Margherita e Silvia

We are Silvia and Margherita from Italy, and we are 26 years old. Since high school we had a dream to go to Africa to have a life changing experience, but only this April we finally found the courage and the resources to undertake this adventure thanks to help2kids.

We visited the project in Tanzania and we spent a month volunteering in Lifuwu, Malawi. In the mornings we helped at the Kazembe primary school and also at the nursery. At school our main goal was to support the kids doing group discussions on various topics. Sometimes the teacher, Mr Chilenga, left us in charge of the whole classroom for an hour or two so we experimented teaching Maths or English. At the nursery school we supported teachers and we suggested a sort of structured programme in order to entertain but also give some basic English knowledge to the children. The situation was not so easy because the number of the kids kept growing but even the smallest improvement brought us joy. For example all the kids quickly learnt a new song we taught them and soon you could hear it everywhere in the village. The afternoons went by quickly between a relay race, a football match, and English lesson for Standard 7 and 8, painting, drawing and a swim in the “nianja”.

Our time in Lifuwu was amazing especially thanks to a great team of volunteers and the warm and welcoming attitude of the people and kids of the village. A special thanks goes to Annette for the delicious food and precious advice and to Moses and Patson for being our reference points and also challenging opponents during our Uno tournaments. Last but not least thanks to Francesca for being an example of strength and positivity even in difficult times. Malawi will always have a special place in our hearts. We already miss Lifuwu life and the hugs of the kids.