TEACHER TRAINING IN AFRICA!

MaZooNGa is partnering with 'Hope Rwanda', a charity based in Sydney Australia that is involved in building a village in Rwanda. There are three main teams involved in the charity, the building team which is building the homes for the widows and orphans in the village. The medical team, providing open heart surgeries for the villagers and the Education team. Ian and Karina Stephens, Founders of MaZooNGa will be assisting the Hope Education team in their efforts to provide teacher training and resourcing teachers.

We are delighted to report that the 2008 Rwanda Teacher training went off without a hitch, thanks to all our clients who got behind us and the USB/Flash drive fundraising. Together, you all managed to raise in excess of $4000.00 which, together with other fund raising initiatives, contributed to every teacher receiving their own USB containing all the training content, games, activities and teaching resources. We were also able to contribute various Book Kits to the very poor and needy schools who had little or no book readers for use with the kids. You small change, allowed us to achieve a BIG Result.
For as long as I live, I will never forget the smiles on their face when they each received their USB gift. To understand why this was like ‘Christmas morning’ for them, you need to understand that the average monthly salary for a Rwandan teacher is only USD $100.00. Spending $12 on a flash-drive would be a major sacrifice when they are struggling to pay rent. As contradictory as it sounds, Internet café’s are everywhere, so we have equipped them with a portable resource devise to prepare for classroom lessons.

The charity ‘Hope Rwanda’ is highly respected, and strongly connected into the Rwandan Education Department. They sanctioned and coordinated the training and we had close to 400 nursery and/or primary teachers at a college in Butare for a full week. 

Approximately 350 were there for the first time and completed module One. The balance returned for a 2nd year and participated in module 2 (a more advanced program including some ‘Train-the-trainer skills).
For those of you who are familiar with ‘The Virtual Questions of Learning’, this was a great hit with the teachers, and during day 5, it was rewarding to see them attempting to deliver a lesson following the Virtual Questions format process. Anyone who knows how important Ian's china-coated flipchart paper, and 10 colour Eddings 800 pens are to him, imagine him having to train using only a chalk board! He did manage to mix up the colours.

My testimonial about the impact a teachers negative comments had on her self-esteem, seemed to really move the teachers. A shift in their thinking took place as they realized the future of their nation, and the children they teach, is in their hands. On behalf of our Not for profit company , MaZooNGa Foundation, we also donated my book on self esteem and self worth to a centre which caters to the widows and orphans of the genocide.

On the final day, the Deputy Director of the Ministry of Education visited and watched the teachers having to apply the learning. She also surprised us by asking us to hand her a list by 5pm that day containing the names of 20 Module 2 graduates that were to be offered new jobs to be ‘Trainers of Teachers’.  The joy on their faces as those 20 realised this week of training had changed their future opportunities, was simply a moment when time stood still.

Thanks you again for your support. Please circulate this to all the people involved in arranging fund-raising activities in your company. You made a difference. Contributing to other less fortunate is an ingredient in life’s recipe for fulfillment. We can only imagine the ‘down-stream’ effect. You have all participated in throwing a pebble in the pond. The ripples will be far reaching.

 

WHY HOPE EDUCATION?

1994-Rwandan Genocide- 1 million people killed in 100 days
1998- President Bill Clinton apologises for western inaction in the face of the Rwanda genocide.
2000- UN Millenium Development Goals established including universal free primary education. Rwanda adopts goals
2001-present day Rebuilding of a nation

Present day: being a teacher in Rwanda….
At present, only 8% of Rwandan students go on to secondary school. If a Rwandan student fails final secondary exams, they are often immediately employed as a teacher with little extra training. These teachers face class sizes of over 80 students on average. Current Rwandan teachers are often child survivors of the genocide, having faced severe trauma and dislocation. With poor pay, feelings of failure and minimal classroom management skills, Rwandan teachers are discouraged and often leave the profession.

Hope Rwanda Education Team is working in partnership with the Rwandan Ministry of Education to build capacity in Rwandan teachers through teacher inservice and training. Hope Education volunteers stand alongside Rwandan teachers, reaffirming that they are indeed more precious than gold and integral to the nation’s economic and social development. Rwandan syllabus material is used as a reference point. Hope Rwanda Education Team is also involved in the training of Preschool Teachers in Rwanda as there are less than a handful of preschools in Rwanda.
 
Results so far...
In only 2 years, Hope Rwanda Education Teams are having a positive impact on teaching skills and teacher retention rates and have embarked on a training pathway which will see the training of 180 expert Rwandan teacher trainers within 5 years. It just shows what a committed group of volunteers can do!

“…Education is the single most powerful means to improve the quality of life..it is the single most powerful weapon against poverty and intolerance….”
                                                                        Federico Mayor

 

If you would like to know more or assist us then please email Karina more more information.

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