Painting at the Kwa Ntembeni, July

“Krystle, have you been painting yourself or the school?” I’ve been asked this question by many people along with a chuckle. After spending a day cleaning and painting the high school science room, I was tired. But to look around at the work that we had done is phenomenal. I remember that first thought of how we will ever transform this room. It’s amazing what a fresh coat of paint, willing volunteers, and a great attitude can do.

            We had high school volunteers help as well. I can imagine the faces of the children when they return to school and see a “brand new” science lab. I am sure that our student volunteers also feel a sense of pride and have the feeling of “I DID THAT” when they walk into class for their own studies. It says a lot to take ownership. I mean, if I were a student Kwa Ntembini, I would love science from now on.

            Now although, I had more paint on my clothes, arms, face, and hair than any other person, I am sticking to the excuse that it was only for the memories!

Flipping Out July 5, 2009

The kids here absolutely love to turn flips. Take a step, put your hands down, lift your legs up high, and fall to the other side. Upside down, topsy turvy, whatever is daring and fun- they will do it! They are doing their best to teach me some of the “easy tricks”, but I must admit something stops me. I am not sure if I have crossed this age barrier like the idea behind The Polar Express, but there is something about watching the ground underneath me and the fact that I might fall flat on my face that keeps me from doing it.

            However scary it might be, there is something extraordinary about children that I learned from watching them. They take risks. They might not know that it’s risky, but they just do it. They like the feeling, they want to do it, and they just do it, no questions asked. We can all learn from them. If only I had the energy, the will, and the strength to carry out the things I really wanted to do. The world we live in today is unpredictable and sometimes some pretty negative things happen, but if we just take a risk and try to make it a better place, then we can.

I want to do flips in my life. I want to take a risk and just do the right thing without being scared about the ground underneath. No one achieves anything if they never try. The only way these children knew they could do front and back flips was to try. I won’t know what change I can make in the world unless I try. So take a step, brace yourself and put your hands down, lift your legs high, and watch the positive outcome on the other side.

Winter School Tuesday, July 07, 2009

            Developing lessons and teaching little ones during winter school is quite an experience. During this time, the children are on break from school, but some of them are so incredibly behind in their studies or need assistance in multiple areas, so we are tutoring them with a strong focus on math and English.

            Although this is a vacation time for them, it is heartwarming to see how some of them are taking their studies seriously. They know how important education is. One student came 20 minutes early to our cottage and shouted “I am ready for school!” Of course, I was tired and needed the 20 minutes before teaching, but with a positive attitude like that from an eager child is just what you need to jumpstart your day.

            These kids are very bright and are capable of so much; they just lack the necessary resources that so many of our students in the U.S. benefit from. Research tells you so much about what they need and if you use this, then that will happen. But what about the kids who don’t use math manipulatives or the ones who don’t have a large selection of print material. What about the students who don’t have graphing calculators or regular calculators for algebra. These students still try and that’s what makes it a joy to work with them. I know that winter school is only for a limited time, but I do hope that the few weeks of one on one tutoring or small group will benefit them greatly as they head back to school for the next term.