Day 6: July 25, 2011

Written by: Jaclyn Elliott

Waking up in my cuddly, warm sleeping bag at 7:08AM was a bit of a challenge for me; however, the excitement that’s been building for all of us to finally visit the schools today was enough to pull my lazy self out of bed and off to greet the brisk Zimbabwean morning (colder than any of us expected AFRICA to be—I mean, yeah, we were warned it was their winter-time now, but I think we were all thinking at the back of our minds-- “Ok… but it’s still Africa!” Note to self: bring a winter jacket, gloves, and a hat next time!) As I walked from our hut to the kitchen for a hot warm breakfast, I had that moment of the day. That moment that I’ve had every day we’ve been here- where life feels surreal, perfect, untainted. I knew traveling to Africa would be a blessing, and I am so grateful for all of the support to get me to this place, but I never knew it would have THIS big of an impact on my life. Morning Star farm and the entire Matopo Hills Community are truly heaven on earth in my eyes. EVERYONE has treated us so nicely and welcomed us with open arms. When I arrived at the kitchen I was met with a giant hug from Rentia and I will never forget her routine morning greeting “Hello girlies!” in her sweet, South African accent. It will always be music to my ears!

After breakfast, we packed our lunch for the day, grabbed some items we thought would help us in the classroom (stickers, read-aloud books, pictures, and anything else we could get our hands on that we thought might be halfway useful) and then we jumped on the red pick-up (“bucky”) and hit the road to discover, explore, and take some risks, just as we encourage our students to do at home.

8:30AM- Our first stop- Matopo Hills Primary- to briefly say hello to our dear friend and coordinator-extraordinaire, Patson. Of course Mr. P.E. Teacher couldn’t help but run over to the nearby field where children were forming a giant circle. He grabbed some footage, did some random dancing, got a couple other teacher-friends to join the fun, then we all loaded back onto the truck and drove for another four bumpy kilometers to our first school visit of the trip-- Lukadzi Primary! Lukadzi, like most of the primary schools in the Matopo area, is Grade O (4-5 year olds) to Grade 7 (last grade before high school). Lukadzi has 400 students and 10 teachers. As soon as we got to the school, we paired off and began visiting the classrooms.

THE GAME- PLAN: “Just do it!”

THE PAIRS: Jedd & Sarah, Abby & Kathy, Melissa & Ashley, Pamela & me

When Pamela and I arrived in our first classroom- Grade 2- my heart immediately melted. The bright smiles on the kids’ faces were enough to make me want to move to Zimbabwe for good (not the first time this has crossed my mind this trip)! The classroom was dark, cold, and there were three tables where kids were crammed onto benches on either side of each table. We greeted the teacher and introduced ourselves to the class. Then, we asked the kids to stand up so we could sing a song with them. As soon as the kids stood up, I heard benches falling on the floor and looked around the room to see what was causing the crash. I realized that most of the benches were 2 half benches pushed together, and one end had to be propped on top of the other so they would stay together. Whenever the kids got up or moved at all, the bench would fall over.

We then asked the kids to make a circle around the room, and as I walked around the perimeter of the room I noticed bowls and spoons on the floor, a small bookshelf with books, a large blackboard painted to the wall, and rocks and stones in a corner. Once the students gathered around the room (after some translation from the teacher in their native language, Ndebele) Pamela and I taught them “Head, Shoulders, Knees, and Toes.” The students were quiet at first, but after we sang it a couple of times, they were all singing the words and singing them beautifully. We then asked the teacher to bring the Char-Char books in so we could read with them. Pamela read the book aloud to the students. There were enough books for each student to follow along with their own copy of the story, and we asked them to follow with their finger so they could follow the words as Pamela was reading them. To encourage the students to answer questions, I passed around stickers to any students who took the risk to answer a question. When I started handing out the stickers, I noticed how each students face lit up when I gave them one. For some, this may have been their first sticker they have ever received! The novelty of it was amazing to watch- some would stick it on their forehead, others their cheek, and some their hand. After we read with the students, we thanked their teacher and prayed with them. We visited another Grade 2 classroom (right next door) and sang, read, and stickered with these students as well. While we were singing, the previous Grade 2 teacher said she wanted her students to sing for us so we asked her to bring them in! They all came in and gathered at the front of the classroom and sang, “Jesus Loves Me.” I closed my eyes while they were singing and my eyes just welled up with tears. I was so touched by their faith and courage to sing this song for us (and in English!).

After our visit in the classrooms, we traveled outdoors for their break time. Some students were playing soccer, some talking and laughing together, and others eating porridge (Lukadzi is one of two schools who has a feeding program in Matopo- one of our goals is to raise money so all seven primary schools can have the same program- for some kids, this is their only meal of the day).

We then headed to the headmaster’s office to get to know him and the school a little better. He discussed some of the main problems they are having at the school which include low reading levels (some kids are 3-4 grades behind and in a classroom of 40+, remediation is a challenge), kids with poor home lives, and especially how the AIDS epidemic has impacted home lives- a lot of kids are raised by their siblings or are simply orphans, which of course affects the students’ mood and performance in the classroom.

On our way to our next school, we took a quick stop at a rock nearby for our packed snacks. As we ate, Chris lead us in a brief discussion about our experiences at Lukadzi and what we would like to observe more closely at our next school- Matopo Hills Primary. We all agreed we wanted to observe the teachers teach a little bit to get a feel for how they run their classrooms. So, we packed up and jumped on our bucky and headed to Matopo Hills.

