This past week I have been at the annual vso education sector conference in Kigali. It has been a busy time of days from 8.30 until 5.30 and many debates and discussions about education in Rwanda have been had. We have put questions to people from UNICEF, the Rwandese inspectorate and USAID. We talked about the future of education in Rwanda with primary school kids, head teachers, teachers and TTC students and they had many interesting things to say about how they would like things to change.
When a little girl stood in front of us and said that she wanted clean toilets, food and water in school it really made me stop and think about all the things we take for granted in school in the UK. When I asked my kids in UK to draw their ideal school they drew swimming pools and fancy playground equipment. But here, all they want is toilets that don’t make them ill and not to feel hungry in class. Sometimes I think ‘its not that much to ask is it?’ and its quite upsetting that they don’t have these things that they so clearly deserve.
Most excitingly of all though for us TTC volunteers was the arrival of the new mango tree resources. We had great fun sorting them all into piles for us and the new TTC volunteers who will start in September. Mango tree are a company based in Kampala, Uganda who make educational materials out of junk such as old flip flops, rice sacks, bits of wood, jerry cans etc. We have a huge amount of stuff, I have no idea how I’m going to get it to my TTC as it would be totally impossible to get it all on the back of a motorbike! Here are some pictures of what we will have in our resource centres.
Further to this in true lastminute.com fashion I’ve been summoned to another conference about ICT at TTC Save where Lindsey works. It will be interesting to see another TTC. Just wish I’d had enough warning to go home to change my clothes!
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