November 2013
Many of you will know that I retired from the Open University at end of July this year. One of the first things I wanted to do with all of the extra time I had available was to visit the Chancellor College campus of the University of Malawi. This is based in the small city of Zomba in the south of Malawi and where Liz spent a few days on holiday back in 1986. At that time Liz and I had only recently become 'an item' and when she met with her close school friend Barbara, who had travelled down from the UK, she spent many hours discussing whether she really was ready to settle down with this chap called Mike who was very keen on birdwatching.
Well clearly Liz decided to take the risk and the rest, as they say, is history.
Following her untimely death in 2010 so many friends, family and colleagues wanted to show their respect and love for Liz in a meaningful and practical way. In the end we managed to raise over £8000 in her memory and with the guidance and assistance of the Canon Collins Trust we have used those funds to provide the Elizabeth Bird Resource Centre which is intended mainly for the use of students following the Masters in Education degree at Chancellor College. (See more details here).
Barbara and I met with the Dean of the Faculty of Education, Dr Bob Chulu and the Head of the Education Foundation Department, Dr Richard Nyirongo. Both gentlemen were very generous with their time and gave us a very useful overview of the College and Masters degree structure. They took us to the centre where we took the photos below.
Dr Bob is on the left and Dr Richard on the right of the photos. You may also notice on the pin board at the back a series of the photo I sent the college which shows Liz when she was visiting the Open University of Sudan. She was standing next to her Sudanese colleague. That image is one that has been cropped and used elsewhere in this blog.
Both Barbara and I presented some more framed photos of Liz. In fact Barbara had found two pictures taken of Liz in Zomba back in 1986. Students should, from the background, be able to recognise the location which will help them appreciate that Liz had indeed visited Zomba in her younger days.
In addition to the funds raised for the Resource Centre, I decided that for 2013/14 I was going to personally sponsor a scholar on the Masters in Education course. I asked the Canon Collins Trust to help with selecting the lucky student and I am pleased to say that we were able to meet with her. Ms Dorothy Kabvala had been a teacher in a Malawian technical college and who, for her Masters degree, was researching how different skill competences could be identified and assessed amongst her college students. Dorothy has been a very successful and diligent student thus far and we wish her continuing success in her studies and in her emerging career.
I was very pleased to be able to add to their collection of text books for the Resource Centre. Following a quick email to ex-colleagues working on the Masters modules at the Open University I was able to donate a further 15 books to the shelves. Dr Bob had also mentioned that the Library committee were seriously considering designating a member of their staff to take responsibility for the resources in the centre on a part-time basis. That would be a significant development and very useful in maintaining the stock of books.
Finally the Resource Centre has official recognition of the donations given in memory of Liz - the plaque over the door mentions this. It also has the epithet 'A loving wife, mother and dedicated educationalist'.
I'm sure you can imagine how it was an emotional experience both for Barbara and myself. We managed to contain our composure but only just. It was quite hard for me to say to our new found Malawian friends how committed Liz had been in her work towards enhancing educational opportunities and the quality of teaching and learning in Africa. I think they appreciated the insight we were able to give and they recognised that she had been, and will continue to be, a wonderful inspiration for students from school to university level. It is particularly pleasing to think that part of Liz's legacy remains in southern Africa, especially in such a pleasant setting as Chancellor College, Zomba.
Many of you will know that I retired from the Open University at end of July this year. One of the first things I wanted to do with all of the extra time I had available was to visit the Chancellor College campus of the University of Malawi. This is based in the small city of Zomba in the south of Malawi and where Liz spent a few days on holiday back in 1986. At that time Liz and I had only recently become 'an item' and when she met with her close school friend Barbara, who had travelled down from the UK, she spent many hours discussing whether she really was ready to settle down with this chap called Mike who was very keen on birdwatching.
Well clearly Liz decided to take the risk and the rest, as they say, is history.
Following her untimely death in 2010 so many friends, family and colleagues wanted to show their respect and love for Liz in a meaningful and practical way. In the end we managed to raise over £8000 in her memory and with the guidance and assistance of the Canon Collins Trust we have used those funds to provide the Elizabeth Bird Resource Centre which is intended mainly for the use of students following the Masters in Education degree at Chancellor College. (See more details here).
I wanted to see for myself how the money had been spent and how it was being used. Once more the Canon Collins Trust were able to help and they facilitated the visit. I was very pleased to be accompanied by Barbara for this trip and she was just as excited to see the Centre having taken a keen interest in the project. We were both thrilled and delighted at what we found. The Centre has now been located within the main Library building on the campus. This is the ideal location for it because all students will want to access books from the Library and the Masters students will now have a quiet study area where they can refer to the wide range of books purchased for the centre and use the two up to date, internet-connected, computers from the comfort of modern office-style chairs. We knew the centre would not be large but it doesn't need to be as there are about 24 students at any one time following the Masters course.
Barbara and I met with the Dean of the Faculty of Education, Dr Bob Chulu and the Head of the Education Foundation Department, Dr Richard Nyirongo. Both gentlemen were very generous with their time and gave us a very useful overview of the College and Masters degree structure. They took us to the centre where we took the photos below.
Dr Bob is on the left and Dr Richard on the right of the photos. You may also notice on the pin board at the back a series of the photo I sent the college which shows Liz when she was visiting the Open University of Sudan. She was standing next to her Sudanese colleague. That image is one that has been cropped and used elsewhere in this blog.
Both Barbara and I presented some more framed photos of Liz. In fact Barbara had found two pictures taken of Liz in Zomba back in 1986. Students should, from the background, be able to recognise the location which will help them appreciate that Liz had indeed visited Zomba in her younger days.
In addition to the funds raised for the Resource Centre, I decided that for 2013/14 I was going to personally sponsor a scholar on the Masters in Education course. I asked the Canon Collins Trust to help with selecting the lucky student and I am pleased to say that we were able to meet with her. Ms Dorothy Kabvala had been a teacher in a Malawian technical college and who, for her Masters degree, was researching how different skill competences could be identified and assessed amongst her college students. Dorothy has been a very successful and diligent student thus far and we wish her continuing success in her studies and in her emerging career.
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| Dorothy Kabvala, the Elizabeth Bird Scholar 2013-14. |
I was very pleased to be able to add to their collection of text books for the Resource Centre. Following a quick email to ex-colleagues working on the Masters modules at the Open University I was able to donate a further 15 books to the shelves. Dr Bob had also mentioned that the Library committee were seriously considering designating a member of their staff to take responsibility for the resources in the centre on a part-time basis. That would be a significant development and very useful in maintaining the stock of books.
Finally the Resource Centre has official recognition of the donations given in memory of Liz - the plaque over the door mentions this. It also has the epithet 'A loving wife, mother and dedicated educationalist'.
I'm sure you can imagine how it was an emotional experience both for Barbara and myself. We managed to contain our composure but only just. It was quite hard for me to say to our new found Malawian friends how committed Liz had been in her work towards enhancing educational opportunities and the quality of teaching and learning in Africa. I think they appreciated the insight we were able to give and they recognised that she had been, and will continue to be, a wonderful inspiration for students from school to university level. It is particularly pleasing to think that part of Liz's legacy remains in southern Africa, especially in such a pleasant setting as Chancellor College, Zomba.
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| The Main Library |
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| College cloisters |
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| Barbara and Dorothy in the college grounds |
