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| "And if anyone gives even a cup of cold water to one of these little ones because he is my disciple, I tell you the truth, he will certainly not lose his reward." | |||
| The Embangweni School for the Hard of Hearing began in a borrowed
building in 1994 with 19 students and a staff of 4. Because this was the only school for
the deaf in the northern third of Malawi, the students came from as far as 400 kilometers
away and, of course, all had to board at the school. Education focused on
“preschool” or pre-academics, with much work done to teach the children the very
basics of language (like, “things have names”) and sound production.
(For more details on methods)
Marion Medical Mission also began an on-going program to provide teacher houses. Because Embangweni is so remote, and until the year 2000 did not have electricity, it is vital to have good housing so teachers will be willing to stay at the school. |
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| As the school continued to grow, MMM continued to fund new buildings. A primary school block (to house Standard 1 through Standard 8) was funded in 1997 and dedicated in 1999. This block has 9 classrooms, a library/staff room and office space. Marion also funded a Vocational Education Center which was dedicated in 2006. The Center has two buildings, one for tailoring and needlecraft and the other for woodworking and tin smithing classes. Others who love the school and its children have also helped develop the campus. The McGill chapel was begun in 2000 and dedicated in 2001. It is located, appropriately, at the center of the school campus because the Christian faith is central to the mission of the school. It is used for daily chapel, (For more details on the chapel) assemblies, dinners with special visitors and is also used by outside groups such as large Synod meetings, Women’s Guild and community meetings.
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A new boys hostel was funded in 2001 by the Nussbaumer Charitable Trust. It houses 80 boys with 4 bedrooms, a dining room and a latrine/wash block. The original dormitory block is now used for the girls only. |
The Embangweni School for the Hard of Hearing uses the standard school curriculum for Malawi and observes the national school calendar. School begins in January and runs until mid-November, with two breaks between terms. It is not unusual for the students to resist end-of-term! They say “we don’t want to go home, because there is no one to chat with.” Add to that the fact that the house mamas make sure the kids have 3 meals and 2 snacks daily --- very different from the common 1 or 2 meals a day for many Malawians --- and it is small wonder the kids consider the school home!
| A typical school day begins with chores at 7:30 a.m. before chapel at
8:00. Students bring chairs and benches from the classrooms for chapel and return them
after worship. The four preschool classes spend much of their day working on oral speech
production, including exercises in air flow and learning to produce basic sounds. This
training continues on as long as the student is attending school. Older students study the
same curriculum as any other students in Malawi, including math, social studies and the
two official languages of Malawi, English and Chichewa. Because the school is located in
northern Malawi, students also study the regional language of Chitumbuka. No matter what
the subject, the kids are very focused on learning!
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Twice a week everyone participates in physical education and every day at 10:00 is tea time!
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After school and on weekends the children have chores to do, including carrying water from the nearby bore hole, hoeing the garden, sweeping the sidewalks and roadway and caring for the chicken flock and goat herd.
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Celebrations are important, too! Whenever there is a celebration the kids
love to perform dramas, ring handbells and perform regional dances. The staff makes sure
that each region sending students to the school is represented in the dances.
Visitors are always warmly welcomed by the school! Whether the visit lasts
an hour, a day, a week or longer, new faces are welcome and skills and interests shared
are enjoyed by all. Just by being there, people are telling these children that they are
important and worth spending time with. (For more
details on visitors)
Older students who have completed Standard 8 may continue to be a part of the Embangweni
School for the Hard of Hearing. While a few students have passes the national
school-leaving exam and are attending Robert Laws Secondary School (ROLASS) (For more details on ROLASS), most need additional
training in vocational skills so they can earn a living in the home village. The
school’s Vocational Education Center teaches these skills at the same time earning a
bit of money for school through the sale of items produced.
