Lessons learned from two suitcases

Beginning in January of this year I have been preparing to count down my last six months here as a volunteer and started to pack to leave my site. (This is a quirk that I have; I think it has something to do with my controlling time, urgency, and readiness. I started piles and lists 12 months before I came here, so now I am in reverse; preparing to pack up six months in advance).  As I go through my items I wonder why I ever brought it or thankful for having it sent. 

This post is directed to my co-worker’s daughter who will be starting her Peace Corps time in July in Tanzania. 

Dear Nur,

I’m sure you are getting excited with your travels coming up and your mother is already helping you pack.  As promised, here are a few tips that I can share with you. Hopefully it will assist scratch things off your shopping list and putting a few things on.

Keep in mind that the resources of our two countries are different; Mozambique is poorer, larger, and closer to South African imports. Yet we are both Americans living in East Africa for a good amount of time so my experience could help.

Here are my two cents:

    1)  *    Take three days and make a list of everything you touch and use.  Sit down and think about which items are necessary to SURVIVE.  That will scratch off about 80%. People have survived here for centuries, and on the whole are more content than we, the affluent consumers, are.  African women are naturally beautiful without bags of makeup, you will be too.

    2)   *   Remember that song “Can’t Buy Me Love”…That is true but small trinkets help in expressing your gratitude, receiving smiles, and assimilating into your community.  My top item is lollipops for children in my village. When mothers see or hear the glee of a child receiving a piece of candy they too smile, and you become viewed as part of the team.  My village is like my second home now and these people are my extended family. I started with sporadic giving of a lollipop on the way to the bakery. Stickers, pencils, small note pads (dollar store items) are other items. (PS you are not Santa Clause nor have a bag of money – you come with the riches of being a human resource for assisting these people have better lives.)

      3)   *   As far as work goes there are a few things that I needed sent from home, because I didn’t have access here or wasn’t creative enough to make them.  An example is children’s books, which I used as a secondary project doing creative thinking activities. So if you have a hobby or skill that can be shared bring extra supplies; crayons, paint, yarn, needles, etc. When those run out you will be at the stage that you will be able to substitute with local resources.

      4)      Clothes. Half my luggage was clothes and honestly I over packed. A good hint is to pretend you are going to train Boy/Girl Scout leaders for a week at a camp in the desert. Professional, easy to wash and dry, lightweight, conservative; pack a ten day supply.  Consider the heat, ironing, and weight of item.  I never used my sweatshirt, put on jeans once, and a jacket a few mornings during a quick cold spell – it has never fallen below 60F.  You will quickly see the garb used there and find a seamstress to have some beautiful things made from the capolana fabric. I suggest two year supply of undergarments.  

      5)    *  Here or some extra necessities needed to bring; a laptop, a separate storage device with music, books, or media, a few extra UBS’s, a cell phone, a camera, locks, a small flash light, rechargeable batteries, a backpack, extra pens, highlighters.

6)     * Now finally to fill the remaining space to indulge yourself: spices, body lotion, perfume, candy for you, pictures of home, your favorite toothpaste, etc.

No matter what you bring or don’t bring, you will have an experience of a lifetime.  You will feel more appreciation of what you miss from home, yet  you will be filled with gratuity from all the experiences that you will be receiving during your time serving in your new home.

Godspeed.

Stay local

Learn to play their games.

When in Rome....

 

“Thinking about Thinking”, Secondary Project.

This is a project that I delivered to ten pre-school, first and second grade classes.  A meeting was done with the Administrators of the schools to introduce  the importance of teaching critical thinking.  The project was based on reading a book in an interactive teaching strategy.  The feedback from the administrators and the teachers was positive, “very interesting”, possibly implying that this method will be used by them in the future.

I took my experience from working in a primary school that scored very low in the Achievement Gap in 2009, especially in reading.  This study calculated the gap of students based on economic issues, race, and educational institutions across America; it generated new issues of teaching and learning styles, and leadership in our education domain.

