Tony and Veronica Nitko fell in love with Malawi, Africa, when they first visited in 1982. They returned this year to make a difference in the impoverished country that had been so generous to them.

“We thought that since we’re retired and still have our health, we should give something back,” said Tony Nitko (PhD ’68), professor emeritus at the University of Pittsburgh, where he taught for 30 years in the Department of Psychology in Education.

The Nitkos arrived in January and spent six months teaching high school English in Namitembo. Tony reported that after one month, over one-half of the couple’s class was sent home because they hadn’t paid their school fees.

“The parents simply had no money,” he said.

The Nitkos were able to enlist the help of friends back home to donate money and get the students back in the classroom.

In fact, Veronica said, they raised enough money to support every high school senior for a full term, as well as some students in the other three levels.

The Nitkos especially wanted to help senior-year students so they could take the national exam at the end of the school year. If they scored well, they could then take a university-entrance exam. The Nitkos said they are aware of only one student from Namitembo attending the university in the past decade. They hoped to help a few more students pursue higher education.

“If they complete university degrees, we are hoping they will get good jobs and help others in their family get better educated. Maybe in time the cycle of poverty will begin to improve,” Tony said.

The Nitkos also struggled with insufficient school supplies. Their freshman class of 80 students shared only 14 textbooks. But Tony, whose own textbook on educational assessment is in its 5 th edition, said that even if they’d had a book for each student, teaching from the text still would have posed challenges.

“Almost all of the textbook readings are about experiences and events outside of their knowledge base,” he said. “They don’t know what a paved road is, what a traffic light is, or how a town is organized. There’s no money at home to buy radios, TVs, books, magazines, or newspapers, so their experiences remain limited to their surroundings.”

Still, the Nitkos used their creativity and dedication to make learning possible. Pre-reading activities, often including charades, explained new vocabulary. Veronica made a grammar book for each student and organized a tutoring program.

But the most exciting learning opportunity the Nitkos gave their students was a visit from Moira Chimombo, the author of the students’ English textbook. Chimombo came to the school to give the senior-year students a workshop on essay writing and taking English language examinations.

“This was a first for Namitembo and much excitement surrounded it,” Veronica said. “To have the author of their textbook lecture them was something they never imagined, nor did their teachers.”

The school’s headmaster said, “It was fantastic—an eye opener to both teachers and students. She promised to come again to assist us on how to develop year-long class teaching plans.”

Tony Nitko’s work abroad didn’t stop in Malawi. Although Veronica stayed in Malawi until the end of June, Tony left Africa in May to take a consulting post in Vietnam. He has worked as a consultant on educational measurement projects in more than a dozen countries, including Egypt, Jamaica, and Taiwan.

Tony’s former professor, Leonard Feldt, said what drives Tony to accept consultant assignments all over the world is a mystery. “We should be glad there are able people like Tony willing to do so,” he said.