A teaching natural!

In typical style I'm working on many projects at once. My job description is vague enough that I can justify almost anything - the Director here has decided on 'Education Advisor' as my title as that allows scope for a multiplicity of action.

On my desk is a pile of acrylic yarn and a dozen pairs of knitting needles.  I started knitting a scarf just so I could see how far each ball would go. (30 stitches x 5 cm was the outcome from one ball on 4 mm needles) In coming weeks I will teach knitting to the "Sewing Club" members.

I have started on the grand scheme of redesigning the curriculum. That will require lots of consultation with all the stakeholders and so will be a very long term project. It's fun as well as a challenge working out what is essential for these young ones to know and understand. 

Much of my time though has been spent working with Miss Chuki, employed at Umoja as a social worker, but who will be teaching health and safe sexual behaviour to the students. HIV and AIDS are still a huge issue here as is unplanned pregnancy. Miss Chuki has had no teacher training so we have been working together on what she should teach and how it could be taught.

It has been a joy to work with her, she is so keen to do a good job and has great enthusiasm for the subject. She has put time into researching the topics and making little teaching aids for the students to use - like the circulatory system puzzle the students below are using.

She is a natural at classroom management and sensed this afternoon that the students had had enough and we switched to plan B - the students are watching an animated video on the digestive system from Youtube on my laptop.

They enjoyed the video - a definite change in teaching method for them! - and giggled as all kids do at the functioning of the rectum! I don't know whether they'd heard the verb 'to poop' before but they certainly got the meaning!

A birthday party

This afternoon I went to a birthday party.  It was for three boys who live at a children's home managed by a friend of mine. It was lots of fun!

Like all good parties there was food, cake, games and lots of laughter.

Apples are a treat for children in east Africa - these were imported from South Africa and were very tasty.

There were party hats and masks and best clothes for the occasion. Children from another home for OVCs (orphans and vulnerable children) just down the road were there too.

Kids all over the world love balloons, at least until they go 'bang' which African ones do very rapidly. (It's wise not to have too much faith in African rubber products and get imported ones if you can!)

The cake was soccer ball shaped in honour of the current World Cup.

 The birthday boys - Simon, Charlie and Moses.

Extra stickers to complement the traditional Maasai face tattoos.

Someone thought water pistols would be a good present!

On the trip home on the daladala an older Moslem man hopped on at the stop after mine. He had on the floor length white gown and white can. His white beard had been dyed bright orange and he had a live chicken in a plastic carrier bag with the head poking through a hole in the side of the bag. I wish I could have taken his photo - the sight made my day complete!

Week 1

I’ve put in my first week of work at the Umoja Centre. I have enjoyed being there! It has been a week of getting to know everyone and trying to understand how the centre works. Also trying to understand what my rôle could be.

Umoja operates out of a house in the Njiro area in Arusha. The main house holds all the offices and the IT classroom. There are two more classrooms and a library in the yard as well as an outdoor kitchen and eating area.  The 40 ‘foundation year’ students have classes and activities at the centre from 8.30 until 4.00 each day Monday to Friday. There are also usually ‘outplacement’ students around using the facilities. So it is a very busy place! The teachers all have multiple responsibilities – classroom duties and administration tasks as well as mentoring and nurturing the students who are all from disadvantaged backgrounds. If you want to know more about Umoja you could look at the website.

At AVI’s in-country orientation sessions (Only 5 weeks ago? Feels like a lifetime!) Australians were described as task oriented compared with Tanzanians who are generally people oriented. This is certainly true of me! I keep wanting to write about what I have achieved in practical terms rather than the relationships I have forged in the last week. I will try to do both!

This week I have taught some classes in spoken English. I’m still feeling my way on what the right level is, and having difficulty with vocabulary – mine tends towards the sophisticated which can be then hard to translate to give meaning to EFL students!  I have made a start on documenting curriculum and sorting what is actual and what is aspirational. I have observed some excellent teaching – there is definitely opportunity for peer to peer mentoring – and I have made some documents to help beginning teachers with lesson planning.

I have also started to get to know so many new friends who will support and encourage me as I endeavour to support and encourage them in the Umoja community of which I am now a part!

HIV-AIDS

Today at Umoja all the staff and students participated in a seminar about HIV-AIDS. It was given by a Danish medical student who is working at St Elizabeth's Hospital in Arusha. She made her presentation in English and it was translated by Philbert, IT teacher at Umoja, into swahili. This was not an easy task with phrases like 'clinically asymptomatic stage' to contend with.

They both did a great job! The students found it very interesting and asked many excellent questions at the end. It was good that they received accurate up-to-date information.

It is sad that there is so much mis-information around about HIV-AIDS.  Much is deliberately spread by some of the more conservative religious organisations. The harm that is done by the spread of false 'facts' is incalculable. It puts vulnerable lives at risk.

Tanzania has excellent programs to combat HIV-AIDS - free testing, free ARV therapy, free treatment for HIV positive expectant mothers to prevent transmission to their babes. It was good for the students to hear all this and be able to ask the questions they did in an atmosphere that was welcoming and accepting. I'm sure they will now spread the "good stuff" they learned today, and it will be reinforced in their Life Skills classes over the following weeks.

Sunpark Apartments

I moved into my little flat today.  It is very nice. I celebrated by opening my jar of vegemite. I also have a wedge of New Zealand cheddar from the local Pick'n'pay. Life is good!

Here is my kitchen. I've been shopping so have cleaning materials and lovely ripe mango, avocado and pineapple. I have an electric kettle but no saucepan or frying pan yet so meals will be simple until I have done a bit more shopping.

There are about 200 residences in this apartment complex. They range from studio flats to detached 5 bedroom houses. There are people everywhere outside - children playing on the grass, people exercising their dogs and cars coming and going. 

I don't know what my view will be when the cloud clears. I think I'll be looking in the wrong direction to see Mt Kilimanjaro or Mt Meru.

I'm in a block of 1-bedroom apartments that looks like this.

It's so different from our home in Bukoba! The flat is furnished and has a fridge and hot water in the shower. Luxury! It is light and freshly painted. It has all the eastern African idiosyncrasies too - locally made steel framed windows and rough workmanship everywhere. So far the electricity hasn't bitten me so that's a bonus!

On Monday I start work at the Umoja Centre. I'll let you know all about that next post!