Airdrie & Coatbridge Advertiser
New continent.. Same positive view
Change of career – but still working to make the world a better place
A former head teacher, who devoted 20 years to educating children in one of the world’s poorest countries, is continuing his mission to initiate global change by becoming a key member of an inspirational Lanarkshire charity.
Chad Morse, who has moved from Malawi to Scotland with his wife, Tracy, and their two children, has been appointed project co-ordinator with LEAP – an award-winning charity that works to enhance the lives of older people in Lanarkshire.
Chad has taken the helm of LEAP’S pioneering R:evolve Recycle project, which aims to reduce consumption, landfill waste and our carbon footprint by persuading people to think differently about their clothing by making outdated ideas like swapping, sharing, learning and caring fashionable once more.
As part of uprooting from Malawi – where Chad and Tracy’s daughters were born and raised – the Morse family have had to do their fair share of swapping and changing mindsets in the process of transitioning to western life in the central belt of Scotland.
The family not only made the 5500-mile journey to Glasgow in the midst of a pandemic, they also faced the challenge of finding a home, and schooling for Acacia, 16, and 14-year-old Ilana.
But, for a man whose career path has been far from conventional, 47-year-old Chad saw that challenge as another adventure – and an exciting opportunity for a dramatic diversion from the only lifestyle his girls had know.
After graduating from university with a degree in Education, Chad – who is originally from Ohio, USA – travelled to Namibia to serve as a volunteer with the Peace Corps in an assignment to bolster education in the country by working shoulderto-shoulder with local communities and schools.
From there, he ventured to Blantyre, Malawi, in
2000, where he met his Aberdeenshire-born wife Tracy, and taught the English national curriculum to Year Five pupils at an international primary school for 11 years before being promoted to head teacher – a post he has held for the past nine years.
The family, who were very much part of school and community life, lived in the grounds of the 40-year-old school in which Chad taught.
Surrounded by three peaks, the outdoor-loving family were an hour’s drive from the breathtaking Mount Mulanje mountain forest reserve, and only two-and-a-half hours from the enormous Lake Malawi in Lake Malawi National Park.
“It grew a lot in the 20 years I was there. We did not have grocery stores or supermarkets, and it took around half a day to do your grocery shopping,” said Chad.
“If we found cheese, it was a massive deal. I’d ask friends to bring me back things that just weren’t available at the time, like mustard. By the time we left, there was the equivalent of a Tesco, the roads had improved greatly, and things like mustard were widely available. It makes you think about what is necessary in life.”
When Tracy – who is head of Strathclyde Centre for Sustainable Development – saw a change in the landscape of her job, the family decided to take the opportunity to move to Scotland to allow their daughters to finish their schooling in the UK before going on to further education.
“Does it sound like a good idea to move two teenage girls to a new continent during a global pandemic? Well, we did,” said Chad, who wanted to use the move as an opportunity to set his career on a new path, as the bureaucracy of the UK education system held little appeal.
Lockdown put paid to the family’s plans of spending several months re-evaluating and exploring neighbourhoods, schools and job opportunities before settling permanently.
“Before we left Malawi, we did not know where we would be based and I didn’t know if my visa would come through,” continued Chad, who initially entered the UK as a US tourist on a 90-day permit.
Having set up home in Lenzie, the Morse family
became involved with a community group, with Chad offering to help organise local social events. It was through that group that the advertisement for the R:evolve Recycle project co-ordinator vacancy came to his attention.
“It was not an area I had worked in, particularly,” explained Chad, whose new position is funded by the Scottish Climate Change Fund.
“I was keen to find a new path before I turned 50, other than education, after being a head teacher for nine years. I loved what R:evolve Recycle is all about. I had experience of managing a team and working with community organisations, and I was confident I had the people skills. I could relate to keeping clothes out of landfill. But in terms of being a fashion guru, that was not my area.”
Although coronavirus restrictions have meant that Chad’s meetings with his new colleagues have been predominantly by Zoom, he has fitted into the team with ease.
Having taken over from Wendy Russell, who has moved to a new position within the organisation, Chad explained: “There are staff members taking on new roles, as well as new people coming in. I’ve been learning about the project, and we’ve been getting to know each other’s roles and how we can support each other.
“While I’m no fashion guru, there are people who know about textiles, fashion and window dressing. It is a great organisation and everybody I have met in the broader LEAP have been very welcoming. They’re a great group of people.”
It’s ironic that Chad has now found himself in a job he loves, based in Lanarkshire, only a few miles from the Blantyre birthplace of explorer, missionary and anti-slavery crusader Dr David Livingstone.
His legacy lives on in the south-eastern African city named after Dr Livingstone’s Lanarkshire birthplace – the city that is the birthplace of Acacia and Ilana.
Chad and his family hope that as restrictions lift, a trip to the David Livingstone Centre will be at the top of their summer outings list.
Said Chad: “We are still in weekly contact with 20 years’ worth of friends in Blantyre, Malawi, and it will always be home to us for years to come.
“That being said, there are many ex-malawian friends now settled in the UK and around the Glasgow area, and we’re looking forward to eventually meeting up with them once allowed.”
I was keen to find a new path before I turned 50, other than education