“There is no agony like bearing the untold story inside you.”
Maya Angelou
Brandy lives in a one room hut with a dirt floor and rents a small patch of ground to plant cassava, beans and tomatoes. At 28 years old, she left an abusive husband, a courageous act in this patriarchal culture, and struggles to make a life for herself and her three children. Brandy loves to read and write; however, books, pen and paper are luxuries she cannot afford. She fears she will not be able to leave her three children anything that will tell them about her life and her love for them
These are the women of Malawi – an African country where the average life expectancy is 36 years. Today these women share their stories at the local water wells, but they thirst for a connection with women across borders and time. While talking with me during my recent travel there, they reiterated their need and encouragement to tell their stories and allow their gifts to be remembered. “Tell us what to do and we will do it!” they cried.
My goal is to answer their cry. I had the privilege of talking and listening to many of these women during my trip to Malawi in December 2007 and am committed to provide the training, tools, resources and encouragement these women need to preserve their legacies. This effort consists of the following:
- Training. In August, 2009 a Bay Area educator, speaker and native of Malawi, Masankho Banda and I will travel with eight women from the United States to Malawi to conduct a series of Legacy and story writing workshops. With these workshops, we hope to provide women in Malawi not only the tools and training they need to write their own stories but the ability to train others to do so. This training is the first in a series to increase awareness of our deep international connection with women, to strengthen the bonds between us, and increase our resolve to work for the freedom and wholeness of women worldwide.
- Cultural Writing Exchange. In fall 2008, there are concurrent essay contests, one at John F. Kennedy University in Pleasant Hill, California and one in Malawi in partnership with KUDO. KUDO is a non-profit whose mission is to improve the livelihood of the rural poor in the Nkhata Bay District of Malawi. Participants are invited to submit stories of how women have touched their lives. All stories received will be shared with women in both the United States and Malawi, providing an opportunity to learn from each other’s stories and cultural experiences. The winner of the contest at JFK University will travel with all expenses paid accompanying the group to Malawi in August 2009. Two winners will be selected from Malawi; each will receive a scholarship toward a four year college education in the African country.
- Documentary Production. Plans include the making of a video and a photographic documentary to preserve the stories of women, particularly those with HIV/AIDS. The documentaries will be used to promote awareness of the needs of the women in this small African nation. Fine art photographer Caroline Lovell will create portraits of women and their children to document and preserve family legacy. Old Dog Documentaries, a non-profit video production company plans to collaborate with Voice Flame Writers to produce a film to educate for social justice.
- Book Drive. In Malawi, children and adults can only dream of having one book to call their own. Most schools do not have textbooks for the classrooms and have only a handful of books in their library. JFK University has already collected over 1000 books to create a library at the Tukombo Girl’s School. For information about the book drive,
click here.
Stories about my travels and this effort have been published. Click here for the article that appeared in Open Exchange magazine and the JFK University School of Holistic Studies newsletter. To read the article "Two Women Making a Difference" by Cathy Tyson featured in Lamorinda Weekly, click here.
