Reading, Writing and the Chicken Coop

Tuesday morning I awoke to the sound of the children singing the Tanzanian National Anthem. It was so sweet to hear. I hope tomorrow morning to record a video of them.

The first thing I did today at the daycare was work with the ‘middle’ group on math. We’re doing subtraction for the first time and it’s quite a challenge. They call it ‘Take Away”, which makes perfect sense to me, but try explaining that in English to 6 kids under the age of 8 who know mostly Swahili. I’m thankful for the minimal school supplies they do have here – tiny pieces of chalk and some Lego-like blocks we use for counting.

I had to separate a couple of the girls because they were cheating. One is really smart and gets her work done fast. She doesn’t seem to mind giving out her answers to another girl who would much rather nap or have her picture taken all day long. She understands “Take Away” now though…after much persuasion and a new seating arrangement.

One of the boys in my group, Francis, is very advanced. He seems to even know multiplication. I asked Teacher if Francis could work with the older kids and he said he wasn’t ready. I’m sure there is a reason, but I couldn’t figure it out today.

After math it was time for porridge. The kids get their first meal of the day between 10-11am. After porridge, we worked on letters – A, E & I. Then it was time to color and recess followed shortly after. I thought it would be fun to teach the kids the game, “Red Light, Green Light”. I’d say we were fairly successful, with some Swahili translation from Teacher.

We also sang some songs and practiced their favorites. Travis got a good video of them singing, “This is How I Brush My Teeth”. I always wonder if any of them actually brush their teeth or if they just know the song. I doubt they have running water in their homes. Our Maasai security guard who is here 24/7 was using a stick of some sort to clean his teeth the other day. I’m guessing (hoping?) the kids use the same thing.

After recess, it was lunch time. Then naptime. One of my favorite boys, Godlove, was so tired, we found him trying to nap on the tile floor of the front porch. I think it was a bit hectic for him while the kids were setting up their mattresses, so he went outside to find a quiet spot of his own.

Today Godlove wrote his name for the first time. I’ve been so impressed with the progress he’s made in the time I’ve been here. He knew no English at all. Now he’s counting to 10, writing 1-5 and his name – if I write it for him first. He’s such a smart boy, I really hope he can continue his education and care through St. Lucia. His brother, Ombeni, is struggling a bit more. I think his health is worse, but that’s why they brought him to the orphanage. He does seem a bit depressed at times and isn’t doing as well with the schooling. But Teacher is amazing and I’m sure will be able to get him up to speed.

Because it was naptime, Chris and I decided to head over to the orphanage to see what we could accomplish there. Much to my surprise, Teacher had some new chores in mind for me. We headed straight up to the chicken coop. There it was decided the new hatchery built by Jon & Sal a couple weeks ago needed to be relocated. The rains have started, and unfortunately, too much water is getting in through the cracks in the floor. So, based on my wide array of chicken coop construction experience, I made some suggestions on where to relocate the big concrete blocks they’re using as “walls” for the baby chicks. After about an hour, Teacher and Immanuel (one of the men who works on the land & with the animals) had a newly located chicken coop with clean water (I helped with the water!).

Teacher scooped all the old chicken coop wood shavings and other gunk into a wheelbarrow and instructed me to wheel it down the hill and dump it near the manure. Hakuna Matata.

After that I shot some video of Chris working with John Boscoe. She’s showing the nurses at the orphanage some good exercises for his legs. We learned from Winfrida that his name was given to him at the hospital by the nuns when they gave him his Last Rites. He was terminal. He came to St. Lucia to live out his last few days. Now he is flourishing and will hopefully learn to walk. He impressed even Chris when he stood by himself in the walker and took several steps on his own.

After that Godlove wanted to practice his writing again. And then Moody woke up from his nap and asked for a pen and paper. It’s amazing how much these kids thrive on learning. I asked the nurse if Moody was still sick – last week he was crying and throwing fits because he felt so badly – she said he was better. He seemed to be and was even smiling a little when I told him ‘Good Job!” on his writing.

We walked home from the orphanage tonight with Teacher. I asked him lots of questions about how he got his job and how it was different from the Government schools here (our equivalent of public schools, though you have to pay for them here). He told us he supports his family of 4 as well as 2 other relatives. He has a 2 room house. His wife doesn’t work, but sometimes wonders why he works seven days a week. He said the salary is better working for St. Lucia, but also that he knows God is happy he’s doing this work. God will help him help the children, was my interpretation of our broken English/Swahili conversation.

It was a full day and I’m exhausted. It’s raining now, so hopefully that will lull me to sleep. Only 3 more days.