Michelle found teaching in Malawi so rewarding that in 2004 and 2005 she returned with friends in order to donate educational resources to Mlanda Pre School, Mlanda Primary School and Mlanda Secondary School. Resources included reading books, sports equipment, Science Equipment, pens, pencils, paints and games.
Lizulu Primary School 2006
In 2006 Michelle led a team of volunteer students from De Montfort University, Bedford (now the Uuniversity of Bedfordshire). £16,000 was raised to repair and refurbish Lizulu Primary School. One of the most inventive fundraising initiatives was a Naked Calendar involving the University's sports teams an even some of the lecturers! Money was used to hire local builders and carpenters to repair the walls and floors and doors of Lizulu Primary's 12 classrooms. 50 new desks were made by the local carpenter and over £500 of sports equipment was donated to the School. The volunteers also took time to teach cricket and netball to willing participants!
Lizulu Community Day Secondary School 2007
£8,000 of the money raised in 2006 was used to provide neighbouring Lizulu Secondary School with a new Science Laboratory, making it only the third school of forty in the district to have such a facitlity. Later in 2007 £3,000 of money raised during the course of that year was used to fit the laboratory with concrete work surfaces, sinks, gas taps and electricity.
Lizulu CDSS has a dormitory for students wishing to remain on site for study in the evenings. The dormitory was in a particularly sorry state with no beds, cooking or washing facilities. The dormitory itself has a concrete floor but the walls and roof are made of iron sheets. This makes the dormitory extreemly cold in the winter and far too hot during the summer months. With money raised in 2006 we were able to provided the dormitory with 50 wooden beds, made locally in Ntcheu, mattresses and blankets.
Masasa Primary School 2007
In 2007 while teaching at the Bishop’s Stortford College in Hertfordshire Michelle co-ordinated a project to repair and refurbish Masasa Primary School. Masasa Primary School was in a terrible condition with the library, school hall and all 11 classrooms in a severe state of disrepair. Plaster was falling off the walls and large holes has appeared in the brickwork, floors and around the doors and windows. In the summer of 2007 I led a team of twelve Sixth Form students and two staff out to Malawi. During the course of 2007/2008 £18,000 was raised by exciting events such as; a sponsored swim, Year 4 and 5 sleep over at school, fun day, jewellery stall and donations from small local businesses. The team spent a week working at Masasa Primary school together with local builders and carpenters, lime washing and then decorating the walls with coloured paints. Masasa Primary School was given a mountain of sports equipment and reading books, as were Lizulu Primary and Secondary School once again.
Kaonda Primary School 2008
In April 2008 Michelle led a team of ten volunteers to Malawi once again to assist in repairing and redecorating Kaonda Primary School. We raised £6,000 and were able to completely refurbish four classrooms, provide sixty new desks, educational resources, equipment for sport , new road sign and a new Staff Room! Local builders were employed to construct the Staff Room, which also now houses the Head Teachers office and a much needed store room. Later in 2008 Glendower Prep School donated a further £350 to Kaonda Primary School which was used to build a book case before it was filled with new text books!
Chilobwe Primary School 2008
In July 2008 Michelle led a second team of 12 volunteers to repair and redecorate Chilobwe Primary School, another school in Ntcheu District and the most challenging project to date. All members of the team worked hard to raise funds for the project (totalling £11,000). Every room needed both walls and floors repairing with one classroom needing a new wall entirely! 16 rooms were repaired and redecorated and it was a real highlight to design a new emblem for the School. The £11,000 also provided 6 new pit latrine toilets, 80 new desks, sports equipment and mountains of new pens, work books and reading books.
Physical Education CPD for Lizulu Zone 2009
In April 2009, working with the University of Bedfordshire, we ran a pilot four day continuing professional development (CPD) course in PE for teachers in Lizulu Zone. The project aims were to:
•Demonstrate good practice in teaching and learning
•Facilitate the delivery of more diverse activities in the curriculum
•Develop the range teaching and learning strategies used by teachers
•Illustrate the importance of health, hygiene and diet to the teachers and the benefits of physical activity
Over 100 teachers attended the course and received a certificate of attendance from the University. Some of the comments below will begin to demonstrate the project’s success:
"My participation in all the [CPD] activities will help me to teach the learners effectively with confidence” (Malawian teacher)
"Hopefully these courses will continue for the benefit of us teachers and in the end our learners” (Malawian teacher)
In July 2009 Msana Wan'gombe Pre-School in the village of Chipigera was our project. We raised over £10,000 for the project and were able to build a totally new school. The pupils at Msana Wan’gombe Pre School were learning under a thatched building, but now have two brick classrooms, complete with beautifully painted walls and a mountain of new books, pens and sports equipment. We always have the most wonderful ceremonies to celebrate any work/ construction at the schools and always take time to visit the Church at Mlanda.
