Counting Down

In only 11 weeks I will be flying back to Australia for Christmas - I'm sure the Christmas decorations are in the shops in Australia by now!  And yes, I am counting down.

Last month the High Comm decided that, for AVIs, flights through Nairobi Airport would need special permission, given only at the beginning of the month of travel. It didn't seem sensible to wait until December 1 to confirm flights to Australia 2 weeks later so I've changed my booking to fly via Dar es Salaam instead. The very chatty and helpful Qatar airways agent who changed my flight thought I deserved a bonus for the inconvenience of it all and has given me a 40 kg luggage allowance both ways! So my Christmas shopping is in full swing.

It is hard to find handicrafts that are made here. The tourist traps are crammed with trinkets mass produced in Asia being sold by locals who swear blind they made it themselves. If so they've been very busy because I've seen the exact same articles on sale from Entebbe airport in Uganda to Hartbeesport in South Africa and five countries in between! Still, the chocolate hornbill and the helmeted Guinea Fowl (see pic below) were irresistible and they'll go in the bird collection on the mantelpiece at home in Hamilton.

The only things I'm relatively confident about being 'local' are the beaded objects sold in many women's co-operatives. Often the women are there making them. So I have bought trinket boxes, a lot of jewellery and a collar. Also sandals and a water jug cover. So, family, expect something with beads for Christmas.

 

The water jug I bought on Thursday from a venture just outside Arusha called Shanga. Disabled adults are employed there making a variety of handicrafts - textile and glassware.  The glassware is made from recycled bottles and jars. It really is beautiful work. Textiles are created on hand looms and seamstresses turn kitenge into many useful and decorative items. I think I'll be going back there for more glassware, so put in an order if you'd fancy recycled wine bottle under the tree in December.

Here is a glass shaper at Shanga making a bowl someone may get for Christmas.

Doing my job

Finally a week where I did the things AVI think they're paying me to do! No egg and spoon races and no hobnobbing with High Comms and riding in bullet proof cars. The only excitement was the sighting of a domestic turkey in the yard across from the centre.

This week I observed classes and gave feedback, assisted volunteers in their teaching, researched, wrote and rewrote curriculum documents and ran a workshop. It wasn't very exciting but it was as close to a 'normal' week as I can get!

Umoja currently has three local teachers and two international volunteers teaching timetabled classes. I have been attempting to institute a program of weekly observation, feedback and reflection with the local teachers.  So many interruptions and distractions mean I have not been able to establish a pattern that isn't a distraction in itself. I want it to seem unremarkable for me to be in the classrooms so everyone acts 'normally'. When I am in the classrooms I usually see effective teaching and learning happening and I'd be surprised if that wasn't the norm.

Beginner maths learning algebra.

The volunteers are a mixed bag - in the three months I have been at Umoja we've had Canadian, British, Polish, Belgian, US and Danish volunteers teaching Life Skills, Global Studies, Spoken English and Library. Some are qualified teachers, some are university graduates in various fields and some are virtually straight out of high school - younger than some of our students. Oftentimes they teach what they know - usually something they're passionate about (which is good) but sometimes not relevant to the students or a  repeat (which is not!). It has been a big job consulting and getting feedback on what constitutes a "balanced curriculum" but now it is only being "tweaked" as I look for helpful resources to teach what has been decided on. Future volunteers will have a better structure to help them with what to teach in the classroom, and hopefully there are resources I have found, too, to help the local teachers in their work. 

The workshop was on planning - schemes of work written in January for the whole year also need some tweaking when you've unexpectedly lost a week of teaching time to sport and leadership training. The teachers have now reassessed their programs and are looking towards end of year exams. They also enjoyed banana and passionfruit muffins and mango yoghurt pikelets - half at the beginning of the workshop and the remainder at 4 o'clock when they showed me what they had achieved!

I have been working on a collection of stories and poems to expand the students' store of reading materials.The English teacher, I know, has enjoyed reading the Roald Dahl works I have found. I also found a cache of Hans Christian Andersen stories that have universal appeal despite being from different continent and century. And the Danish volunteer pointed me in the direction of some wonderful international poetry - works from Zimbabwe in English language that should resonate with our students.


This week I also felt a long way from home when our daughter unexpectedly and without warning married her partner Jeremy in Hobart and I also missed our grand-daughter Sophie Jean's first birthday party.   I'll catch up with them all in Australia in December I hope - Skype is great but not a substitute for a proper cuddle.

A photo of the elopement in their living room!

Interruptions

It’s been a disrupted week this week with the normal program suspended while YES Tanzania (Youth Empowerment through Sport – a Scottish NGO) ran Leadership training with 20 of our students. This involved some theoretical work in the classroom and lots of running around on the paddock near the centre. Some teaching staff and outplacement students were also involved in a ‘Train the Trainer’ capacity. On Friday the students and trainers went to a local primary school and ran a sports carnival.

While 20 students were out of class doing their thing, the remaining students were in a combined class ‘marking time’ – revision in English and maths are not as exciting as running around in the paddock playing games! I was teaching the IT classes while the IT teacher was being ‘empowered through sport’ which was a challenge – I’m useless with Windows machines and only familiar with Office for Mac applications. Nevertheless, with help from Mr Google, I taught the students how to put animation into their Powerpoint presentations. There are a few students who need to learn ‘less is more’ as they delighted in having words spinning in and out all over the page! We had a demonstration of Skype in action and the students sang Happy Birthday to Steve on Thursday.  I also made good use of the Kagera Reading Program.

On Friday, so the students who weren’t YES men wouldn’t miss out on their dose of sport, we had an “Old Fashioned Games” event on the paddock. Two student teams and a teacher team competed in games such as leapfrog, tag and marbles. The students laughed when Danielle announced I was in the teachers’ team – very rude!  I’ll get some pics from Caroline next week and add them to this blog.

We had a special afternoon tea – Pyrou provided oranges, I brought a watermelon and some mini-muffins and Danielle and Kaylene made a peanut butter and chocolate cake. The day finished with “prizes”. Students were allowed one garment of their choice from the recycled clothes cupboard. A great day was had by all!

Next week normal service resumes and I hope to observe some classes as well as run a workshop on planning for the remainder of the term, including provision for unexpected interruptions such as we’ve just had!

Safari

Steve and I had two days in Arusha NP, near Mt Meru, and then three days at Tarangire NP. The photos below are a selection of the hundreds we took - can't really say who took what. I know they're a bit heavy on birds and light on mammals but watchagunnado? Enjoy!

Arusha NP

Mt Kilimanjaro from Ngare Sero Lodge verandah.

Tarangire NP

The view from our 'tent' under the baobab. Nothing but canvas between us and the wildlife!

The lions sauntered across the road in front of our cars.

Impala decorated with mud flap.