WASH Course in Malawi – Week 1

We have now complete the first week of our joint WASH study abroad course in Malawi. After starting in Lilongwe, we travelled to Mzuzu where we will be based for the remainder of the course. The students are settled in Joy’s Place and seem to be enjoying the relaxed environment and great food they serve. Interesting, we all underestimated how cold it can be at night, but a nice warm cup of hot chocolate seems to help.

The course is based at the Mzuzu University Centre of Excellence in Water and Sanitation and the Mzuzu SMART Centre, which have all the facilities we need and are surrounded by low-cost water and sanitation technologies that are being designed and tested by staff at the centres. This immersive environment is the perfect place to be learning about WASH in Malawi. We are also fortunate to have the technical staff on hand to answer any questions we have about these technologies.

This slideshow requires JavaScript.

The focus of this first week has been on introducing students to the water and sanitation situation in Malawi and the three research projects they will be undertaking over the next 1.5 weeks. The research will begin tomorrow and I will post a few pictures from each of the research teams over the next week. Our objective is for the students to present their findings to key stakeholders on July 28, after which they will be tasked to develop an academic journal article to document their findings. We have challenged the students to take on real and important research, and they have risen to this challenge by diving into their projects with energy, enthusiasm, and the focused needed to collect high quality data. I have also been very impressed by the way the students from the three universities are working as one cohesive group, which we hope will promote cultural exchange and build friendships that will last beyond the course.

This slideshow requires JavaScript.

Since we are based at Mzuzu University (Mzuni), we also invited several Mzuni faculty to provide guest lectures related to their areas of expertise, and had a CLTS training session provided by World Vision who have an extensive range of projects underway in Malawi.

This slideshow requires JavaScript.

The WASH Course Begins in Lilongwe

On July 10, 15 students from Virginia Tech and Denver University (DU) arrived in Lilongwe, Malawi, to join students from Mzuzu University (Mzuni) for a joint WASH (Water, Sanitation, and Hygiene) course. I am currently teaching this course with Dr. Rochelle Holm (Mzuni), Dr. Mavuto Tembo (Mzuni), and Dr. Emily Van Houweling (DU).

For the first two days of the course we held meetings with key officials in the capital, Lilongwe, beginning with U.S. Ambassador Palmer who described the strong U.S.-Malawi relationship. Ambassador Palmer outlined the various programs the U.S. government supports to spur economic development and help the 6.5 million Malawians at risk from flooding and drought. She also emphasized the unique opportunities that exist for U.S. companies to invest in Malawi. It was interesting to learn that Malawi (one of the poorest countries in the world) is one of a few countries that receives support from all the main U.S. foreign assistance programs.

Following our meeting with the Ambassador, students had the opportunity to meet with Edward Monster, the Public Affairs Officer for the U.S. Embassy in Malawi and Carol Spahn, the Country Director for Peace Corps Malawi (below). During this conversation, students were able to learn about foreign service from the perspective of the U.S. Department of State and Peace Corps. It was interesting to hear that students can now select which country they would like to serve in for Peace Corps.

In the afternoon and evening on the first day, we held some get-to-know-you activities and relaxed a little with some games of volleyball at a local facility.

The following day, students had the opportunity to speak with Asayire Kapira (WES Network), Thanasius Sitolo (the Department of Water Supply and Sanitation), and Lucy Mungoni (USAID Malawi) about the WASH situation and WASH actors in Malawi. Following these meetings, the group left Lilongwe for a five hour drive to Mzuzu where we will hold the rest of the course.

This slideshow requires JavaScript.

Experience WASH in Malawi – Course Application Open

If you are a student at Virginia Tech, please consider applying to the Experience WASH in Malawi study abroad course. The course will run from July 11–29, 2016 (Summer II). The application deadline is February 1, 2016.

Experience WASH in Malawi – Info Sessions

On Monday, November 16, I will be holding two information sessions (at 9:30am and 3pm) on the “Experience WASH in Malawi” study abroad course I will be offering during the summer of 2016. The information sessions will be held in room 111 of the Architecture Annex (and via polycom in room 220, Prince Street, Alexandria, VA).

This applied and service oriented study abroad experience will provide undergraduate and graduate students with a grounded understanding of WASH (Water, Sanitation, and Hygiene) in Malawi. The first part of the course will take place in the classroom with lectures, discussions, and small group projects led by faculty at Mzuzu University, Dr. Emily Van Houweling, and I. The course will begin with a general review of the state of water and sanitation services in different parts of the world and will raise the question of what constitutes access to water. We will review important concepts in WASH and provide an overview of the most pressing WASH issues in Malawi. Following this introduction, students will study the design of relevant WASH technologies and educational programs from the perspective of public health, cultural appropriateness, and sustainability. Armed with an understanding of critical WASH issues and technologies, students will then undertake community-based fieldwork on a WASH-related problem in partnership with the Mzuzu University Centre of Excellence in Water and Sanitation.

A unique aspect of the course is that Virginia Tech and University of Denver students will work alongside students from Mzuzu University to explore a wide range of WASH issues both in the classroom and the field. This pairing of students will promote cultural exchange and enable discussions about ethics and power in the field of international development. The joint teaching model, combined student cohort, and experiential approach to learning will provide students from the U.S. and Malawi with a rich educational and cultural experience.

The course is designed for students interested in working in the global WASH sector or pursuing a career in international development.

Experience WASH in Malawi (Study Abroad)

If you are a Virginia Tech undergraduate or graduate, please come to the Drillfield today to learn about a new WASH (water, sanitation, and hygiene) course I will be offering during Summer II, 2016, in partnership with the Mzuzu University Centre of Excellence in Water and Sanitation.