Let´s bulid a school in Africa – education and rubbish

I´m in Africa already three weeks now and  first time I´m writing  about my feeling from school in City of Hope. Except, my not a popular secretary at work, which include opening every classrooms in school, it´s mean being the earliest to come in and also the last to leave, I´m an assistant in Grade 1. It takes all of my energy.

            Today we got a new  schoolgirl and we have an unbelievable forty children in one classroom. Although we are two teachers in one class it is really difficult to keep their attention. They are always shouting, fighting, chatting, taking stuffs away from other children, throwing  objects which they have at other children, pulling at hair and taking off their plastic´s school shoes, which are not really good for African climate.

            Sometimes I teach a lesson, but although English is the official language in school they  also use another lanuage out of seven accepting Zamia´s languages and children can speak only this one. I try to use all teaching methods –  for example poetry, songs, games, fairytales, but it´ s not working, because they don´t understand me. It is difficult to say they don´t undrestend me or they only pretend not to understand, because when  I threaten to take them to director (Sr. Prisca) they know very well.

            The biggest problem is acute shortage of teaching materials. Desperately missing school books – the few copies we have are really good, but unfortunately it is only this book which can provide the inspiration for teachers to work with children. For writing they use only pencils which are really often too small for sharpening. Anyway sharpener is big luxury and no everybody has it, but everybody is fighting for it. Pupils carry in their backs packs  something – sharp blade – which they use for sharpening their pencils. Invention is not lacking in different ways to sharpen their pencils, example to bite. They do everything during class time, such as sharping their pencils everzwhere because there is no bin. And why in Zambia there doesn´t exist any waste incineration plant or some company for it. You can buy  everything here, everywhere you can see  foundations for future mountains of rubbish. But here there are places, including City of Hope, which  take care of their rubbish. Everybody has to burn their rubbish…. including me! Me a big ecologist activist, I have to burn all my rubbish including plastic bottles, empty cartons of milk, plastic bags, aluminium and cans. When the red wheel of the Sun touches the horizon from everywhere you can smell smoke from the burning rubbish.

            Deficient  school materials make my evenings funny. I draw school posters – types of transports, shapes, food, materials etc. –  to hang in my classroom. My teaching influence is good, because my teacher has started to do some posters too, and other volunteers also. Step by step classrooms are getting more colourfull.

            Before I thought about sending some school materials to Africa, it is not important. Every year I want to buy a cow or a goat for African people, but now every year I will send some school materials here.

I´m in Arfica

It is unbelievable, but finally I´m here. After all my trying I´ve done and I packed my suitcase and I went.

            I arrived to Prague airport with big suitcase and big backpack and both luggage I repack several times there. Finally I gave my suitcase to the check in they putted on it tag “heavy” and sent it to plane. Big hand back, exceed allowed weight, I took on my back and boarded to the biggest and the most luxury plane I´ve ever traveled.

            The first flight finished in Dubai one minute to midnight. There I tried to sleep on floor between shops and morning I continued in next plane to direction black continent.

            When I sow our plane is closing to Lusaca I started to feel some filings I didn´t feel before – worry, fear, nervousness and happiness. We started go down and from window I sow pictures like from geographic book – yellow grass, branching small trees, blue sky and hot sun. I´m in Africa! That I´m not wrong show confirmed my first breath hot air. I remembered something about ongoing winter in Zambia, ok African´s winter is really different.

            After one hour waiting I get on to check-in desk for the visa to Zambia and after scanning all my fingers and paid 50 dollars I could go to hall with my suitcase. Again with my heavy suitcase I leave the hall and immediately I sow the label: City of Hope – selesian center, which has in her hand small girl. Behind her emerge three other girls and all wanted help me with my heavy suitcase. I was thinking witch from them will drive but finally come to driver and I almost sit to his knees, before I sow the wheel on left side.

            The cart was going on really good ways, absolutely better then in Czech. We met a big department stores but also on crossroads between cars were going salesman of all sorts and also many walkers. Cross the rout will be one of the biggest problem here.

            That I´m, right it was confirmed next day. I went to shop with two other volunteers and it was really curious. When Jakub came to ask me about shopping I asked him about check my zambian´s money, because I got some old from my friends and I knew it was reform in Zambia.  Jakub made me sure I have lot of money and I was happy and we went out from City of Hope. I bought especially water and beers but on the cash desk I found out, this money they don´t use any more. It was silly situation, Jakub was calling and finally he didn´t have enough money to lend me. Credit cart I couldn´t use. The situation was solve by manager of this shop, he let me pay in dollars with the wrong course, of course. I could not trust Polish people any more, but I have my purchased.

            Now I´m waiting for tomorrow, girls will have party and also will be meeting for teachers, because on Monday school year beginning. Ok let´s go.