They are just a couple of average kids, horsing around, playing baseball, video games, and hanging out together. But for one boy, life in America is a stark contrast to the life he has known in Malawi.

Andrew Chanya, 10 years old, currently lives in Wareham with his mother Celeste, who is originally from the U.S., and his father Stephen, who is from Malawi. Andrew’s parents are missionaries.

From the time he was 2 years of age until he turned 8, Chanya lived in Chitipa, Malawi with his parents and extended family. The memories this young child has of the country and the living conditions have been eye opening for his local pal William Gouveia, a second-grader at Center School.

William’s mother Stacey Gouveia said, “They play together all the time. William has been surprised at some of the things Andrew has told him.”

Gouveia wants her son to appreciate that not all children live as American children do. As a mother, she wants him to understand there is a big world with many different types of cultures and challenges. “I want him to know it isn’t easy everywhere,” she added.

On December 22, Andrew had a chance to see William’s school and what life is like for his pal. Andrew noted some big differences between schools here and schools in Malawi.

“Well, for one thing, they don’t have cafeterias in Malawi,” said Andrew. “No desks and about 200 kids in a class.” He explained that all the children go home for lunch and then return for afternoon classes.

When asked if American children would have a tough time adjusting to life in Malawi, Andrew, with his eyes very wide open, emphatically replied, “Yes!” And what would be the biggest adjustment? “The food,” he stated with equal emphasis. Andrew thought American children would have a hard time with “cow intestines, tomato soup, and soya pieces.”

Malawi is an impoverished agricultural country that is struggling. Disease and political strife, along with long periods of severe drought, have plagued the African nation. Located on the southeast portion of the continent, Malawi is landlocked but has a huge lake simply named Lake Malawi. It is divided by the Great Rift Valley. A quick visit to any number of websites provides some harsh facts.

Of the 17 million Malawians, 53 percent live beneath the poverty line. There are 10 distinct ethnic groups, yet English is the official language with the local language Chichewa also spoken. The median age for both males and females is 16 while life expectancy is only to age 60.

As the Center School bell rings, all of that is very far away for the present. On Tuesday, Andrew enjoyed shadowing William through the halls of Center School, watching the holiday show and eating lunch in the cafeteria.

Andrew said the best part of this holiday season in the U.S. is snow. It doesn’t look like he’ll get that white Christmas this year, but he is hopeful there’ll be snow sometime this winter so he and William can play in it together.

The best part of this holiday in Malawi, he said, was a tradition Andrew described as, “Children come through the gate and ask for coins to be put in their boxes.” He said the money would be used to help their families in the coming year.

The Chanyas will be returning to Malawi in October 2016. And what about Andrew and William? Well, for now, there are those play dates and another full summer waiting for them to play baseball and eat hot dogs.

Do they plan to stay in touch once Andrew travels back to Africa? You bet they do.        “We’ll write letters and Skype,” they said. When the Chanyas return to Malawi, they will be gone for three years.

“I might go visit him when I grow up,” William stated as the Christmas chocolate was tossed back and forth between the boys like a baseball. Clearly, theirs is a friendship for life.

By Marilou Newell

If you had sand between your toes and found yourself wearing a bathing suit on a confusingly warm Christmas morning, you might have been standing on the Town Beach in Mattapoisett ready for a swim.

Such was the case for approximately 80 participants during the 14th Annual Christmas Swim in support of Helping Hands and Hooves, a local nonprofit that provides horseback riding lessons for persons with cognitive challenges.

“I ride Teddy,” Brendan Goss shared with a twinkle in his eye. Goss has been a riding student at the Mattapoisett-based program for 14 years and this was his 14^th year running into the ocean at Mattapoisett Town Beach on Christmas morning.

Helping Hands and Hooves, as explained on their website, is a “therapeutic riding program that uses equine-oriented activity for the purpose of contributing positively to cognitive, physical, emotional, and social well-being of the individuals with special needs.”

Participants received a tee shirt for an entrance fee of $15, and 100 percent of all monies raised went directly to fund the program.

Julie Craig, one of the program directors and instructors, said, “The program is going great. We’ve had more students going into the Special Olympics than ever before.” She was moved by the amount of community support they have received and the fact that that support is growing.

Craig said the organization currently has 15 students in the program, some of which receive private lessons from her. The monies raised through such events as the Christmas morning swim help in defraying the cost of lessons and the equipment needed, such as protective helmets. The aforementioned ‘Teddy’ is their therapy horse.

The crowd that came out to encourage those plunging into the 50-degree ocean waters neared 170, and with ambient air temperatures in the mid-60s, it certainly was a balmy Christmas morn.

Howard Tinkham, a local resident whose family has decades of history in Mattapoisett said, “I came out because I wanted to join in something fun for Mattapoisett.”

