Feed A Hungry Mind

Update February 2023 

I hope this finds you well and in good spirits.

Both schools in Tanzania and Rwanda opened again on 9^th January after the Christmas break.  

However, shortly after my last update, disaster struck Ivan in Rwanda.

He was walking home on Friday 11^th November at about 8.30pm when suddenly someone had grabbed his arms from behind whilst another was trying to rob him. He had no time to think and feared that the next thing might be a stabbing, and so instinctively he fought back. Amazingly he fought them off and they took nothing, but they pushed Ivan to the ground and his left hip broke. He was taken to a government hospital, and told he needed a total hip replacement, and that his insurance would cover 90% of the surgery and treatment but he would have to pay for and source his own implant. That delayed things, as well as there being too many patients needing surgery, and so Ivan was not operated on until 5^thDecember!

That, unfortunately, has not been the end of the matter. He is in constant pain, and his left leg is about 3cm longer than his right leg. A recent check-up by the surgeon has revealed that the head of the implant was too big. They could re-operate if Ivan could supply a smaller head. As yet we do not know what is going to happen, but I have advised Ivan to go to a private clinic and get a second opinion. Ivan is in too much pain to visit schools, involving as it does a lot of driving on bumpy roads.

On a much happier note, one of the trustees of Support to Primary Education Rwanda (SPER), Allan and his wife had a baby boy on 20^th January arriving in the world at a very healthy 9lbs. He is called Levi.

Of the schools we visit in Gasabo District, only two are not part of the government Equip programme, about which I’ve written much on its dire shortcomings. One of those schools is Kibara where Josephine still teaches Primary 1 and supervises other teachers using the NOEC books. Josephine has used the NOEC books for over five years now, and so has extensive experience of laying the foundations of English for her young pupils. Every year her pupils enjoy her lessons from the NOEC Book One. She tells of hearing pupils outside lesson time and on the way home from school, practising English from the lessons and taking it in turns to be the teacher and ask questions. Even parents have reported to her that their children come home and test their parents and siblings on the English structures they have learned. Josephine would like nothing more than the NOEC books to be adopted nationally, and she is sure that all teachers would enjoy using the books as they guide the teacher all the way, and give great satisfaction in the learning outcomes. Josephine’s pupils, year after year, use English with enjoyment and accuracy, and this creates the upward spiral of success breeding success for both teacher and pupils.

Josephine is a very good teacher, and she adds to the NOEC with wonderful gestures to help her pupils understand the meaning. The twenty-two second video (from the link below and at https://www.educationrwanda.org/give/) shows Josephine revising the prepositions of place (on, in, under, in front of, behind) using her gestures. She practises with a few pupils each time, whilst the other pupils are in their places doing the actions and whispering/mouthing the words. This is the ‘whispering technique’ that the NOEC uses so that even with large classes all the pupils can be engaged.

Shortly after my last update all Rwandan government officials attended the annual weekend Retreat at which the President reviews performance of ministries and individuals. Apparently, the whole of the first day was spent on education, and assessing the poor performance. That prompted the Minister of State for Primary and Secondary Education to call the chair of our trustees, Emmy, at 7am on the Monday morning to request an online meeting with SPER to discuss how we might help. So far so good, but the online meeting has yet to be organized.

In Tanzania the new school year began in January. Bright school currently has 400 pupils. National examinations are held for Standard IV and Standard VII. The school did not have Standard VII last year, but the results for its Standard IV pupils were good. When the school started in 2020 most pupils started in Standard I, but a few pupils were accepted to join higher classes. This was a risk because their attainments from their previous school could adversely affect Bright school. Sixteen pupils took the Standard IV examinations at the end of 2022. Six passed with grade A (above 80%) and nine with grade B (61%-80%) and one with grade C (41%-60%). The teachers are greatly encouraged by these results and have high expectations for the 76 pupils who are currently in two classes of Standard IV.

The two new classrooms for the Bright pre-primary school are now finished. The two lower pre-primary classes will move in and enjoy some privacy from the rest of the school which will assist such young pupils. 

Thank you again for your interest in our work and how we are helping teachers so that their pupils can learn English. This is their key to future education. This is essential work, and to date thousands of pupils have been helped which means they stay in school and understand their lessons when they are conducted through the medium of English. Without your generous support this would not be possible.

Thank you all enormously.

With all good wishes,

Katy

Links:

• https://www.educationrwanda.org/give/