Here the situation is very different; Mozambique is the 6^th poorest country in the world and in the infancy stage of independence, so these issues of teaching and learning styles is “very interesting”.  For the most part the teacher dictates and the children repeat, my walks passing the school sounds like this:

TEACHER:            “THE BIRD IS ON THE TREE” (She is pointing at a poster taped to the board, yelling so 50 1^st graders sitting on the floor or crammed at a desk have her attention)

STUDENTS:         “THE BIRD IS ON THE TREE”

TEACHER:            “THE BIRD IS RED, WHAT COLOR IS THE BIRD?”

STUDENTS:         “THE BIRD IS RED”.

I am not an academic scholar, many more informative books have been written on this topic, but just knowing the students and talking to them as well as the adults, there are huge red flags in this strategy.

I have honed it down to one thing that I could introduce in my village; the skill of CRITICAL THINKING.  

In the American culture I believe we have this skill as second nature; we have talk shows, advertisements, statistics, competitions – they all challenge our thought processes until we ourselves have our own opinions, viewpoints, and answers. How many times do we say “let me think about this?”
We have learned how to think.

Here, that bird is red, not maroon, not crimson, but just red. Students don’t need to think about it, they just have to remember what the teacher told them. Fine for the color red, but what if someday they need an answer that wasn’t dictated by some teacher? When does that practice start?

My class started by asking their help  to  tell the story.  I brought in picture books and started questioning them from the cover. “What do you think this book is about?” “What is going to happen on the next page?””Would you eat the apple?”  They look at the pictures and  came up with many answers, then I guide them to continue thinking for the correct answer.  As the pages are turned I asked questions and pointing out images and in the end they told me the story – I didn’t have to read the words.

The kids were mesmerized with the books, for many it was the first books they laid their hands on.  These photographs demonstrate the lively interest of the students. At the end I gave them time just to look through the pile, I then had time to talk to the teacher who were also a bit mesmerized by the strategy of not militarily dictating 5 hours a day.

Personally, this was fun, and I have about 500 new friends!

Mobile Healthcare

Here in Mozambique, community outreach is a huge factor in delivering needed services.  A very popular position in the hospital is to be an “activista” an activist – one who goes out to your neighborhood and consults with you on your health condition. I took the opportunity to walk with them and experience the “mobile health care services” to a neighborhood about 45 minute walk from the hospital.

The techs had a list and contacted the patients to confirm the visits.  It was an interesting eye opener to people’s awareness of diseases and their practicing a healthy life style. 

We sat with a young 16 year old who was scheduled to get a HIV test.  He was aware of the disease and knew somewhat of how it was transmitted and boosted that he and his girlfriend were monogamous for the past 3 years.  Monogamy here in the village was brought with Christianity, the traditional customs are still followed, therefore a man can have as many wives as he can provide for, 2-3 is very common, and it also is one of the reasons why a higher percentage of women have HIV then men. 

Abstinence is promoted in discussions more to young females (10-14 yrs old) to motivate them towards education before bearing children. When it comes to reducing HIV the use of condoms and testing is emphasized for older individuals (15+).

At the second household we found 3 children with acute dermatitis and malnutrition.  They had recently been abandoned by their mother and moved in with their dad and step mother.  After our visit the dad was informed to bring the kids to the hospital and enroll them into a nutrition program where the family is given a protein supplement – peanut butter packages and get medicine for the dermatitis. Because of lack of records the children were also tested for HIV- thankfully it came out negative. (The following day the dad did come to the hospital).

We then stopped at a man’s house whose in his 70’s and has Tuberculosis; he was very welcoming to the negative HIV results, but still needs to follow through on the TB.

This is one of my favorite activities, the walk is long and the temperature is high, but so necessary; people get informed, receive services, and are encouraged to come to the hospital for additional treatment.

At the end of the day these walks into the bush I am reminded how these families can survive with so little and smile without one grudge. 

It is a dose of gratuity for me.

 @bloggingabroad