‘HOPE’
We got up early for our last Gambian workday in the Nyoffelle school.
This time we submerged the grade 2 children in corner work.
We started with a projected alphabet film and then a game of Bingo! What a success that was. Glorious!
We set up the corners with the locally ordered and created materials: kapla construction blocks, triominos games, nail boards, naming and writing down parts of the body, practising the alphabet and vocabulary.
Meanwhile Karen and Annelies assisted the PE teacher (the same teacher we worked with on Wednesday in grade 5). The children were taught seven different tag and ball games. Their ball skills, keenness, and concentration were enormous.
Round 11 am the school day ended. At the local tailor’s we ordered and paid for 24 uniforms. When we came back, we were surprised to find all the children waiting for us in a circle under the large, beautiful tree in the playground. The sixth graders sang a thank you and goodbye song they had written themselves. It was a warm and beautiful moment. The head girl rewarded us with a certificate of appreciation. We were overwhelmed.
Back to Sifoe. At the Education Centre we met the collaborators of the Hope Nursery School, the school we visited on Tuesday. We gave them the good news that we wanted to support their school in the future. We’ll start by paying their salaries for the next 4 months. On top of that every collaborator will receive a 50 kg rice bag as a token of appreciation for their unrelenting dedication over the 4 years. We also made the first arrangements to have a well dug.
A nice closing item for a very intense work week. To be continued …
