Main Attraction

I’ve been delinquent with writing the past few weeks. We’ve had one intestinal bug after another and recuperation pretty much takes up all our energy! I think we are all stable right now though – so very glad!

On the 9^th we walked down to the hospital to meet Randy so we could visit the Malamulo Primary School. I wanted to see the environment and get an idea of how schools operate here. As soon as we were spotted trekking down the dirt road, swarms of kids came pouring out of their brick and cement classrooms, lining up to wave and shout at us. The best part was that many of them know Nathan and Ryan, so we could hear the children shouting to them as we walked by. What a racket! We were the main attraction for the day and as we entered the grounds and asked for the office, we profusely apologized to the teachers for disrupting. Everyone says sorry here a lot – ‘sorry sorry’. We met the teachers and the principal and chit-chatted a little. Then we made our way out. The teachers tried to get the children to return to their classrooms but I don’t think anyone listened until we were out of sight.

So, school here is very different for sure. There is a very high student to teacher ratio and no apparent supervision other than while in the classroom - seems rather chaotic. The classrooms are very plain classrooms, a few desks, though not one for each child. Worn blackboards only, no posters or color anywhere, no school supplies, Crayons, Kleenex, hand disinfectant or glue sticks to be seen. Some children carry a small knapsack with a writing tablet book and a pencil; others do not even have that.

We returned to our home, grateful for our abundance of math worksheets and toys. I am still trying to find solutions for a productive day with the boys – the morning hours loom large as we try to fill them with school, play, cleaning. This week we are going to visit the nursery school just down the street. Children of some of the staff are cared for here half-days. The boys are going to share their picture books and read to the little ones as part of their own education. One day at a time.

Hope you all have a lovely Thanksgiving!