Independence Day, JUNTOS and English Club

Things are going well here in Moz...I've got just 5 months left it's crazy, but I'm full-swing in the middle of the school year and have been keeping busy with work at site.

First, a HUGE THANK YOU to anyone who purchased a book for my English club/Literacy project...hopefully those books will be arriving in the next month or so and believe me, when they get here you will know! My english club is coming along great, every week a few more students show up and just last week I had 26 students, a new high! I've been trying to vary the activities we do every week to practice English but I am very excited to start the english literacy program next month, my students love to read! Here are some pictures from our meeting two weeks ago. I photocopied a reading passage from my textbook and had the students work in pairs reading the dialogue and answering questions. We had a discussion afterwards...

I meet with my students two days a week in the morning at our school library. The library has plenty of desks and chairs and as you can see in the picture behind the students on the left side is the window to room that stores books. One of the secretaries works there during the day so students can borrow textbooks to do work. That's also where the children's books will be safely storied.

These two girls are best friends, they always sit together and now they come to english club together! I caught one of them cheating last semester on a test and both of them actually failed the semester, but now they're trying to study and actually learn, its awesome!

As you can see the students are reading a photo-copied paper. It's a print out of a dialogue from my text books. Printing and making copies is fine for now but it does get expensive and isn't very sustainable, I'm excited to start using children's books (with pictures!) soon!

Second, Thelma and my JUNTOS group is slowly coming together. We've been meeting for the past 2 months and our group has decided to focus on journalism. So with a little help, they put together their first newsletter to educate people in the community about HIV/AIDS (See pictures below). We're hoping that they'll be able to prepare a newsletter each month about a different isssue or health problem in the community. They tried to include some designs or pictures to help educate people who are illiterate as well. Our plan is to display the newsletter around town (at school, in bars, in stores, at the market...etc) and also to present it at school. We've spent the past 2 months working on this specific newsletter and once we finished it last week and showed our students the final project they were so excited. Thelma and I are taking five of the group members to a training workshop in two weeks, where they will meet students/leaders from other JUNTOS groups in our province, and learn more about how they can help people in their community through education in the arts. Most students in JUNTOS (at other schools) are older, so Thelma and I are hoping our students aren't too shy at our meeting; we're really excited for them to see what JUNTOS can be because they all have so much potential and are already great leaders in the classroom...

Here's some photos of our newsletter-making process...

First we met and had a discussion about HIV/Aids. Thelma and I planned an activity and the following week we asked the students how they wanted to teach others. We picked and divided up topics (How you get AIDS, how to prevent HIV, how to live with HIV and common myths or incorrect ideas about HIV in their community). Then our students worked in pairs to write what they wanted included in each section.

The students also drew pictures to go along with each section. Here's some of their drawings for transmission and prevention. And yes those crayons were sent in a care package, thank you American University RPCVs!!!

And here's a picture of the final product that they will present at schools and distribute throughout the community!

The JUNTOS members who will attend our workshop in a few weeks! These students have come every week to our meetings and are actively encouraging their friends to participate as well!

The next newsletter will be about malaria.

Finally, last week, on July 25, we celebrated Mozambican Independence Day. The day marked the 39th year of independence for the country, which is pretty exciting! After Mozambique got independence in 1975, it entered a 17-year Civil War, which ended in 1992. Since 1992, the country's been relatively peaceful (the exception being the recent violence that's occurred in the past year and has been isolated in Sofala province). Independence Day is one of the most important holidays in Mozambique, so school was canceled and just about everyone finds a way to celebrate, whether that means buying a chicken to slaughter for the celebration or making a plate of beans (instead of eating plain xima) its an important day for every one regardless of their political party affiliation, or age. Thelma and I spent the morning in the praza with our colleagues and students, watching the political speeches and cultural performances, and then we spent the rest of the day with two of my absolute favorite people in Vanduzi, Simao and Derrek. These two are my English colleagues and also, very good friends here. We collaborate at school with our lessons, and work together with English Theatre and English Club, and they will also help me with the English Literacy Program once the books arrive. They're wonderful.

Here is everyone gathered in our town praca listening to the new governor of Vanduzi give a speech.

Community members getting ready to watch another cultural performance (song or dance).

Thelma and I with our school director.

When people dance everyone does what they can to get a good view of the performance! Ha if only it were acceptable for me to watch the performances from trees as well.

Thelma and I with one of our good friends Amandia. Amandia was new in Vamduzi this year and quickly befriended us. since January though she's really come out of her shell. She has plenty of friends at school and even gave her own signing performance on Independence Day...that says a lot for someone who used to be so shy and had no friends...needless to say Thelma and I were really proud of her!

and finally, here's a picture with dereck and Simao. Simao (on the left) will be studying in the states or europe next year depending if he gets a fullbright and Derreck will hopefully be joining him there too once he finishes his studies for his masters degree. These two are easily the most hard-working and motivated people I've met here and I reAlly hope they both make it to America at some point so they can meet all of you!!