DSangarabalan :: Blog

I was always so impressed by the enterprising skills of the young children who were in the village. Although they had no premade toys, they were so ingenious at making up their own games and building their own play things.

This is a little boy, who made his own 'roller' to push along the path and the second photos is of some slightly older children who have recycled a bottle to make into a car.

   

My toys were rather peculiar to the youngsters..especially my Teddy! When I first showed him to the children they ran away, thinking he was a real animal! But with a bit of encouragement and some words of explanation from Alefa, the children came around for a play and a cuddle!

     

My first day at the school was quite emotional.

I had been left with my host family the previous day and so I felt nervous and anxious about being in this remote village, away from people that I knew. It was such a big adventure for me.

When I first went to Malawi I was not sure what I would be able to offer teachers there. But after my first day at school I realised that I did have skills that I could share that could make a big difference.

The classroom was so full, sometimes with over 100 children and they were squashed with not many resources.  But I could see how committed the teacher, Mr Mangochi was to using lots of active ways to get them to learn, rather than giving out lots of pencils and books and making them write lots of things down.

Infact, sometimes when I saw resources, I realised that they were not always effective.

 

The girl in this picture had a biro but it did not work because of the cold weather, She kept sucking on it to let the ink run but in the meantime she was missing all the learning in the lesson. 

With a class so big, marking was hard work! There would be long queues to see the teacher and then time was wasted waiting rather than getting on with further work.

When I saw things like this I had some ideas how I could help and over the three weeks in the village I saw classes change dramatically with the dedication of Mr Mangochi and Mr Chimthiko to try new ways of learning and teaching. 

I used to wake up in Malawi at around 6.15am. I always used to hear the animals outside and the chatter from the villagers.

I would wander outside and see the sun shining on the mountainside and Alefa doing her morning sweep.

Then I would head towards my shower and toilet, shown below!

And this was my actual toilet. It was a pit latrine, basically a large hole dug in the ground. We had been warned not to look down it but curiosity got the better of me and I did look!  It was about 2 or 3 metres deep and you could just see the horrible stuff at the bottom!

Despite the toilet not having a flush facility it did not smell, and apart from a few spiders and ants, there were not many bugs. I was brave enough to manage it in the middle of the night too, with just my headtorch for light. I would always stop on the way back from my loo trip, turn the torch off and gaze at the astonishing star-filled sky. So beautiful without any light pollution.

The children at school are always amazed when they see this picture of Alefa's kitchen.  Compared to what we have, it is extemely basic.

Alefa is preparing nsima, the staple diet, made from corn flour.  After gathering it from the farm it is dried, kernels broken off, pounded and sieved before being added to a pot of boiling water, where it is made into a dough like substance.

 

Over the next few months I shall put up a few photos from my stay in Malawi.

This was my wonderful host family.

 

This was taken on my last morning in the village. Baby Enock is clutching his toy Nessie, that was one of my leaving gifts. My home is to the left of the photo.

Zakaria and Alefa were both farmers and grew maize, potatoes and turnips and had some goats and chickens too. The animals would wander around the village and there was many a time I had to shoo them out of my house! 

Thanks to all those who came to 'Ngwaya and Nsima'.  It was such a wonderful night for me to be able to share such a inspiring experience with you all. Many thanks for all the lovely words on the feedback sheets and for the offers of help. They'll be taken up over the coming months!

 

For Parents of Blackhall Primary School...

On Friday 19th September, I fed back to the staff at Blackhall School about my professional experience in Malawi. I talked about the education system in Dedza district, the work I carried out in my school and the teacher training I delivered in literacy, numeracy and music.

The new term has kicked in and we are all on the Global Journey again!

Here I am in Edinburgh writing my blog again!  I have just re-read all the previous messages that I sent over the past five weeks.  They bring back amazing memories for me.

I would like to be able to tell you what the whole experience has meant to me but I just don't know where to start. At times it has been incredibly hard work and I have felt frustrated and tired but overall, it has been truly life affirming and inspirational.

I lived and worked in a school with barely any resources, limited classrooms and only two teachers. Yet i was inspired by the enthusiasm of the children and the dedication of the staff.

My host family lived in a home the size of my own bedroom with very few possessions.  Yet they had all the things that are important in life - strong family values, kindness, laughter and complete unselfishness in sharing everything with me.

I come back here and I see how much stuff we have in Scotland. People may think we are a rich country but I know deep down who I would consider the rich ones to be.

