BuildOn

In 2013, some friends and I raised funds to build a school in Malawi, Africa with the intent of creating hope through education in one of the world’s most impoverished countries. The brunt of our fundraising efforts involved hosting a Persian New Years Dinner Party and a letter campaign to our community and we raised enough money for the materials and to hire an engineer that would oversee the construction of the school.

In August, I flew to Lilongwe, where I was picked up in a white van and taken to Jimbe, a small village three hours outside of the capital city. We stayed in Jimbe for a week, where we built the school’s foundation and dug up a couple of latrines for the future pupils and teachers to use.

We stayed with hosts from the community during our one-week trek and bonded with them through song and dance. By the time we left, I was grateful for their generosity and excited to have helped provide this small community with the means to build a school and offer hope through education.