Uukwiyoongwe Combined School
Completed Projects
1. Uukwiyoongwe Security Improvement Project.
This has been the top priority of
the school management and Development Committee. While it really is not
complete (see projects of interest for more information) we have
actually already accomplished a lot this year.
a. Wall from the San Diego Peace Corps Association.
The SDPCA approved a proposal which granted funding for all of the
building materials for our brand new school wall. This wall, once
complemented by a new gate and fence, will improve the security of the
school ten-fold. Furthermore, it will serve as a canvas to market the
school and paint a mural. Thank you SDPCA for your contribution!
b. Welding donated by Benz Building.
Benz
Building Supplies (a local company in Oshakati) donated their labor,
welding material, and great customer service to our school. They helped
us secure our library with burglar bars on the door and windows, thus
enabling us to safely house our computer, printer, and photocopying
machine at the school. Thanks Benz!
2. Science and Library Equipment.
Thanks to the donation of many friends
and family members, Uukwiyoongwe is now equipped with six
state-of-the-art dissecting microscopes, a brand new computer, two
circuit boards, ammeters, voltmeters, test tubes and racks, and tons of
glass wear. The learners and teachers are so excited and ever since the
morning that all of the materials were presented to the school, they
have been in constant use. The learners are in awe of the microscopes
and are really starting to get how access to such resources will truly
change their learning experience. Thanks again to everyone that helped
out!
3. Darian Book Aid.
This is a U.S. based organization that was extremely easy to contact,
very helpful, and the turn around time was amazing. I put in a request
for a big box of fiction and non-fiction books for the library and two
days later I was emailed and informed that the books are on their way!
Within one month the books were on the library shelves. Thanks to Darian
Book Aid our school library has fifty new books to choose from! Thanks
again!
4. School Garden.
The
grade eight learners and I worked together all of term one and two to
create an awesome school garden. We had a great time cultivating the
land, building a fence, sowing the seeds, and watering the veggies. The
garden was also surprisingly successful. However, just before harvest
the goats and donkeys got in to the school grounds and had themselves
quite the picnic! This was devastating to both me and the learners. At
least I am confident that we will not have the same problem next year,
as our school grounds will be much more secure by then. This activity
was a really great way to get to know my learners, observe them in their
most natural environment, and become awestruck by their relationship
with the land. I loved seeing their faces light up as we approached the
garden to find that the vegetables had grown inches from just a couple
days before.
5. Ruacana Camping Trip.
This is a
special camping trip that myself and two other volunteers, Jenn and
Adam, have organized. We applied for a grant through the Peace Corps and
it was approved. Each of us selected our two most improved learners
(from term 1 through term 3 of last school year) to take to Ruacana at
the beginning of this school year as a reward for their hard work. Jenn,
Adam, and I ended up taking seven learners to Ruacana for a weekend of
fun a leadership/team building activities. The weekend was not only
amazing for the learners, but the three of us also had an awesome time.
I would have to put this experience up there with taking the kids to
Swakopmund for the marathon. Seeing learners in a new and different
environment really opens the doors to their true personality. The school
system here insists that learners conform, and once outside of those
school expectations, unique and surprising personalities emerge. We did
so much on the two day trip: Hiked down to see the waterfall, learned
camp songs, toured the hydroelectricity power station, ate American
camping food (hot dogs and S’mores), hiked around the camp area
observing birds and collecting stones, climbed a cliff to watch the
sunset, and of course we carried out various activities about
leadership. We discussed the process of setting long-term and short-term
goals, the importance of the silent leader, and the ten steps to
becoming a successful leader. At the end of the weekend we asked the
learners to reflect; to share something they learned or a feeling. One
learner, Selma, exclaimed that this was “the best trip of her life and
she would never forget it.” Another learner, Jessy, said that he learned
that “it’s not easy to be a leader, but you must keep on working hard,
and never give up!” The weekend was so amazing that the three of us want
to get another grant approved to take our kids on yet another weekend
tour.
6. Swakopmund Lucky Star Marathon.
This is an awesome opportunity for the learners at our school and the
learners throughout the country. We will be taking two relay teams (of 4
learners each) to Swakopmund from October 19th -21st,
to compete against other learners from school around the country. Each
learner will run a 10.5km leg of the race, starting in Walvis Bay an
ending in Swakopmund. Now, it should be understood that Swakopmund is
THE place to be in all of Namibia. It is beautiful, breezy, bustling,
and right on the water. None of the learners that will attend this race
have ever been further South than Ondongwa (about 40km from our
village), let alone see the ocean! While in Swakopmund, we will also
have the rest of the day, after the race, to run around and play in the
sand dunes, go out to lunch, and meet learners from other schools…maybe
even catch a movie!!
Now,
how is any of this possible? Sounds like a really pricey trip, right?
