Strong

I made the comment to a Malawian man that I have such admiration for the women here; they are so strong. His response, "Yes, they are strong in body, but weak in mind." He said it just like that. I was floored.

When I related the incident to my form one students hoping to enflame them to work harder, they calmly responded, "Yes, it's true." I just could not believe it.

So, the challenge is to convince them that they can do well in school and acheive something in life.

It is true that many of them struggle hugely academically. I think most people would learning in a second language.

The pictured letter is tyical. I think, she meant to say "am lazy." That is another pejorative self definition that many of them have. It could be a left over from the colonial era, but I hear it from the teachers and administration about the girls all the time. They are always urged not to be lazy. In some cases it is true, but to have that drilled into you as your self image is not exactly helpful.

The girls are genuinely talented to. I love giving them assignments like this one to set the poem we were studying to music. It was "The Destruction if Senacherib."

And in Church, their choirs are so good!

Of the women, I have met in Malawi, the one who stands out the most is Dunia. She has a strength beyond words and a wisdom beyond human learning. She has no idea how old she is and very little education. She suffered tuberculosis twice and it has left her with bent bones, paralyzed from the waste down, a little heap of a human being unable to move, and yet. . . She smiles, she laughs, she notices the pain and sorrow of others.