Peace Corps: Goal 1

I was recently talking to my brother, Alex, on Skype and he said something like “Laura, you talk about travelling, activities, and other shenanigans, but how is the actual work going? How is teaching?” I think my first reaction may have been laughter but it did get me thinking about the work I do at my school, and more specifically, my lack of reporting about it on this here blog.

My official Peace Corps title is Primary School English Teacher Trainer. The idea is that if I work with teachers and improve their English and methodologies, that will trickle down to the students. In theory, I will have a wider reach teaching teachers than simply teaching a few classes of students. Peace Corps’ main goal is sustainability- my work should continue even when I am gone.

While this all sounds great, it does not work perfectly in practice. Already overworked teachers are not always motivated to do extra work when there is no tangible incentive. Furthermore, most of my teachers have other roles and responsibilities once they finish their day teaching. At first this was frustrating, but eventually I learned to respect the decisions these people have to make. If the choice is, come to my training or go cook dinner for your five children/work a second job to provide money for food, I’d expect their highest priority to be their family’s well-being every time.

The result of these circumstances is that I am not able to do as much work as I would like. But the work I do complete, I enjoy. A great example of this is a program my Ethiopian counterpart and I have started at my school called Grassroots Soccer. The program uses soccer as a vessel to teach students about HIV and its prevention. We are only halfway through the eleven sessions, but the students seem to be truly enjoying it. For me, one of my favorite parts has been to watch my counterpart begin to take the lead and become more confident in delivering the lessons. He has been able to lead discussions and talk with students about subjects normally not discussed in Ethiopian classrooms.

I brought my camera to a few sessions and here are some examples of the type of lesson in the Grassroots Soccer program:

The contract all student have to sign to participate in the program. Since sensitive topics are often discussed, it is important to have a safe environment where everyone feels comfortable sharing. Also, students are expected to go home and tell their family and friends some of the things they have learned. 

 In groups of 2-3, students had to decide if a statement was true or false. There are many misconceptions about HIV and this activity helped to get students thinking critically about things they hear, instead of blindly believing it.

 The papers in front of the students represent common risks for contracting HIV, "sex with older partners", "not using a condom", etc. Students had to dribble the soccer ball around the obstacle with certain consequences for hitting one. These consequences impacted themselves, their teammates, and everyone in the program.

Not only did this exercise teach students risks for getting HIV, but it put the impact of the virus into perspective. Your family, friends, and community are affected if you get HIV.

 My counterpart, Solomon, lead a discussion about the importance of being mutually faithful with your partner. The discussion took an interesting turn when a female student commented that being faithful never really works because how can you fully trust your partner? Without missing a beat, Solomon began discussing power dynamics in a relationship and whether or not you should really be with someone you cannot trust.