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on Alison Helm (Ghana), 24/Sep/2011 11:06, 34 days ago
Settling in . . . . .I've now been in my new house for a week and everyone has made me feel so welcome. Lots of local villagers have been round to say "hi" and have promised to make me lots of local dishes (which would obviously be rude to turn down!!!)I've found the local market, shop, dressmaker and 'cafe' as well as the office where I will be working from.The water and electricity have been on and off all week and I've realised that you have to be very prepared and store water/charge batteries when you can, as you never know when or for how long, it might go off again for.The children are all very enthusiastic about school and the older children often travel a long way to get to their secondary schools.A lady off to collect water whilst two boys head to school.A different volunteer has recently undertaken some research which has revealed that unfortunately  there is a huge 'teacher motivation crisis' where the majority of teachers across the country are very unhappy in their jobs.This is for a number of reasons including:1) The low wages - especially for primary school teachers who get paid less (but teach more!) than the secondary school teachers.2) Teachers do not 'apply' for certain jobs or schools, they get 'sent' to them. This means that in September each year, a teacher finds out which school they will be working in and they have to pack up and move to that area.3) Lots of teachers are unqualified or often it is the older children who teach the younger ones.4) It often takes a long time for teachers to get paid their salaries which makes it difficult for them to find accommodation, buy food, get transport to work etcThis is one of the schools I will be working in. It is a brand new building so it will be interesting to compare it to our new building at 'Curwen'. It has been named a 'model' school (as in setting an example, not as in very tiny!) which means that all the teachers should be qualified and they should have additional resources. The head teacher is very keen for me to work alongside his teachers so that we can share our teaching and learning methods.A final photo here for my fellow cycle lovers at Curwen to show you cycling is a worldwide craze (and also because I heard we might be in the market for buying some new bikes!!)Next week I'm having motorbike lessons so that I can travel to the different schools safely without sliding in the mud, falling in the pot holes or running over the goats!I'll add some more photos then (if I survive!)Missing you all lots,Ali xx