The school drums can be heard signaling the start of the day. Perhaps we should think about moving away from bells! I awoke to a profound sense of sadness as I thought about yesterday’s trip to the Living Hope Primary School. Basically the drive to get there and back is depressing. You pass through a slum that personifies ‘no hope’. It is a series of sheds/store fronts/homes with people maybe squeezing out a living. The sheds have tin roofs, wood siding that is barely hanging on and dirt floors. There are garbage piles behind the sheds, consisting mostly of plastic because they burn the rest of the garbage (which in volume is nothing compared to what we produce!). People, animals, motor bikes and bikes are everywhere trying to pass through very narrow streets. It is not a place that you feel these people will ever leave. Their destiny is determined. The problem is that the children we meet at the school come from these slums. You would think their education would help them but without a sponsor they cannot pay to go to highs school. Astonishingly, upwards of 80% of children drop out by the end of grade 5. What is their destiny? They will end up in the slums that we pass through coming to the school.
We presented a ‘lecture’ on women’s health which was attended by all ages of women. It was an eye opener to see grown ladies with children writing notes on the female reproductive system. However, they had never learned this in class. Hopefully someone will blog about this. In the afternoon each of us took a class and worked with the students. I taught the respiratory system to grade 6 students. They basically knew everything so after half an hour we went off on a few tangents such as what Canada is like, what we eat, the sports we play. They did not believe me when I said that females play soccer in Canada so I did a demo juggling a soccer ball. Fortunately I juggled ten times before the ball flew out the door! The students laughed very hard at me and that felt good.
Kathy