When we got there, we talked with the headmaster briefly about the school. While in his office, I noticed this poster (pictured below). This is one of my favorite verses and it brought tears of joy to my eyes to see it as a guiding force for this school and community that has so little. However, Matopo Hills is one of the most well-funded schools in the Matopo community mainly because of the support from the Roger Federer Foundation.

After we spoke with the headmaster, we walked to the courtyard where most of the students had gathered to sing and dance for us, their special way of welcoming us to their school. I will never get tired of this type of warm, friendly, welcome- my favorite kind by far!

After our warm welcome we visited classrooms again. This time, I paired with Abby, and we headed to a Grade 1 classroom first. These kids were the most energetic and excited I had seen so far! They loved singing with us, and especially loved hearing Abby read her story aloud (one that her Pre-K students had made for her to bring). It was great how interactive it was, since the kids could see the pictures and guess what was happening (this book proved helpful for many school visits and useful at any grade level)! These kids were also obsessed with stickers!! They love, love, loved them and we were just as happy to pass them out. Their teacher, Thabo, is a replacement teacher and has only had 2 weeks of teacher training. She was so welcoming to us and even popped over to the Grade 3 classroom we were in after hers to ask for our contact information and email so we could keep in touch.

When we headed to the Grade 3 classroom we were shocked by how different it looked and felt. There was no teacher present at first, and there were no desks, and barely enough benches for students to sit on. The room was very large, but also very empty. The students greeted us with a song in Ndebele, and afterwards were very quiet and shy to answer questions, but once the lesson got going they grew more open with us. Their teacher had them open their tattered, old activity books and work on an activity titled, “I’m Afraid Of…” There were pictures of animals like leopards, scorpions, and cobras. The students were asked to raise their hand and share what they were afraid of in a complete sentence (“I am afraid of….” or “I am not afraid of….”). Then the teacher had them close their books and put them away. Abby thought it would be a great idea to make a bar graph of what the class was most afraid of. This was a great way to extend the activity further and provide a visual for the students to see what they were most afraid of.

After our visit, it was time for Matopo Hills Primary version of a Field Day. Patson had all of the older students gather in a circle around the field and play a couple of games. Then, Jedd and Sarah took over as the fabulous leaders and Jedd had the whole school gather to do a sequence of activities (jumping jacks, pushups, situps, etc.). Then Sarah led everyone in yoga. The kids were laughing and seemed to love every minute of it. It was a great way to get the whole school involved and engaged!

After our first day of visiting schools, we got back to Morning Star and were drained! Some of us napped, others snacked, and then we all gathered around the fire to talk about the evening’s plans. Tonight was our scheduled homestay night! We discussed where we would be going and the logistics of the evening. Jedd and Sarah opted to go to a rural homestay and stay overnight. The rest of us decided to stay just for dinner and the evening, then return back to Morning Star to sleep. We all gathered the food to prepare dinner for the evening at our homestay and headed off.

Paige, Abby, and I were lucky enough to be guests at Patson’s home! When we got there, we got to meet his family (his beautiful wife, two children, his brother, nieces and nephews, and cousins). We also got to meet his dog, chickens, and rabbits! Patson took us on a walk to the secondary school where we went to the home of a Chemistry teacher and his wife, a Grade 4 at Matopo Hills Primary. They were so welcoming and showed us their cottage, where they had a coop of 96 chickens out back (fresh eggs every day- yum)! They also had a garden with peas, onions, lettuce, sugar cane, and more. We talked with them and prayed with them and headed back to Patson’s for dinner. Cindi prepared us a real feast! We ate fried chicken (their fresh chicken of course), a plateful of Sadza with gravy (well, Abby ate the most of any of us I think – as a challenge from Patson’s brother!), potatoes, and fresh hard-boiled eggs. They treated us like royalty and the conversation came free and easily. I played with their beautiful children the whole evening- who were just as outgoing, friendly, and open as Patson! After dinner we listened to some South African music videos and had a dance party! Patson taught us some moves, and we literally danced for the next half an hour. When Chris came to pick us up, we reunited with Kathy and Ashley who were staying at a home right down the road, and one of their friends, Dennis, lead us in a beautiful song and then Patson lead us in fellowship and read from his bible. It was perfect and so touching. Before we left, as if they hadn’t given us more than enough already- they had wrapped presents for us! They were wrapped in newspaper with our names on them, and we were so thankful! They gave us beautiful hand-made, colorful baskets, YoungLife t-shirts, some of us received bibles with a thoughtful inscription inside, and others got Lunch Bars (a chocolate, crunchy, energy bar of sorts- truly delicious!). Our night was perfect. We were happy to return back to Morning Star with full bellies, thoughtful mind, and warm hearts.

As I reflect on this full, beautiful day, a part of my heart aches for the people of the Matopo community who have so little. But when I think deeper about how little these people have and how giving they are of it all, I am inspired and touched. In America we have EVERYTHING we could ever need, and for some reason we don’t give as easily… we don’t wave and smile at strangers (sometimes we don’t even wave to our own neighbors), we don’t dance and sing after dinner with loved ones, and we certainly don’t cruise down the road on the back of a red pick-up singing Amazing Grace at the top of our lungs—just to share our happiness with the world. There is a lot to be learned from this community- simplicity, generosity, kindness, and love among the many takeaways I have gained just by being here for this little, precious time so far. I look forward to learning more and bringing home this new perspective to incorporate into our world at home.