Good Hope School

It was so exciting to finally get into school and meet more of the students and teachers. It is miles apart from my teaching experience and speaking to the teachers we soon realised that we have very different challenges. There are comparably little behaviour issues in Zambia, the children are left unaccompanied all the time, no one does duties and all is fine. Although the class sizes are double what I'm used to, the children generally listen silently and are very motivated. I loved their names: Memory, Princess, Professor, Famous...

In the classes video

The challenges though are children walking over two hours to school and being exhausted; often doing so without eating, then not bringing any food to school. On Monday we walked home with some students. There were seven who walk over two hours a day, and we wanted to see how it felt. The difference however was that we had eaten well, changed into sports clothes and were carrying water. They were not. It was novel and fun and for us, a welcome bit of exercise. But every day? Twice a day? It must be so hard going. We got to see their villages. At some, we were greeted by their father and shown that the houses there were all for his various wives. There was no power or running water. It was so interesting but also shocking to see. The roads were very dusty and uneven, and during rainy season became very challenging. Along the way the children knew which trees that they could eat wild berries from. They were upbeat; I think having visitors and teachers accompanying them must have been interesting and novel. It was just incredible to see how education is valued by these families so that this is normal. Laziness is not an option. They wake up at half past four; school starts at 7.10.



Stopping for some berries

Dora and I changed into sports clothes and carried water...no one else did!

Their village

Walking to School video

On Monday evening, we were special guests at a dinner with the staff, PTA and government educational secretary. We had to give another speech and present our gifts. It was so weird being guests of honour all the time. We are complete nobodies in Italy! The staff there were so friendly and welcoming, we soon felt more settled than we do in the vastness of the staff team at ISM. It was great being back in a Christian setting and everyone praying together then singing a hymn to end the meeting.

The top table! Enjoying chicken and African shirts!

Tuesday brought with it a meeting with the government education secretary for the area. I'd been sat next to him the day before so it was good to have spoken to him before interviewing. As always, time keeping was terrible and I nearly fell asleep in the waiting are thanks to the cockerel and the constant packed days! We were trying to piece together a picture of Zambian education, its challenges and greatest needs and how ISM can help, so the more interviews we could conduct the better, but they got tiring fast! The DEBS, Webster, was an interesting man and we learnt a lot from him. The afternoon was sports on the school's big football field. The afternoons get hot! I would not want to be running, but that the children did! A lot of them were barefoot. I don't actually know how they get their strength as they don't seem to eat much and most walk over an hour to school and back each day. We were disappointed not to be able to take part, but had a meeting with Klaus.

Very few children had trainers

A freshly blown up ball from our school in Italy

So to rewind...the school was built on part of the tobacco farm we visited on Saturday. A neighboring farm, Twin Fountains Farm donated the money to build the school. Heinz, now affectionately referred to as the old man, and hailed as a hero by all we spoke to of him moved here twenty years ago, at 71. He has worked tirelessly to help the school, providing the building materials, buying initial resources and raising money in Germany. Klaus is his son who manages the farm and agricultural college. He and his wife invited us round for coffee and cake. This was a huge highlight for us. These people are so passionate about the school and trying to make a positive contribution to the hundreds and hundreds of children and families in the local area. We had such a happy afternoon together, learning about their histories and we got to meet Heinz, who although tired, unwell and weak (the poor man lost his beloved wife three weeks before too) was so humble and gracious, asking us how Good Hope is doing and what we think needs to be done yet.



Klaus and his wife. Loved their huge African garden!

Dinner was at one of our favorite family's house. She is the home economics teacher so the food was amazing (though of course the staple friend chicken and rice!) and her family were so open and welcoming. Her husband is head of the PTA and was also on the top table with us Monday evening so we were thrilled to see him again as he is so much fun! Last year at Good Hope, to encourage better grades, the top few children from each grade went to Livingstone for the day at the end of term. They visited the falls and the airport. One of Petronella's children went and when we asked her what she enjoyed she happily confessed to have been so obsessed with seeing the planes at the airport. I showed her a short video I'd taken on the plane of us landing into Lusaka and she and her siblings were completely transfixed. It is totally another world here.

After observing some lessons and being asked to take over and teach mid lesson (wow, that kept me on my toes, "Hannah, could you please summarize the lesson to the class and share any other thoughts?" Flip!!!) we noticed how some children did struggle to focus and concentrate. We spoke to teachers about this and they explained it was hunger and exhaustion. The children can bring snacks and lunch into school, which they eat outside, often sharing together their beloved nshima, sweet beer (don't get excited, again, it was a maize drink, mushy and white, not at all appealing looking!) or maize with their friends in a shady spot. The school can sometimes afford to buy a dried food that they mix with water for the children. It's a bit like porridge. Bland but filling. Funds are so tight though and it's often the teachers who club together to buy packs, especially during revision and exam time to really help the children focus and concentrate. We got to witness the serving and then took part. Certain grades were called out (normally on rotation as there isn't enough for the whole school) and they all got a cup and lined up so respectfully. Other grades would stand and watch, hoping that it would be their grade level today. The children ate the lot. Using the hands to get out every last drop before going to wash their cups and return them. It was so sad to watch. Grades that weren't called cried. Heart breaking. We worked out it would cost 75 euros to feed the entire school every day for a week. An impossible amount in Kalomo, but in Europe?!

Food Video

We visited a local secondary school which many students from Good Hope would go to after completing grade nine. The children begin in grade one at aged seven but I met children of 15 in grade six, so ages were all a bit muddled depending on when they started and how often they attended. The secondary school was very interesting though we were introduced to every class! Oh my! It took ages, and was so boring and repetitive. The secretary showing us around was a very colorful man who could not remember our respective stories, we were Italian, British, Hungarian and teaching all sorts of graded levels. We must have gone to about twenty classes so we really could not care how or what they introduced us as towards the end!

As we had been driving about and looking at school resources we kept seeing signs and stamps from the Canadian Mission Board. Coincidentally, the founders were also in Kalomo the same time as us and invited us to have supper with them one evening. This was such a special time together. These two couples were amazing. They have worked so hard to understand the culture here and to help. Their church in Canada has adopted many babies, trying to change the tradition of if a mother dies, the baby is buried with her (this thankfully seems to have changed now). They've worked so hard to re house orphans with their extended families and to try to resources some schools and boarding houses. It was such a pleasure to meet with them.

Our last night ended with a staff meal together (no guesses what was on the menu!). It was sad, with some lovely speeches and happy memories of our week together. Our kind, yet reserved head surprised us by bursting into song and dance, supported by some of the teachers. I was happy to grab the iPad to video and so resist having to join in! It was hilarious and so sweet. Dora and I have re watched the video so many times! It is in the video below.

General Zambia video