Taking Back Lives - Blog

"We know that it is not only you three and that you have others behind you. Tell them that the people of Mazembe appreciate them and that we now have hope."

The cheif's eyes shone brightly as he spoke with the other members of the school board nodding their heads in agreement as they sat on plastic chairs underneath a tree, overlooking the school block in construction. Our trips to Malawi can oftentimes be frustrating as the need can seem overwhelming. But at that moment, I couldn't help but feel a sense of pride as to what everyone involved with Taking Back Lives over the past several years has accomplished. Coming from a country such as America, it is sometimes hard to imagine the impact that one double classroom block can leave on a community. But to a school where half the students must resort to sitting outside in the dirt to learn, the half-constructed pile of bricks laying outside brings mountains of hope to the community.

We arrived in Mwaya on Friday afternoon after a grueling 8 ½ hour bus trip. The bus trip could accurately be described in three letters, TIA (This is Africa). We made the mistake of taking a seat up front where upon luggage was piled up until it resembled an African version of the leaning tower of Pisa whereby at any pothole (of which there were many) we were threatened by the probability of it all crashing down. The bus had a seating capacity of 60 and standing capacity in the aisle of 35, but this hardly included chickens, babies, and dead fish, of which there were many, but alas, after the long bus trip, we finally made it to Mwaya where we will spend the duration of our trip.

During our first week here, we have been very busy meeting with school boards, PTA's, headmasters, chiefs, etc. in an attempt to develop a scholarship fund and community development program in addition to establishing out presence in the Mazembe community so that we can work together with the implementation of our future plans. Not to mention our oversight of the school construction, whereby the initial pile of bricks seems to transform into what looks like a classroom block more and more each day. Its been an exciting process and we are estimated to have the structure finished by the time we leave in two weeks. We promised the construction crew a party with pizza and Kuche Kuche (local beer) if this is accomplished, so they have lots of incentive.

Its been a very exciting last couple of weeks and above all, I wish to thank everyone who has played any kind of role in TBL over the last few years to, as the headmaster put it, "make this dream a reality".

-Cassie