The House of Many Stories
The House of Many Stories Youth Centre began in early 2006 with a bunch of kids meeting outdoors for discussion. We started asking questions—some serious, like "how would you react if you learned your parent had HIV?" And some fun, like, "what's the most beautiful thing you've ever seen?"
These interactions and activities began to grow, and we decided to rent a small storefront in the heart of Balaka, Malawi to accomodate them. As the weeks passed, the youth began forming various clubs: debate club, art club, music club, and sports activities. And our coordinator Margaret threw in a few, like "study day" and handicrafts.
Currently The House of Many Stories is open to children aged 9-17 (though we primarily cater to and attract the younger ones) from 2-6 pm every week day after school, and on Saturday morning. Every day our staff members welcome the kids, engage them, and encourage them to try new activities. Each week has it's own theme that the staff created, and they try weave it throughout the various clubs.
For example, if the week's theme is about "freedom and democracy," the debate club may discuss how they feel about a local news item: the President making street vending illegal—or simply, whether or not they feel it is okay to disagree with the government. If the theme was "family," the drama group may decide to create a skit about the relationships and issues they witness in their own homes—perhaps how orphans are treated by their guardians.
The primary purpose of the The House of Many Stories is to encourage innovative and inventive thinking amongst the youth, while also promoting cooperation through group settings. The staff act as mentors and role models, and the youth are given opportunities to lead activities and think about their role in the community.
One of the greatest obstacles in the fight of HIV in Africa, is that people, both young and old, feel that they have little control over their own lives. Through the youth activities, we try to introduce opportunities for them to lead and make decisions in small things, hoping that over time these skills and values will translate into the even bigger things.
We are currently in the process of researching and developing a new mentorship-based curriculum which encompasses many phases of education and topics, ranging from environmental stewardship, the arts/drama, health, civics and community etc. We are also exploring how our current youth program can become more decentralized in the near future. We're excited about where we are, but see so much more potential in where this program is going. You can stay up to date, via our quarterly newsletters, or on a monthly basis as a Monthly Partner.
