Sir Harry Johnston International Primary School

Today I would like to tell you about the school my children go to. It is called Sir Harry Johnston International Primary School and is located in Zomba, Malawi. It is named after Sir Harry Johnston, the governor of Nyasaland, now called Malawi. This school is operated on the British curriculum and offers excellent education. Because of this my children write “mom” as “mum” and “color” as “colour!” The other day at the dinner table my son asked me to pass him a bottle of “tomato sauce,” which is “ketchup” in our good old American English! Their little accents are precious. Of course, who am I to talk about accents! :-)

My children are blessed to be able to go to school with children from all over the world with Christian and Muslim backgrounds. They will learn that they are not alone in the world and how to get along with people of other races and religions. Because it is so small, about 70 children, everyone gets special attention.

Sir Harry kids are able to participate in a variety of sports like swimming, football (soccer), cricket, and hockey. Last year my son participated in a malaria fundraiser swim and was able to raise quite a bit of money. They are also able to participate in pottery lessons, drama lessons and other afterschool activities like Chichewa classes and Arts and Crafts. Chichewa is the main Malawian language. They have a brand new IT center where they are able to learn computers like their peers at home.

Although we are so far away from home, I feel that my kids are not missing out on things their peers do but are gaining the kind of experience children in America will never have. The experience of diversity!