Teaching

Eish, writing this post I feel I owe an apology to all the teachers that I gave a hard time to during secondary school. Alot of work goes into planning a good lesson so it can become quickly frustrating when the boys are either disinterested or are to busy messing around to do the work. But I would be lying if I said I didnt expect the first months to be a challenge. The boys are testing us to see where the line is and they are quickly finding it.

Classroom managment asside I do genuienly enjoy teaching, I teach 6 lessons a week in science whilst Tim teaches maths. Neither of us will claim to be fully qualified teachers, but we do our best. We are only teaching at a very basic level. The hardest part is trying to get the boys to understand the English as many of them only really speak Setswana.

Teaching at Bana Ba Metsi only lasts from 8 until 12, short hours. The setup at Bana Ba Metsi is very different to the majority of other schools in Botswana. There is not so much a huge expectation on grades, but rather on rehabilitation to allow the boys who often come from very troubled pasts to be able to find work when they leave or (hopefully) move onto secondary school. 

Outside of the classroom we are quickly bonding with the boys, we seem to be the happy medium between classmates and teachers. They can talk to us like friends which they simply cant with the teachers but also they can look up to us as role models (we hope). 

Twice a week on Tuesdays and Thursdays we have sports, the boys have the choice of Rugby, Volleyball, Table tennis, Chess, Football or art. I have somehow managed to blag my way into the role of football coach, call me Sir Alex. This mainly involves picking teams and organising matches, so far the boys seem to coach themselves. So nothing I can't handle...

As of the 13th we are in Maun for our 2 day rest, so il keep you posted. 

Also, as promised, pictures of our digs; 

First Day's of Term

By the time your reading this we will actually be a full month into term, however the first two days were so eventful I couldnt help but write about them. 

In order to get to Bana Ba Metsi we must drive north from Maun for 6 hours along a very poor stretch of road, before crossing the river and travelling about 40k back south to Bana Ba Metsi. Adding into the equation one three ton truck full of luggage (which me and Tim drove) and one 5 ton truck filled with 50 or so restless students. As bad as it may sound it was actually fairly enjoyable. By the time we arrived at Bana Ba Metsi there was little to do other then eat and sleep.

We woke up early in order the next day in order to get breakfast, I may not be so quick next time as The soft porridge (made from maze) is not the nicest of meals, and thats being kind. But beggars can't be choosers and foods food. We we're formally welcomed to the school at assembly before the whole school was given its list of duties. The first day of term is a cleaning day, the boys clean the dorms, classrooms, TV area, de-weed the gardens and collect any litter left lying around. Surprisingly, the list of cleaning which was supposed to take 3 hours only took around 30 minutes, so the majority of the day was spent playing football.

Many of the Boys are very sporty, which is a fantastic way of bonding and getting to know the boys, football knows no language barriers. It seems easier to gain their trust and respect by running around all day kicking a football then failing to converse with them in Setswana. Im sure for the first couple of months I will be working hard to gain their respect but I know in time this will come. 

In the afternoons we take on manual work, today we were sent to collect firewood. Me, Tim and a teacher rounded up a half dozen boys and took the truck a few kilometres into the bush. It became clear very quickly that we were both amateurs at picking decent wood, however it dosent take Einstein to use and axe. 

At the start of each term it is somewhat the norm to slaughter a goat, as it is fairly cheap in the long run and provides alot of good meat. Me and Tim headed over to our colleagues house to firstly kill, then butcher the goat. Coming from my uber comfortable life back in Stevenage I have never killed nor witnessed first hand the death of the meat I consume. Little did I know that we did not have the simple task of killing it straight away as we'd have to catch it first, the goat had broken free from its rope and was making a break for it! We ran around like fools trying to catch this goat in a fairly small garden, before the goat decided he'd take his chances on the school football pitch. Luckily the boys were on hand to round it up for us. The goat knew he was in for it, so was less then happy to be dragged back to his post. For my over sensitive friends, the goat did not suffer, and tasted delicious. 

I have so much more to write about but I do not wish to bore you all to death, I shall save the rest for future posts. Im still in shock that this is only my first week, it has been so eventful and I have a year left ..

