Here are some excerpts from a recent e-mail of Niall's regarding construction progress and news from the school:


...

One class block is at roof level. I just had a quote from a carpenter for the roof. We need about 200 planks of various sizes, mainly 2 x 4 and 2 x 3. Then we will need over 100 IBR iron sheets of 20 feet each. IBR sheets cost K1050 per metre. I'm trying to see if Raiply (the wood factory in Chikangawa forest) can help with the planks. Unfortunately , the guy i met before is on leave in India dor another two weeks, and I don't want to go through someone else. He'll be back in two weeks so in the meantime we will begin building of the second block, which is still at foundation level.

...

The cost of bricks has gone up, due to the [rainy] season too. And they are very scarce. We are trying as hard as we can - Cos is going with a truck into the jungle searching for the best bargains! Most people are starting at about K4 per brick but come down to K3.50. We are pressing for K2.60 or 2.70. It makes a difference.

I will send you some updated fotos soon, it's looking really good. We've also employed a full time gardener, who is doing some landscaping outside, and other casual labour is clearing and planting grass inside. It is all quite fun and exciting (somedays! Others its scary and stressful and infuriating!)

Court case may be the 4th of March now. Will let you know as soon as I hear.

We have three new teachers at school, and some reshuffles. Am busy with teacher training these two weeks as we are on holiday. It's going well and we are focusing on the Cambridge syllabus and tests.

I'll also update you on the expenses so far this weekend.

Hope all is well for you there, love to all

Niall

Hey BeeHive School fans! BeeHive is having a fundraiser - starting March 2010, we are gifting beautiful, original, hand-made Malawian Paintings to top donors.

From top to bottom and over to the side: Paintings A, B, C, D, E, F:

- Painting "A" will be awarded to the first person to donate $400 to BeeHive School

- Painting "B" will be awarded to the first donor who contributes $275 to the BeeHive School.

- Painting "C" will be awarded to the first donor who contributes $300 to the BeeHive School.

- Painting "D" will be awarded to the first donor who contributes $250 to the BeeHive School.

- Painting "E" will be awarded to the first donor who contributes $200 to the BeeHive School Project.

- Painting "F" will be awarded to the first donor to contribute $175 to the BeeHive School Project.


To view each painting in more detail please visit this link or paste the following url into your browser:

http://photos.beehiveschool.com/Art/Fundraiser-Paintings-from/11340722_B5Km4#796418846_sq2Zu


All these paintings are original creations by artists in Mzuzu, Malawi. The paintings are gifts for outstanding BeeHive Donors. Please contact info@beehiveschool.com for more information. All the paintings were donated to us by BeeHive School supporters for this fundraiser.

BeeHive School just received permission from Wolfgang Frank at CONCORD MUSCI GROUP, INC. to license the song "Pindurai Mambo" by Oliver Mtukudzi gratis for our online BeeHive School video series. We will be releasing the videos in the next couple of weeks, so keep an eye out for them.

In the meantime, please be sure to thank Oliver Mtukudzi for his generosity and show your thanks to him by checking out his music, looking through his website, or joining his facebook group.

Oliver Mtukudzi's music is up-beat, inspirational, and will make you just want to get up and dance!

Everyone who is even a little curious about the African music of Oliver Mtukudzi this is your calling. Oliver is an inspiration to his people. The music is a rich, vibrant, ecstacy of harmony, beat and soul. The cheery mixture of hope and pride that fills your ears awakens a deeper, happier smile within. Listen to his music and share it, thats what its all about. (quote from the Oliver Mtukudzi Facebook Group)

Oliver Mtukudzi Website:

http://www.ritmoartists.com/Mtukudzi/mtukudzi.htm

Oliver Mtukudzi Facebook Group:

http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=2813415049&ref=search&sid=1202226.291782181..1

Preview Oliver Mtukudzi Music and Videos here:

http://www.ilike.com/artist/Oliver+Mtukudzi

Purchase Oliver Mtukudzi CD here:

http://www.concordmusicgroup.com/artists/Oliver-Mtukudzi/

Thank You Oliver Mtukudzi on behalf of the BeeHive School! You are very kind and very generous!


Oliver Mtukudzi's Story

Oliver “Tuku” Mtukudzi is arguably the most powerful creative force to emerge from Zimbabwe in the last three decades. Carefully balancing compelling rhythms and accessible melodies with insightful lyrics, Tuku has built a vast body of work that is politically and socially relevant, yet entertaining and accessible to a worldwide audience. Throughout a career that spans more than 45 recordings and virtually every corner of the globe, he has remained committed to the live music scene of his homeland, where he and his band, The Black Spirits, continually play to enthusiastic audiences in even the most remote regions.

Worldwide response to Mtukudzi’s music has been glowing. Parade called him “one of the few genuine innovators of the Zimbabwean music scene,” while Prize Beat in his native country proclaimed that his music “has been instrumental in strengthening our freedom, socially, politically and economically.” American blues/country/roots artist Bonnie Raitt has referred to him as a cross between soul shouter Otis Redding and reggae legend Toots Hibbert.

Mtukudzi makes his debut on the Heads Up label with the worldwide release of Nhava on April 26, 2005. “Nhava” is the Zimbabwean word for “carrying bag.” Mtukudzi says the new album is a satchel filled with nuggets of advice, encouragement and wisdom for travelers on the journey of life as they make their way through an often perilous world.

