Malawi Study Abroad

Course Description

This course provides an opportunity for students of diverse backgrounds and interests to learn about the dynamics of sustainable development with a focus on Malawi in the Southern Region of Africa. In addition to class time in Binghamton, the course involves two weeks in Malawi working closely with a local non-governmental organization, the Malawi Children’s Mission (MCM), and the three rural communities it serves: Mbwana, Jamali, and Mwazama. Originally established as a feeding center for orphaned children, MCM has expanded to provide pre-school and primary education. Approximately 60 children go to school at MCM, receiving a quality of education that cannot be matched by overcrowded local government schools, and over 150 children rely on MCM for their most substantial meal of the day. The children served by MCM are largely those who have been orphaned by AIDS or other circumstances and have endured profound trauma and loss. Malawi is one of the world’s poorest countries, and the highest concentration of its poorest citizens live in the rural areas. Malaria, malnutrition, and HIV infection are endemic, and concerns about substance abuse among youth are prevalent. While the needs are profound, the strengths of the communities are impressive. To support these strengths, the project uses an asset-based community development (ABCD) approach. ABCD was initially developed as an alternative to needs-based approaches in which universities, community-based organizations, aid foundations, or non-governmental organizations intervene on behalf of a community to define and address problems (Kretzman & McKnight, 1996). Needs-based approaches tend to over-emphasize deficits and problems, and can have the undesired effects of reducing motivation and self-agency and creating dependence on outside institutions. The ABCD approach positions outside institutions as facilitators to uncover internal strengths and assets that community members can use to address the problems they define as needing attention. In the Binghamton classroom before the trip, students will learn about (a) international development, (b) the historical and current role of the United States and Europe in African development, (c) the nature and structure of non-governmental and non-profit organizations, (d) business planning and development for micro-financing and micro-enterprise, (e) strengths and needs of rural communities, (f) family and community systems functioning, and (g) child and adolescent...

Code

CCPA 480

Credits

6

Subject

CCPA