Until the next time 

Heading to Project

This Friday we left Maun to travel to our Project, Bana Ba Metsi. It was a very long drive, along a very straight road which seemed endless at times. In many places the quality of road was quite poor, I thought we had bad  potholes in the UK, I now cant figure out what i was complaining about! But still, it added to the experience and kept us on our toes throughout the 8 hour drive to Shakawe.

When we finally arrived at Shakawe we stopped at a local shop to load on meat and other foods onto the truck before we headed to the ferry to cross the river. However there turned out to be a small hole in our plans, the ferry had broken down.

This meant we were unable to cross that night and head to our Project, only a minor calamity. Fortunetly our Project director, Peter, had friends in the local area and we managed to stay at theres for the night. Another spectacular sunset followed, and we are told they will only get better as summer rolls around.

One thing I cant forget to mention is the sky at night, I've never seen anything like it before in my life. The milky way is appropriately named, it is genuinely as if someone has poured a splash of milk across the sky. If only I had a decent enough camera to pick it up. 

The next morning we set off to the ferry which had thankfully been fixed, from there it was only another 40 k to our Project which me and Tim spent sat out on the back of the truck.

After yet more bumpy road and plenty of sun we arrived at Bana Ba Metsi, there is everything there you could need to run an effective school of this kind, classrooms, a rec room, kitchen/ diner, decent accomodation, swimming pool, a football pitch for down time and so on. I think I will fit in well here and I'm excited to start working with boys when term starts next Tuesday. 

We are currently back in Maun after a long drive last night, it is very dangerous to drive at night as many of the animals such as cattle gather on the warm tarmac after sun down. It is increddibly difficult to spot them but when needs must..

I'm not sure when I will be able to post next as I will have no Internet at Bana Ba Metsi, but I will publicise when I do.

So until the next time, Baroko (To say this you need to be able to roll your R's or you will be laughed at!) 

This blog is a personal blog written by Alex Howard-Dobson and does not express the veiws of Project Trust. I give permission for any of the content used in the blog to be shared.

Thoughts on arrival

So after a very long time in transet from heathrow to Joburg, Joburg to Gabarone & Gabarone to Maun we are finally here. Its still a very surreal experience and I still cant quite comprehend that I will be here for a year. Stepping off the plane in maun the heat hit us like a punch in the face, 35 degrees and this is only the start! Its only going to go up from here.

We spent our first night in a local backpackers called 'The Old Bridge'. A very beautiful place, right on the water, admire the view;

For our first day in botswana we spent are time collecting supplys for the school, tomorrow we head to shkawee and onto our project, I'm overly excited to throw myself into the Project and help in anyway I can. It is doughtful whether I will post again in the coming weeks but I'll try keep this as updated as possible. 

Until the next time, boroko (goodnight) ✌️

Hopes and fears

So the day has come, after many hours of worry over whether or not i'd make it this far I am finally sat in the airport waiting to depart. It has been a very surreal experience to say the least and I still can't quite believe it is finally happening.

This is the first of hopefully many blog posts so please bare with me as I settle in. As much as I wish to keep everyone posted with regular updates they may come few and far between due to the level of technology that will exist around me. 

For our Project me and my partner Tim will be stationed amidst the Okovango delta in Botswana working in a boys home named 'bana ba metsi' (translation; children of the river). In the mornings we will be teaching primary level subjects such as Science and Maths to boys aged between 13 and 20. Many of the boys have a poor grasp of education whether it be due to family circumstances or the lack of availability in their area. In the afternoons we will be involved a range of activitys such as swimming, movie nights and basic construction. 

For now this is where I will sign off, I will keep you posted with more details as and when I discover them. Also a final thankyou to all those who have helped me to reach this point, whether it be through extremely generous donations or helping me organsie events, I couldnt of done it without all of you.

Hopefully by the next time I post I will know how to say goodbye in Setswana, you can't have a good blog without a corny sign off. 

But for now, 

Peace out ✌️

Follow me on instagram for photos; @alexdobson_

This is a personal blog written by; Alex Howard-Dobson. The veiws expressed within it are those of the writer and not of Project Trust.

I give my express permission to all those that read this blog to use any of the content posted.