Nealey November 2025

The month of November brings me to deep reflection. That is because the Monday after Thanksgiving Day in 2023 was the beginning of my journey to the continent of Africa. It has been a remarkable journey and I cherish all my experiences here. The past two years have gone by quickly. Most of my sojourn has been spent here in Mzuzu, Malawi where I function as the Dean of Academics at our Rafiki Institution of Classical Education (RICE) Campus.

RICE has partnered with the University of Livingstonia (UNILIA), which is a well-known private university in Malawi with four different campuses. RICE is the newest campus of the university. As a campus, RICE is fully accredited by the National Council for Higher Education (NCHE) here in Malawi. We offer two programs, a bachelor’s degree and a diploma in Classical Christian Education Teacher Training. We train primary teachers who will not only be able to teach in schools that use our Rafiki Classical Curriculum, but any government sponsored curriculum as well. The classical method of teaching has been very successful in our Rafiki Schools and now it has been chosen to become an integral part of teacher training here in Malawi, thanks to our partnership with UNILIA.

Rafiki’s mission is to help people to know God and raise their standard of living. Our mission is tied into the Great Commission, Matthew 28:19-20, “Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.” RICE in Malawi started out small, but we have a great group of students. Our program is a rigorous one where we start out each day with the Rafiki Bible Study. The importance of daily Bible study was outlined in my last newsletter. Another component of our program is agribusiness which teaches our students farming techniques and record keeping. Our students are learning the complete process from growing to selling crops, farming instruments and record keeping, which is the part of our curriculum that is required by NCHE. Malawi is mainly an agrarian society. This is in addition to our classical courses in music, art, language, mathematics, science, social studies, and history. Our courses are rigorous, but our students are diligent and dedicated. Our staff gives them support and encouragement as we navigate an eight-hour day, five days a week. 

Agribusiness class tending their vegetable garden

Our first semester this year was a success. Now we are in the second semester and doing very well. We were unable to add a new cohort as planned in September, but that will not deter us. We are devising ways to spread the good news about RICE. This includes reaching out to the secondary schools in our community and letting them know about our program. We are also inviting schools, as well as prospective students, to tour our campus. Please pray that we will be able to add another cohort come January of 2026. Our standards are high because we require our students to be committed Christians.

Nancy Nyirenda, the Dean of students, and I visiting with the directors of a secondary school in Mzuzu

Thank you to all my sponsors and prayer partners. Will you share this newsletter with other family members and friends? Let them see the wonderful things we are doing here at RICE and at Rafiki Village Malawi. Please remember us this holiday season. In an abundance of prayers and gifts, everything we do is through the generous donations of our families and friends. If you would want to donate to my missionary account, please visit https://RafikiFoundation.org/ and click on the three lines in the upper right corner, select—Meet Our Missionaries, put my name in the search line, and you can enter an amount and then donate through your bank or credit card. You can also send donations by mail to May Nealey, C/O Rafiki foundation, PO Box 1988, Eustis, FL 32727. Checks should be made payable to The Rafiki Foundation, Inc. with my name and missionary number (259) in the memo line. And do not forget that your prayers are needed most of all.

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