Indianapolis, Indiana USA & Zomba, Malawi … At first glance you would think these folks were attending the Indiana Math and Science Academy on the North Side of Indianapolis, Indiana. You would think this because each of them is proudly sporting one of the Academy shirts. None of the Malawians in the picture have ever been outside their country, and none know where the Academy is located.
The shirts are a gift, a gift of nearly 1,000 tee shirts and sweat shirts sent on a recent shipment to Malawi for distribution as rewards in some of the programs put in place to help Malawians get on their feet.
The groups with the tee shirts are part of the teams that planted thousands of tree seedlings 4 years ago in a Malawi Project sponsored, “Shoes for Trees” program. Their villages planted seedlings that were supplied free from the Malawi government, and they were rewarded with new shoes. Now as they continue to care proudly for their “small forest,” four years later they are again rewarded with brand new shirts, thanks to the students and facility Indiana Math and Science Academy, one of the successful charter schools on the north side of Indianapolis.