Volunteer Reports

More volunteers than ever before worked under ZAP sponsorship this summer, and here you will find some of their personal reports of their experiences.

Experiences of Emma, a volunteer teacher in Jambiani, Zanzibar - July 2007.

During a long and uncomfortable flight Somaya and I felt some anxiety about what we would encounter in Zanzibar. The first person we met was Salum, Jambiani’s best tour operator; ‘Mama’ Janie had arranged for him to take us to Jambiani and we were to become very good friends. We saw him waving at us enthusiastically at the entrance to the airport, which made us feel better immediately. Salum was very chatty and told us a bit about what to expect, but despite this it was nice to see the familiar faces of Janie, Livs and Ems (volunteers from the previous summer who mentored us, and settled us into the village) when we arrived at Blue Lagoon.

The first day
As we had arrived late at night it was amazing to wake up to a picture perfect beach outside, and a busy friendly household. Among the many people we met in the first few days was Mr Pandu, ZAP’s African Director and Manager, of whom we had heard so much. He and his family made us very welcome and continued to be as caring and kind to us throughout our stay as they said they would be on our first day. In Jambiani, in my experience people keep their promises and do what they can to help you, even if it means putting themselves behind for a while. There may be some exceptions but I did not come across one!

At school
Walking into the school – although accompanied by Janie and Mr Pandu - was slightly daunting. My previous teaching experience (in Morocco) did not seem to help, as it was such a very different environment and atmosphere. However, the Headmaster, Mr Maabad welcomed us warmly and seemed glad to have another pair of hands on board for two months.

The only way to know how any school works is to be there on a day to day basis. Throughout our 8 weeks we were constantly learning new things about the school system - teachers as well as pupils- in actual fact I think that at the end of our trip we had just started to really understand how things work.

The first lesson was the hardest. NB! Future volunteers: do not set high expectations for the first lesson; be aware that even encouraging each child to speak is likely to be a new experience for them.

Teaching was fun. It was everything you expect from teaching in an African country and everything you don’t! For example - in earlier lessons it was difficult to get the students to speak out loud as they were shy and didn’t want to make a mistake. The girls especially preferred to take a more passive role. I found that playing games in groups and in small teams helped improve their confidence.

My first experience of a classroom where boys sat one side and girls the other (generally out of choice) was also difficult. I did not mind the boys and girls sitting separately but it was the atmosphere it caused and presumptions that come from it that made me uncomfortable. It meant there was a communication barrier between them which I think sometimes split the class and restricted them in answering questions as a whole – particularly so for the girls who were less ready to write answers on the board. Gradually, however, I found that the girls came out of their shells.

I was pleasantly surprised at the way in which students encourage each other. If a student within the class makes a mistake they may feel embarrassed, yet the class on the whole supports them. There are also some children with disabilities or special needs within the mainstream classes, who are not especially catered for – of course they struggle and especially with a foreign language, e.g. English. However the support for them within the class and the genuine happiness for them when they get an answer right is admirable.

We soon realised that some students didn’t have the equipment that they needed for school, due to the poverty of their family. Luckily, ZAP had provided each child within our classes with an exercise book and pen. All the students were grateful and happy but in one class the reaction was so extreme that it took me aback. When the students in this class received their equipment they started clapping and cheering with excitement, even sniffing the pens with delight!

This experience was a wake up call as to how poor the families in Jambiani really are. Walking through the village it is easy to see that people subsist on a minimal amount of money; yet it is hard to take in as they are so friendly and warm to visitors (and each other).

As an example of the standard of living of an average family in Jambiani, here is a description of one of my student’s houses to which I was lucky enough to be invited. The young girl was 8 years old and one of my favourites; a very clever, polite and lovely girl who often tried to speak English with us. She took me to her house in the pitch black of the evening. There was one candle in the corner of the room next to the evening meal (tea and sweet bread) – the house had no roof, and no furniture. Obviously there being no light it was hard to know how many people were at home but they all fussed around me offering me food. I hesitated as I knew that there was likely to be little food to go around, but the family insisted I ate with them. The girl knew I had a camera and asked me to take some pictures of her family. It was then, on the camera screen, that I could see the whole picture.

ZAP Library/Internet cafe

The ZAP library has become a busy part of the community and a gathering place for people of a range of ages. As well as the tourists and local villagers who use the ‘Internet and computer facilities', the little children love looking at the picture books and listening to the older children read to them. Older students use the library as a place for study, often dropping in to get information; one particularly self-motivated student came every day to take 10 new words away from the English dictionary to learn and understand. More books suitable for an African Library are always needed, and ZAP aims to add to them as funds allow.

