If my childcare center enrolled a child from Malawi Africa, we would need to learn about the country before the family arrived for the first day. Malawi is the poorest country in Africa so it will be important for the staff to treat the family with respect and not as a family in need looking for someone to take care of them. The first thing the staff will do is learn about the culture and people of Malawi. There are 11 different ethnic groups in Malawi and we will learn about the families ethnicity. Although English is the official language of Malawi, the family may speak Chichewa which is also the official language. If the family does speak Chichewa, the staff will find translations of daily survival words such as restroom, water, chair, and food. By having a map of Malawi will also help the other children in the class to learn where the child is from and how far away the country of Malawi is (Geography). The staff will also have dialogue with the family to find out what type of food does the family eat and ask if the family could share a recipe with the class. This can be incorporated into a cooking activity for the class. Lastly, the staff can incorporate some clothing that is worn in Malawi into the dramatic play area.
By having prior knowledge about Malawi and during the enrollment process gather information about the family, it will help the staff in providing an environment that will help the child and the family to adjust to their new environment while still having a sense of their previous environment. While the family will still have their family rituals at home, the center would still want to incorporate that sense of cohesivness for the child while at school. During all of this the staff will also get the opportunity to learn about a different part of the world, it's culture and it's people. In America we are always expecting other cultures to learn about us but we need to take the time and learn about other cultures as well.
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