More News

Last Saturday I went to Oldeani Secondary School with some other volunteers.  India, the founder of RVCV, wanted us to see the condition and program of the school. In the next few years, RVCV will help support this school, just like it does the primary school close by, Gyetighi Primary School—which I wrote about last week.  Both schools are greatly different than American schools, but the secondary school is drastically different.  The structure, program, and curriculum of the secondary school are drastically different.  The teacher-student ratio is about 1 to 80!

   

Grade Book

Attendance

Once a month children at RVCV celebrate birthdays. This happens on a Saturday.  Rather than the typical water and bread snack, there are birthday cakes!  Every child with a birthday gets a cake and gifts.  (The gifts are all donations. So THANK you to Boulevard for collecting such awesome gifts!)  The celebration happens at each house.  Nobody in Manyara had a July birthday, but we still got a yummy cake!  After singing “Happy Birthday,” I cut the cake and passed it out.  A child with a birthday would open the gifts at that point.  I tried teaching the “cha-cha-chocolate” version; but it didn’t catch on very well.

My band aid matches Natalie's shirt!  I cut my finger rather deep last week while
washing a glass.  I had a thick bandage for the first few days--now I'm down to band aids. 

On Sunday I went to Karatu with some other volunteers.  I wrote about this experience on Sunday. (See the previous post for more details.)  Here are some pictures.

Water source

We were invited into their home,

Home--no light

Bedroom for 3 kids and 1 mom

Making bricks

Here are some more photos of Pre School and RVCV play time.

Feeling Sticks

Eggs (one of the 2 kittens) is climbing a tree to catch the
string that the boys are holding.

Today I’ve been taking lots of videos so that I can share even more with friends and family.  At some point I will give a presentation to share stories, pictures, and videos.  So stay tuned for more details about that!

On a side note, I'm SO glad that I have earplugs!  The crickets here are louder than anywhere I've been! The earplugs also block out the wild dogs!

Sad, Fun, and Delicious

Monica left on Friday.  It was a sad good bye.  We have shared so many great experiences.  I will miss her dearly. Fortunately, there is always something to do and someone to play with—so I didn’t have too much time to dwell.  There is an amazing group of volunteers here.  I didn’t expect to connect so quickly with random strangers from America, but we’re all here for the same reason—to help make a difference.  We’ve all become close friends rather quickly.

I’ve been keeping busy with preschool, curriculum writing, and playing/loving. 

I’m normally not a nap/rest person, but during my mid-day break I’m wiped out.  I use the time to relax, read, watch a movie, work on the blog, and sometimes nap. My bed is on the right.

On Thursday night we had family dinner night in our house.  We had a blast eating together (YUMMY chapati), talking, and taking fun pictures.

Mamma Sophia--One of Manyara's (my house) mamma

Theresia

Fatuma

Zwadea (student teacher) 

Happy, Grace, me, Fatuma

Coletha, Happy, Grace, me, Fatuma  (GLEE!!)

Yummy chipati

Lucia & Theresia

Grace, Janie, Natalie, Coletha

Today, Sunday—our day off, some other volunteers and I took a walking tour of Karatu, Tanzania.  We saw the “real” life struggles of villagers.  The lack of water, food, shelter, and cleanliness was astonishing.  I thought I had seen this in the local village closest to RVCV, but I was wrong.  The local villagers we met on this tour were welcoming, polite, and eager to talk to us.  Our guide did the translating.  We were even invited into two homes.  I was close to tears several times.  The differences between life in America and life in these villages are devastating.  Rift Valley Children’s Village is lacking MANY comforts of home; but it is like the Hilton and Disney World of Tanzania. I will post some pictures of the tour (hopefully) sometime in the next couple of days.  Sometimes the Internet works, and sometimes it doesn’t. 

Homesick

I'm enjoying my time here, but I especially miss my husband today!  The past 14 years have been wonderful...Happy anniversary!

Hospital Visit & Awesome Kids

We had a bit of scare yesterday.  Monica became very ill all of a sudden.  The volunteer doctor here at the village treated her, but the symptoms continued to increase.  So, we (Monica and I) went to a local hospital called FAME Clinic.  A driver from RVCV drove us the 45-minute distance--most of it on a very bumpy road.  FAME was founded by an American doctor (Dr. Frank and his wife, Susan) over 10 years ago. We actually met Dr. Frank and his wife, Susan, last Sunday.  We had lunch together.  This hospital is unlike the typical Tanzanian government-run hospitals. It was clean, prompt, and provided great service.   Monica had to stay the night because she needed IV fluids and antibiotics.  She has an infection in her GI and also a parasite.  She most likely ingested some "bad" water.  It's so tricky in third-world countries. Although the water is filtered here at RVCV, the produce is usually rinsed in tap water.  We've been both using tap water to brush our teeth because RVCV said it was safe to brush teeth with, just not to drink.  Monica gargled the water while brushing, so it's also possible some got in her system that way. I was ready to stay the night on the floor with her, but a bed was available in the same room. We had a rough night sleep because a dog kept barking, barking, and BARKING most of the night to chase off a pack of hyenas.  Yes, hyenas---they are very local around RVCV and around FAME...and every where else around here.  Their callings sound somewhat innocent, but the dog barking was fierce, and right outside our window.   We are back at the Village now.  Monica is resting and slowly beginning to feel better.  She's MUCH better than she was yesterday, but needs to take it easy for awhile.  The doctors said she should be back to her normal self in 24-48 hours.  We were both VERY impressed with FAME.  I've known about FAME for quite some time now, and I had planned on touring the facility, but I didn't plan on seeing it with a sick patient.  The staff there is simply amazing!  Monica was well cared for and received wonderful medical attention.  If you're interested, check out FAME's website at: http://www.fameafrica.org/whoweare.html.  They rely on donations to keep the place running.

