Wednesday, August 20, 2008

My experience at Katane...

The students are moving along quite nicely. There is a terrible language barrier here at Katane. The students do not speak English very well which is making it difficult to explain the activities and programs to them. The other school are much farther ahead with the activities. Even though it has been difficult to teach these children, it has been a very rewarding experience. The challenge of teaching at the largest school with the largest language barrier has taught me a lot of patience. The students are always so excited to see us each morning. Seeing their smiling faces is the reason that I am so excited to come to school everyday.

The teachers have proven to be a little more of a challenge than the learners. I know that change is always a difficult thing, so I understand that learning about a type of technology when you've never dealt with it before can be quite difficult.The teacher workshops have been helpful but not very much has been accomplished. The teachers have set up gmail accounts, but we have not had the chance to explain sending, receiving, and forwarding emails. Hopefully this will be done before we leave so the teachers can explain this to the learners.

Overall, I feel like this trip has been a successful one. We have changed an entire community and possibly given hope where there was none before. A hope to make it in the world when no one else in your community has before. A hope to become a doctor or lawyer when your parents work in a mine or at a fruit stand. We are giving these children and these communities that hope and that is one of the best feelings in the entire world.

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