Brad Hathaway, another well-known local resident, came out on the fine morning.

“If you are going to write about this great weather, here’s something to write about: We spotted a Baltimore oriole on the twentieth,” said Hathaway. Hathaway is a long-time supporter of the program.

Magnar and Kathleen Kvilhaug were first timers at this event, and both planned on experiencing the event by going into the water. Kathleen laughed saying, “The children always wanted to do this, but they are in Southern California now.” Given the grand weather, the Kvilhaugs went in themselves.

Franck Tebou said he didn’t have much choice in whether or not he went in the water on this special day. Laughing, he said, “My aunt is Debbie Dyson.” Dyson is one of the principals in the program, but he said he was happy to participate in such a worthwhile event.

Yvonne Hitsman has been dashing into the cold water at this event for the past 12 years.

“When my mother passed away, I needed a reason to get up on Christmas morning,” Hitsman said. In memory of her mother, she now enjoys the excitement of the day in this way.

Bill and Walker Fuchs – a father and son team – have joined in this activity for the past four years. Bill said the weather was better than other Christmas mornings, such as the one when the beach had to be plowed to give the swimmers access to the water.

Darcy, Summer, and Max Richardson, a sibling trio who are regular participants in spite of their youthful ages of 8, 10 and 12 respectively, were ready to jump into the water with Summer exclaiming, “It is really warm today!” Afterwards, they were looking forward to heading to their grandparents in Boston, but Summer, well, she wasn’t planning on showering before heading to visit the grandparents, which prompted Darcy to announce, “But Mom said!”

And then there was Jack Czerkowicz, 6, a first grader at Center School whose career at this annual fundraiser is something he is very proud of – this was his second year. Jack said after the swim, “I thought it was warm!” He and his family were planning a day that included some time playing with his new soccer net and kayaking in the harbor.

For more information on the Helping Hands and Hooves program, visit www.helpinghandsandhooves.org.

Postscript: This reporter did the dunk for the first time encouraged by the fine weather and in spite of knowing the water would still feel frigid. It was cold, but well worth the effort. I’m not so sure, however, I will be as brave as most of these participants – those who have been willing to jump into the ocean year after year regardless of the finicky disposition of New England weather for a cause greater than themselves

By Marilou Newell

Naturally, growing up in Marion and being family friends with the neighborhood veterinarian, one young Sippican School girl named Heather Smith once upon a time thought she wanted to be a veterinarian, too.

Over the years she studied hard, and in 1988 Heather graduated from Old Rochester Regional High School as valedictorian of her class. She went on to Boston College to complete her undergrad when her trajectory took an entirely different direction away from the veterinarian life and toward the District Court bench where she sits today as the presiding judge.

“In college, I had the opportunity to sit in on a criminal law class,” said Heather, now married with three children and known as Heather Bradley. “It gave me an opportunity to go to court for a semester and, after watching every day what the presiding judge did, I thought, what a great job. I’d like to do that. I kept hoping that someday I would do that.”

Bradley continued on to Boston College School of Law and in 1995, she went on to become a prosecuting attorney, working in the district attorney’s office in the counties of Middlesex and Plymouth.

“I really, really loved, just loved, going into court every chance that I got,” said Bradley. She continued as a prosecutor until 2011 when she was appointed as a judge, sitting on the bench at a number of different District Courts and then sitting regularly at the Hingham District Court with the First Justice. Hingham became her court, ending that period of having to travel around the Commonwealth court to court. Bradley said she appreciated the stability.

The Hingham District Court, which serves the towns of Hingham, Hull, Scituate, Hanover, Rockland, and Norwell, has a community court feel that she likes, she said.

Back in November, just a few months shy of five years with the Hingham District Court, Bradley was appointed First Justice upon the retirement of the previous one. She was just officially sworn-in on December 18 before family and friends, many of whom still live in Marion.

“It’s a huge honor being appointed First Justice,” Bradley said. “It’s something that is a recognition by the people you work with every day … that you have the skills necessary to do it. I know that a lot of people reached out to the Chief Justice of the District Court and spoke on my behalf and wanted me to get the appointment.”

Bradley said that what she wants most is to make a difference in her community, and she specifically cited the growing opiate crisis as a major priority for her and her court.

“I want to make an impact in a positive way by making sure that we do run the court efficiently, treat everyone with respect, and take the time to explain the process.” She said most people whose first experience with the court is one of nervousness, fright, and they do not know what to expect.

“There aren’t many times in this job when you have the opportunity to put a positive light on what you do and in the court system,” said Bradley. “So I appreciate … being somebody growing up in a small town and having the chance to do something as wonderful as this job.”

By Jean Perry