Blog 5

Malawi July 2025 Blog Day 5

“You will go out with joy and be led out in peace. The mountains and the hills will break out into sounds of joy before you. And all the trees of the field will clap their hands”.  Isaiah 55:12

Katumbu Community Based Childcare Center

This morning, we left early and headed to the Katumbu village to visit their Community Based Childcare Centers (CBCCs). We were greeted by the sweet voices of the children singing. We joined in with them by clapping along with the drums as they continued to sing. We were blessed and energized by their enthusiasm. Soon other children from the village started coming out to investigate and gathered outside the building to watch as the children sang “Jesus Loves Me” and a rendition of the Body Parts song, “Head, Shoulders, Knees and Toes”.

8 CBCC teachers from area villages came to make learning materials together with the team that they would then take back and use with their students.

The team collaborated with staff at the childcare center and created Counting Books 1-10 and Vowel Books for the staff to use with the children. We all worked on different projects:  some painted the vowels and numbers on pieces of cardboard, as well as pictures with the word under the picture. Others created posters with words, letters and numbers made with seeds. Another group made cloth dolls with dresses and accessories, while another group made shakers, kites and soccer kick balls.

After lunch we moved into a large hut with the Opulance staff who were there to participate in a First Aid Training session on how to treat serious wounds and other conditions that need medical attention. This was led by a local physician and our team member Auriel. They did a great job sharing important emergency information and demonstrating what to do in specific medical situations.

It was a very busy, fun, and productive day!