People who visit Embangweni School for the Deaf come away feeling that they have been in a
special place. It is truly a wonderful statement of Christian love and concern; the staff
genuinely loves the children and wants to see them succeed. The idea that these students
somehow have less ability than their hearing peers is rejected! As a poem written for
Standard 2 to recite at a ceremony reads:
 “Deaf is not Death. |
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As the school continued to grow, it became apparent that satellite schools
and teachers were needed in order to better serve the needs of the deaf in northern
Malawi. Since 2000, Mr. C.C. Chirambo has been serving as an itinerant teacher in the
Rumphi area, walking or bicycling to see his students. In 2006 a second school was opened
in Karonga (For more details on Karonga Deaf School)
under the leadership of Mr. Mondwe. The school follows a similar plan as Embangweni,
enrolling a new class each year. As of 2008 there were about 30 students and 3 teachers
and a building program was underway.
The original head teacher, Mr. E.G. Mtonga, left in 2005 to begin a teacher training
program at the Catholic University of Malawi near Blantyre. This four-year program is
preparing teachers to serve students with special needs: deafness, blindness and physical
disabilities.
When the school began, the children were taught using only the oral method. The teachers had been trained to teach lip reading and oral speech; sign language was not to be taught.
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The staff were frustrated at the lack of progress and wanted to move to a “total communication” method, which began to take shape in 1997. The results have been amazing! Now the children communicate with each other, the teachers and the support staff, all of whom know at least some sign language. |
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There is interaction and the level of anger and aggression toward each other has diminished because now they can express themselves with sign instead of hitting! The school hopes that the sign language system being developed will one day spread throughout Malawi and become a standard means for communication among the hearing impaired. |
Chapel is held every school day at 8:00 and is attended by students, teachers and support staff. In the beginning, chapel was led by the staff while the children sat quietly and stared. Since sign language was introduced, no longer do the children sit and stare blankly during chapel!
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The girls’ choir and boys’ choir, both led and directed by students, provide the opening introits and sometimes special music. Sometimes the student in charge will gather friends and develop a chancel drama to illustrate the scripture lesson. |
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The school also has the only handbell choir in Malawi. The bells and music are color-coded; the group is rehearsed by Mama Maggie who is the house headmistress. They ring at chapel and celebrations and every Sunday at the mission station worship service. Several students are able to lead the group if Mama Maggie is unavailable. |
Visitors have included language professionals – speech therapists and
audiologists – but most are simply people who enjoy spending time with the kids. Some
do crafts (even the teachers enjoy making crafts in the classroom), read a book, sing a
song, bring small gifts . The most important gift is the gift of time and caring!
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| Robert Laws Secondary School (ROLASS) is located in Embangweni, near the Embangweni School for the Hard of Hearing. It is a church (CCAP) school and in the year 2007 admitted eight deaf students who had passed the national exam. This was a 100% pass rate for that charter class! The staff from Embangweni School for Deaf has worked with the ROLASS staff to help them learn how to best teach the deaf. Of the original 8, 4 were still in school 2 years later and communicated their hopes and dreams in letters sent in 2008. |
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| Brandinia: "If there was no deaf school, I could have been a laughing stock, a beggear or something. But school has changed me. I am working hard to pass and get a course in computers in the future." |  |
Fanny: "You know that I have lost both parents and I come from a poor family ... I want to be an accountant so that I can help all my relatives and my sisters." |
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Frank Gondwe: "I don't know what I would be if I were not at school. I could be a begar, maybe a thief or people would have considered me as a mad person. ...I want to get a course as a driver or electronic technician..."
Levie Bingu: "...I am working hard to pass because I have big plans for the future. I want to be a Church minister... I know people recognize this in me because I have been at school... I want to beg you to come and see the home of a future Reverend, God willing." |
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Karonga is located in the far northern part of Malawi. The school for the
deaf there began as did the school at Embangweni with only a few students, most of whom
had never been to school before. The children board at school and show the same joy and
enthusiasm for learning as do the pupils at Embangweni. In 2007 the first permanent
building was completed and was used as classroom, dining and dormitory space. With the
help of Marion Medical Mission and other benefactors, the school has plans to build other
buildings and teacher houses.
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