Mother, daughter strive to end plight of Malawians


West Springfield residents Shannon Massey and her mother Karen Hardy traveled to Cape McClear, Malawi, Africa, last year to volunteer as humanitarian aid workers for Billy's Malawi Project Inc. They performed a variety of activities including working with primary school children and collecting census data to determine the viability of a secondary school in the village. Currently, the school children sit on the floor, most without desks or many supplies. There is only one teacher for 200 students. Yearning to do more upon their return, Massey and Hardy formed Educate Malawi Inc., an initiative to raise awareness about the plight of those in this nation. Photo courtesy of Karen Hardy

By Katelyn Gendron

Reminder Assistant Editor

WEST SPRINGFIELD On Oct. 28, 2007 Karen Hardy and her daughter Shannon Massey returned to their home in West Springfield after two months in Malawi, Africa.

For eight weeks they'd lived without running water, interrupted electricity and limited communication with family members as volunteer humanitarian aid workers for Billy's Malawi Project (www.billysmalawi-project.org) in Cape McClear.

Within the next year, Massey, Hardy and her husband Stephen established Educate Malawi Inc. (www.educate-malawi.org) a non-profit organization dedicated to educating people about this impoverished African nation. Hardy, president of Educate Malawi Inc., and Massey, clerk for the organization, will be conducting a free seminar at the Agawam Public Library on Nov. 8 at 2 p.m., to share their experiences and educate those in attendance about what they can do to help those in the Third World.

Experiencing the Third World

In an interview with Reminder Publications, Hardy said she is still attempting to come to terms with the economic disparity between her life and the lives of those in Malawi. Massey explained that having already been to Malawi on a high school trip in 2005, last year's experience was a reaffirmation of what she already knew life in the First World is a blessing.

"I learned to appreciate what I have in America," Massey said. "The first time [I came home from Malawi in 2005] I was really angry about the excess, which is how my mom feels now. It took me two years and a second trip to realize that it's okay and I can be grateful for what I have."

Massey explained that while in Malawi in 2005 she had an epiphany at the summit of Mt. Mulanje. "There was this beautiful view and I was sitting there thinking, 'I want my mom to see this. She's the only one who would appreciate it,'" she said.

Hearing her daughter's experiences and a chance encounter with Billy's Malawi Inc. at The Big E, Hardy decided that she and Massey should go to the country together. For the next two years, Massey and Hardy conducted several fundraisers in order to pay for their travel arrangements and living expenses while volunteering in Cape McClear. Hardy noted that she took a leave of absence from her work as a substance abuse counselor in order to make the trip. At one point during their stay, Massey took her mother to see the view on the summit of Mt. Mulanje.

Educating the masses

Massey explained that through her non-profit she is hoping to teach others about the value of what many in the First World take for granted, such as electricity and access to medical care, food and education.

"I'm going to the cheapest school possible [Holyoke Community College] and I'm still struggling [financially]," Massey explained. "They [Malawians] really value education. We take education for granted because we know we have all these opportunities available to us and we've become lazy."

Hardy explained that those in Cape McClear are so eager to learn that there are 200 students per teacher attending the primary school. She and Massey spent a portion of their time working at the primary school, the Billy Riordan Memorial Clinic, as well as collecting census data for a future secondary school.

Margaret Riordan, founder of Billy's Malawi Project Inc., has a goal to establish a secondary school now that the Billy Riordan Memorial Clinic has been opened and a volunteer housing facility has been built in the village.

Hardy said she chose to establish her non-profit, separate from Billy's Malawi Project Inc., so that she could have an emphasis on education. She added that her ultimate goal is to provide supplies for the hundreds of children in Cape McClear who are seeking education and to establish a scholarship for a Malawian who would like to pursue higher education.

Hardy explained that the work on the ground in Malawi or here is the states is not easy but that those in the Third World must have a voice.

"When I complain about something here I often think about how little people have over there," she said. "I want to help the people in Malawi."

Hardy noted that she will be returning to Malawi next August with her husband to establish more contacts to further her aid efforts in Cape McClear and the surrounding areas.

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