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Sorry guys but there will not be any updates this week. I am in Lusaka with the medical team, and we don't have access to the internet. I will be sure to still write and post date them. Have a great week!

The Numbers Lie

Here is a little piece I wrote the other day about the "progress" in the Zambian education sector.

To give you a better reality of the education situation in Zambia, I offer you a segment I call the truth behind the numbers. According to the Millennium Development Goals Progress Report 2008, Zambia is likely to meet Goal 2 in providing universal primary education. In my humble opinion, this will not be a reality. While Zambia has shown increases in two of the three indicators for this goal (percentage of children in school and grade seven completion percentage), the percentages for the third indicator, literacy rates, has decreased. How are we supposed to say that we are likely to meet the goal when a crucial indicator, literacy, is decreasing in the 15 to 24 age bracket? The government may counter that because more students are completing grade seven the literacy rates will increase.

But literacy rates will not increase if there are still inadequate facilities, lack of teacher training, and discrepancies in resource allocation. Even if the student “completes” grade seven, if they have learned nothing it is an absolute waste and will not help the literacy rates climb. The government is good at making claims of addressing these issues, but their action leaves much to be desired. As I have observed and read, the government policy statements are not being fulfilled. This is an issue of justice because the government is not lacking in their fulfillment of government schools promises, but they are lacking in their fulfillment of community schools promises. Again, the orphans and vulnerable children get the proverbial shaft because they can not afford to go to community schools. Don’t think that educational inequality is only present in Zambia. It is present in America as well. Look at the funding structures for public education or the concentration of quality teachers.

The reason that I write this post is because I just finished writing a letter to the Minister of Education inviting her to come and speak at our “Stand Up and Take Action Campaign” Event in October. I found another strong point in my argument, the literacy levels; therefore, I am excited about the prospect of this event and her participation. Please pray that the Minister of Education accepts our invitation to speak. Don’t worry I phrased the letter very kindly and did not express my true opinions of their lack of follow through. At the same time I told her that we are going to be having a celebration of Zambia’s accomplishments. It is only going to be a celebration with some truth telling thrown in. It should be fun.

Those issues really get me going. They are abusing the data to make themselves look good to the Western world. This is a two way street though because the Western world does not understand the system here and does not care to understand it. They only want to place expectations without getting their hands dirty. They also want success stories to make it look like their money is well spent. Those are some major stereotypes and generalizations I know. There are exceptions to the generalizations.

I step off my soapbox now. Sorry about the lack of updates recently. Expect a new post soon concerning life in general. Peace!

I just want to cook!

In other news, it has been three straight days with power outages starting at 5 p.m. every night. The power comes on again about 8 or 9 p.m. I don’t mind the no lights situation (I actually enjoy it), but it makes cooking difficult/ impossible. Lawrence said that last year this happened every night for five months. We will see what happens, but hopefully the trend does not continue.

The beginning of this week will be spent observing schools again, and then we have our first teacher training meeting on Wednesday at 2:30 p.m. This first meeting will entail introductions and going over our October schedule. The program is actually getting off the ground which is great.

On Thursday I will be traveling to Lusaka, the capital of Zambia. My father and his team from the states will be arriving on Friday in Lusaka. For a week they will be doing medical missions in one of the compounds of Lusaka. I will spend next week with them helping with their program. I am very excited to see my father, to spend time with the team, and to get American goodies for a week (like gatorade mix, yippeee!!!!).

First Week Reflections

Alright, I am done with my first full week of observations of schools. I will observe again next week, and then next Thursday will be our first training session. My plan is to have a one hour training session each Thursday. This first one will just focus on introductions and laying out the vision for the program that I have designed. I will get into the specifics of the program later, but basically I plan to develop the teacher's leadership skills so that those skills can be applied in the classroom to make academic gains. Developing leadership skills will also help in whatever life trajectories the teachers take. I will also be teaching best educational practices after we have set up a foundation of educational leadership. There is a lot to do, but I will describe the program more later.

