I've been able to attend a few Secondary School Graduations (both government and private) and they are so much fun!
Friday, we attended the graduation of one of our Form 4 (12th grade) students from Esther's House! It's so much fun watching a kid that has grown up in the sponsorship program at EH hit this great milestone! It's a big accomplishment to finish Secondary School here in Malawi!
When we received the invitation for graduation, it listed the start time at 8AM. At almost four years of living here, I did not fall for the start time! Like many African countries, Malawi runs on it's own time schedule and we knew if we showed up at 8, we'd most likely be waiting for several hours. So, we played it safe and showed up around 10 AM. Graduation actually started at 11:30. Honestly, I love the laid back time schedule here. For a person who is perpetually late, I love not stressing about being exactly on time. It's freeing knowing that if you show up late, no one is going to be mad at you and you probably won't miss much!
So, from 10-11:30, we (myself, my 7 year old daughter, one of the EH girls, my sister, and two awesome interns) wandered around the auditorium, took photos, and danced with little kids in the back.
{Essau, the graduate}
{"L", one of our EH kiddos posing for some photos while we wait}
{cute neighbor kids dancing in the back}
{graduates waiting to start}
{guys chillin' while they wait for the program to start}
{My Asher-girl killing some time}
My favorite thing about Malawian graduation ceremonies are the dance-in entrances!
I love the joy, the moves, the celebration!
So fun!
{If you visit my Instagram page, you can see the actual video}
Our two interns are so much fun and danced in with the graduates.
The graduates were pumped having visitors celebrating with them and ate it up!
The dance- in was followed by all kinds of student led activities.
Boys' acapella songs, reminiscent of Boyz || Men. Lots of rap renditions, poem recitations,
and even Acrobat Steve!
There are speeches given by the outgoing and incoming prefects.
The speeches are very free and one even complained about the teachers, to the cheers of her peers.
Many headmen are in attendance and sit in special seating on the front row.
An honored guest speaker gives a speech to the graduates.
{Acrobat Steve}
{There were cultural dances}
Finally, the certificates are passed out!
So proud of Essau!
Awards are given to the top student in each subject.
Another fun thing that takes place in Malawi is when a student wins an award.
The parents usually run, whooping with joy to hug their student and often give them gifts of money or food.
It's sweet to see the joy/pride/celebration of the family members.
Next, all the graduates will take their MSCE (National Exam). They will find out the results of this test in September/October. The results on this test will dictate what they can do in their future. If they pass, more opportunities will be available. Entrance into universities and different schools will depend on what kind of score they receive.
It's a LOT of pressure!
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