buildOn Malawi

Fall 2018

10 min readNov 26, 2018

Looking back on the past year, it’s hard to believe what a journey this process has been. Over one year ago, our group was formed around the common goal of furthering education in the communities that needed it the most. We agreed with buildOn’s core mission, that education is one of the strongest ways to aid human beings in their struggle to break out of the cycle of poverty, illiteracy, and low expectations. At the time, we were both excited and a little nervous — eighty-thousand dollars was no small fundraising target for a group of fifteen, most of whom were only recently graduated from college. Though the path was far from direct and straightforward, our team pulled together and bit-by-bit, assembled the required donations from loved ones, coworkers, and benevolent strangers. Last month, with our fundraising target achieved, we felt at ease. All that was left to complete the yearlong mission we had set out on, travel to Malawi and aid in the construction of the school itself. Little did we know, but this seemingly simple final step ended up being a transformative journey in itself, one full of introspection, cultural understanding, and lots and lots of enthusiastic dancing.

Trek Details

Trek Dates: October 21, 2018 — October 27, 2018
Village Name: Kapelula
Village Location: 12°46′11″ S 33°45′3″ E
School Name: Mkanganya
Group Photo Album
buildOn Photo Album

To learn more about buildOn and their mission, please visit https://www.buildon.org/.

Trek Members

Trek video

Sunday, October 21, 2018

Travel to Malawi

All trek members met at Lilongwe airport
Bus to Kasungu (~2 hours)
Got a room at the “Kasungu Inn”
Had a group meeting at the hotel before dinner
Talked about the week’s agenda
Started learning Chichewa
Went to dinner at Tupo’s Restaurant (nsima, rice, chicken, beef nuggets, beans, steamed greens)… For most of us, it was our first time eating nsima
Spent the night at the hotel bar

Monday, October 22, 2018

Travel to Kapelula and Welcome Ceremony

Breakfast at the hotel
Language lessons / Cultural Do’s and Dont’s
Visited the market in Kasungu to buy chitenjes (wraps)
Are lunch at Tupo’s Restaurant (nsima, rice, chicken, beef nuggets, beans, steamed greens)
Bussed to the village (~2 hours)
Greeted by the village (~500 people) singing and dancing while they escorted us to the welcome ceremony
Opening ceremony: Lots of singing and dancing, Speeches made by some villagers and some buildOn members (Brett & Wyatt).

Signed the covenant
Met our host families
Spent the night with our families (Shower, Dinner, & Played games with host family and other community members)

Tuesday, October 23, 2018

Workday #1 and Cultural Workshop

Breakfast with the buildOn group @ 7:30am
Morning: 1/2 of group went to the worksite (carry water, dig latrine, dig foundation) while the rest of the group attended a cultural workshop (how to make nsima)
Lunch with the buildOn group @12pm
Group discussion
Afternoon: 1/2 of group went to the worksite (carry water, dig latrine, mix cement, carry bricks) while the rest of the group attended a cultural workshop (how to make nsima)

Spent the night with our families (Showered, Dinner, Played games with host family and other community members)

Wednesday, October 24, 2018

Workday #2 and Cultural Workshop

Breakfast with the buildOn group @ 7:30am
Morning: 1/2 of group went to the worksite (carry water, dig latrine, dig foundation, carry bricks, use wheelbarrow to transport sand and rocks) while the rest of the group attended a cultural workshop (Q&A session with the villagers with a translator)
The women and men split into separate groups, so that the women could speak more freely (because of cultural norms, the women are reserved around the men)
Lunch with the buildOn group @ 12pm
Afternoon: 1/2 of group went to the worksite (carry water, dig latrine, mix cement, carry bricks) while the rest of the group attended a cultural workshop (Q&A session with the villagers with a translator)

Spent the night with our families (Showered, Dinner, Played games with host family and other community members)

Thursday, October 25, 2018

Workday #3, English Classes, and Closing Ceremony

Breakfast with the buildOn group @ 7:30am
The whole group went to the worksite, and we took shifts teaching classes.
Worksite duties: carry water, dig latrine, dig foundation, carry bricks, use wheelbarrow to transport sand and rocks
English classes: In pairs of 2, we each took 30 minutes to teach one grade level (~40 students per grade)
Women’s health class: The six women on the buildOn trek taught a reproductive health class to the 8th grade girls (mostly age 18), after finding out the day before that the women in the village had very limited knowledge of the reproductive system. The class went very well and the students were incredibly engaged and full of questions.
Lunch with the buildOn group @12pm
Closing Ceremony: Lots of singing and dancing, Speeches made by some villagers and some buildOn members (Emily + Mahmoud).