I've been enjoying Pre-school!  I have 4 kids in my class: Janu, Ema, Joanne, and Musa.  They are all sweet and excited to learn. (They're also SUPER DUPER cute!) I'm happy with the classroom make over. There are classroom rules, expectations, and consequences. I made a "Reading Castle" and have even started a short version of Morning Meeting. Each preschooler has a feeling stick. For the past few days we've been working on shapes, patterns, communication, following directions, and creativity.

Looking at sticker charts and rule

Making crowns for the Reading Castle

                                      

Guess who is stepping in as the Education Director?  ME!!  RVCV currently doesn't have one, but needs some help designing a preschool and kindergarten program.  Most of the volunteers here aren't teachers, so they struggle with making and carrying out lessons.  In the mornings I've been teaching my class and playing with the kids.  In the afternoons, I've been working on curriculum and planning. 

Here are some pictures of Rift Valley Children's Village. There are 5 houses--each house has 11-13 children, 2 Tanzanian mommas, a student teacher and 1-2 volunteers.

Manyara House (where I am staying)

Pretty Suset 2 Nights Ago

Off Time

Yesterday I posted about the typical day at Rift Valley Children’s Village. Today isn’t a typical day.  Sundays are volunteers’ free days.  There are 7 of us who left this morning for Gibbs Farm—a quiet, beautiful and peaceful safari lodge. We’re all relaxing, using Wi-Fi J, talking, and reading.  Saturday night we all went to a tented camp to have happy hour around a fire.  We celebrated Chris’ birthday. (Chris is a volunteer.)  We had a group of 20 because there were some visitors in for the weekend.  Right now there are 8 volunteers, but five of them will be leaving within the week. Fortunately, 4 more will be joining on Friday.

A Masai  lighting our fire for Chris' birthday celebration

View from Gibbs Farm (Day off)

Gibbs Farm

I posted yesterday about working with the Standard 3 and 5 students.  I showed the kids Shaker Heights on a map and explained what I teach.  The students worked in pairs or trios to draw and write about their favorite African animals.  I have the pictures to bring back to school!  Afterwards, the students inquired into various animals.  (Even in Tanzania I’m managing to use IB language!)  The morning ended with an enticing game of Red Rover.  At first I only had 9 kids playing—but at the end there were over 20.  I got some serious grass stains during this game!

Students from Standards 3 and 5

Every Thursday the volunteers eat in the houses with the kids.  The mommas make chapati, which is delicious bread, with beans and spinach and carrots.  I was worried about eating the food, but it was delicious!! This was our 3^rd day in the house, and the girls were really testing the limit.  I finally pulled out the “TEACHER” card and made the expectations and consequences crystal clear.  I ended up using my classic “TEACHER FREEZE” with the kids.  Monica was shocked and later told me that she had never been more proud of me.  Since then, the girls have been in better control. After dinner I read some bedtime stories.

TEACHER FREEZE! :)

Story time after dinner-Notice I need a head lamp to read.

On Wednesday or Thursday (I can’t remember which day—they all blend together), I walked through a local village, Camp Nairobi, which is about a 5-minute walk away from RVCV.  It was shocking to see the shelters, water, garbage, and animals.  Some kids in this village are supported by RVCV—providing clothes, food, and education. These children LOVE to get their picture taken and desperately want to see pictures on the camera.  They say, “Show please,” while flashing a charming smile.  There aren’t any mirrors in this village, so the kids only see themselves through volunteers’ cameras.

Local Water Hole

 
     

Water Buckets

                                      
                           
Also on Wednesday or Thursday, I toured Gyetighi Primary School. This is a local school, which is greatly funded by RVCV and partly funded by the Tanzanian government.  The school-aged children at RVCV attend this school, as do local children IF their parents can afford the fees, uniforms, and supplies.  The school structure here seems to be set up for failure.  School is required for Standards 1-7, but I use the word “required” loosely.   There is no check-up on kids who don’t attend; and many families make less than $200/year—which is about how much fees, uniforms, and supplies cost.  School is taught in Swahili, except for English classes.  Students must pass a big test (in English) after Standard 7.  Secondary school is much more expensive and is taught in only English. Many students who pass the test aren’t familiar with English, so they suffer in secondary school.  Like I said above, the system seems to set students up for failure.  A big part of my job at RVCV is to help teach and communicate with the children in English. I hope to visit a school in Karatu (the largest town around, about 45 minutes away) with another teacher volunteer. We want to see the instruction and learning in action.  The tour of Gyetighi Primary School took place during recess/break time.

Teacher's Office