Hello World!

“I have eyes and now able to see the entire world. Frank has joined the rest of others in enjoying the world as it advances in technology.” So wrote Frank, one of my students, at the end of his first day of instruction. Early on, Frank had declared himself dead, and only truly alive once he was able to get his hands on some technology. There is definitely an excitement about technology here that truly delights me . As a teacher, it is both humbling and gratifying when students are energized by learning, and that is exactly what is happening in our little classroom, Lilongwe, Malawi.

It makes me wonder, how exactly will they use this learning, when they venture back into their day-to-day lives and occupations. A couple of them boldly asked if they could keep one of the laptops I brought, as they wanted to keep using Office 2010! They are, as a group, concerned about not having enough opportunities to use computers – I get the impression that their whole group of 9 or so supervisors, have access to only one or two computers.

There is still so much I could teach them – but today is my last day with this group, the Malaria Community Program Supervisors. They were actually an addition to the original terms of my engagement here, and some of the fund-raising money went to pay for their accommodation and food while here in Lilongwe for three days – most had travelled an hour or two to come.

So a huge thanks to everyone who donated money, attended the Pasta Dinner or purchased auction items, your money is going a long way here in Africa. (I raised enough that I could bring two new laptops to use for teaching, then leave behind – and still have enough to pay for 50% to 75% of my expenses – 50% had been the goal. I still have to do all the math to calculate more precisely. Math, not exactly my area of expertise! And yet I find myself teaching Excel and QuickBooks here – who said you can’t teach an old teacher new tricks?)