Karibu Madam Nicky!

Sunday 19th September

I have to admit, I was absolutely dreading that my accommodation here in Mombasa for this long placement would be like the Seychelles experience. Thankfully it is all completely lovely – there are two ‘bases’ here, just 100 metres apart, in a secure complex in an area called ‘Salama’ just on the edge of Bombolulu. I can certainly survive here until next summer!

The main house is where all the action seems to happen, where the briefings, communal eating etc, and where most of the volunteers are based. There are six of us ‘new’ volunteers, and about 10 existing volunteers. A lot of the volunteers are only here for between 5 and 10 weeks at a time so turnover seems to be quite rapid and routine, but there are three of us here until next June, Hannah from Germany, Connie from England and me. Just by default, because all the young ‘uns bagged the beds at the house, (but no I am not the eldest this time!) I ended up at the apartment where there are 6 volunteers and 3 staff. The apartment has lots of space and sofas to sit on (yes that is a luxury for me as there were no seats/chairs whatsoever at base in the Seychelles apart from the very uncomfortable dining benches). Two toilets and bathrooms, kitchen (all clean with usable cooking utensils!) and there’s plenty of food. We do our own breakfast, eat at school with the kids for lunch and then all eat together for tea. There’s plenty of bread, eggs, weetabix and NO PORRIDGE! It’s a short walk to the local shops and there are supermarkets just a short boda-boda away. But picture this, I’m in bunk beds! There’s 6 in our room (3 sets of bunks) and I have to say it’s been many years since I’ve had to clamber up and down a ladder to get in and out of bed, but they’re comfy, non-mouldy mattress and pillow, mosquito net already fixed around so don’t end up with it collapsed on top of me, so frankly….this is the Ritz by comparison!

So, this first weekend has been an orientation one, with more detail about the project, what we will be doing, we have visited the Old Town of Mombasa (Fort Jesus etc) and also toured Bombolulu today. We’ve had quite a hard hitting lecture on the HIV/Aids situation here which I have to say is heartbreaking. So many of the population here have the virus, and the really sad aspect is that so many babies are now being born with HIV as there is no free testing for the virus, even for pregnant woman. (In fact there is no free access to medical care whatsoever here). If testing was given to pregnant woman and anti-viral drugs given (free), then the 45% of babies now born with HIV would reduce to around 3%. Is that too simple a thing for the politicians and drug companies to solve? (Apologies, soap box moment, and I have a feeling there will be many more moments like this)

We obviously have to be very careful when dealing with any first aid issues, and have to carry surgical gloves at all time to use even for things like putting on a plaster, as well as ensuring that any cuts, open wounds that we might have are covered up to reduce the real risk of infection.
Some of the information I was given on sign up to the project seems to have been slightly misleading, although nothing drastic. GVI supports three projects here, and whereas I had the impression that were all roughly in the same place and linked together they are in fact slightly spread out and are all separate entities: the orphanage Jambo Jypya at Mtwapa, Precious school, in Shauriyako (just on the outskirts of Bombolulu) and Olives Centre in Bombolulu.

First impressions….I love it! I will be very happy here, getting to know Mombasa, learning Swahili (first 10 words learnt!) – and I will find out tomorrow which school I will be working at first. The staff here are great (one of which is an ex-teacher from Hertfordshire – yes lots of stories swapped) and the volunteers are all really dedicated and exceptional people – I can’t wait to get started!

Monday 20th September
Today has been a whole day of teaching training. It has been really enjoyable I have to say despite my obvious previous knowledge and experience. It really is a very different experience from any teaching in the UK as there are absolutely zero resources, and I mean zero, including no electricity or running water in the schools. I now know I will spend the first bit of my placement at Precious Vision School, which is the more deprived out of the two schools as GVI have only just recently started working at the school, whereas with Olives, they have been involved for a few years now and it is pretty well established (although still faces enormous hardships). I am going to be teaching standard 4, which is roughly about 10/11 years of age, although they have a system here where if a kid doesn’t pass the standard expected at the end of each year then they are kept down until they do.

There are hardly any textbooks, there are no schemes of work, there are no real records of what’s been taught already, literacy levels are very low.…but I can’t wait to meet the kids tomorrow and start to unpick their levels, abilities, and hopefully make a difference. I am really excited about being back in the classroom, and also nervous….which is good!

Be ready everyone to start filling a container to ship out here…the list already is enormous but I reckon easily achievable: reading/library books (lots and lots needed as literacy levels are so, so low), teaching books and resources, stationary (files etc), musical instruments, sports equipment, art resources, paper, exercise books, pens, pencils, rubbers, rulers, felt tips, crayons, chalk (does anyone have any lurking in cupboards still?), SEN resources desperately needed especially structured reading programmes, reading/spelling tests, literacy materials, learning to learn materials….and that’s even before I stepped into the schools!

Tuesday 21st September
We toured both schools today, and I managed to grab one lesson with my class which was just a ‘getting to know’ them lesson, and establishing my expectations. There were 13 kids today, normally there’s more, in a room (with no door) that is probably about 10ft by 10ft, two ‘tables and two benches which comfortably will sit 4, and uncomfortably will sit 13 or more. The Headteacher, Madam Jane (I am Madam Nicky – no mickey taking please!) is a force to be reckoned with and totally inspirational. She used to be a primary teacher in a state school, but left it to set up a school for the children from the slums. She has devoted here life to this for the last 10 years or so. GVI have recently joined her to partner her and are providing an enormous amount of human resources as well as financial donations to move the school forward of which ‘we’ are all now part of. And when I say ‘we’ I mean us lot here, but also all of you back home who not only raised money before I left but also who I know will rally round to get resources out here!

I have just come back from a bookshop in Mombasa after buying teaching resources, as well as hitting the local supermarket and buying exercise books for each subject I will be teaching them (maths, science, English) and resources for creative arts, aswell as materials to start getting the kids work up on our walls. A bit of ownership in our tiny room is much needed!

So, a rather long blog over the last few days, and I have only just sorted out laptop (yes more technical issues afflict me) so I can use the wireless that is in the house.

I need to find out how much it would cost to get a container shipped out here, so if anyone has any contacts/ideas please email me on nicky_williams1@yahoo.co.uk and once I come up for air a bit (must go and do some lesson planning now) we’ll start the jungle drums good and proper to start to fill the container.

Kwa heri xx