Volunteer at Community Nursery schools and Youth Club in Malawi

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There are a number of projects that involve education and support of young people within the community:

Butterfly Youth Club:

Built on site at Butterfly, the Youth Club opened in 2010. Youth Club is an after-school hours meeting place; boys and girls of all school ages meet here daily to engage in a safe, fun, and educational environment. It has become a lively part of Butterfly and each day different activities are offered including arts and crafts and more active sessions including races, obstacle courses, treasure hunts and sports. The youth club is also a great way to take the pressure off the parents, who work until after school hours, by providing an environment conducive to children and youth’s social and personal development.

Nursery Schools

In Alice´s work at Butterfly, children are at the heart centre of her efforts. Three nursery schools have been built in and around Nkhata Bay: Gulugufe Nursery, Dindano and Mpamba Nurserys. Schools run Monday to Friday mornings for children aged 2-6 and a fortified bowl of porridge is provided for everyone. Alice is constantly approached by parents in the community with requests for their children to attend the nurseries; the entry requirement is two years old and the parents often try to convince me their tiny toddler is of age. Our reputation is well earned as Gulugufe has been running successfully for ten years and Dindano for five years. It is common practice for children who attended Gulugufe to be advanced one grade when they enter the Local Government primary school.

Gulugufe Nursery is a two block classroom with an office and store room. Upwards of forty children from the town of Nkhata Bay attend daily. It employs two Malawian teachers and a chef and they are supported by international volunteers.

Get involved in:

• Arts

Put in place any artistic projects (drama, songs, dance, music, paint, etc.). You can use our hall and stage!

• Library

Improving our impressive library by adding and categorizing more books.

Improving our library environment with your creativity or any of your ideas.

• Lunch Program

We are feeding an impressive number of students with daily. You can help us to improve and diversify our meals, or support our kitchen staff.

• School Ground

Enhance our school ground with permaculture, gardening, landscaping, playground, sport ground, etc.

• Communication & Administration

We are in need to improve different communication tools. Whatever it’s with posters, handouts, social media, website.

Help promotion by taking pictures of our school or our students.

There is always a need to support the headmaster with various administration tasks

Butterfly Youth Club

• Drama groups can work either through the youth club or through different local groups and a recent link with Vizara drama group has proved exciting as Alice has been videoing their productions. They are a travelling educational group that tackle pressing issues of Malawi. Previous viewings have received a warm welcome when shown at Butterfly and there is a small stage, which is perfect for performances.

• English Teachers are always welcome as there are no shortages of kids who want to improve their language and reading skills.

• Homework clubs are a great way to utilise the space after dark and many of the topics covered in school here are linked the English curriculum so there is great potential for volunteers to hold extra homework clubs, especially close to exam time. The media room can also be used for this.

• Getting a pen pal is a great way to stay in touch with Nkhata Bay once you have left here, and will provide a great insight to both people involved as to the daily challenges each other faces.

• Escorts for trips are always welcome as we would love to be able to show more of the groups that come through Butterfly some of the beautiful and amazing things that are around in Malawi. Previous trips have been to the Malawisaurus Museum but we would love to take a group to Vwaza National Park.

• Making resources, as with the nursery school, is always a great way to improve the lessons and activities here and leave behind your ideas.

• Artists can add to the colourful walls at the youth club and also take different workshops with the kids, leaving new skills and techniques.

• Sharing any skill is great for the kids as they love to learn new things, in the past they have learnt to screen print, first aid, mosaics, hula hoop, magic and so much more.

• Organise sports events or swimming lessons as many of the children around cannot swim.

Take coaching sessions for the football or netball team or organise games both home and away for the kids to take part in.

Butterfly Space Lodge is beautifully situated under a canopy of mango trees, surrounded by lush permaculture gardens with a restaurant and bar. Butterfly Space is a 15 minute walk from the bustling ferry port and market town, which has a vibrant market, great night life handcrafted souvenir shops, restaurants and a warm and friendly feel!

Across the bay is Aqua Africa who offer scuba diving and kayaking, Monkey Business (on site at Butterfly) is a small Malawian business that offers kayaking and canoe trips, mountain biking and treks. The lodge has a lively bar and pool table, and hammocks overlooking the beautiful crystal clear Lake Malawi. Snorkels are available free of charge at reception for snorkelling. There are lots of beautiful coves and beaches to explore along the lake, and pretty villages that welcome warmly passers by.

The Standard Volunteer Package: US$530 per person for the whole month includes:

• Dormitory Accommodation*
• Food allowance up to MK 6500
• Laundry and cleaning facilities
• Orientation on projects and Nkhata Bay

*If people wish to stay in an individual chalet rather than the dormitory then there are upgrade options available; Standard chalet +$90

Discounts can be discussed and provided for volunteers wishing to volunteer for longer than their initial month. The first month volunteer package is a necessary cost to cover the running costs of the non-profit Butterfly Space lodge and the projects.

You will receive a daily allowance of 6500MK to use in the restaurant. This is the cost of approximately 2 meals.

Greenview restaurant is a business run by two Malawian ladies here at Butterfly Lodge. They are passionate about what they do. The meals are freshly prepared and there are many delicious menu options, both local and international dishes, that cater for all dietary requirements.