RADFORD -- Annie Fletcher and Peter Thompson, owners of Annie’s Lodge in Malawi, Africa, and Malawian musician and activist Limbani Banda recently visited Radford University.

Fletcher and Thompson, who are mother and son, have developed a special bond with Radford students and faculty who travel to Malawi each summer for RU’s Study Abroad Program. Their lodge is home to the entourage during their stay.

“Annie has overcome many gender barriers as a former member of parliament and a successful woman in Malawi, and Peter became a successful businessman at an early age,” says Associate Professor of Literary Education Jennifer Jones, co-director of the Study Abroad Program in Malawi.

At a reception in their honor, College of Education and Human Development Dean Pat Shoemaker and Interim Director of International Education Myrl Jones thanked the couple for the care and attention they provide students and faculty.

“Students come back to us very different people. Students glow from the transformation that takes place,” said Shoemaker.

(IN THE PHOTO: RU student Drew Penglase, left, and Limbani Banda play reggae tunes during the reception hosted in honor of the visitors from Malawi.)

Fletcher and Thompson spoke to students in Assistant Professor Teresa O’Bannon’s recreation, parks and tourism class. Also attending and speaking at the reception was Virginia Tech faculty member Pat Kelly who collaborates with RU in the study abroad program and Gerry Niles who did some of the pioneer work at Virginia Tech in Malawi and serves as a bridge for Radford’s Study Abroad Program.