Dreams coming true

The new Sinkhani (health worker) community center in Kazomba, Malawi is almost finished.  The Sinkhani have been hanging scales in a tree to weigh the babies in rain and shine.  Now they will have a shelter for the moms who walk long distances to have their babies monitored.  Jere, the contractor, anticipates finishing the building in plenty of time to have a ribbon-cutting celebration when we visit in August.

In addition to the ongoing health activities, the center will also be used for a training facility for the Sinkhani themselves.  They have recruited new volunteers who want to attend basic training sessions for such topics as nutrition, sanitation, baby weighing, immunizations and oral rehydration therapy as well we train the "old" group how to facilitate groups for grieving orphans.  Big dreams long in the making now coming true.

Many of our baby-monitoring stations are located under primitive shelters (see above). The land where the Kazomba building is located was a gift from the village chiefs.  Now other chiefs are stepping up and offering land in their communities for the Sinkhani to establish other centers. With 42% of the children in Malawi stunted from malnutrition, the needs are urgent and compelling.

Nothing but the Best!

2019 Carver Dual Language Elementary Teacher of the Year

Andrew Murphy

Carver Dual Language
3rd Grade, English Medium Teacher

What message about public education do you want to share?
I believe the greatest issue in public education is adequate funding to provide an excellent education. My thoughts are summed up perfectly in this quote from the political TV show The West Wing. “Education is the silver bullet. Education is everything. We don’t need little changes, we need gigantic, monumental changes. Schools should be palaces. Competition for the best teachers should be fierce; they should be making six-figure salaries. Schools should be incredibly expensive for government and absolutely free of charge to its citizens, just like national defense.”

How are you working to increase equity in education and opportunity for students in your school?
I strongly believe that all students should be aware of the power they each hold and the responsibility they have in becoming active members of society and advocating for whatever it is that’s important to them. To ground them in this idea, I initiated a yearly trip to Jefferson City in which we get to meet the representative, see the governor’s mansion, the capital building and the supreme court. This trip widens their perspective and gives them the opportunity to see how they themselves could fit into a broader system that’s working for educational equity.

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Andrew will be spending the month of June at the three schools HealthEd Connect supports in Zambia where he will provide professional development workshops for the teachers.  Aren't they lucky?  We're thrilled to have the best of the best mentoring our teachers!!  He has also been running a half marathon each month to raise funds for HealthEd Connect.  Four down and eight to go!!

Water mark

We were sobered during our visit to Biratnagar, Nepal in February to see the water level from the flood that devastated the area in 2017.  The villagers were eager to show us the water marks on their buildings AND to share once again their gratefulness for HealthEd Connect's immediate assistance with food, clothing, and critical necessities. Most of their belongings, including shoes and household goods, were made of inexpensive plastic and floated away in the flood.  The HealthEd Connect team (registered there as Helping Heart Nepal) immediately sprang into action and was incredible in identifying and providing the most crucial items.

Homes are now repaired with little evidence of the tragedy but the memories linger on.  Sangeeta, a nurse and our supervising soyamsebika in the area, said that in addition to the water itself, snakes and the stench from the animals that drowned were overwhelming.  Let's hope they don't ever have to go through this again!