The mission of Brilliant Scientists of Tomorrow (BSOT) is to increase science literacy as well as to provide opportunities for a science education to people of all walks of life both here in America and abroad. During the 2010-2011 academic school year, BSOT worked on several projects in Malawi.
One of the laws of physics states that matter can neither be created nor can it be destroyed. In other words, tangible objects cannot be created out of thin air. Nevertheless, based upon my observations, the Malawian people defy this law on a daily basis. Malawi is amongst the least developed of all of these nations. Even the poorest American would be rich by Malawian standards. The majority of this country lives off of less than $1 per day (i.e. nothing), and they do not have access to basic social services, such as welfare or food stamps. The average 10 year old in the US receives an allowance of over $7 per week.1 This is a little more than $1 per day, and it is probably used on candy and toys - not survival.
Another sad but interesting fact is that less than 1% of the population receives a college education. Jobs and other opportunities are few and far between. Approximately, 60% of the population lives below the poverty line. The average income is only $160 per year. Although, the cost of living in Malawi is lower than in developed countries, $160 per year is still not enough to get by. Malawi is one of the ten poorest countries in the world.2
Malawians, who do manage to receive their Bachelor’s degrees, usually end up teaching at the secondary school level. However, there are not many opportunities in Malawi. Teaching is a noble profession, but these people are boxed into teaching. They teach in over-crowded classrooms with 200 plus students with no books, no computers, no stationary, etc. The average pay for a secondary teacher is around $70 per month. Yes, this beats the minimum wage, but it is still a dismal amount for such a hard day’s work.
Although the students are taught in such an environment - lacking so many important resources - they still are quite brilliant. This is amazing to me. The majority of the students, with whom I have interacted, have a very high science and math aptitude. For example, many of my physical chemistry students could very easily recite thermodynamic equations for Gibbs Free Energy, Entropy, and Enthalpy from memory- not a normal thing for most people (even those with access to books). Furthermore, they are very articulate. How can this be? They have never owned a text book in their lives. They were taught without books. They do not have access to computers or the internet; they have never heard of amazon, ebay, or kindle. Generally, most of my students and most people who I came in contact with did not have access to clean water or food…. They were able to make something out of nothing.
I feel that Malawi is a beautiful country with beautiful people, and I am happy and blessed to be working with an organization like BSOT who can help to fix some of its problems. The degree of poverty in Malawi is heart breaking. For example, at one of the secondary schools, a friend of mine witnessed the following. There was a student who was so hungry that when my friend accidentally dropped crumbs from some stale cookies onto the floor- the student rushed to hurriedly eat these crumbs from the floor. No one even batted an eye….
This academic year, we are working on some projects in Nigeria, but we still have ties to Malawi - especially through our Study Abroad Program. This program helps science students from Third World countries to attend colleges and universities in the USA. It is common knowledge that education is the key to solve most problems. The students in our program want to become educated in the US so that they can go back to their home land and help it to develop. It is estimated that one scientist is required for every 200 people in order for a nation to properly develop. BSOT is doing its part to help with the development of these nations. It is such an honor to server. For more information on our organization, our opportunities, and our projects - both here in the USA as well as abroad, you can visit our website at www.brilliant-scientists.com.
1 http://www.kidsmoney.org/allstats.htm
2 http://www.scotland.gov.uk/Publications/2005/06/09132146/21474
Find Us On