The picture you need to imagine is this - I'm sitting in a spacious, modern looking internet cafe, looking out into the car park at Spar and across the road into the edge of the Mosi oi Tunya National Park. I'm not at my most fragrant as I've been farming this afternoon and wearing the same clothes as yesterday. We were muck spreading yesterday afternoon and today we dug the stuff into the ground. The photo is of Natalie and I standing in front of our neat rows of freshly turned over soil. We are quite proud of our work. The area will be used for growing green peppers which get a good price at the market. The money is used to finance the home-based care project, which the medical volunteers work on. The local women and the volunteers visit outlying villages and settlements for people who can't or won't attend the clinics. While we were there this afternoon one lady came over to try to get treatment for the sores on her legs, which are (I am told) a side effect of the ARVs she has to take. The money pays for drugs, bandages, transport to hospital if necessary (except see an earlier entry).
Anyway, the newsflash is that I'm back teaching at Dambwa Basic School and very happy about it. We've pulled out of the tourism college course for the moment as they were unable to sort out what to do with a volunteer (i.e. the supposed teacher kept on just leaving me to do all the teaching every day and could be found sitting in the bar next door chatting with his friends) and they also kept on asking for money, which is not what we are about. Maybe it will get going again in the future but for the moment it has been parked. I now teach in the same class with Miss M as I shall call her - the same teacher that I described before who whacks the kids with a 2 foot piece of rubber hose pipe. I've been back since last Thursday and I have noticed that the hose pipe comes out less often than it did. She hits the kids who are late and I was late on Monday so I felt like holding my hand out as I went into the classroom like the kids have to do, but I managed to check myself. The irony of the gesture would be lost, and I'd either get whacked or cause a cultural incident.
I've been doing some English, Maths and Science with the kids, luckily with the teacher leading, and I do extra reading and support work, and lots and lots of marking. Today was fantastic fun - I did an art class on my own. Last night I roped in loads of the other volunteers and we cut out animal shapes - elephants, lions, hippos, crocs and leopards - and I took in the shapes and loads of crayons and pencils. My aim was to get the kids to use their imagination, but I first had to explain what imagination was. We talked about colours, firstly the real colours of the animals, and then I showed them some shapes I had coloured in last night. The got the idea quite quickly and I now have a collection of psychadelic lions etc, which are going to be stuck on the walls of the classroom. Next week I'm going to do butterflies and make mobiles to hang from the rafters. Aah - I have said for years I wanted to be a primary school teacher so I could play with sand and crayons! Hopefully you can see some of the results from the photos, but take it from me that they are wildly colourful and some are very clever and original designs. It was so good to see them tackle a blank piece of paper and think of what to do.
Yesterday we had to count how many of the class are orphans. The information is required for the World Food Programme, as vulnerable children get food to take home with them. The food they were given at school has now run out. Miss M said she was pleased at this as it disrupted her class. Anyway, she yelled out for those who are orphans to put their hands up. Only a few did, so she yelled at them again. A few more hands went up. "Leonard", she yelled, "are you not an orphan?" Leonard looks down and says nothing. "Do you not know what an orphan is? Prinella, (the brightest girl in the class) explain to Leonard what an orphan is!" Prinella complies (she is also an orphan) and Leonard and a few others put their hands up. Maybe it is just matter of fact here, rather than Miss M's wonderful personality shining through, but I did feel so sorry for the poor wee things. Anyway, it was over a third of the class. How awful is that.
I was at the orphanage a lot last week and the reading club is going really well. It is more for the community children than the orphans as the orphans are teenage boys, and are too cool to hang out with us. I think it is the only individual attention many of the children ever get, and it has been so rewarding seeing the progress we can make even in a few days. I have used the money I was given by a very kind person (who will get a separate email) to buy a whole load of new books and some pads and pens for the kids to take home and practice their writing. They devour the new books like manna and their enthusiasm to learn is almost overwhelming. So thank you SG. Your donation has brought smiles to lots of little faces, and maybe just maybe we are planting the seeds for these kids to carry on learning.
I know I shouldn't, but I have 2 favourites - boys called Mark and Joshua. Josh is the one sitting on my lap while I'm reading with Grace and Shelley, who are both quite good compared to others but are still reading Grade 2 level books (they are in Grade 6 and 7). Josh and Mark are both quite quiet boys, or rather they used to be, but their confidence is picking up day by day. They have a really sweet gesture they do - it starts like a handshake, and then goes into an elaborate series of moves - finger clinches, thumb twirls and shakes and then ends with the boys kissing the back of their hand while they are still holding mine. I suspect its partly cultural, partly AIDs driven, but it is the sweetest thing, and when wee Mark (he's 10) did it for the first time last week I had to fight back the tears. Although I love the farming, I can't wait to get back to the orphanage, and its frustrating being away.
I can't believe it is my 5th week here. A few people who started at the same time as me left last week, and I know that I'm only just getting into it. I don't know whether to extend here for another month or to extend work at the lion project for a month. I will need to make up my mind soon-ish. I always knew that it would be so hard leaving the kids, but I think when the time comes it will be heartbreaking. Anyway, as I said before I left, I need to live each day one day at time and not ponder about the future. Easier said than done!!
Anyway, keep the emails and news coming. It is good to hear what is going on and to keep in touch.
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