A Student Studying to Make a Difference in Her Home County

Malenga Studies in America
Malenga came to America for her college degree because, as her mother says, she was becoming too narrow-minded. By coming to America, Malenga has a chance to find who she is and receive an education that she can take back to Malawi.
“Studying in America has actually opened my mind because my mother felt I was too tunnel minded, narrow-vision, and that it would help me understand who I was and in relations to the rest of the world,” said Malenga. “It has made me more aware of what options are available elsewhere in the world and how important one’s home county is.”
Like other students who study abroad, it took Malenga leaving her home to appreciate where she is from. In addition to the education she will gain in America, she will go back to Malawi with an identity she believes America has given her.

Malawi, what can Malenga do to help?
In Malawi, one of the poorest countries in the world, students who study outside the county usually do not return home. They do not return home because the students believe there is nothing for them in Malawi to have a successful future. The reasons for this are the poverty and AIDS in Malawi. Malenga is one of the few who wants to go back to make a difference in her community.
“Knowing that our government is corrupt and that people live desperate lives without any help because of the HIV situation,” Malenga said. “I just want to be able to put our heads together, the locals and myself, to relate to them on their level and see what we can come up with to make their lives a little more bearable. See what we can do to improve the general living standards of the average Malawian.”
These are a few goals and aspirations that Malenga has for her country. Fellow international student Jean Edwards said, “She is the only person I have met that has been so keen on going back to her home. It is true that it is a very odd thing that she wants to go back to Malawi, because even in my county (Sri Lanka) most people want to leave.”
For both Edwards and Malenga, being in America has helped them see why other students are not willing to returning home. Their counties struggles seem overwhelming. Malenga does not let the problems of Malenga keep her from going back to help.

Problems Malawi is Facing
Malawi faces problems with poverty, hunger, corrupt government and disease. According to Malenga, the two main problems are malnutrition and HIV. These two problems combine in a chain reaction in Malawi.
“People are too poor to feed themselves and those with HIV are dying and leaving their children to care for themselves,” Malenga said. “The older able bodied children will have to work the fields to feed the other children and grandparents. Children have to mature fast at a very young age and with no paternal guidance. The rift that HIV causes by killing off the productive age is crumbling the work force. People having higher education standards are moving out to other counties and the rest are dying of AIDS causes the economic distress. We have a generation gap that needs filling and that is our biggest problem.”
The struggles Malawi is facing are not going to be fixed by one person, but there needs to be a starting place. Malenga knows that the problems cannot fix themselves. Her peers and teachers see her willingness to not give up.

Teacher Sees Great Expectations in Malenga
Malenga’s is a Sociology major. According to her professors, she has been an asset in class because she is able to bring a viewpoint from her own experiences and culture in contrast to American culture. Dr. Kurt Bergstrand, chair of the Sociology department, believes that she will use her education to make a difference in Malawi.
Bergstrand said, “She seems really committed to AIDS in Africa, which is a huge issue. She has been doing a lot of research, above and beyond that people normally do in a research class.”
He agrees that the education that she is receiving, not only at Bellarmine University, but also the experience of being in America will help her.
“I think the main thing is giving her a theoretical base for studying cultures around the world, but also in the classes she is in now. She is gaining the knowledge of research, and the tools that she can use to study and understand problems in her culture, like AIDS and other problems of development.”