We are happy to host visitors from one week to several years, and have done so in the past. Many visitors and groups, as well as mission trips, come for 2-3 weeks. An example schedule for an immersion / mission trip is as follows:
Saturday, Day 1
Fly into the capital Lilongwe in the morning, drive north to Maji Zuwa
Sunday, Day 2
Attend a local church service of your denomination or for pure cultural interest and revel in the vernacular music that is almost as important as the service itself. In the afternoon get geared up for orientation and an outlook on the week ahead.
Monday, Day 3
Begin service project in the morning, afternoon enjoy the water; evening group reflection
Tuesday, Day 4
Service Project during the day, Community Leaders Panel titled: “Traditional versus Modernity: Challenges to Culture and Development” in the evening with representatives from the community including a local traditional authority (chief), the municipal council president (mayor) and the local member of parliament (MP). Evening group reflection
Wednesday, Day 5
Service project in the morning, afternoon games with the local high school, evening reflection
Thursday, Day 6
Rest day: Go to the local fish market, vegetable stands, take a walking tour of the villages with some local staff or on your own, take a bike ride, learn how to paddle a dug out canoe with some local youth. Evening: Global Health Panel titled: "Health Crisis in Malawi: HIV/AIDS, Malaria, Communicable Disease and Government Policy coupled with International Aid" with Chief Doctor of the local hospital, a Rural Community Health Worker and a traditional healer, evening group reflection
Friday, Day 7
Off-Site trip to Livingstonia, site of 19th century medical mission and university high in the mountains, sleep overnight at partnering rest house within the small town.
Saturday, Day 8
Visit Manchewe Falls, a 400 ft high breathtaking wall of water, walk to the base of the escarpment of the Great African Rift Valley along the 24 bends of Livingstonia road, return to Maji Zuwa for dinner
Sunday, Day 9
Visit another local church for services and music, have the afternoon to swim and read a book
Monday, Day 10
Begin second service project at different site, evening reflection
Tuesday, Day 11
Service project in the morning, afternoon panel topic “Africa and Development: A battle that can be won?” with a leader of the local non-governmental organization (NGO) responsible for micro-credit loans to villagers, a representative of the Malawi Revenue Authority to talk about government projects and a local business person discussing the opportunities and challenges of doing business in Africa.
Wednesday, Day 12
Conclude second service project. Group reflection in the evening..
Thursday, Day 13
Free Time during the day. Afternoon wrap up and large group reflection. Closing traditional dinner feast.
Friday, Day 14
Wake up VERY early and depart for the airport, fly out
Service Projects in the pasts have involved construction related projects (building schools, nurseries, orphanages), assisting with nursery schools,, cooking for the feeding programs at the local elementary schools, assisting with the adult literacy classes through conversation, joining the women’s economic group in small business presentations, teaming up with the local village conservation group to work on reforestation efforts, help with the installation of community based water systems and tutoring of local teenage orphan and girls who see school as their way out of poverty.
For visitors who bring some technical or vocational skills, we will insert you into a project that can best benefit from your experience.
Saturday, Day 1
Fly into the capital Lilongwe in the morning, drive north to Maji Zuwa
Sunday, Day 2
Attend a local church service of your denomination or for pure cultural interest and revel in the vernacular music that is almost as important as the service itself. In the afternoon get geared up for orientation and an outlook on the week ahead.
Monday, Day 3
Begin service project in the morning, afternoon enjoy the water; evening group reflection
Tuesday, Day 4
Service Project during the day, Community Leaders Panel titled: “Traditional versus Modernity: Challenges to Culture and Development” in the evening with representatives from the community including a local traditional authority (chief), the municipal council president (mayor) and the local member of parliament (MP). Evening group reflection
Wednesday, Day 5
Service project in the morning, afternoon games with the local high school, evening reflection
Thursday, Day 6
Rest day: Go to the local fish market, vegetable stands, take a walking tour of the villages with some local staff or on your own, take a bike ride, learn how to paddle a dug out canoe with some local youth. Evening: Global Health Panel titled: "Health Crisis in Malawi: HIV/AIDS, Malaria, Communicable Disease and Government Policy coupled with International Aid" with Chief Doctor of the local hospital, a Rural Community Health Worker and a traditional healer, evening group reflection
Friday, Day 7
Off-Site trip to Livingstonia, site of 19th century medical mission and university high in the mountains, sleep overnight at partnering rest house within the small town.
