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
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