UrbanPromise International

A message from Will in Malawi Yesterday we visited Project TEACH’s after school program in Luchenza. Attendance was lower than usual because the headmaster of the school passed away. We still had a good turnout with about 23 students.
John, one of TEACH’s leaders, introduced us to all the students and then all of the students introduced themselves to us. All of us on the trip are always amazed at how well the children behave when we visit the different ministries and this was no exception.
Because the head leader, Sullivan, was away for the funeral of a close friend, Tony stepped in for the daily devotion. Tony demonstrated his gift by telling an inspirational and encouraging story which the children, leaders and all in our group enjoyed.
After the children had a snack and drink they joined Carol, Kim, Tony, Molly and Lindsey in a classroom set up for painting the fabric backpacks we brought with us. The children LOVED the backpacks!
The boys and girls then joined Peter, John, Dylan and Will for several Minute to Win It games. Everyone was screaming with excitement.
We all joined the children for a game of soccer. This must have been the highlight of Dylan’s day as he LOVES soccer!

This morning Sullivan lead us for a hike up Mt Mulanje. This was both challenging terrain as well as a steep climb. We were rewarded at the top of our climb with a dip in a watering hole at the bottom of a large waterfall. Most of us jumped from a large boulder about 10 ft above the water. The water was both refreshing and FREEZING!

Stay tuned for the next update. Thanks for your support and God bless.
-By Will

July 6th is Malawi’s Independence Day. This year was the celebration of its forty-fifth anniversary of autonomy from Britain. In the bigger cities, like Lilongwe and Blantyre, activities such as soccer matches and traditional dancing are held in the stadiums. In villages like Luchenza, where we are staying, things are calmer, and families typically celebrate in their homes. This is not, however, the case for Project Teach and its 20 fourth and fifth graders, and six street leaders, who participated in the first annual Independence Olympics. A variety of fun games were organized for the children to compete in as teams. They really enjoyed themselves, and it was fun being a part of it. The most memorable moment came at the very end, when Sullivan gathered his street leaders for a “meeting”. In the meantime, we equipped all the children with water balloons. Inconspicuously we surrounded the street leaders and let fire all our water balloons, methodically soaking each leader. The children were SO excited! Lindsey also captured a great photo of the carnage in action. It was definitely a day to remember.

Tomorrow we are leaving Project TEACH and heading to Lilongwe to visit ChristCares, set up last year by Robert Manda. Sullivan will be driving us up the road to Lilongwe, which I hear is quite pot-hole ridden. Even if the trip is slow, the country side is incredibly beautiful, and there is always a lot of activity alongside the road, like markets, to view.

Visiting Project TEACH and spending time with Sullivan has been wonderful. We are looking forward to what lies ahead. Stay tuned . . .

The flight into Malawi was beautiful. Rolling hills are surrounded by peaked mountains. Rivers and streams cut through the country side between villages connected by winding dirt roads. We could have gone without the attempt to land, then, sudden abort due to something in the runway, but on our second approach everything worked out just fine and we landed with the passengers bursting into applause. We were met at the airport by Sullivan and Vincent (both have finished internships at UrbanPromise). It was great to see them and be warmly welcomed by familiar faces.

We dropped Vincent off at his place in Blantyre, picked up a few necessities at the store then drove the rental car 45 minutes to Sullivans’ house, where we’re staying, in Luchenza. ProjectTEACH, initiated by Sullivan, is actually located at a Primary School in Mulanji, which is just across the river in the neighboring village. He compares it to living in Philadelphia and crossing the Benjamin Franklin bridge everyday to work in Camden. Although, Luchenza is no Philadelphia, and this is no Ben Franklin bridge!

 We went to see his ProjectTEACH in action today. Sullivan has really hit the ground running since he returned last year from UrbanPromise. He immediately launched a summer soccer league, drawing in 13 teams. He also coaches multiple basketball and soccer teams at secondary schools, focusing on leadership development. All while establishing an afterschool program for 20 fourth and fifth graders where he has utilized the UrbanPromise model, hiring teenage street leaders, training them in leadership while filling essential needs for these primary students, such as a meal, tutoring, and spiritual growth.

 It doesn’t matter where you go, children are always adorable and funny, and Malawi is no different. When the afterschool program was finished, Lindsey and I sat in the grass with a couple children, brave enough to sit by us, watching Sullivan and one of his team’s practices for their game on Saturday. It was fun trying to communicate with the children, making them laugh and having them watch our every move with wide eyes.

For dinner we drove to this new lodge/restaurant that everyone has been telling Sullivan about. It is located up Mount Mulanji (Malawi’s tallest mountain) and has a very nice atmosphere. I couldn’t resist tasting Malawi’s traditional meal of Nsima and Chomba (pictured). It was delicious. Last year, the interns kept saying that if we ever went to Malawi we would have to eat Chomba (fish only found in Malawi). Well, we came to Malawi . . . and we ate Chomba.