Questions Answered

Like I said in my “A Day in the Life” post, I can get kind of caught up in the more out of the ordinary (for me) events and the normal things (well normal for me, not for you) can go by the wayside. This is why it is good to ask questions. Just a little prod in the right direction and I’ll start to remember that it wasn’t too long ago and this would have all been crazy to me. I can get kind of long winded, so I’ll spread them out over a few posts over a couple of days/weeks/whatever. Here we go:

What are some of your goals and do you think you will be able to achieve them?

I think a big reason Peace Corps Volunteers often become frustrated, unhappy, and even depressed is because they set their goals too high and expect too much from themselves. When they don’t reach all of their lofty, unrealistic goals they start having a tough time. I cam in with slightly lower expectations and what I think are more realistic goals (that are also constantly changing), which is why I think I am generally happier and dn’t have as many of those bad or frustrating days that plague so many PCVs. SO here is a short list of what I want to accomplish. (Just work related, nothing personal like go on safari or anything fin like that)

1) My main job here is as a teacher. Now maybe my school was expecting more from me (a fundraiser mostly), but this is what they got instead. I think I have the same goal as most teachers here do: to get my students to learn as much as possible and pass. There are two big tests in the High School/Secondary level (the Junior Certificate after Form C and the Cambridge Overseas Something Certificate after Form E). These are both standardized throughout the country and are super, super big deal here. Because of this, I have recently found out that not many PCVs teach in Form C or E their first year as they get adjusted to teaching in a new culture and country. There was more than one person who was amazed to find out I teach Form C Math and were less than envious of my position. I guess it never really occurred to me that the task could be daunting until that point. Either way, I believe I am the most qualified Math teacher at my school and give the students the best opportunity to pass. So this leads me to my first goal, to get as many of those 12 girls to pass math on the JC exam as possible. It is unrealistic to expect all to pass (even the other teachers have low expectations for this group), but if I got half to pass, I’d be extremely pleased with myself.
A more long term version of this goal, which I hope to be hear to see the results of, is my current Form B and their JC exam. The plan is already for me to loop with my classes (follow them to the next level, so since I teach Form B Math now, I would also teach them Math next year when they are in Form C). Overall they are better students and they will have a better base of knowledge from having me the previous year (they already surpass the Form Cs in several types of math). I really think I could all 13 to pass Math which would be extremely gratifying. My biggest worry though, is I have a lot of repeaters in Form B (students who failed out of Form B the previous year at different, better, more competitive schools). I am worried that if they do well this year, I will lose them to the bigger and better schools next year. I may fudge some grades to keep them.
So that is my big goal. Everything else is secondary and will not take precedence over it, nor should anything.

2) Donga Reclamation. Ever since the introduction of the plow, new irrigation and agriculture practices have been slowly destroying the environment here. One of these problems is the Donga. A donga is a trench caused by erosion from this farming and they criss-cross the landscape everywhere washing away valuable topsoil and clogging rivers with sediment. Because of the immediate and easily recognizable impact of the dongas, there is a real grassroots to prevent and “reclaim” them. The idea didn’t actually come from me, but from my counterpart – another teacher at my school who has a degree in agriculture – which pleases both me and Peace Corps (we both love the idea the community starting, running, and finishing a project with volunteer there to coordinate and help the process along). Another pro of donga reclamation – no money needed. Just physical labor in the winter months and lots of rocks – both of which there are an abundance of. The method itself is pretty simple – all you have to do is build a series of stone walls inside of the donga to catch silt that will eventually pile up and fill in the donga. We are currently in talks with the chief and community trying to choose a site and timeline.

3) Library. With the closing of the African Library Project (see previous post), which I totally understand and agree with, by the way. This one has been put on the shelf. We are looking at alternative ways of getting books here, but it is a work in project and I don’t hold out hope for my little, falling-to-pieces school of 39.

4) Trees. I have heard rumors that the government used to (and possibly still does) donate 100 trees if you dig 100 holes for them. There is a dearth of foliage in this country. Trees would help prevent the dongas and provide sanctuary in the hot summer. There used to be lots of trees here (as can be seen in the national parks), but almost all have been chopped down for wood since.

5) Paper Recycling. Another idea that was not mine, but is desired by the community. I am working on it. Considering trash pickup even in the cities is rare, I don’t hold out much hope for it. I would imagine it is going to cost money to ship out of here to where ever it goes – something not readily available. I would rather look into ways of compacting it to burn (right now it gets burned in the trash heap anyway, might as well use it for fuel).

So those of kind of my goals right now. I kind of stretched it with numbers 4 and 5. But like I said, it is something that is not static in my mind and is constantly changing.