Thank you to all those who texted me during my stay in Africa. You can have no idea how uplifting it was to have your messages of encouragement. They were really appreciated.

And to Mr Galloway, who has spent his summer being bombarded with my text messages - the most enormous thank you!!! He has been my link to all pupils, staff, parents of Blackhall Primary plus family and friends. He is a star!

I am off to enjoy two weeks of summer holidays and will resume the blog when term starts again on August 18th 2008. Join us on our adventure as Blackhall's Global Journey continues in the new school year!

Miss Sangarabalan

I am home in Edinburgh! It is hard to say goodbye to the other global
teachers , we have been through so much together and it has been a
real team effort ! A good meal , hot shower and a comfortable bed
beckon ! Thanks for reading my blog and sharing in the journey ! i
will give An overall reflection on my blog over the weekend when i am
rested and can get to a computer !

I have arrived at Heathrow Airport. We changed planes at Addis Ababa
in Ethiopia,getting on the uk flight at 1:30am ! I was so tired i
slept through the meal and i am not one who usually refuses food ! Our
flight to Glasgowleaves after lunch so a few hours in transit now .

Last might we had our final dinner under the stars and gave presents
to the LINK team here , who have supported us professionally and
ensured our health and happiness . We are entertained by a local choir
and try our best at african dancing ! Now on way to airport for long
journey home . Just about to board the plane . We have mixed feelings
, sadness at the end of our incredible adventure , great pride in what
we have accomplished and excitement to see our loved ones again . Not
one of us would say we 'gave up 'our summer hols , it has been a real
privilege to be here .

We went to Mua Mission, a cultural centre where we were able to learn
about the customs and cultures of different tribes . We then went
further north to lake Malawi. Its time for rest and relaxation at the
chalets on the beach ! Woke early this morn to watch the beautiful
sunrise and now breakfast !

On Sunday we had our first proper day off ! I went to the capital city
, Lilongwe, to spend the day with an old friend who works here as a
diplomat .

Its the final evaluation of the impact of us global teachers . There
have been days here when we felt our help was minimal and we were
frustrated . Now we look back and see how we have overcome the
challenges . We sense the positivity of the teachers and their hope to
work and support each other after we have gone home .We stand
corrected -our impact is im measurable and truly Obvious in the
shared understanding and deep friendships that have formed .

Last teacher training day tomorrow! I am presenting on a favourite topic - music! There will be singing, rhythm games and some Scottish dancing.

Had a day off today. Refined my training presentations for another session tomorrow and then went into Dedza town to buy a tape that my host family listened to. When I hear the songs I think of them and I am looking forward to sharing the music at assembly.

Training went well! The teachers were able to get lots of new ideas to use in their classrooms. We read them the story of 'The Very Hungry Caterpillar' and showed them a lot of listening and talking activities to do around it. Hopefully they will now read their own books with gusto!

Off to a teacher training centre. I will lead the presentations on phonics, mental maths strategies and using self and peer assessment to mark work.

I left the village today , felt especially sad to say bye to my host
family . I am now back in Dedza town ,exchanging stories with all the
other global teachers , whom i have not seen for three weeks . So
nice to use flushing toilets and my bed is bigger than my entire room
at the village ! I am planning some training about literacy , numeracy
and music to give to the Malawian teachers . All the global teachers
are working together and sharing good teaching practice so we will be
able to offer lots of new ideas ! We will carry on with the
preparation tomorrow .

The children play football and use the parachute again. It is the last day of term and they receive their test results. When they are finally dismissed I have a lump in my throat as I watch them scatter home to their villages for the last time.

I hope I have given them even a fraction of the joy they have given me.  

I make msima with Alefa in her kitchen and manage not to spill as much water as before when I go to the well. Zakaria says, "Dhamayanthi is good at chatting". I take this as a compliment rather than the possibility that I talk too much!

 

I give leaving presents to the school, a photo book of Scotland and pencil cases with items of stationery for the teachers. I get some wooden carvings, spoons and a lovely bird made by a pupil.

I went to the well with Alefa to collect water. The ladies giggle at me trying to balance a saucepan of water on my head, whilst they manage enormous metal buckets!

Later I teach the children to play the card game Uno and make a yellow bead necklace using the string from a bag to make the thread and sealing the ends together in the fire.

It is a really cold day at school.  The windows are open holes so the classrooms are cold too and there is no heating.

The kids are shivering and I feel so sorry for them. They build a fire outside to warm themselves during break. They are drawing pictures for me to take back to Scotland.