In 1990, Jim Ziolkowski was trekking across Nepal when he happened upon a two-day school dedication ceremony in a remote village. Moved by the deep appreciation of the villagers for their school, Jim returned to his home in New York and founded Building With Books, a nonprofit organization dedicated to building schools in developing countries. The first school funded by Building With Books was in Malawi, Africa, in 1992. To date, BWB has built more than 250 elementary schools in nine countries.
Recently, four Chico residents returned from Malawi where they participated in a unique partnership between BWB and teens from International Centers for Spiritual Living (ICSL), a religious organization.
The Rev. Teri Lerch, Melia Yamada-Bryant, Megan Yamada-Bryant and David Kahn of the Spiritual Enrichment Center in Chico, an ICSL church, joined 24 adults and teens from throughout the United States for school building and dedication ceremonies for five schools in the central Kasungu District of Malawi.
The project was born in 2006, when ICSL teens learned about the hardships facing the people of Malawi during their annual summer camp. Malawi is one of the four poorest countries in the world with a per capita income of $170 a year, an infant morality rate of 10 percent, an HIV/AIDS prevalence rate of 14 percent, and a life expectancy of only 36 years.
Moved by this bleak picture, the teens decided to raise money to support one of Malawi's greatest needs, educating its children.
By the end of their week at camp, ISL teens had raised over $9,000. In January 2007, they partnered with BWB and by May of 2007, teens from churches across the United States as well as from Jamaica, Canada, and Belgium, had raised over $65,000 — enough to build three schools.
In June 2007, I and Rev. Teri Lerch, a fellow staff minister at the Spiritual Enrichment Center, joined the first ICSL group to travel to Malawi for school-dedication ceremonies for the first three schools. This past June, a second group of ICSL teens and advisers traveled to Malawi to dedicate three new schools and help build two others. ICSL youth have committed to raising funds to build a total of 20 schools in the Kasungu District of Malawi, a rural region of approximately 1 million people.
Teens from Chico's Spiritual Enrichment Center arrived home in July filled with satisfaction for the joy of service given and thrilled by the many gifts they received in return.
In the words of Megan Yamada-Bryant, 18, "We gave them books and they gave us the most elaborate welcoming ceremonies I've ever witnessed. We gave them schools, and they gave us their hearts, but most important, they have allowed us to give. There is truly nothing more rewarding than that."
Melia, 14-year-old sister of Megan, came home with a new outlook on life: "Malawi to me was an amazing, life-changing experience that has shaped the way I think about the world. Even though they had very little, their hearts were filled with love and their faces were shining with smiles. I have given and received unconditional love, respect, and kindness. I know appreciate everything more, and I strive to live life to its fullest."
David Kahn, 16, echoed the same: "After being in Malawi, I can't take for granted anything I have. It was an amazing experience, a chance to not only help people who are not as well off as we are but also to touch people's lives and in turn have our lives be touched. We got as much out of our time there as we gave."
For more information on the Spiritual Enrichment Center of the Malawi Schools Project, call 895-8395.
The Rev. Jill Lacefield is a pastor of the Spiritual Enrichment Center-Religious Church of Christ.
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