Saturday 23 July 2016

Different directions for the three teams

The King's House team headed to Ngwino Nawe, the disabled children's village, to deliver some teacher training to the founder, Thérèse, and seven members of staff. Building on last year's training, the Ngwino Nawe staff had requested guidance on understanding specific disabilities, developing prewriting skills and handwriting and other creative teaching methods. 

Jane, Mara and Mark with the Rwanda Aid Toyota

Mark, Mara and Thérèse pointing at the dorm named King's House

Jane opened by explaining the importance of considering individual children's needs and how different approaches enable them to access their learning. She discussed the benefits of using multi-sensory resources for children with disabilities, for example a sensory blanket made from household materials -an easily-produced teaching tool. 


Charlotte demonstrated practical and interactive ways to improve gross and fine motor skills, which need to be in place to enable writing. 


Mara led a workshop to show teachers ways in which they can help the children to develop their social communication skills and emotional understanding. 


To round it off, Mark provided strategies for language teaching which he delivered in French. However, the rest of us must say a huge thank you to Patrick, our Rwanda Aid driver, for his fantastic translating into Kinyarwanda. It was lovely to have such a warm reception from our friends at Ngwino Nawe.


Mara and Sife with the sensory blanket

The teachers from Devonshire House spent the morning at St Matthew's School, where our teacher training course will be held next week. We prepared the classrooms; creating displays from the resources we brought and arranging the classrooms into grouped tables. All the Rwandan classrooms we have seen favour long lines of desks, and so next week we hope to show how different table formations can create a positive classroom environment and support group work. 

The Devonshire House team (plus Jenny) planning for the teacher training course next week

As a group, we then planned our lessons for next week and thought of strategies we can all use to support the 48 Rwandan teachers we will be training. 

Our day was slightly interrupted by a traumatic moment for Stephanie P, whose phone made a dramatic bid for freedom...falling down the (very rudimentary) long drop toilet! This was much to the amusement of the Rwandan teachers and cleaners on site, and after a few minutes of hysteria the decision was made that attempting to fish it out was not an option. 

The arrival of Andrea, fresh off the plane from Kigali, took away all thoughts of the perished phone and we happily walked down the valley to Lake Kivu. It was amazing to have lunch just metres away from The Congo, and see the border crossing. After catching up with the King's House teachers, we all took motos up to the indoor market in Kamembe where we enjoyed perusing the vibrant fabric stalls. The bustling market echoed with the ever familiar whispers of 'abazungu' as we approached, and ladies rushed out to present us with their wares.

Stephan with a rice sack poster

One of the classrooms all ready for Monday



Organising resources to set up the classrooms for next week

Walking selfie

Andrea from Devonshire House arrived today!

LEH staff went on an INSET trip with the Munyove staff today.  We met at the Kamembe bus station. Olive and the Munyove staff were really pleased to have the LEH staff join them. The beginning of the journey was manic with renditions of the Munyove chant ('Change we need? Yes we can!'), the Beatles 'all you need is love', and a Rwandan gospel song.  
The first stop was at a rice factory, where we learnt about the different types of rice from irri to Basmati, and the process of taking it from the paddy field to the shop, as well as learning to recognise the different aromas of the rice types. 
From there the trip took us on to the hot springs where some of the Munyove staff decided to embrace the springs fully by going for a swim. The whole day was a chance for the LEH teachers to get to know the Munyove staff much better.  By the time of the journey back to Kamembe, there were some tired but happy people, feeling like a united team. 

The selfie stick came out at the back of the bus, much to the teachers' delight

Sylvie, Dave and Pascal at the rice factory

The manager showing us two different types of rice

The rice in its highest grade

Filling a 25kg bag of rice with the finished product

Maddie, Emily, Xavier and Dave outside the factory

Dave tests the hot spring to see how hot it actually is

Dave and Maddie as far in the hot spring as they were going to get

Alyse, Olive, Xavier and Janvier in the hot spring

View of the hot spring

2 comments:

  1. Great to hear that Patrick has yet again shown his hidden talents! Another productive visit to Ngwino Nawe Sorry, Stephanie, I laughed out loud, picturing in slow motion, your phone descending into the gloom and a long slow scream, "NOOOOOOOOO!". Lovely to hear Andrea has now joined you. Maybe Ben and I should hop on a plane too? Well done again all x

    ReplyDelete
  2. No swimming in the hot spring??

    ReplyDelete