Focused on Education in Malawi
POSTED ON Apr 27, 2010 / UPDATED ON Jan 27, 2011
Annie Brown with COTN child
Children from Mgwayi gather around Annie this past fall, excited for school to start in a few days.
Annie sits with two COTN children at COTN’s Chitipi Children’s Home in Malawi.
Annie sits with a family in Mgwayi.
Annie smiles with the kindergarten class of children in Mgwayi, Malawi.
Annie Brown always knew she’d put her skills and passion for education to work in Africa one day. She just wasn’t sure when or where. That is, until 2008 when she went on a Venture trip to Malawi with Children of the Nations (COTN). “When I arrived, I knew that God was calling me here,” Annie says. “Through a series of events that could have only been ordained by God, I followed His calling and here I am.”
The Denver, Colorado schoolteacher is currently serving in Malawi for a year as an Education Consultant with Children of the Nations. She arrived last summer and hit the ground running—helping in all the education areas within COTN’s ministry and even starting new initiatives and programs alongside the national staff. She wears hats that include teacher, tutor, counselor, after-school-club organizer, clinic transportation and sports team coordinator. Annie has conducted workshops for teachers in surrounding village schools as well as education training sessions for the parents and “aunties” in COTN’s children’s homes. At COTN’s new secondary school, Annie serves as the acting headmistress—she makes curriculum decisions, handles the budget and student discipline and serves as substitute teacher when needed. At COTN’s primary school in Mgwayi, she helps the teachers write lesson plans.
The list of things to accomplish may sound overwhelming, but Annie is enjoying every moment. She says her favorite thing has been building trusting relationships with the children, but God has also used this time to transform her personally. “I have learned to be completely and utterly dependent on God for everything from raising funds for myself, to strength to endure and fight for projects that I believe in, and [I] have witnessed God’s faithful provision time and time and time again,” she says. “I have a better understanding of myself as a child of the Lord. I have learned that my heart is capable of love deeper and more profound for these children than I ever imagined.”
One area that gets Annie really excited about is the primary school in Mawayi. It’s made up of about 150 children who are in kindergarten through second grade. Each day from 9 a.m. to 11 a.m., the children are taught English and math. “The children are doing amazing!” Annie says. “When I first arrived last May, they could not hold a pencil, let alone sit still for any period of time to complete a task. Now, they are writing and speaking English, working in small groups with one another to complete puzzles and crafts, and learning to read.” Annie says the children know the alphabet, numbers 1 through 50, and they can complete basic addition and subtraction problems. “The transformation has been amazing, and being able to stand back and look at the big picture, knowing where they came from, brings tears to my eyes every day,” she says.
Though Annie has experienced many joys while in Malawi, there have been times of difficulty as well. “Life here is really hard. It is exhausting, emotionally and physically. HIV/AIDS, malnutrition, malaria, the overwhelming and devastating poverty—all of these things are personal for me now,” she says.
As Annie continues in her role with Children of the Nations for the next few months, she says she looks forward to the new things that each day will bring. “I expect to live life to the fullest, to make the most of very opportunity, and to spend as much time with the kids as possible.”
To learn more about serving as a consultant with COTN or to read about how you can join a COTN Venture Team, visit our Venture page.
To find out how to utilize your specfic skills and talents with COTN.