30th March 2017

Kawama Day 2 – This morning, we arrived at Kawama by 9am, and the children were already there, showing how eager they all are to learn; they welcomed us so warmly once again.
During the first session, we observed a Grade 5 class, taught by Barbara. The children were learning irregular verbs in English, and they were incredibly enthusiastic. Every child participated and thoroughly engaged in the lesson, highlighting how much they want to learn. They showed great respect towards Barbara, and they showed impressive determination in the face of adversity. One girl – whose name we were unable to ask, as we didn’t want to disturb the lesson – achieved 10/10 on the verbs exercise, and it was so inspiring to see her pride in this.
We then moved on to Grade 1 during their printing class, which is part of their national curriculum. Their energy was inspiring, whilst also being rather chaotic! The teacher, Doreen, kept control of the situation, and remained a calm presence in the room.
It was then time for lunch. We had nshima, which is a Zambian delicacy, as well as beef and cabbage. We ate our lunch with the school teachers, and it was really interesting to learn more about them.
After lunch, we had the opportunity to interview the school director and pastor, Cephas, in addition to two of the school chefs. We learnt more about them individually, in addition to Zambian life and community in general. The experience was so interesting, and we were bound speechless when Cephas told us that he walks an hour and a half to Kawama School from his home. He also explained that the community mentality towards education has been improving over the past few years, as the Kawama community are beginning to truly admire the work which the school is doing to contribute to the village.
Finally, we finished the day with the Grade 7 class. We covered part of their curriculum by teaching them how to sew fabric strawberries. To the great amusement of everyone, both Miss Parkes and Amber accidentally pulled the drawstring of Josephine’s and Annie’s strawberries out (due to an absence of a knot at the end of a string), highlighting how, although we were helping with the task, we were also very much a hindrance. Although some of the pupils struggled, their resilience shone through once again, and they all managed to successfully complete the task.