Waiting, workshops, & more waiting

Trying to do workshops with teachers during the most important exams of the semester was probably not the wisest move, but yours truly will definitely know better for next time:) I mentioned in an earlier post that I was observing lessons & giving feedback in the schools in my sector. I noticed that all schools had some common strengths & they also made the same "mistakes" - the areas for improvement were very similar! This is how I came to create the "Strengths & Weaknesses of Muhura Schools" which is about 2 1/2 hours long. So far I have facilitated this workshop at 3 schools with a fair amount of success (ie. nobody booed me or threw tomatoes at me) and hope to do 2 more this week. I say hope because schedules have a way of changing at last minute here (like 8:30pm the night before a workshop) but we just have to learn to take things slowly - buhoro, buhoro as they say here in Rwanda!

When I am not visiting schools in my area, I am often in Kigali sharing information (and good times!) with other volunteers. The picture above shows a group of the education volunteers deeply involved in their group activity....

Canada Day in Rwanda

Had the awesome opportunity to help with a workshop in another district called Nyanza with the 2 Mels (Melanie & Melissa). It was a very long day of teaching students & teacher-training - not to mention the extrac-curricular activities such as the 3 legged races! Thanks to the Mels for letting me participate as it was a great learning experience & a good time was had by all. Check out the picture of me with some of the students - they oughta be in pictures!

Canada Day happened to fall on the same day as Indepence Day in Rwanda. I celebrated our nation's birthday in style at the Canadian ambassadors house in Kigali. My team won the Canada Day quiz & won cool pens - I even got a temporary tattoo to show my loyalty to my country!

Schools Visits

In my sector there are 9 schools. Within only 1 month, I've managed to visit all of them & do at least one session of classroom observations. It has been educational to say the least. I have noticed that there are similarities in teaching styles that occur in every school. I am currently creating a workshop based on both the strengths and weaknesses that I have seen in the educational system. All the teachers are quite enthused & very happy to have someone assist with English pedagogy. I am happy to report that Rwanda has some very dedicated teachers who only want the very best for their students. This picture is of one of the schools in my sector - one of the few that is actually within walking distance of my house!

All work & no Play... not for me!

Things have finally started rolling workwise in my placement - I've visited all 9 schools in my sector & have started giving small feedback to teachers. But every weekend, there is another side to Kelt that comes out - the side that needs to cut loose and party the night away! There is always something going on in the capital city of Kigali so that is where I end up most weekends. This past weekend was a festival put on by VSO volunteers in Gitarama where we all had to dress up. Check out my crazy costume!

Muhura - my new home in the boonies

After over a month in Rwanda, I am finally in my house in Muhura, in the Gatsibo District of Rwanda. It is in the Eastern Province by Akagera National Park. Muhura is 45 minutes off the main highway, on a pot-hole filled dirt road. There is limited access to electricity and running water. The first trip to Kigali took me almost 4 hours - 2 hours by moto - mostly because we went after it had rained. The way back was quicker. There are nine schools in this small town and they are the ones I will be visiting first. Eventually I will go to schools in other towns in the district. Already I have gotten to know my neighbours and have walked the entire length of the town (45 minutes at a leisurely pace). It is beautiful and very quiet in Muhura. It is also surprisingly cold - especially in the mornings! It will take a bit of getting used to after being in the big city of Kigali for almost a month...

Workshops

Well, I have been in Rwanda 3 weeks and still don't have a home but have been staying with another volunteer, Epiphanie, and doing workshops with her for new Rwandan teachers. The workshops are aimed at making classrooms more child-centred and to use more than 1 learning style when teaching. There has also recently been a switch from French as the lingua franca to English so many of the teachers also need a lot of training in English methodology. It was hard work but by the end of the week we were like well-oiled machines and I now feel like I could do a successful workshop on my own or with another volunteer any time!

In Rwanda!

AFter flying for almost 2 days straight I finally arrive in Kigali, the capital city of Rwanda and my suitcase, with my whole life, is not there. Thankfully the local VSO office is very helpful and I get my suitcase intact 2 days later. Thanks goes also to my roomate Mary for lending me some fresh clothes until my own stuff arrived. We start training in our small group of 6 almost immediately. Everyday there are some Kinraywandan lessons as well as other helpful information about how things work with VSO in Rwanda. We get to do some shopping and site seeing (the Memorial Centre is a particularly important visit to understand a bit of the history of the country) and of course we get to vond as a group. I am the second youngest in the group with the oldest being Alan at 75 who has been volunteering with VSO for many years and has some great stories. Wim, from Amsterdam is the baby at 36 years of age! We are excitedly (and sometimes tiredly) absorbing as much as we can in a short period of time. We are staying at a lovely guesthouse called Amani, which means peaceful (althought when the roosters crow in the morning it's not very peaceful).