Corner of Hope January 2012
Jan 1, 2012
- One hundred and fifty seven children have settled into their classrooms at the start of the new school year. We now have a total of six primary classrooms each directed by the newly trained teachers. In addition to their responsibility of running a class, they now also have eight new trainee teachers under their wing to guide. Two mentor teachers are jointly overseeing the smooth running of the school and mentoring of all the teachers.
- School construction of the second phase of the school, consisting of four classrooms and a kitchen, has been completed. The external brick walling for the entire school has been given a coating of a varnishing sealant. This will protect the walls from rain and other external elements. Guttering has been installed for rainwater harvesting in the first phase and is now being completed for the second phase and the latrines. Places for the water collection points have been identified and cleared to make room for the water tanks. The kitchen will shortly be furnished with a cooker and shelving for the utensils.
- Bottlebrush trees, bougainvillea and grass have been ordered to plant as soon as the drainage and guttering is completed and the school compound has been levelled and cleared of construction materials and debris. The internal walls of the entire school will get a fresh coat of paint and final touches will take place thereafter.
- Foldable shelves have been made by the camp community carpenters and put in two classrooms. The rest are in progress for the other classrooms. One model classroom with the complete shelving has been arranged as an example to duplicate in the other classrooms as more shelving becomes available. Classrooms that don’t have shelving as yet have laid out the materials as before on the benches and on the floor, following the order of the model classroom as best as possible.
- A local women’s group has donated fifty mattresses for the children. These will be used once the children start to stay full day at school. Having the mattresses will allow the younger children to rest in the afternoon should they choose to.
- The logistics of training eight elementary teachers from the camp community is being worked out. The training will hopefully commence in April 2012.
- A radio broadcast on Radio Amani, the local Diocese radio took place on 11th January 2012 where we got an opportunity to talk about the project and Montessori training and education. Listeners called in and asked interesting questions. The broadcast created much awareness throughout the region. An idea to do a regular Corner of Hope Children’s radio program has emerged.
- A formal school opening is being planned for in March 2012.