Somaya and I, assisted by the two excellent lady librarians, Nabawia and Vivian, began English classes after school for our students and for the younger children living nearby. The little children enjoyed playing games such as ‘What’s the time Mr Wolf?’ as well as drawing with the bright felt pens and pencils we had brought. A task we set which worked really well on all levels was to get the older children to read a story in English to the younger ones, then translate it into Swahili. It boosted the confidence of the former, and the little ones loved the attention.

Ladies English Classes
Although these ZAP funded classes may seem small scale, with about 12 ladies, I believe they have a very positive long-term effect. For example, one lady is head teacher of a Nursery school; as her confidence builds, she can teach her colleagues, and therefore the children will benefit from the new skills. The ladies, some of whom work together, practice their English and support each other.

It seems that one reason for relatively low attendance of these classes concerns family ties and culture. Traditionally, a woman’s responsibility is to her family first and therefore activities outside the home are low on the list of priorities. Fortunately, however, it seems different for the younger generation of girls who seem to be equally as encouraged as the boys. Education, leading onto a career is highly valued by a huge majority of people in Zanzibar.

Nursery Schools
In the intervals when we were not teaching, we spent time at the nursery schools. The first visit was overwhelming. Most of the children were lively and curious and came straight up to welcome us and gave us cuddles. All of the children loved the extra attention that we gave them. As they got to know us better with each time we visited some of the more confident, boisterous children fought over who would hold our hands or sit next to us.

We played games, tried to teach some simple English nursery rhymes, counted in English up to ten, helped them with writing their ABC, gave them some simple resources such as felt tip pens and large sheets of paper for drawing and got them to try to name the objects they drew in English. We were even lucky enough to go on a nursery school day trip to Nungwe’.

Most of the nursery teachers are great. They are enthusiastic and use their extremely limited resources well. It is obvious when you spend time at the nursery that the teachers genuinely love the children and care for them. For example when were going on the school trip there were 3 children whose families could not afford to pay for their children to go. We offered to pay for these 3 children (a very small price to us compared to English school trips), but a couple of teachers said it was too late – there was no time to wait for them. However the other teachers (the majority) went into overdrive, to ensure that those children didn’t miss out on the trip, organising someone to bike quickly their houses to tell them to get ready for our coach to collect them.

Once I visited a nursery school when the class were doing handwriting. All children have a book and pencil to practise. They sit on the floor in a circle and copy the letters into their books. Several children sat outside this circle against the wall not doing any work, so I asked why they were just watching, and not doing their work.The teacher replied that their parents could not spare the money to buy the child a book and the brown paper that covers it. I found out that there were altogether 15 children in the nursery who did not have a book, so I went to the shop next door and bought 15 exercise books and brown paper for a total cost of about £2. This is just another example of how little money the families really do have.

This is why ZAP’s Nursery Porridge Project is so vital. ZAP provides porridge three times per week for each child at nursery school. This does not sound much but it really is as most children (and adults) only have one small meal per day. This meal is normally of little or no nutritional value. It may be for example cassava or rice or sweet bread and tea. Visiting the nursery on ‘porridge day’ is quite different to a day when there is no porridge; the children have a lot more energy and bouncing around much more than normal. I think this is a hugely successful initiative.

Prize giving
At the end of our stay we felt that our students had worked extremely hard and had made it easier for us to teach in a foreign country with their enthusiasm and growing confidence in our lessons. We wanted to reward them all in some way, so we decided to hold a prize-giving ceremony. We made up some certificates and went to Stone Town to buy prizes. We had the following awards in each class; Best Boy, Best Girl, Highest Achievement, Best effort and the Biggest Matata. We held an assembly with the Headmaster, Mr Ame the English teacher and Mr Pandu ZAP’s Manager. Each student came up to receive their certificate and prize and a round of applause. As there were 40 children in each class, we held a raffle where each student would receive a smaller gift i.e. a pen, pencil or notebook. When their number was called out they came forward for a lucky dip in the bag of goodies.

That evening, with the approval of Mr Pandu and ZAP we held a party for all of our Form 1 students. It was suggested that they should wear school uniform, as this would show their parents that they would be supervised and therefore most of them would be permitted by their parents to attend. Pai, who with Choma was ZAP’s first vocational student (hospitality) had organised all the food and equipment. As the students arrived, boys sat on one side and girls on the other, but when the music started some of them plucked up the courage to dance to Bongo Flava, a familiar tune for them. We were surprised to see the girls dancing first, but slowly the boys followed.

