MY Club

Things are going great, here in Usakos! I am definitely very very busy….which I love.

This week, we decided to make a few changes, and add a few things for the kids. We were having study hour (M-Th 3-4) in the hall. Well, this didn’t seem to work because those who did not have homework and didn’t want to read, would just play and distract everyone else. So, we’ve split the children up, grouped by grade, and they stay in the houses. I place myself at a different house each day to help. And so far, this new arrangement seems to be a much more positive change – the children are able to study and do their homework more effectively, and even help each other when they have the same assignment. Go team CEC!

We have also started a club for the kids. We will have 2 – one for those 13 years of age and younger, and one for those 14 and older. We are naming them MY Club. MY Kid Club, and MY Teen Club. This is for THEM. We wanted the children to feel some sense of ownership with this. Of course, we will have educational activities, but I want to do things with them that THEY want to do – not what they’re always told to do. See, even though many of these kids visit their real families on weekends or holidays, this Centre is where they are living – at least for the moment. And sometimes, because the gates are locked so they don’t run away (which a few of them wanted to do last week), they feel like this place is a jail. I wanted to give them something of their own – not what every adult is telling them to do. So during our first MY Kid Club, when I explained that this club is for them – and we can do activities that THEY want to do, their reaction was great! They loved the idea. I also told them that they do not have to come if they don’t want to. Hopefully this will give them a sense of freedom of will.

Here is a picture with a few of the ideas they came up with for the club. (Notice “Reading”, “Math”, and “Teamwork” were things THEY chose!)

During this first session, I gave them each a notebook. It will only be used for the club – so I collect them all at the end of each session. For this particular session, I asked them to write something about themselves – anything. I gave them some ideas – name, age, favorite color, subject, hobby, etc. But they always get so worried that this is a test, or they will write the wrong thing. I assured them there was no wrong answer, and they could write anything they want! Pictures will be posted on the next blog post….

I also told them that they could use this book to send me private messages, comments, or questions. I explained that sometimes, they might feel embarrassed to ask a question in front of their friends, or they may have something to talk about that they don’t want anyone to know. Well, they can write their question or concern in this book, and then I, with the help of the HouseMothers, will respond to them – thru the use of the book. I think they’re still trying to figure out exactly what this means, but I’ll continue to encourage them to do this….(Thanks Crystal for this idea!)

They were then excited to decorate their books - with crayon and stickers! Though they used up all of our stickers (I should have known!), it was totally worth it...

Here are a few pics from the first MY Kid Club meeting:

Monday will be our first MY Teen Club. I’ll let you know how that goes….

I have also been researching my butt off on ways to get more funding for this Children’s Education Centre (CEC). In my next post, I’ll explain much more….

Until then…here is a picture of me, after about 6 children cornered me and wanted to braid my hair. I am learned that when around them, if my hair is not in a bun, it becomes an “all-access pass” for these kids to play with and braid my hair. Ah, but you gotta love them….

And here is one more picture of one of the cutest kids – she is 3 years old! And she is trying to learn English. But her favorite phrase is “This one”. Oh, and she loves to count anything – at least up to 10!

 And some pictures from my walk home the other day:

Thanks all for reading!

America has been in the news lately. Lots of ups and lots of downs. I just hope we can all find a way to live together in peace and harmony...through all of our differences and similarities. America is a pretty great country, and we, as Americans, have it pretty darn good – compared to many in other parts of the world, where freedoms are not a fundamental right for many. Let us keep remembering that….

#LoveWins,

Johanna 

(One of the children told me that the name “Johanna” is a Damara name! So I guess I now have an Owambo AND a Damara name. I'm officially Namibian.)