Dear Supporter
Welcome to another of my Volunteer Linking updates from Nepal, where, all around, there’s been a really lively and exciting atmosphere lately. Children and their families have been busy celebrating the religious festival Dashain and I was touched to be invited to so many gatherings myself. It was good to get back to my schools when they reopened after the holidays and see so many of the children return, as often, they don’t come back. Thanks to your kind donations I’ve been able to follow up with those that drop out of school and help improve lessons, so thank you for your generous donations each month.
Girls deserve an education too
Nepal is one of the poorest countries in the world and a quarter of the population live on less than $1 a day. Most children work from a very young age, and girls especially are expected to help at home, so very little value is placed on education.
As a result, schools have very few learning resources for those fortunate enough to start primary school. So I’ve been helping the teachers in my schools make the most of what’s available to them, encouraging them to be creative with what they find, and helping them to see the potential in everyday objects. Now they have lots of tools, which makes it easier for them to teach, and enables the children to learn faster. It’s also making it more interesting and fun for the children, which is motivating them to return each day, and I’m starting to see more girls in the classroom.
Making maths colourful
To help the children in their maths lessons, I’ve been collecting stones from outside that the teachers and I have been painting in different colours for the children to use as counters. The teachers have found them a really useful prop in their lessons, and having something physical to move around in front of them is helping the children learn to add and subtract numbers too.
Painting the stones has also shown the teachers how easy it is to be creative with basic resources – and encouraged them to look for tools outside of the school building.
DIY learning resources
Another thing I helped the teachers to create is basic flash cards. Quite simply, these are cards with words, numbers, and pictures on them that are used to teach children letters and signs. Back in the UK, schools are supplied with brightly coloured cards that have professionally drawn images on them and are printed on quality paper, but here, government spending on learning resources is minimal.
So instead, we’ve created our own from using paper in notepads and drawing basic images ourselves. At last, the children now have something visual to help them identify words and objects and it’s helping them learn signs and symbols too.
Giraffe in on the act!
I’ve also been busy showing the teachers how one resource can be used to teach different subjects. I came across a giraffe height chart that was hanging in a dusty corner of the nursery in one of my schools and have been encouraging the teachers to make use of it and adapt it as a learning tool for a number of different classes.
It’s now being used in maths lessons where we’re measuring children’s height to teach averages, and we’re using it to help children learn about growth in their science lessons too. It’s even being used to teach comparative words such as ‘large’ and ‘small’ in English lessons.
Interaction for everyone
It may be a basic resource, but using the giraffe height chart to measure the children is helping to include and engage each child in the classroom – even girls and Dalits who suffer from discrimination at school.
The active teaching has had a real effect on their confidence levels as they no longer feel so isolated and it’s helped increase their interest in class and their motivation to learn. It’s great to see, and with your ongoing support, I’m confident that the positive atmosphere in the classroom will remain.
Expanding children’s horizons
Two of my schools now have basic computer facilities so I’m giving the teachers some training on how to use them in their lessons so that the children can develop some IT skills. I’ve also set up a link with a primary school in the UK so that children here can communicate with and share experiences with other young pupils from across the world.
I want to help broaden their horizons, as well as encourage school children in the UK to look beyond their own experiences. Back home, most children are used to schools that have IT suites with numerous computers and laptops with educational games, and wireless internet connections.
I think it would be really educational for them to see how schools in very poor countries make use of basic resources, and for them to understand that you don’t actually need expensive tools to help you learn. I’m hoping it will help them appreciate how lucky they are compared to children here.
Kind words go far!
Thank you so much for all of the lovely messages of support that you’ve been sending me. They really help to keep me going when I come up against challenges in my schools! Despite the poverty that people face here, I’m always overwhelmed by the kindness and welcoming nature of the locals, and it’s good to hear that those of you that have visited Nepal can relate to that too.
It’s also really touching to find out that many of you are teachers or have young children at school yourself, so thank you not only for your advice and tips, but for your regular donations. Volunteers like me wouldn’t be able to help disadvantaged children learn, or encourage them to keep coming back to school each day and gain an education, without your support. So thank you again for your kind donations.
Beth
