Two extra nights off from the village felt like an eternity.  The quiet orphanage is no longer so quiet.  We have a new roommate who asks a lot of questions.  Aside from a trip to town we’ve planned to buy for gifts for the Benesi’s and a have a dinner out, we’ve been at that place where nothing surrounds it.  Two days there each week, I know, is more than enough.  I am itching to get back to the people I’ve grown to adore.  So when we got the chance to head there on Friday to conduct a brief meeting with the teachers, we couldn’t have gotten there quickly enough.  Of all the things we had to miss in just two days, we felt it was so important to keep our weekly meeting scheduled, as our time is certainly winding down and there is more we want to do - there always will be.  When we arrived, we jumped out of the car as fast as we could and literally ran up to our family to give big hugs.  I was so happy for them to see me doing so much better than I was when I left.  We exchanged the customary greetings, with our own twist – we shorten the words, and fire back all the jokes we’ve built up over the past few weeks.  It was good to be home.

Our meeting to follow was so worthwhile.  Though we were later than expected, the timing enabled us to meet with all 5 teachers from nursery schools connected under the umbrella of Tiyambe Nawo.  We congregated at the main center, where we’ve spent most of our time.  This impromptu meeting went beautifully.  We had all of our materials and posters to reference as we literally went through a day in the life of a nursery school, step by step.  Blessings was our translator this time, but so often, I could see in the teachers’ facial expressions that they understood and were soaking in what we were saying.

“Blessings, tell them what I just said.  Thanks!”

These women, who didn’t hesitate to sing when we arrived, are not just teachers to us. We feel deeply connected to them.  And I’m so motivated to provide the training that will continue to shape their students’ first experiences at school.

I’ve always enjoyed training teachers, which is why I’ve spent three consecutive summers doing just that in Atlanta.

Modeling the way we teach, in our classroom, for the teachers.

Here, we work with far less.  We work to overcome a language barrier, but I am just as inspired by the incredible people who make a commitment to the children.  In Malawi, miles away from Atlanta, they do so with very little education and training, many of the nursery school teachers, called care-givers, haven’t finished secondary school.  Some never made it through all of primary school.  They spend hours out of their work-filled days to teach however they know how in between trips to the farm and all of the daily work they do for their families.  Those with small children literally carry their babies on their backs while they teach.

The teachers of Tiyambe Nawo.

So while we continue to hope to inspire them to bring more energy, enthusiasm and consistency to the classroom, I do so, not with frustration for what they lack, but rather with a growing understanding of what they are balancing, which is far more than I ever could imagine.  This weekend we will make copies of everything we’ve created before and during this experience so that they really do have a guide to follow when we leave. I only wish there was more that I could give.  Before we go, we will meet with all of them, at least once more to give whatever else we possibly can.  One day down the road, I dream of returning to observe structure and consistency filling their modest little schoolrooms.

As for the children, they are so quick to pick up new lessons and activities.  They are ready, with open minds, for the fresh ideas their teachers will bring.  Right now, they must be wondering where we went.  I can’t wait to see them again, ready to fill our days and make the most of the few we have left.

And, I really do love them.