To our amazement the children of the Acholi tribe were
alert, smiling and even early to our lessons today! All four of the large
groups from the tribe were added to by the many other children, trying to sneak
into the lessons and activities or just whispering 'Muzungos' through the
windows. This made it very difficult for us to worry about the lessons we were
delivering as the contageous excitement of the children kept our energy levels
high.
In the Church, the team members taking the groups of younger
children all noticed the increase in their confidence as they demonstrated
abilities in the maths and english exercises that impressed us all. Similarly
in the Community Centre, the older children of around 14/15 enjoyed practicing
their English, some even using their language skill to mock our 'Team Kenya'
t-shirts, reminding us that we are in fact in Uganda. The others whose English
was not so good found it slightly tricky to not get caught out in a game of
'Simon says' as the delay between the action and the interpretation proved
detrimental.
It was hard for the team to turn the children away who were
not in the chosen classes as well as telling the younger boys in the Church off
when their cheeky grins and excitement were so heart warming; especially those
with younger siblings on their backs or in their hands trying to find out what
was going on.
The porridge handouts at break times were a reminder of milk
at primary school, although their determination to get seconds and third
helpings of what was really flour and water was a contrast to our dislike of
milk and reminded us of the privileges we have in our lives when these kids
have so little yet are always so happy and grateful for what they have. The
Acholi women however showed the use of what to us seems like 'so little' and
gave us a demonstration of the bead making (which uses paper from magazines and
glue) both praising and enjoying our attempts at their work. The skoobie making
activity in the Community Centre was definitely put to shame – although the
kids were crazy for the skoobies. The familiarlity with all the children and
the respect amongst both children and ladies was admirable.
Upon reflection of the lessons, the general consensus
amongst the two teams is that the morning lessons and activities served as a
learning opportunity, allowing us to deliver more confident, organised lessons
in the afternoon to a new group. Having got the first day of lessons done,
everyone seems very exciited to deliver new and different things to the same children
who also seem to be looking forward to the week ahead.
4 comments:
Looks & sounds like they've had a good day.
Great to see the children thoroughly enjoying the lessons. Keep up the good work Team 'Kenya'!
It is difficult to see from the photos who is enjoying it the most, the locals or the newcomers. We are enjoying following your blog, keep it coming!!
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