The first term for primary schools in Ndejje has finally drawn to a close and the kids have all officially started their five-week break. The holiday breaks are much more enjoyable for us because we have so much more access to the kids than we normally do during their school year. As such, we now have programming at the Youth Center, as well as football training almost daily.
While I enjoy the different activities that we do at the Youth Center itself, the thing I look forward to the most each day are the football trainings. I love coaching the kids, and even though we have a hodge podge of ages and talent levels in attendance, the kids who come consistently form a really great group of players to work with. They are accustomed to Ugandan coaches simply tossing a ball out onto the field and then just having them play a match, so when we introduce new games and drills to them to break up the monotony, they really get into them and enjoy them. I love watching the kids compete, and it has been very satisfying to have witnessed strong player development in some the kids we have coached over the past eight months.
We also have a new addition to our SWB staffing. Alison, an American, has been travelling throughout Egypt, Jordan, and Namibia over the past year doing a research project on sports and development. She has joined us for the next two months in Ndejje to help as needed and observe the different sports programs available to youth in Uganda. It has been so interesting hearing about her experiences in other countries and how it compares to what we have been dealing with here in Uganda. It has been very helpful to have another person around as well, especially now that break has begun and we have a large influx of kids at the center every day and running around at football trainings. Poor Adam is constantly surrounded by female companions, but he has managed to put up with us all very well!
My time here is drawing to a close as I approach the six week mark until my return trip home! I can't believe that time is flying by so quickly, but I have definitely been enjoying myself here over the past couple of weeks. Well, that's all for now, I will try to post again soon!
The SWB girls' team from Ndejje, Uganda
Friday, April 22, 2011
Monday, April 4, 2011
English Lessons
As I've mentioned before, we have two SWB sites in Uganda. The site where we live is Ndejje, but the other site is in Kabalaga, which is on the outskirts of Kampala, and is run by a local staffer, Raphael, and a few of his friends, all of whom are Congolese refugees. Raphael has been living in Uganda for a few years now, and has managed to pick up a lot of English. For Congolese refugees to survive here it is imperative that they learn English as quickly as possible, because the primary languages spoken in the DR Congo are French and Swahili, neither of which are spoken in Uganda.
Acknowledging the importance of learning English and the fact that many refugees can't afford to take a class that charges fees, Rapha suggested that SWB start and English school. He took the initiative and started to offer classes from 8-10 each morning, Monday through Friday. There are two classes available, a beginner's class and an intermediate level. While the makeup of the classes consist mostly of adult students, there are also some kids who attend because they need to learn English before they can start attending primary school here in Uganda.
A few weeks ago, I sat in on one of the classes because I was considering getting involved. It was so inspirational to watch these adults work so hard to learn English. I knew instantly that this was something that I wanted to help out with, so now I head to Kabalagala at 6:30 am every Monday and Friday morning to help teach the intermediate level class. Already I have started to see improvement in the students' pronunciations and they are starting to understand different concepts that are introduced each week. I really enjoy talking to them after class as well, and they are so grateful for the opportunity to learn English.
The intermediate class has many women in it, a few of whom are my age, and we've really hit it off. After class we walk together for a while since we are all headed in the same direction, and have conversations to get to know one another and also so that they can practice their English. Two of the women have invited me over this Friday to meet their family and to teach me how to make traditional Congolese food. I can't wait!
I am so inspired by these people who have had to pick up their entire lives and shift from a conflict-torn country to one in which they don't understand they language, yet they are determined to succeed. As we converse, they are constantly asking me to correct their mistakes because they are so eager to learn and they want to be sure that they are pronouncing things and forming sentences correctly. These last few weeks spent in class with them have been really fulfilling and enjoyable. It has made me realize though, that it is difficult to teach a language that you grew up speaking because structural rules that are inherent to you are easy to breeze over. Sometimes I feel like I am back in elementary school having to think about how I was formally taught English! Despite the difficulties though, I am really enjoying working with and getting to know all of the students in the class.
Acknowledging the importance of learning English and the fact that many refugees can't afford to take a class that charges fees, Rapha suggested that SWB start and English school. He took the initiative and started to offer classes from 8-10 each morning, Monday through Friday. There are two classes available, a beginner's class and an intermediate level. While the makeup of the classes consist mostly of adult students, there are also some kids who attend because they need to learn English before they can start attending primary school here in Uganda.
A few weeks ago, I sat in on one of the classes because I was considering getting involved. It was so inspirational to watch these adults work so hard to learn English. I knew instantly that this was something that I wanted to help out with, so now I head to Kabalagala at 6:30 am every Monday and Friday morning to help teach the intermediate level class. Already I have started to see improvement in the students' pronunciations and they are starting to understand different concepts that are introduced each week. I really enjoy talking to them after class as well, and they are so grateful for the opportunity to learn English.
The intermediate class has many women in it, a few of whom are my age, and we've really hit it off. After class we walk together for a while since we are all headed in the same direction, and have conversations to get to know one another and also so that they can practice their English. Two of the women have invited me over this Friday to meet their family and to teach me how to make traditional Congolese food. I can't wait!
I am so inspired by these people who have had to pick up their entire lives and shift from a conflict-torn country to one in which they don't understand they language, yet they are determined to succeed. As we converse, they are constantly asking me to correct their mistakes because they are so eager to learn and they want to be sure that they are pronouncing things and forming sentences correctly. These last few weeks spent in class with them have been really fulfilling and enjoyable. It has made me realize though, that it is difficult to teach a language that you grew up speaking because structural rules that are inherent to you are easy to breeze over. Sometimes I feel like I am back in elementary school having to think about how I was formally taught English! Despite the difficulties though, I am really enjoying working with and getting to know all of the students in the class.
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