With the assistance of Ms. Nao Kimura, currently on assignment with JICA in Malawi, we are able to present daily life in Malawi based on our previous article about an overview and food culture of the country!

This time, we’re introducing some Malawian words! People generally speak a local language called “Chewa,” and in the northern parts of Malawi, they speak a language called “Tumbuka.” While English is widely understood in the capital, some people only speak Chewa. In schools, math classes are held from Monday to Thursday, mixing Chewa and English.

[Words]
Muli bwanji? (Hello, how are you?)
Zikomo (Thank you)
Tionana (See you later)

[Numbers]
1 → Imodzi
2 → Awiwi
3 → Atatu
4 → Zinayi (These are pronounced similarly to Japanese, using Romanized alphabet.)

[School Life]
Ms. Kimura is assigned to support classes at the “Lilongwe Teachers Training College Primary School.” It’s a very large school with about 2,500 students from Grade 1 to Grade 8, including around 100 students in the support classes. There are various disabilities among the students, who attend classes daily with their mothers. In these support classes, they study three subjects: Math, English, and Chewa.

In Malawi, there are tests at the end of each term. If students don’t achieve their target scores, they have to repeat the same grade, resulting in a mix of ages in each grade. Due to the large number of students, regular classes often have around 200 students in one classroom.

We’ve learned about the educational system in Malawi! Thank you very much, Mr. Kimura. And those greetings are adorable, aren’t they?