Born on September 22, 1952, Mtukudzi learned the importance of social and economic responsibility early in life as the oldest of seven children whose father died prematurely. He got his first taste of pop music success with the 1975 release of his debut single “Stop Before Go.” Two years later, he joined the Wagon Wheels, a group that featured Thomas Mapfumo. “Dzandimomotera,” his first single with the band, quickly went gold, but Tuku left the band shortly thereafter to pursue a solo career, taking several members of the Wagon Wheels with him and forming the Black Spirits. Their 1979 debut album, Dzandimomotera, also went gold on the fast track.

With Zimbabwe declaring independence in 1980, Tuku and the Black Spirits released Africa, one of the most important albums of its time. With the album’s two hit singles, “Zimbabwe” and “Mazongonyedze,” the spirit of the fledgling nation was suddenly personified in a single powerful voice. For the next seventeen years, Mtukudzi would maintain a rigorous recording schedule that yielded two albums every year – a feat that cemented his reputation as a prolific songwriter, a highly skilled producer/arranger and a formidable lead singer. A quarter century after his earliest successes with the Black Spirits, he continues to showcase all of these talents and more in live performances that have captivated audiences not just in his homeland but worldwide.

Mtukudzi has become such a force in the musical landscape of South Africa that his name has become synonymous with his style, and “Tuku music” has evolved into something quite distinct from any other Zimbabwean music. Clearly, his cultural influences are evident – the traditional forms of the mbira, the South African mbaqanga style, and the popular Zimbabwean music style called jiti, are all evident in his sound – but these have been distilled into an aesthetic that is now very much his own.

Mtukudzi ascended to a new level of worldwide exposure with the 1998 release of Tuku Music, an album distributed by various labels in Zimbabwe, South Africa, Europe, UK, North America, Australia and Asia. The album spurred a string of dates in the U.S. and Canada with Taj Mahal and Toumani Diabate and Baaba Maal, as part of the Africa Fete tour. He followed up with Paipevo, which reached the top of the Zimbabwe music charts within a week of its release in November 1999.

Mtukudzi comes to the Heads Up label with an optimism that is evident in the twelve rhythmic and engaging tracks on Nhava. “Every song on this album has something to teach about life, something to remind you and encourage you about what is important in life,” he says. “All of these ideas are universal. They are the same for every human being, regardless of their culture or their environment.”

In addition to compiling a vast musical catalog over the past three decades, Mtukudzi has branched out into other areas of creative expression, including film and theater. He participated in several documentaries on Zimbabwean music during the ‘80s, including the BBC’s Under the African Skies and The Soul of the Mbira. In 1990, he played the leading role in Jit, the first film featuring an all-Zimbabwean cast, and a year later played a prominent role in Neria, a drama dealing with the complex issue of women’s rights in a chauvinist culture (he also composed and arranged the Neria soundtrack). He also wrote and directed the musical production Was My Child (Plight of the Street Children) in the mid ‘90s. In the past few years, he has contributed music to more than twenty AIDS-related documentaries that have screened worldwide. (quote from the Oliver Mtukudzi Concord Music Webpage)

Check out what google is up to - they are helping bring fast internet to everyone, including, someday, BeeHive School.

Google reports:

"Imagine sitting in a rural health clinic, streaming three-dimensional medical imaging over the web and discussing a unique condition with a specialist in New York. Or downloading a high-definition, full-length feature film in less than five minutes. Or collaborating with classmates around the world while watching live 3-D video of a university lecture. Universal, ultra high-speed Internet access will make all this and more possible."

http://googleblog.blogspot.com/2010/02/think-big-with-gig-our-experimental.html

MIT Students created a computer lab for BeeHive School a year ago and BeeHive is hoping to someday be able to include the internet in its brand new IT curriculum.  You can read more about MIT's work with BeeHive School here.  If you are interested in volunteering to improve IT curriculum and access to computers at BeeHive School, please contact us!

The most recent BeeHive School fundraiser was a big success!  Guests had a great time creating original pizzas from crazy toppings ranging from sardines to corn to pineapple to barbeque chicken.  Check out the photos below!

BeeHive School is very grateful for all the support!

Fiona Hyslop, a member of the UK parliament, may step up to help BeeHive School. A good friend of Niall's, Alasdair Nicholson writes:

Fiona Hyslop, the Scottish Government Minister for External Matters and Culture, is due to go to Malawi in the next few weeks. I do not know if at this stage her itinerary is fixed but she has your [Niall's] details about the school and I hope that if she is in discussion with the Malawi government that she will raise matters.

Thank you Fiona Hyslop for your support of BeeHive School!

To learn more about Fiona Hyslop and her work please visit:
http://www.scottish.parliament.uk/MSP/membersPages/fiona_hyslop/index.htm
http://www.fionahyslop.com/

If you would like to thank Ms. Hyslop for her support of BeeHive School, you can find her contact information here:
http://www.fionahyslop.com/EZEdit/view.asp?MID=9

Below is a poem forwarded by Niall Dorey, the director of BeeHive School, and written by a nine year old student at BeeHive School. BeeHive School encourages creativity and self-expression by their students. Enjoy the poem - it's sure to put a smile on your face!

The Sun

The sun is like a human

Waking up in the morning

Seen in the pool which is the sky.



The sun likes to swim and splash

In the pool that is the sky.



When the sun swims across the clouds

The clouds say “You are as bright as a bulb

Lighting in the skies above us.”



The sun always flies in its

Pool with the clouds.



The sun likes to swim

Because it wants to be cool.

At noon it rests a little to clean the sky.



The sun also gets hungry

Like we do.

Sometimes the clouds cry raindrops

So the sun doesn’t swim.



When the sun wants to swim again

The moon says no

Because it’s the moon’s turn

To swim with the fishes that are the stars.

Ntchindi Mwabumba (age 9)

A student of BeeHive School, which is located in Mzuzu, Malawi.