Friday, February 7, 2014

Peace Corps Year 2 – Plans in Mozambique

One of the most surprising things I never thought could happen, is that coming back to this tiny town of Carapira the second time around brought with it a confidence, a renewed purpose, excitement, and peace. I can´t say that I hate to say it, but I am happy to be back here folks.

Last year was a success in terms of surviving Mozambique, just learning the basics of language, culture, transport, food, way of living, etc, etc, etc... But man was it tough! I made it through one year alive, and well for me, that was a huge accomplishment just learning more about myself, my capabilities, my values, my understanding of self-worth, and learning more about the world that God created. I saw so much brokenness, and it still touches my life and heart nearly every day. But I also see love, beauty, laughter, learning, and promise, and those are the things which keep me bound in hope and in purpose to the life that I am a part of here.

While the first year passed with me conquering the necessary basics of life in Mozambique, I left feeling unaccomplished in all that I wanted to do here, or tried doing. I started to lose hope the last few months of the last year, just thinking that everything I tried would fail, that there was no purpose to my being here, that I am simply not good or strong enough to initiate change or make a difference, and that it didn´t make a difference to anyone here whether I tried or not. I felt pretty accomplished with my kids at the school, but I felt the whole time that I didn´t give my best effort with everything I wanted or had tried to do in the neighborhood. I eventually just stopped trying. And of course, there was also so much more I wanted to do at the school, but I just didn´t know how because most of the time I was just trying to make it through each day, each week, each month.

Halleluiah! The spirit of this year is so different. I feel much more confident, sure of my place here, and my purpose. I feel capable, ready, and willing to take on whatever God has for me. I see myself a part of the family at school, am familiar with how things run, and have good meaningful relationships with people, and know what I´d like to accomplish. And, I never thought I´d say this, but I really enjoy teaching. I missed that with the kids after school ended, and stepping back into the classroom feels wonderful, especially with this new confidence. In the neighborhood, I´ve come to realize those few individuals whom I can invest in to really make a difference in their lives, even if I can´t change the whole neighborhood. I´ve been shown blessings beyond blessings by the Lord since my return, which has given me such encouragement. For example, just the other day, I ran into one of my former students who graduated last year. He was heading to Nacala to start secondary school, and he told me that all the work we did with creating emails and CVs and letters of candidacy really helped him and he´s been using all that he learned in practice to try and find a job. Feeling proud, accomplished, and needed was something that I needed to feel coming back here, and I am thankful that God has been opening doors and leading me through each and every moment by his purpose and strength. So, ready to take on the world again, here are a few things that I will be up to this year…

Library/Tutoring Program:
Last year, I received around 150 children´s books through a USAID, LivroAberto, and Books for Africa program initiated in Mozambique for select Peace Corps sites. The initiative was to creating a literacy tutoring program for kids with poor reading and writing skills in the 1st -3rd grades, and to open a community library. I managed to find volunteers willing to tutor, but because we started towards the end of the year and schools were starting to shut down for the holidays, we never managed to get the program off the ground. So with the start of the school year, and with the final touches to Jill´s preschool, we are planning to open the library in the preschool space in the afternoons and offer tutoring sessions. I am working with an enthusiastic young kid in the bairro (who sadly like many Mozambicans did not have the opportunity to go to college this year) to get the program started up and running.  

 LEIA (READ) TRAINING OF VOLUNTEERS 2013

Adult Literacy Program:
Newly arrived in Carapira this year is a nun who has had extensive experience in local literacy programs. She wants to start adult literacy programs in Carapira and in surrounding “bush” communities where the majority of people don´t even speak Portuguese. We want to combine our efforts to recruit volunteers, teach and train them in the methods of alphabetization, and try to alphabetize both old and youth alike. I wrote before in an earlier blog that the majority of girls get to the 7th and 8th grade and don´t recognize letters and can´t read even simple common words. I am hoping and praying that through this effort I can leave Carapira at least a more literate population (starting with the lady that carts my water who can´t read – I have been starting to tutor her in my spare time).

English Theater:
Doing English Theater club with the kids last year was awesome and purely entertaining. Ellery (the new volunteer) and I have decided to start early and hit the ground running with English Club. What a surprise! I was only expecting a few students to show up and the majority older students, but nearly all of the young first year 8th graders showed up. They were enthusiastic and super pumped to learn, which makes teaching just that much more enjoyable and desirable. Hopefully we will have a blast this year with English Club, have auditions for English Theater, and have fun rehearsing and performing.
OUR ENGLISH THEATER GROUP 2013

5K Fundraiser:
For those of you who know me, especially after grad school, you know that I am a runner, or at least enjoy running (because I can´t say anymore that I´m in constant practice). I spoke with a few people while I was back home about my interest in having a race in my community or near-by just for the enjoyment. Since Carapira has no paved roads, and nowhere to go to, it gets a bit difficult planning a well carved out race. However, on Ilha de Moçambique, where there are paved roads, a round circuit approximately 5K in full, gorgeous scenic views all round (since it´s an island), with a larger population both local and expat, with more capabilities through NGOs and local organizations, I am thinking it will be the perfect place to set up the race. I, however, don´t want it to be just a normal race, but a fundraiser for something. I just don´t know what yet. Each person will pay an entry fee, we can try and work with some organization to get 1st, 2nd, and 3rd place prizes, and all the proceeds will go towards this specific cause. Thankfully, I know a missionary family on the island who have a ton of projects in the works and can help me get everything organized. I really hope I can get it to happen.

SCENIC VIEWS ON ILHA DE MOÇAMBIQUE

Art Club:
I really enjoy drawing, or painting, or creating whatever kind of art in my free time. It takes your mind off everything, allows for complete concentration, and in the end you´ve produced a creative piece of work. After being in Mozambique, I´ve realized that the artistic capabilities of most people here are very limited, mostly because there are no opportunities in school to be creative, to create, to do anything but design monotonous letters and shapes in 3D. Art is so much more than that. It can be anything! Which is what makes it so versatile and imaginative. I´ve started art club at my school, and I´ve got a bunch of ideas for projects trying to use local materials. In our first meeting we made the traditional origami 4-square game which was fun. In our next meeting we will be making mosaics. I really want to use local materials, but even the most basic things can be impossible to find here, or they just cost a fortune!
I would be extremely grateful for art supplies such as the following:
-         Construction Paper
-         Glue Sticks
-         Markers
-         Crayons
-         Colored Pencils
-         Friendship Bracelet String
-         Stencils or Stamps
-         Fun cutting scissors
-         T-shirt printing materials
-         Fabric paint
-         And of course GLITTER~
*Please see previous blog posts for NAMPULA mailing address*



MAKING ORIGAMI’S IN ART CLUB