Well even though I still have about 9 months here my time is slowly coming to an end. On the one hand I will be very sad to leave what has been my home for the last 2 years and all the people I have come to know and love, but on the other hand I think by the end of my two years I will be ready to move on. But first, I'm trying to get as much work done as possible before I go! Here's some of the things I've been up to:
Soo schools started and its off to a solid start. Last year we had a pretty slow open to school but this year most of the teachers came the first week and by the second week we were having effective classes. I have been really happy with how well my school has been functioning. Despite being a community school that receives no government funding, my school has been performing better than a lot of other more well established schools. The teachers have been really dedicated this year and have taken the initiative on a lot of projects. A lot of them just want to be more involved and in charge of something. So that has been a nice change this year.
I have a pretty heavy teaching load this year but I really do love teaching the kids so that is fine with me. It is better than just sitting around the school all day even though I do end up pretty tired after 6 hours of teaching. Some of the kids are just so dedicated and really want to learn that it makes me want to do everything in my power to help them! Haha I just really love some of my student and will definitely miss them when I go. But hopefully I leave them at least a little smarter than they were when I met them so my time went to good use and they actually learned from me!
In addition to teaching I am still running the girls club. This is a chance for me to help some students in ways other than academics, ways that will hopefully help them to learn valuable life skills that will be with them forever. Unfortunately I have come to the realization that a lot of my students wont continue to senior secondary and almost none will make it to the university so I am trying to leave them with more than just random math notes and English lessons. Anyways the girls club has been going well. We made tshirts for the girls which they love and are a good way to make them really feel like they are a part of something and is good for when we have events so people know who is an actual member. We did a cholera/ handwashing sensitization to kick things off this year. Due to the recent cholera outbreak here we thought it would be good to go to the schools in the area and teach them a little about sanitation and what to do if you get cholera. Now we have started learning about STIs and HIV/AIDs in preparation for World Aids Day.
Also, I am currently in Freetown for a Girls Conference meeting. Most volunteers are bringing girls to an annual girls conference started by the first group of volunteers. It is a 3 days conference/camp for the girls to learn about important female health issues, career/educational opportunities for women, and just to meet with other girls from around the country. So in my last girls club meeting we selected the two girls that should go. I was really proud of my girls because they actually unanimously chose the two girls that they wanted to go and represent them. I was excited to see them working together and not fighting over who gets this opportunity.
Okay well I dont want to bore everyone too much but thats more or less what I have been up to. I havent done much travelling lately (other than coming to Freetown this weekend) because it is more relaxing to just stay in Fadugu and way cheaper! ha But we have had a couple of fun gatherings in Fadugu with volunteers. The most recent being for Mohamed's birthday. Other than that I havent been up to too much other than trying to stay happy and healthy in Sierra Leone! (fyi happy is much easier than healthy but dont worry I havent been too sick either!)
Okay well miss you all and cant wait to see you and explain to you all in person what life is like in Sierra Leone!!
Working on the school. Plastering the walls.
Girls Club doing the cholera/ handwashing sensitization
My students hard at work!
Soo schools started and its off to a solid start. Last year we had a pretty slow open to school but this year most of the teachers came the first week and by the second week we were having effective classes. I have been really happy with how well my school has been functioning. Despite being a community school that receives no government funding, my school has been performing better than a lot of other more well established schools. The teachers have been really dedicated this year and have taken the initiative on a lot of projects. A lot of them just want to be more involved and in charge of something. So that has been a nice change this year.
I have a pretty heavy teaching load this year but I really do love teaching the kids so that is fine with me. It is better than just sitting around the school all day even though I do end up pretty tired after 6 hours of teaching. Some of the kids are just so dedicated and really want to learn that it makes me want to do everything in my power to help them! Haha I just really love some of my student and will definitely miss them when I go. But hopefully I leave them at least a little smarter than they were when I met them so my time went to good use and they actually learned from me!
In addition to teaching I am still running the girls club. This is a chance for me to help some students in ways other than academics, ways that will hopefully help them to learn valuable life skills that will be with them forever. Unfortunately I have come to the realization that a lot of my students wont continue to senior secondary and almost none will make it to the university so I am trying to leave them with more than just random math notes and English lessons. Anyways the girls club has been going well. We made tshirts for the girls which they love and are a good way to make them really feel like they are a part of something and is good for when we have events so people know who is an actual member. We did a cholera/ handwashing sensitization to kick things off this year. Due to the recent cholera outbreak here we thought it would be good to go to the schools in the area and teach them a little about sanitation and what to do if you get cholera. Now we have started learning about STIs and HIV/AIDs in preparation for World Aids Day.
Also, I am currently in Freetown for a Girls Conference meeting. Most volunteers are bringing girls to an annual girls conference started by the first group of volunteers. It is a 3 days conference/camp for the girls to learn about important female health issues, career/educational opportunities for women, and just to meet with other girls from around the country. So in my last girls club meeting we selected the two girls that should go. I was really proud of my girls because they actually unanimously chose the two girls that they wanted to go and represent them. I was excited to see them working together and not fighting over who gets this opportunity.
Okay well I dont want to bore everyone too much but thats more or less what I have been up to. I havent done much travelling lately (other than coming to Freetown this weekend) because it is more relaxing to just stay in Fadugu and way cheaper! ha But we have had a couple of fun gatherings in Fadugu with volunteers. The most recent being for Mohamed's birthday. Other than that I havent been up to too much other than trying to stay happy and healthy in Sierra Leone! (fyi happy is much easier than healthy but dont worry I havent been too sick either!)
Okay well miss you all and cant wait to see you and explain to you all in person what life is like in Sierra Leone!!