As they began dancing together we had a sinking feeling that this departure from local tradition might be seen as inappropriate and put at risk the good relationships we had made with the village throughout our 2 months stay. However when Mr Ame enthusiastically joined in we breathed a sigh of relief. The party was a huge success and I think everyone enjoyed the food, music and dancing, as did we. It was nice to be one of them rather than their teacher for a change.

End of term test
Before we left, we were asked to devise the end of term test, made up of all the topics we had taught them. We made sure that the students all knew about it so that they had plenty of time for revision. The test was completed in exam conditions to give a true reflection of their standard achieved. As in any school there was a range of results, from low to high, but the majority were in the higher end with over 50%. A handful of star students got up to 98% which was very gratifying. Looking more closely at the results, and from our general observation we were able to see that most of them had made a marked improvement, from simple pronunciation to complex questions and answers. There is no doubt that their confidence had grown.

Summary
Our trip was amazing and from start to finish we had brilliant experiences. We feel that we have made some good friends and hope to go back to Jambiani in the not so distant future to see friends and students. Because our students were exposed over a two month teaching period to spoken English, we think we have made a real difference. However, they will need constant encouragement to keep practicing and we felt we should share our teaching methods with the permanent teachers, discussing different ways to motivate the students.

Mr Ame the English teacher said he liked some of our teaching methods and whilst we were there he tried some out on his Ladies English classes. He said they were something new for the teachers, and he enjoyed using them too. I think it would be extremely useful on a future visit to hold sessions with the teachers to share more ideas on classroom activities. At the very least, it would help to liven the class up when the children are tired from the heat and (most of the time) hungry.

To conclude then, I had a wonderful experience in Jambiani. I would recommend teaching in Jambiani School to anyone who is confident and prepared to give their all for the duration of their stay. Even at the end of a teaching day you will always have something to do or a visitor popping around. This is what makes Jambiani. Be prepared for a busy time; although you will have some time to relax you will not just be there to sunbathe! There was never a dull moment and everyone made us feel at home which is why I think we enjoyed ourselves so much.

Thank you to ZAP for giving us this opportunity and thanks especially to Mr Pandu and Salum for looking after us like your own family!

Emma Welburn
October 2007

Experiences of Somaya, a volunteer teacher in Jambiani, Zanzibar - July 2007

The journey to Zanzibar was incredibly long and exceptional tiring, but after 23 hours, three flights, a lost suitcase and a lot of hustle and bustle we arrived in Jambiani, having been greeted by Salum, with whom we would later develop a fantastic friendship. The day after we arrived I remember being totally overwhelmed by the beauty of the village and Zanzibar general. The blue lagoon seemed too good to be true; lets just say waking up to the roaring ocean, blue skies and bright green coconut trees did not take much getting use to! However what was tainting my enthusiasm slightly was the prospect of spending two months in a place so far from home.

Things got moving at a very quick pace which was great; as far as I was concerned. I just wanted to get stuck in as soon as I could. The first day we headed down to the school where we would be teaching with ‘Mama’ Janie and Mr Pandu (ZAP Director and Manager in Zanzibar). Having been introduced to the Headmaster and the head of English, we were both feeling excited but slightly nervous. The Head told us that we would be taking Form I – 120 pupils, composed of mainly 15-16year olds, some 18 year olds and a few bright 14yrs olds).

The next day I had the rather daunting but very thrilling task of taking the first class. We had planned the first lesson to be as interactive as possible, where the students would experience a new teaching approach and one which was very different from the rote learning they were accustomed to. We called this first class ‘information cards’. The idea was for every student to take a florescent card and write as much information down about themselves in English as they could - then they would each present it to the class. It seemed to go well, and we felt that we had achieved the first step.

A week later, my home sickness had subsided. I think this was the direct result of having so much autonomy. Emma and I devised a rigorous teaching plan whereby we would have five learning outcomes per lesson which were all were planned in advance, including resources we would use. Thanks to Emma and her school in England, we had been able to bring out a fantastic wealth of equipment, from word bingo games to 10 laminated clocks!

The teaching progressed well and we both developed a great rapport with our students. I was tried desperately to learn all my students’ names, as I felt it was very important in order to be able to build a relationship of mutual respect and recognition. After five lessons of grappling with names such Nyamcha, Astuweni, and Mwanajuma, I felt reasonable confident that I could put a name to all 120 faces - most of the time!

