12th grade graduation, Malawi style

12th grade graduation- Malawi Style

Well another year has past and the kids are ready to move on and stretch their wings, but not before we start up a big party for the graduation. Now in America graduation means that you have a certificate that says you passed high school. Here in Malawi the idea of graduation is a false one because the students take a national exam and that determines if they “passed” or not. If they do not pass they can choose to sit again, and depending how you look at it they are blessed enough to get to have another ceremony.

Lets set the background. My school does not have a hall for ceremonies and there is only 40 students graduating. The students contribute half of the money and the school chucks up the other half. The students do all of the preparations and shopping. They also do the decorations, cooking, and cleaning. They even get the radio and batteries.

The classroom, which is the same one they learn in, is decorated with toilet paper streamers and colored chalk paintings. Everything is spelled correctly so it is nice, except for a balloon that said “happy birshday”. Remember a balloon is a big deal here. The ceremony is supposed to start at 10am. Because 1/3rd of the students were late because they were drinking it started around 12pm.

The ceremony is a mix of talking, drinking soda, and eating, followed up by dancing. The event is captured by a business man who has a camera and sells each photo for $0.50each. Another student made a fake camera with paper and was taking shots as well. As the token American I had my picture taken with students; eating, drinking, posing, and celebrating. For many of them this is the first ceremony where food has been provided so it’s a big deal, even to the point of pictures feeding each other.

The 12th grade head boy and head girl’s term of office was over and a new head girl and a head boy were elected from the 11th grade students prior to the event. Unfortunately the new head girl could not attend the event as she was cooking the food; fortunately the new head boy was not tied down by such silly culture and gave a speech for the both of them.

The disco at the end of the event was started when the M/C paired the teachers and guest of honor up with female students for the first dance. It was kind of creepy and a throw back to the old days of chiefs and such. Most of the girls ran away prior to the dance. The disco ended about two hours early as the battery died and there was no music. Pepani (sorry)