Written by CorpsAfrica/Malawi Volunteer Ms. Chimwemwe Nzima
As powerful as the quote sounds, it still has a story to tell. December, the month I arrived at my site I had mixed feelings as to how was I to integrate and be part of this beautiful, warm village. Little did I know that I was one of those people in the village they had been waiting for. Three months down the line I bear this testimony. When I arrived at a community day secondary school where I was teaching Life Skills as part of my community service, I never had in mind that I would introduce a computer club and that learners would have a keen interest in this new development.
However, upon liaising with members of staff and the Headteacher, they welcomed the idea and it did not take long for me to introduce the idea to the students. The students were so excited and overwhelmed, as some did not even know how a computer looks. During one of our sessions one of the students asked me; “madam how does this computer we are talking about look?” I did not know where to start from explaining or illustrating as some members mocked and laughed. Another one asked again; madam, you want to tell us that we are going to learn how to type? There I stood speechless. These are some out of the many questions I have come across from the day the computer club was introduced.
Interestingly, each session we meet (once a week) is worth it. The number of students attending keeps on increasing almost each meeting session. During one of my individual conversations with the village head, I was astonished as she asked with curiosity, “I hear you have introduced a computer club at the community day secondary school.” It caught my attention as I just smiled and proceeded asking her about the intention for the visit. “We have really been waiting for this development for our children,” she concluded.
It has been a nice experience at how one can serve passionately and reach out to people in a way one never thought about. We are living in an era whereby technology is the order of the day with the coming of different social sites, including education sites, making learning more exciting. Despite this being the case, we still have some areas where people have little knowledge of how quickly this technology is trending. This is a life-changing experience, and I am glad that I am part of this, “the people they have been waiting for.”