Well the school is paying the entrance fee of N$50 per team and the
Ministry of Education is covering the transportation. The organizers of
the event set up accommodations for learners and teachers for two nights
at a local hostel school, but the rest (food, training gear, team
T-shirts, etc.) is left up to us to figure out.
Luckily, once again, I have amazing people in my life. I received a few
VERY large donations that will completely cover the cost of food for
teachers and learners, pay for us to have awesome T-shirts made,
purchase running socks for the learners, and possibly even take the kids
sand boarding and to a movie! We also received an amazing donation from
NIKE, with the help of my Aunt Linda. NIKE donated 40 pairs of boys and
girls running shoes to our school. While forty is a lot when we are only
racing 8 learners, we will now have a school set of athletic shoes for
the girl’s netball team and the boys soccer teams. This is an amazing
donation, and I am still overwhelmed by how quickly and awesomely
everyone came forward to pitch in. You are all rock stars!
Oh
yeah, did I mention that all the kids who participate receive race
T-shirts and medals and if they really win they could win up to
N$3,500!!!! I’m so excited.
7.
No more Cataracts for the Kukus!
This project goes along with the above
mentioned project. There is an Ophthalmologist at the Oshakati Hospital
that does quick, inexpensive, out patient cataract removal surgeries for
individuals in rural communities. I found out about this while in an
airport shuttle heading to the Namibian Airport with my mom and step
dad. Sharing our shuttle was a husband and wife from Los Angles whom had
just spent over a month in the country helping this ophthalmologist
perform the surgeries. He said they performed over 300 surgeries during
his visit.
I
directly know at least five older community members that have lived
their lives blind for the past 5 – 10 years, when likely they just need
cataracts removed. I plan to meet with this Ophthalmologist and see if
we can’t transport some of these kukus (elder citizens) into town for a
consultation, and then hopefully set up appointments for the surgeries.
Expenses (per person) will include:
-Two round trip hikes to town (for consultation and surgery): N$66
-Cataract Surgery: ~N$30
8. Bank of Namibia Scholarship:
Absalom Paulus, an albino learner at my school received a scholarship
sponsored by the Bank of Namibia. This scholarship has paid for his
school fees for the year, covered the cost of his Grade 10 examination
fees, and - the best part of all - paid for prescription reading glasses
to improve his vision. The principal and I took Absalom to the Bank of
Namibia in Oshakati for the official handing over. Absalom is very shy,
but in his own way he expressed his excitement about the glasses and the
paid fees. A small smile from Absalom is equivalent to another child
jumping around in circles. I hope that his new glasses not only improve
his vision, but will also improve his level of self-confidence. I’m
confident that he will grow to become more and more comfortable with who
he is and with expressing his emotions in the future.
9.
Girl’s club: Uukwiyoongwe C.S. receives money each term from an
organization called FAWENA (Funding African Women’s Education –
Namibia). This term I was asked to help come up with a plan of action
for how the N$3,000.00 for the Girl’s Club was to be spent. With the
help of my colleagues, we ended up organizing some great activities for
our Girl’s Club, which is comprised of 35 girls. First we purchased
sanitary supplies for each girl including pads, deodorant, and bars of
soap. I also designed kick-ass T-shirts for the girls and had them
printed in Oshakati. The girls loved the shirts and got to wear them on
the tour of the UNAM library that we also organized. Two of my
colleagues took the girls to Oshakati where they learned all about how
to use the library. Everything from how the books are catalogued to how
to check out a book was explained. Furthermore, they got to view and
learn about the computer lab that has free internet access. Lastly, they
toured the campus a bit and had a picnic lunch before heading back to
the village. The last activity that was planned for the Girl’s Club was
to have a guest speaker come to school and motivate them. I found the
most amazing, inspirational young woman to come speak. Annatolia
Shinyemba is only 18 years old, but she already in her third year of
nursing school at UNAM. She came from a rural village nearby
Uukwiyoongwe and had no special privileges granted to her. Simply, her
hard work and dedication kept her moving forward towards her goals. Her
final goal is to be a medical doctor by the time she is 26. We have no
doubt she will succeed. She spoke to the girls about knowing your true
self, choosing good friends that keep you on track, setting goals,
proper study skills, and maintaining balance in one’s life. Honestly, I
was completely inspired. Her self confidence hung in the air around her
and the girls were totally in awe. She wants to come back and speak to
the girls about hygiene and health in the future. Overall, the Girl’s
Club activities this term went off without a hitch. Everyone was very
happy, and the girls really gained a lot form the different experiences.
10.
