This morning is the handover ceremony of the new classrooms for Kawale Primary School. We arrive at the school before 9 am to find event teams taking care of last minute details. The music blasting from the sound system is excellent and the sound itself is first rate – so I first make my way over to the sound guys to get their contact info. A good sound tech is a treasure in every nation! I talk to a group of young male students, asking them what they want to do when they grow up. One tells me he will be a lawyer, another a pilot, another a truck driver. I ask who will be President of Malawi one day and the young aspiring truck driver raises his hand. He says he is a hard worker so he can carry two jobs!
I spot Martin M’Tambo, Ancient Path’s Board Treasurer and initiator of this building project, standing next to the completed facility. He definitely looks way spiffier than our team and that’s as it should be. As I see it, this is his day.
Martin now lives in the USA but he attended this school as a young boy. He sat in the dirt, just one of hundreds of children and too few teachers, but with a fierce determination to learn. Now he returns as an alumni, a loving husband and father, a successful businessman and an adjunct professor who teaches at the Master’s level at the university he attended in Berea, Ohio. And he returns to give back to the country that sheltered him and the school that educated him. He watches as the last of the desks are delivered, just in time, and the architect and his team hang the commemorative plaque displaying the names and logos of the three entities involved in this project: Knorr Bremse Global Care, Bendix Corporation and Ancient Path.
Our team is seated under a small tent as the students are ushered into the courtyard, class by class. The Honorable Vincent Winstone Ghambi, Deputy Minister of Education, Science and Technology finally arrives. He is later joined by the Honorable Mrs. Patricia Anne Kaliati, Minister of Gender, Children, Disability and Social Welfare, as well as representatives from the Mayor’s office. Malawi Broadcasting Corporation is here to film the event. This is a huge day for the Kawale students and teachers and their excitement is palpable.
The program begins with remarks from the Head Teacher who informs us that there are over 2000 children in Kawale Primary and the student teacher ratio is approximately 160 to 1. Many of the students have no classroom and must meet under a tree, regardless of the weather. I look out at the mass of eager faces, seated around their teachers, listening quietly. I wonder at the dedication of these teachers who earn around $7.00 a day and daily face such daunting challenges as too many students with insufficient materials and structures. In America if the student teacher ration rises above 20-1 we consider it impossible. Just imagine 160-1.
It is Martin’s turn to speak, and as I expected, I’m wiping tears throughout his speech. He talks about his background and encourages the students and teachers as no one else can. One of his former teachers is present; he honors her and thanks her, asking her to stand for applause. He honors the brilliant architect in charge of the project, and his construction team. He honors his three brothers – Moses, Allen and Blessings, who worked alongside him to bring this dream to reality.
Martin continues to speak, sometimes in English, sometimes in Chichewa, but with passion throughout. He ignites hope in teachers and students alike and charges them with caring for this building. It’s very different from the other classroom blocks – not only because it’s so beautiful, but because it has glass windows. As Martin tells them, he wants the children to learn in a room with windows – something he would have wanted for himself – but they have to have pride in their school and protect it from vandalism.
Martin finishes and it’s now my turn to speak. I had hoped to stay in the background on this day, because Martin is the best representative for all three collaborating organizations and also because I’m still recovering from laryngitis. But as AP President, it’s only proper that I speak. Even as I’m being introduced, I have no idea what I’m going to say. This isn’t unusual:) God knows what will encourage the teachers and students, he knows what words are important – so I just open my mouth and speak from the heart. The Deputy Minister speaks next and finally, the actual handover of the keys to the head teacher brings a celebration of dance and singing.
As the ceremony winds down, a young boy jumps atop a pile of rocks and begins to dance. It’s obvious from his ragged clothes and the dirty shirt wrapped around his head that he’s not a student at this school; he’s a street kid. The school kids laugh at him and I watch as a teacher, gently and lovingly takes him by the hand and seats him beside her. She talks quietly to him, looking him straight in the eye, a smile on her face. A few minutes later, the child wanders toward our seats and is intercepted by a male aide to the Deputy Minister. I watch as this obviously highly educated, well-dressed man treats this child with compassion and respect, gently steering him back to the teacher’s side. For me, this is one of the highlights of the day and ignites hope in me.
After a mass dance of celebration surrounded by students, our team pulls out of Kawale. We spend the afternoon cleaning the AP compound with the help of the older kids in the Chifundo program. As the sun starts to sink, we sit in the cooling air and share Fantas and stories. These children attend Kaliyeka school where, they tell us, the student body is even larger and the student teacher ratio is more like 200-1.
So much yet to do, but today has been a glorious beginning. Our hearts our filled with gratitude towards Knorr Bremse Global Care, Bendix Corporation and the government and people of Malawi. Today we will just enjoy the moment!
