel while I do it. I grew up around a different array of unique individuals which has shaped me into the person I am today and I hope to use my found creativity to help those of tomorrow.'

Susan is in her second year at the Domasi College of Education. She is excited about mentoring this year. When she is not laughing she is smiling, and she believes this will help her with facilitating the weekly brainstorming sessions. Susan’s Students With Dreams project “Ndi ngathe” worked with teen mothers who were still in school, or were dropping out due to early pregnancy.

We hope you join our excitement in seeing what these young leaders support the next generation of Dreamers to achieve, and thank you as always for your generous donations.

Links:

Videos from last year's dreamers

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Dec 9, 2015
Malawi's Dream Team

By Nancy Barry | Organizational Development Coordinator

Student response on how to achieve gender equity

We’ve had a busy and exciting three months!

Not only did we host a graduation for 12 of our students, our Students With Dreams student leaders teamed up with UNWomen to host a HeForShe event with students and recent graduates on the Chancellor University campus. HeForShe is a global solidarity campaign for gender equality and our dreamers did a fantastic job at creating dialogue around gender inequality and how men can play a larger role in creating a more gender equal space in Malawi.

At the HeForShe event, Art and Global Health Center Africa and the dreamers collected responses from the crowd on various questions about creating a more gender equal Malawi. Our first question to the crowd: In what ways are Malawi men and women not equal? Some responses included:

"Women are domesticated instead of educated" and "Subsistence farming is [considered] for women. Commercial farming is for men."

Our second question of the night: What role do men play in creating a gender equal Malawi?

"Men should own the gender issue and not look at it as a 'woman affair.'"

"Treat siblings equally so they grow up with a gender equal mindset."

"Stop underrating women by giving them a chance to express their views - Women are heroes too!!!"

The UN Women HeForShe event hosted by the dreamers was a success, with lively discussion highlighting gender inequality, roles and the spaces that can be created by men to achieve an equitable world.

To recognize all the amazing work our dreamers have done this year, we held a graduation of our Students With Dreams Chancellor College Class of 2014 - 2015. The 12 graduates and our staff celebrated with delicious barbeque and dancing around a campfire. It was a joyous celebration of all that our students have accomplished. Within the span of six months, they designed their own projects, working closely with communities to address local issues, such as nutrition, gender equity, education, and social justice.

Our students have accomplished so many amazing things this year and none of it could have been done without your support. We have watched as our students began with only a dream of a better future for Malawi to developing ideas of how to accomplish that dream and then to making those ideas a reality.

Dreamers, we are so proud of you!

Supporters, thank you for believing in them and joining them on their journey!

Links:

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Aug 28, 2015
Today's Dreamers, Tomorrow's Leaders

By Nancy Barry and Rodney Likaku | AGHCA Staff

Students With Dreams graduation at Domasi College

We have recently said goodbye to our 2014-2015 dreamers at Domasi College. These goodbyes are filled with some sadness, as all goodbyes are, but also pride, joy, and hope - pride for all that our dreamers have accomplished this past year, joy in watching them grow into confident, capable leaders, and hope for a bright future for our graduates and for the impact they will make on Malawi.

The dreamers at Chancellor College will soon follow the Domasi students in graduating from the Students With Dreams program. In the past year, the dreamers have designed projects to address problems in their community, mobilized a team, and conducted their interventions. These last few weeks, the dreamers and their teams have hosted their final projects. These projects are a culmination of a year’s hard work, overcoming the many challenges young leaders face in a low-resource country like Malawi. But it has also been a year where they have seen great change – in themselves as change makers and in their communities, thanks to their creative approaches to solving social issues.

One team that just had its final village intervention is"Kudya Koma Uku," which translates to “This is how to eat.” The project leaders used an arts-based approach to discuss alternative methods for nutrition. They danced and sang with the villagers and then engaged in role plays around hygiene, family budgeting, and healthy market-shopping. In Malawi, maize is the staple food for many families. Unfortunately, most locals are not privy to knowledge about alternative nutritional habits. This has led to malnutrition, hunger and problems where maize is either expensive or scarce. Kudya Koma Uku handled this disturbing narrative by bringing to light indigenous, cheap and nutritious alternatives.

Another project coming to a close is “Front Seat,” led by Tume and her partner Boscoe. During her initial interview for the Students With Dreams program, Tume said of her life living with albinism, "Sometimes we feel like it is us against the world.” She and Boscoe dreamed of a better society, where all people are accepted. In the six months since that initial interview, they mobilized and educated 400 people in local communities about albinism and the challenge of being marginalized.

Thank you for your generous support in making these young leaders’ dreams come true. We ask you to join us in celebrating the great work that our dreamers are doing in Malawian communities.

Dreamers, we are proud of you and we can’t wait to see what you do next!

Kudya Koma Uku engages villagers through dance

Kudya Koma Uku proudly displays healthy vegetables

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