Saturday, Day 8
Visit Manchewe Falls, a 400 ft high breathtaking wall of water, walk to the base of the escarpment of the Great African Rift Valley along the 24 bends of Livingstonia road, return to Maji Zuwa for dinner
Sunday, Day 9
Visit another local church for services and music, have the afternoon to swim and read a book
Monday, Day 10
Begin second service project at different site, evening reflection
Tuesday, Day 11
Service project in the morning, afternoon panel topic “Africa and Development: A battle that can be won?” with a leader of the local non-governmental organization (NGO) responsible for micro-credit loans to villagers, a representative of the Malawi Revenue Authority to talk about government projects and a local business person discussing the opportunities and challenges of doing business in Africa.
Wednesday, Day 12
Conclude second service project. Group reflection in the evening..
Thursday, Day 13
Free Time during the day. Afternoon wrap up and large group reflection. Closing traditional dinner feast.
Friday, Day 14
Wake up VERY early and depart for the airport, fly out
Service Projects in the pasts have involved construction related projects (building schools, nurseries, orphanages), assisting with nursery schools,, cooking for the feeding programs at the local elementary schools, assisting with the adult literacy classes through conversation, joining the women’s economic group in small business presentations, teaming up with the local village conservation group to work on reforestation efforts, help with the installation of community based water systems and tutoring of local teenage orphan and girls who see school as their way out of poverty.
For visitors who bring some technical or vocational skills, we will insert you into a project that can best benefit from your experience.
Internship Program
For individuals, couples and students who would like to spend a longer period of time in Malawi and become truly immersed, we offers a longer packages that takes into account the familiarity you will gain with the local area and people. Our internship program is especially geared toward individuals with applicable skills (both concrete and abstract, ie: if you are very teachable that is a great skill we can focus in a specific area) who might be helpful in a service area.
We are also pleased to host university students and a limited number of exceptional high school students such as those participating in their “senior service project” or senior internship experience.
We support research (including thesis and dissertation research) in a number of academic areas and disciplines. The founder, Matt Maroon, is onsite and is a trained academic anthropologist and has supervised dozens of research projects as an adjunct faculty member of the University of Dayton and a past lecturer at the University of Livingstonia.
We believe in the power of young people and invites exceptional university and high school students who have independence, a sense of adventure and a strong character to join us for service for longer periods of time, including summers and post-graduation.
We value the experience of retired persons and their ability to pass along a set of skills to local people and young leaders is a resource that should not be wasted. We invite retired adults to join us in their second mini-career and help shape our part of the world.
Start Dates are flexible and dependant on your schedule. Focus for students enrolled in classes: July-August, December (Christmas Break), and Month of January. We will work with you to figure out exact start dates based on your time constraints and the availability of projects/resources.
We are also pleased to host university students and a limited number of exceptional high school students such as those participating in their “senior service project” or senior internship experience.
We support research (including thesis and dissertation research) in a number of academic areas and disciplines. The founder, Matt Maroon, is onsite and is a trained academic anthropologist and has supervised dozens of research projects as an adjunct faculty member of the University of Dayton and a past lecturer at the University of Livingstonia.
We believe in the power of young people and invites exceptional university and high school students who have independence, a sense of adventure and a strong character to join us for service for longer periods of time, including summers and post-graduation.
We value the experience of retired persons and their ability to pass along a set of skills to local people and young leaders is a resource that should not be wasted. We invite retired adults to join us in their second mini-career and help shape our part of the world.
Start Dates are flexible and dependant on your schedule. Focus for students enrolled in classes: July-August, December (Christmas Break), and Month of January. We will work with you to figure out exact start dates based on your time constraints and the availability of projects/resources.