Placement thus far

These pictures are of the kids from our placements. Sadly, they have a two week spring break so Friday was our last day with them L The class picture of the kids in maroon uniforms are from Megan’s placement. The blue are Christine’s. On Friday we both went to Christine’s placement for play day. We took the kids to the beach. Typically, it’s a 5 minute walk but with 70 kids under the age of 7 it takes about 20. Last Friday we took them to the beach too. I assumed this week would be like the last; all the kids take off their shoes and socks, run around in the sand and get their feet wet. Then at the end we (the teachers) try to figure out whose shoes and socks are whose, why one has two left shoes on, and where each shoe’s match is. Well, this week the kids decided to take off all their clothes. Now, not only were we trying to match the kids with their shoes and socks, we were trying to match them with their skirts, jumpers, shorts, shirts, and underwear. Talk about chaos and dysfunction!

Our former placements have a two week spring break so on Monday we started at our new placements. I (Megan) am at a school called AMAP (African Modern Art Project). The school is run out of a man and wife’s backyard. The wife sews for the community (which is where we are getting our skirts and dresses made). The money she receives goes towards the school they started for street children. Many of these children arrive to school with an empty stomach. Some never received dinner the night before. They all come from poverty and many from neglectful homes. Yesterday was by far the most challenging day for me. There are roughly 50 kids at this school, 1 teacher (the man who owns it), and 5 volunteers. During our attempt to teach these children, they were hitting each other with rocks, flipping the benches over, punching, biting, kicking, pinching… I tried to stop one fight by yelling HAPANA… ACHA (NO, STOP) all they did was mock me, laugh in my face, and continue on. I was smacked about three or four times… I turned around at one point and a child about 4 years old is holding a knife pointed toward his chest… It was quite a frustrating day. Many of these kids know that one way to get the attention they want is to act out, even if that means the response is negative, it is still a response. I was able to see first hand that those who act out the most are the one’s who are in need of not only one on one attention and but nurturing as well. Today we took them to the beach and had a completely different experience. I made it my goal to work closer with the “trouble makers” and focus on positive reinforcement. I taught several how to catch and throw a Frisbee. They collected dead crabs and several were carrying them in their shirts.. it was disgusting. Tomorrow we will be back in the classroom so who knows what will happen… should be another adventure! The one picture is the backyard where AMAP school is held. It is their bathroom, play area, and classroom… quite different from America.

Christine will be updating about her placement at another time... internet problems