“Foreigners (in Bolivia) had a privileged status,” Malavisi said. “There is that divide, and I didn’t want to be that person who had that privileged status. Now I’m on the opposite side of the spectrum. I’m a poor student and a single parent.”

But although Malavisi’s closest relatives are on the other side of the world, the Spartan community has reached out to her. A 1,100-square-foot house is being built for Malavisi and her three daughters through the 2010 Whirlpool Building Blocks program, which selects several communities across the nation in which to build a home. MSU is the first college campus to be involved in the project.

It was by coincidence that Malavisi was next on the list to receive the house.

Habitat to home

Two years ago, Malavisi and her family were living in a small apartment in Spartan Village. The apartment provided limited space for the girls as they grew up, and provided no quiet spot for Malavisi to complete her class work. It was at that point she heard about Habitat for Humanity through MSU Family Resource Center and signed up, thinking it might help.

When Habitat contacted her, Malavisi had moved to her current residence, a gray, two-bedroom home in Lansing. The house qualified Malavisi for a new one through the organization, said Julie Burtch, development director for Habitat for Humanity Lansing.

“Her house does not fit her family,” Burtch said. “It is not laid out well for having young children. It is in need of massive repairs; it is expensive to heat in the winter.”

Malavisi also spends more than a third of her income on rent. In the new home, she’ll pay less per month and have an interest-free mortgage.

Last Saturday, about a dozen students gathered in MSU’s commuter lot to begin building the outer shell of the house.

By next Tuesday, the house will be moved, via flatbed truck, to its permanent location in Lansing, where MSU students will continue to work on the inside. The home is expected to be completed by MSU’s homecoming weekend.

Malavisi has stopped by the site a few times and seen the students working.

“It strengthens that link we’re going to have,” she said. “We’ll have that link with MSU forever.”

A mission to serve

In her early 20’s, Malavisi first traveled to Latin America, backpacking through the country and observing the different cultures and the level of inequality among them. It reinforced her life-long passion in human rights issues.

Originally from Australia, Malavisi’s 16 years in Bolivia formed both her career and her family. She worked her way up the levels of the organization where she worked. She eventually became director for the organization’s Bolivia branch and separated from the father of her first two daughters.

In 2005, Malavisi visited MSU for the first time for an international workshop. It was during that workshop that the MSU Department of Philosophy launched what would become her concentration in the department — ethics and development.

Malavisi works three jobs to provide for her family, a fact made more difficult as there is limited help for international students with children. But despite the heavy workload, she remains dedicated.

“There are all these organizations working (in third-world countries) for the past 50 years, and they’re still talking about the same things, the same problems,” Malavisi said. “What I want to question is why, what’s happening? That’s where the philosophy comes in ­— to look at development more critically and not just accept it as it is.”

Richard Peterson, chair of the MSU Department of Philosophy, who Malavisi is a teaching assistant for, said she is hard working both in and out of class.
“She’s taken on a lot of responsibilities,” Peterson said. “She will make good advantage of that house when it’s finished. It’s going to give her more space for raising her family and allow her to work more comfortable. It’s going to make her life a little more easier than it was.”

‘It will be our space’

Malavisi has been motivated by a desire for the greater good, but her daily driving force is her three daughters, Bianca, 14, Adriana, 11, and Maya, 4.

“She’s been so inspirational,” said Heather LaFave, family services manager for Habitat for Humanity Lansing. “She’s trying so hard to make things better for her family. She works hard to make a good life for her girls.”

Malavisi’s day begins at 6:15 a.m. when she steps out of bed and into the shower. She helps her daughters get up, dressed and out the door by 7:40 a.m. Maya is dropped off at her preschool by 9 a.m., and then Malavisi parks her car at home and bikes to MSU to save money. Between classes and work, she also serves as a board member of the Spartan Child Development Center, an organization she joined when her daughter Maya began service there. Although the service became too expensive for Malavisi, she stayed on the board to be a voice for international students with children.

At about 5 p.m., Malavisi takes the car to pick up her children. Most nights she has evening seminars at 6:30 p.m., leaving her barely enough time to cook dinner before rushing off to class.

Still, Malavisi works to give her children opportunities. She encourages them to play musical instruments and become involved in other activities ­— Adriana plays piano and does gymnastics and Bianca fences, plays the violin and does ballet.

At night, Malavisi might spend a few minutes with Maya, reading her a bedtime story and tucking her into bed, what she calls “the best quality time we have all day.”

On a normal night, Malavisi will study until about 1:20 a.m.

“Being a single parent — it’s just an added burden,” Malavisi said. “Everything is dependent on you. You don’t have anyone to share child care, the decisions, the discipline — it’s just loaded onto you,” Malavisi said.

At times, things are like any other family. Adriana said she is upset she will have to share a room in the new house with Maya, who currently sleeps in Malavisi’s room while Bianca, the oldest, taunts her with a “First come, first serve!” But both girls are self-sufficient. They watch Maya while Malavisi is at her evening seminars, and help both inside and outside the home.

After moving from Bolivia and living in rented spaces for the last several years, the family will have a place of their own.

“You’ll be able to do what you want,” Bianca said. “You can paint it, it will be ours and we can hang up whatever we want. It will be how we like. It will be our space.”