Hallie Stallings, a junior majoring in public policy with minors in education and African Studies, took one of her most memorable courses last spring, Public Health 420: The HIV/AIDS Course, taught by Dr. Ronald Strauss, Director of Office of Community Engagement within the UNC CFAR. The course explored HIV/AIDS from a multidisciplinary perspective, covering its causes, immune system effects, epidemiology, and broader societal impact. It was through this class that Stallings first discovered UNC Project-Malawi, sparking her desire to become involved with the program. While working with the Dzama Orphan Care and Nursery, she focused on financial and qualitative evaluations, toured private schools to assess best practices, and taught preschool children, working alongside the talented Madame Rosta Chizimbi. Stallings found the experience transformative, noting how much she learned from the community and the children. Her days at Dzama involved teaching English, math, and other subjects through interactive methods like games and memorization, while also fostering a strong sense of community within the school.
Stallings’ work also involved exploring the structural challenges facing Dzama, such as a lack of educational resources, long walks to school for children, and the fact that many students do not have access to higher education. Despite these challenges, she witnessed the potential for improvement, particularly through the Charlie Scholars Program, which helps students attend private schools with scholarships. On her last day, Stallings participated in a village walk with the children, a moment that highlighted the strong bonds she had formed within the community. Reflecting on her experience, she expressed a deep commitment to returning to Malawi next summer to further explore early childhood education practices and hopes to pursue a career in international development at the community level.
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