Education is the Key!

Wednesday, May 14th

After breakfast at the hotel we went to Gisimba orphanage to observe in their nursery school. The nursery school not only serves children from the orphanage, but the largest number come from the surrounding community. Parents pay a fee for their children to attend this school, which supports the teachers and other staff. Fees are small, so you can imagine how much the teachers are paid. It is said that Rwandan teachers make about $50 U.S. per month. What makes them get up for work everyday? The classroom that I observed in had 3 and 4 year old students (27 total) and even a 2 year old roaming around freely. I thought that they were learning to write the letter I, but they were learning the concept of horizontal and vertical lines, which will allow them to move on to drawing shapes, such as a square. The teacher Athalie only spoke French, so it was hard for us to communicate, but with a little extra effort and the help of Dominic as my interpreter I was able to ask a lot of questions (you know how I am). She explained to me that there is no standard curriculum, but she did show me her plans/goals for students for the four quarters of school. I checked her closet for resources and they were few and very old. She cut copier paper in half and wrote three I shaped designs on the top of every student’s paper, so I began to help with that as she wrote the student's names at the top. The children filled each page with the shape.

Coats, backpacks, and lunch boxes were placed on a table in the back of the room.
The only source of light in this classroom was from the windows, there was no electricity. There were hand drawn pictures on the wall around the room of various things including apples, banana, leaves, butterflies, and flowers.

Once the students completed their assignment the teacher moved on to another lesson teaching the concept of on (sur) and under (sous), by using various objects in the room. She placed a book on the table or chair and then under, on her head then on the floor, and involved students by having them do the same. These teachers also have to artist. In the U.S. teachers tend to use a lot of worksheets, but those resources aren't available here so teachers use what they have. The teacher drew different items on the board, continuing to teach the concept of on and under. Oh...I forgot to mention that the teachers at the nursery school have no formal training.

Upon completion of this lesson the kids left the room to wash their hands, and returned to say grace followed by a stampede to the back of the room to collect their packed lunches. Most students had some type of bread and something to drink (juice, tea, or water). These young children were very independent, only relying on the teacher to help pour their beverage into the top of their thermos.

After lunch all four nursery classes played outside and I stayed behind to sharpen the worn pencils that the children in this class use. After the break we left the nursery and returned to our hotel for lunch with Robin. Robin is an American married to a Rwandese and is building a school in a nearby city. While we were waiting for our lunch I met a U.S. Marine from Ocala, FL (My friend Tricia lives here!). His wife graduated from Oakwood College and Alabama A&M (My school) in Huntsville, AL. (It's a small world).

Robin talked about thecurriculum model and framework of her school, building cost, sustainability, donors, and teacher recruitment.

After lunch we went to Kigali Institute of Education (KIE) for a tour of their facilities. We had little interaction with students due to them taking exams. KIE has the only teacher training program in the country, and offers full-time day classes, evening classes, and distance education. Since education is one of Rwanda's primary goals a teacher training college is key. Most of the teachers were lost in the genocide and they are still recovering from this loss.

Later in the evening we returned for to our hotel for dinner. We met a young American man in passing and invited him to dinner. He was very entertaining and also shared with us information regarding the work that he does all over Africa with school lunch programs and other child advocacy issues.

It has been a long day! Stay tuned for more!