Spent the night with our families (Showered, Dinner, Played games with host family and other community members)
Gift Ceremony: we each gave our host family 3 gifts and made thank-you speeches with the help of the translators

Friday, October 26, 2018

School Visits & Travel to Lilongwe

Early breakfast with buildOn group & farewells to host families
Departed from Kapelula
Visited an established buildOn school

Listened to presentations from the headmaster, teachers, and students of the school to better understand the long-term impact of buildOn and its educational initiatives
Q&A with a class of students from the adult literacy program as well as students re-entering school after dropping out previously
Heartfelt farewells to buildOn staff and translators in Kasungu
Traveled onward to Lilongwe
Visited Lilongwe market and grocery
Final Group dinner — 16 pizzas!
Settled into hotel, final group reflections and fun

Saturday, October 27, 2018

Travel home

Last breakfast together
Departed for Lilongwe airport for long journey home

Personal Reflections

Nadine Shen Molesky

As with any non-profit organization, at first I was a little skeptical of the actual impact that buildOn was making. As the week in Malawi went by, my skepticism faded away. First, there was absolutely a need for another physical school. I observed first-hand the hundreds of students who did not fit into the existing school buildings, and sat on the ground outside to attend classes. I learned that, beyond the obvious reasons, this was not ideal because 1) the rainy season lasts for six months, 2) the children are more likely to attend school if it provides shelter and comfort, and 3) without a seat to sit on, the girls are much less likely to answer questions. (This is because the students are expected to stand up when answering a question, but due to the nature of the girls’ long “chitenje” skirts, it is difficult for them to stand up from being seated on the ground.) Second, buildOn uses a healthy, integrated approach with communities to achieve its mission. Many non-profits that work in impoverished communities unfortunately do more harm than good by causing the community to become dependent on Western aid, or providing short-term, unsustainable solutions to long-term problems. BuildOn is not one of these. It was clear from the start that we were building a school with the community, not for the community. This means that hundreds of villagers built the school with us, and have been continuing to build the school for a month since we left the village. This makes the school feel more like their own, and makes them more likely to send their children to the school that they worked so hard on. The buildOn foremen, translators, and other local staff were all natives from the surrounding area in Malawi, the materials for the school were all locally sourced, and the schoolteachers will all be government-appointed Malawians. We were not there to just provide aid and leave — we were there to empower a community to help themselves.

Emily Claps

It’s been a month back on U.S. soil, and I struggle to adequately sum up how transformative and eye-opening our experience with buildOn was. The process of gathering the funds and mustering the grit to believe this was possible was not easy, but it was worth every effort. The palpable enthusiasm of the community at the welcome ceremony upon our arrival in Kapelula affirmed this tenfold! I have to admit my own nerves, however, in living with a host family with whom we shared no language to communicate. In full transparency, the day before I left for the trek, I lost my grandfather, and I couldn’t help but feel a homesickness as we journeyed to the home of a family that was not my own. Nevertheless, as the week progressed, I continued to stumble upon beautifully humble moments — both in the physical labor and in the time with my host family — that gave me a sense of peace in the simple joys that are beyond language and circumstantial differences. Without any grand occurrence, I felt at home. During the very last meal we shared with our Malawi family, the buildOn translators paid a visit to allow us the chance to fully communicate with each other. Our host father shared something with us that I will never forget: “Although the time we’ve shared has not been long, I consider you my daughters. There will be a noticeable hole when you leave. Remember that you always have a home here.” Despite being thousands of miles away from my family in a time of grief, I had so quickly felt the embrace of this Malawi family that had welcomed us with open arms and open hearts in the shared hope of education and peace. This is why we came. We each traveled over 8,000 miles across the globe to come face-to-face with the reality that while this world may not be a fair or cohesive place, we need each other — whether it be resources for a school or words of love in a time of loss. I can only hope that my career and future endeavors will contribute to a world that knows compassion, embraces the vulnerable, and strives for a better future for our children.

Sara Cassella

Before going on trek, I had no concept of just how valuable a physical school is for a community. I used to think that the key to a successful educational system was the teachers, what I didn’t realize is that the best teachers are drawn to good facilities. In Malawi, teachers are paid equally by the government, regardless of their location, but they are few and far between. By providing a town with a school, we are bringing in the possibility of education in the present and in the future, as generations will return to teach in their home village.

Brett Oberg

The most memorable experience on trek for me was the walk up to the welcome ceremony. Paraded by hundreds of men, women, and children we sang and danced to the ceremony together. Not a far walk, maybe 100 yards, but a walk I won’t soon forget. Never in my life have I been greeted so warmly by such a large group of people. This walk, no more than 5 minutes off the bus, proved to me how powerful buildOn is. The whole community welcomed 16 complete strangers into their home with open arms and excitement. It is clear to me now that buildOn’s presence in communities throughout the world don’t just provide a physical structure for education, but provide hope, passion, and love into communities for long-term, self-sustaining change.