HIV/AIDS Workshop for Grade 10 learners: Looking back at all
of the activities from the 2007 school year, I realized something was
missing. While I spoke of HIV/AIDS in my Life Science classes and also
in Life Skills, I still had not done much outside of the classroom with
regards to the epidemic. So, this term I tried to change that. I created
a week long HIV/AIDS workshop designed for Grade 10 learners. Young
people in Namibia know all of the facts about HIV. They know how it is
and isn’t transmitted, were the virus lives, preventative measures and
so on. However, there still exists a great disconnect between what they
know about the virus and their actual behaviors. This workshop was
designed to focus on behavior changes. We discussed making choices,
consequences, stigma, and the process of getting tested. Some of the
highlights included condom relay races (where the learners raced to
correctly put condoms on wooden penises), a visit from New Start –an HIV
testing and counseling facility – where they put on a drama about the
process of getting tested, and finally taking interested learners to go
and get tested in Oshakati. The condom relay was actually very
enlightening. While the learners have all the steps memorized of how to
correctly use a condom, many of them had no clue how to actually put one
on. This activity completely reflects the disconnect I spoke of earlier.
The visit from New Start was really great. The learners had a chance to
really see the testing process and also to ask questions to the people
who actually work at the testing site. New Start also left sample forms
and brochures for us to keep in the library so learners can read over
the kind of questions that New Start asks you when you go there and what
to expect. Ten learners ended up volunteering to go and get tested in
Oshakati. I must admit, I was both surprised about the large turn out,
and also deathly afraid of what could happen. In the end, only one of
the learners felt comfortable getting tested and the others explained
that they did not feel prepared to know there status…this also
frightened me. The reality is that likely two of those ten learners are
positive. When I consider the number of deaths in my village and the
number of kids having unprotected sex, it would be amazing if none of
them were positive. Another sad but true reality here in the North of
Namibia. Anyway, now those learners know exactly where to go if they
ever do want to get tested and they could go on their own, with me, or
with a classmate in the future. The week ended with each Grade 10
learner receiving a red AIDS ribbon to wear on their shirt. The only
downfall of the whole week was the lack of my colleague’s participation.
I had planned it with two colleagues, one colleague helped one day, but
then had to go to a work shop. The other was too busy to help out. I
guess the way I approached them about the project was not effective.
11.
Mosquito Nets: Through New Start visiting our school I learned
about Mosquito nets for sale from the Ministry of Health. I coordinated
with one employee a way to help him sell and distribute these nets in my
village. To date, we have sold over 60 mosquito nets. This is especially
important this year as the rains have been so heavy and the number of
mosquitoes and number of confirmed cases of Malaria are on the rise.
12.
Full
Shelves.
Currently
we are having a text book crisis at Uukwiyoongwe Combined School. On
average we have about one book for every 3-4 learners, for each subject.
Furthermore, all the syllabi have been changed this year making many of
these books obsolete any way. This is a great challenge each and every
day for the teachers and the learners. The learners have absolutely no
reference books of their own and so are forced to regurgitate answers
that the teacher has already spoon fed them. Also, teachers are forced
to conduct much more teacher centered classes than desired. They cannot
easily send a child off to discover the answer on their own and making
photocopies from the one textbook the teacher has can become expensive
in no time. We are hoping to simply fund raise in order to get a class
set of each text book for each subject. Unfortunately, at N$60 a piece
this can become expensive. Considering that we have 10 grades to cover
and 8 subjects per grade…for about 200 learners…yikes!
13.
Camp GLOW: Camp GLOW (Guys & Girls Leading Our World) is a
Peace Corps run camp that is held each April in Windhoek. Last year I
had about thirty kids apply to the camp. The process involved filling
out a questionnaire and writing an essay. The development committee at
Uukwiyoongwe C.S. read through all the applications and selected the top
four for submission to Peace Corps. One of our learners, Paulina Nangolo,
was accepted to the camp! This camp is a fabulous opportunity for the
learners in so many ways. They meet learners from all over Namibia,
practice leadership skills, tour their very own capitol city, get to go
to a movie, meet Namibian celebrities and much more! GLOW is an eight
day camp run by Peace Corps volunteers. While I am not one of the PCVs
that help with GLOW, I am so thankful that this camp exists and that
Paulina gets to participate in such an awesome event!
14. School Garden…again!: This year my
grade 8 life science class has once again planted a beautiful garden.
Unlike last year, however, it will not be eaten and destroyed by
domestic animals! Before sowing seeds we took about a week to erect a
very strong fence around our garden. I was so impressed with the hard
work of my learners, I almost cried at seeing the finished product. I
also bought this plastic mesh material to use as shading for each of the
plots. We are growing maize, ground nuts, beans, carrots, watermelon,
squash, and sun flowers. Next term the class will vote on what we will
do with our harvest. Most likely we will just have a class party and eat
all the veggies, as there is not enough to sell and make any substantial
profit. Although we could donate it to homes in the village that could
really use the extra food…we’ll see.
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