Welcoming Families From Around the World

The country I found that piqued my interest in is Malawi. Malawi is located in southeast Africa that is encompassed with beautiful land and wildlife. With a population of 13,603,181 natives, who speak the native tongue of Chichewa and also English, this country maintains its rich African culture and heritage.

If I was working in an early childhood setting in a hospital and a family emigrated from Malawi, I would prepare myself to be culturally responsive towards the family by: 1) conducting personal research on the country's deep culture as well as surface culture 2) begin to learn the native language of Chichewa to have effective communication with the family 3) communicate with the family about their wants, needs and expectations from the hospital as it relates to their culture and heritage 4) create a training for those working with the family to provide an understanding of the culture and 5) create an environment that will be welcoming to the family by labeling the hospital in both Chichewa and English.

By preparing myself and the hospital for the family, I hope that I will be able to assist the family, myself and the hospital by providing an environment that encourages cultural differences. I also hope that the family would educate both myself and others to increase our knowledge on their native land and daily activities to decrease the instances of microaggressions and any form of an "ism."