Life and work in Kigeme after 5 weeks
on Annemiek Miller (Rwanda), 06/Oct/2005 23:15, 34 days ago
I have started my 5th week here in Kigeme and have adapted to life in this village. My little house is cozy, although there are some things to add to it: nicer looking curtains (they have wonderfully bright, cotton fabrics at the market), a few more chairs (made locally), that I can place on the veranda and easily carry in, a buta gaz 2 burner stove top (a bit of a luxury!), a rug , to name a few. Some of these are bulky and I will have to wait until I find a vehicle to transport them. Food is fresh, tasty, but quite limited in variety. As we get more rain, I will start to plant some seeds and see what I am able to grow in my garden.My work has shifted from lots of reading of files regarding the 42 primary schools and 3 secondary schools associated with the Episcopalian church diocese for which I work, to school visits. These I do on the motor bike as a passenger. The roads are very winding and steep with a very uneven surface. There are also virtually no signs and so far I have not seen a map with the roads we take marked on it. I will eventually go on my own, but for the time being my motard Prosper is an excellent chauffeur.There is much that needs improving in the schools. Teachers for the primary level can start teaching with a high school diploma if their school had a teacher training section. There is a shortage of experienced teachers (genocide, HIV Aids and an average life expectancy at birth of 40) and the younger teachers are disenchanted by the challenging settings and the poor pay. Many use this as a start and a means to earn money to continue their education. So I have seen some very mediocre teaching just because of a lack of proper training. Students learn by rote through lots of repetition and one wonders how much they understand. In grade 4 the language of instruction suddenly becomes French (around Kigali, the capital, it is English). Before that time everything is in Kinyarwanda. The president, Paul Kigame decided a number of years ago that Rwanda should be trilingual: Kinyarwanda, French and English)Students are not well enough prepared in French in grades 1-3 to make this switch and so comprehension of the material is limited. I have lots of ideas for workshops to support these teachers and to show them how they will have to not just teach their subject, but also continue to teach French. A few of the schools I have seen so far have strong leadership and you can see that in the way the teachers teach and the overall atmosphere of the school.The buildings and equipment leave a lot to be desired. Only the newer buildings made of brick, usually financed by projects coming from the developed world or foreign NGO's, have windows with glass and paved floors. Otherwise windows have wooden shutters and are small, floors are dirt and ceilings are reed on the inside, mud tiles or sheet metal on the outside. Students often sit on low benches or large mud bricks instead of proper desks. Some classrooms have only a small blackboard. All primary students are supposed to wear a uniform. Not all can afford one in which case they wear the only clothes they own - second hand, ill fitting and dirty. In most schools all children are barefoot; at some of the schools nearer a town one will see children with flip flops or used sneakers.Schools start around 8 am. Often, opening assembly is at 7:30 or 7:45. It is held outside. There is singing of a hymn, a Bible reading + reflection, the national anthem and announcements. Classes in grades 1-3 are 30 min. long and in 4-6 they are 45 min long. There is a midday break from 12:15 -1:45. Most children go home for something to eat, but there are many who live too far away so they lounge around the school grounds and play without anything to eat. Many of the students are visibly malnourished. School finishes around 4:30. There are a number of districts where the schools are supported by the UN World Food Program. WFP delivers 50KG bags of maismeal, beans, wheat flour and large cans of oil. The school has to hire 2 people to prepare morning porridge and lunchtime maismeal with beans for all the students. All over a wood or charcoal fire of course. Each students pays equivalent of 50 cents a month to help pay the cooks. Quite a production but it works. Children are no longer hungry and learn much better. These schools have also seen their enrollment in the younger grades increase dramatically. This is a problem because there are not enough classrooms so they have to build the simpler, cheaper ones made of adobe bricks quickly. These buildings do not last long in the heavy rains.I do wonder how long they will need this support of food. Things do not look like they will change much in the next few years. The poverty circle is very vicious!During my visits I usually go around the classes and introduce myself. With the little ones I need a translator although in schools with a more dynamic directeur/directrice, I have found I can make myself understood in French by playing some games and using lots of gestures and asking basic questions. I have also sat in on lessons and then been asked to give my impressions either to the teacher or to all the teachers. I make copious notes when I get back to the office or at home and get more and more ideas as to what I can do to help.Just to finish this education thing off, grade 6 does a National Exam which in fact is the entrance to secondary school. The latter costs money; primary school is free. In this province the results on average are about 12-20% of grade 6 students who pass. When I ask kids the question: quelâge as-tu? I will see 13 yr olds in grade 3 and 16 yr olds in 6. As long as the results are this poor and students leave school after grade 3 and after grade 6, I don't see much poverty reduction in this province. Sorry to leave it on a negative note. Perhaps I should add that in all schools I am most warmly welcomed by bright eyed and enthusiastic kids and on the whole hard working teachers who are keen to have me come and give a workshop.Hope this gives you an idea of what is occupying me here. I have met some nice people with whom I can spend time on the weekends. (most live in another town) I do lots of writing and reading when there is electricity. Daylight is from 5:30 am to 6 pm; my bedtime between 8 and 11 pm.;weather is pleasant. We are heading into the rainy season, which I think means frequent and hard, but relatively short rainfalls.