Thank you!

After almost two months to deal with immediate life changes (i.e. get a job!) and to reflect, I wanted to write a final thank you about my trip to Malawi.

The kids loved to see their picture

The travelling went well (over 36 hours!), the days were long and busy, and our team experienced all sorts of new things! I think the conference and the trip was a great success and really met an area of need.

Watching a soccer game in the village together at sunset

We had a great team: our Flood San Diego members, two local Malawian human rights organizations, local churches, police and victim support units. Our team put together an educational conference. The villagers actively engaged with the conference and shared many stories of the human rights abuses that they have experienced (everything from child trafficking, forced labor, domestic violence and more) and were connected to education and resources on these areas. It was amazing to hear their stories.

Cooking lunch with my dear friend Ethel!

On a personal level, the experience was amazing. I absolutely loved the beautiful country and people of Malawi. It well deserves the title "The warm heart of Africa." This experience really helped confirm my desire to go to law school and inspired me to want to work in Africa again!

The conference was held inside the village church. 

An unexpected and amazing part of our trip was the team of Malawian college students that worked with us! They played an integral role to the conference, from speaking about their own personal experiences with human rights abuses and growing up in villages, to teaching, to translating. They quickly became good friends and great inspirations as we worked closely with them.

At the well with some of the girls. 

This combined team effort has produced a new group of people in Malawi and in San Diego that are teaming together to continue learning about and supporting human rights. Exciting grassroots projects are already developing.

Lunch in the village. No silverware!

Thank you again for all your support. This was a great area of need, and I am excited about the new developments from this trip. This trip also has meant a lot to me personally, so thank you for supporting my development, too!

Pictures from Malawi

Market time!

Bicycle taxis! Most people walk. The middle class rides bikes, and only the very upper class have cars. 

At the market

The kids were pretty camera shy :)

Denise and her entourage of delighted children :)

Cramming in the van for the bumpy 1-hour ride to the village

No caption necessary :)

My amazing friend Tionge. We taught Bible lessons to the children together. He is a gifted teacher!

Our daily meal of rice, greens, tomatoes and chicken. Everything fresh from the farm!

The foundation for a school in Kudoku village. The school was never built because the funds for it were stolen somewhere down the supply chain. Now 700 children in this village do not have access to education past 2nd-3rd grade.