As far as first week observations here are my initial impressions. I can handle all the children in one classroom because there are no other options. Yes, Patrick there is only one teacher in that class with 60 students. That was the significance of the shirt. There is a lot of wasted time. Just like in America, the education system still follows the culture, but here that is evident in the wasted time. Teachers sit and grade student work while the class just sits there. The work is mainly copying some activity off of the board. We are mostly working with the students having no books and the teachers only having one student book. Teaching is nonexistent in that in most classes there are no questions asked of the students or by the students. Reading done by the students is almost nonexistent in the schools. The student's job is basically just to sit there and copy off of the board while listening to the teacher. Most of the copying exercises don't even accomplish an objective. I apologize for the random thoughts, but hopefully that paints a better picture of education in this situation. I also apologize for the bleak picture. It is not all hopeless. The best teacher I saw runs a school by himself. It is he and 250 children. He has different classes come at different times during the day. He was actually asking the students questions and allowing them to think. I am really encouraged by him also because he wants to be the best teacher he can be and wants to provide a high quality education for the children. Peace until next time!

School Video

My sister-in-law Brittany asked a question on my last blog post. She asked if the children have summer vacation because summer is almost on us in Zambia. Zambian schools operate on a 3 months on and 1 month off schedule. It is year around school, and they change grades in January. Here is the video that I promised. It is of a first grade classroom. Yes, all of those students are in one class and yes, there is not much work being done in that class. On other notes it is getting hot here. The rainy season starts in November, but until then it gets hotter everyday. I really want a peaceful, cool, and windy Chicago fall day right now. It only feels natural, but it is not happening. Such is life though. Peace!

Ceremony and School Observations

Yesterday was the official opening of the Jubilee Centre’s Resource Center/ Conference Hall. There were festivities all day long and an opening ceremony in the afternoon. The Resource Center is located just behind the main office building. This week people from Willow Creek Church in Chicago are holding training sessions in the Resource Center. The Jubilee Centre has very close ties to Willow Creek. I have included a picture and a video of the ceremony for you. The video is of the whole crowd singing a praise song. I have no idea what the words mean. I just try to sing along. They could be singing the white man is evil for all I know. I have not gotten that impression yet though, so I think that I am safe.

I have also included pictures of the Mapalo Bread of Life School. To be honest some of what I saw today was worse than I expect. Disorganization abound in some classes, and at times it was hard to say that learning was taking place. At the same time there were also some classes with very attentive students doing their work. The work that they were doing is a different subject, but it was good to see some organization and care put into the instruction. All in all I saw good things and bad things today. I have much work ahead of me, but it is not insurmountable. I do have a video of the school, but it takes a while to download. I will be sure to post it later.

The Market and Burning

Well I wanted to post a couple of pictures today to give you a better idea of life in Zambia. I am sorry for the poor quality on the first picture but that is of the market in Kansenshi (the neighborhood in which I live). Now most of my shopping I do at the modern shopping complex but I buy my fruits and vegetables here. Inside the market are rows of wooden booths in which the women sit all day selling their home grown food. They all have fly swatters to keep away the bugs from the food. It is kinda fun buying your food there. It makes you feel like you are really living the life. The other shopping place where I buy most of my food is seriously just like an American shopping market. I mean don't get me wrong about the American shopping market. I love that for all that it is worth. Today I found Bertolli's Olive Oil, Kellogg's Rice Crispies, Miracle Whip, Coke Zero, Feta cheese, and the most recent Time magazine. To be honest if I did not go into the compounds I could lose track of the fact that I am in Africa. Life is definitely different, from the underdeveloped nature of the city to the different customs, but you can find a semblance of western culture in a city as large as Ndola.

The second picture is of the burn pile beside my house. Yes, I agree that it is dangerously close to my house, but that is for a different story. My house is where the bricks are on the left. If you have ever been to most underdeveloped parts of Africa, you know that the way to get rid of trash or anything else is to burn it. You either burn it in a big hole in your backyard or you burn it in the ditch in front of your house. Therefore, there is a constant smell of smoke whenever you drive around the city. It is not like a pleasant smell of a burning campfire, but instead it is a rather putrid burn. Those are just two characteristics of life in Zambia. In the coming weeks, hopefully I can bring you more tidbits like these to give you a better idea if you ever want to come live or visit. Peace!