However it was not all smooth sailing and we did encounter some problems. For example both Emma and I had a deaf student in our class which the school had omitted to tell us about. We decided the best way to tackle this was to pair up the deaf pupil with one of the more advanced ones, allowing the advanced students to be able to spent extra time with the deaf ones without falling behind or having their own learning compromised. We also decided we would sit them both at the front so that they were able to lip read. The interaction and friendship within the class was very poignant, with the disabled ones never being ostracised, treated differently or neglected by their peers; I felt that this contrasted sadly with similar situations back in England.

Another problem was coping with the sheer size of the classes. It was becoming exceptionally difficult to assess how the shy and less competent students were doing. We decided the only way this could be tackled was by dedicating more hours and resources to the students. As such our teaching time increased from around four hours a day to eight hours a day; this was the result of introducing ‘English Zayada’ - Swahili for Extra English Tuition. The idea was that the students would come over to Blue Lagoon after attending any jobs, chores, and extra curricular classes they may have had and spend two hours revising work we had done in class or revisiting concepts which they had struggled with. The classes were very successful, and not only attracted our target group of the less competent and more subdued students, but also the extra keen students. An average class comprised around ten students. We would give them all an orange and water and get cracking with the studying. As a reward the students were given stickers, and an opportunity for a little boogying. For this, I would bring in my 'ipod' and speakers and play a little reggae, and the students found it very amusing and fun. The combination of a more intimate studying environment coupled with fun and dance meant the turn outs were always high.

I would say these classes were the key to strengthening our relationship with our students, and it was not rare that we would have students at the house until 10pm some nights, with all of us forgetting the time - we were having such a ball, and the great thing was that the students were getting a rare opportunity to practice their English. These classes made it patently clear that these students and the villagers in general were some of the most fun loving people we had ever met, always ready for any opportunity for fun and games. So we took this one step further and ensured that at least two of our school classes each week held would include a practical learning exercise.

The most successful of these were group exercises. For example word bingo; the class would be split up into three, and we would ask for three captains to come forward. I would actively encourage the girls to take up these roles. but more often it was the boys who made it all fantastically competitive. The groups would be given 15 words each and have to separate the nouns, verbs etc. and the first group to have correctly identified all categories of words would win a prize. Most often the prize would be stationary or food.

Both the school-taught classes and the extra English classes remained very successful and we were both very motivated and encouraged by the rapid progress of all the students. We decided that we had three important tasks to complete before the end of our stay. These were: to set an examination to assess their level of understanding, host a prize giving ceremony and organise an end of term party. To our absolute delight all three tasks were achieved and for that we are indebted to Salum and Mr Pandu, to Pai and Choma of the Visitors Inn (first ZAP vocational students), Mr Amer and of course our delightful students.

The examination consisted of 6 parts and 30 questions ranging from conversational English to grammar. Marking 200 exam papers in two days, however, was not so delightful; let’s just say we were looking a little the worse for wear by the end of it! We had our reward, however, when we discovered that the majority of students attained 60% or more. The highest mark was 91% which was just incredible!

Reflections

I had ignorantly underestimated how much I was going to learn from the people of Jambiani during my stay. I left Zanzibar having learnt so much. Most of what I had learnt and taken away with me from my time in Jambiani was through observations of daily life – one of the most valuable of these was that the community was always willing to consider and discuss ideas we had. Unlike other experiences I had encountered whilst teaching and living in other parts of Africa, the community was always willing to revaluate current practices, and react to constructive criticism, whilst also trying to make a valuable contribution themselves, in an attempt to better thier life and maximise opportunities for the community. The locals were not proud, or too stuck in their ways, they approached everything with such an open mind, always ready to cooperate, something rarely experienced in other places I have taught.

Another very encouraging and refreshing observation was that Jambiani was not caught up in a patriarchal trap whereby women were never offered an opportunity of empowerment, or expected to play submissive roles. The treatment of women and girls in Jambiani was very inspiring. There is an automatic assumption that women would want to work, become independent and develop new skills as would a man. Likewise there was always a natural assumption that girls want to learn and play as do boys. Most importantly throughout my stay in Jambiani, I never witnessed any inequality, or disrespect of women and girls. Womens’ interests and rights were taken seriously; as such they were all afforded an opportunity of empowerment, within their private and public lives, something rarely found throughout the African world.

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