James & Matt in Cape Town, South Africa: Our Last Week

Our last week in Cape Town was definitely one to remember. We were present at three of the computer teaching classes. It’s amazing to think that three weeks ago the students didn’t even know how to turn a laptop on, yet now they’re formatting documents in ‘Microsoft Word’ and have dramatically improved their typing skills. We wish all the students the best in the future and we’re gutted that we won’t be there to see their further progress.

 

We spent time in the office with Mama Nobuntu and her team and helped them further to become more organised with the running of Ikhaya Labantu, giving them some administrative ideas and further help with their computers. It was a great feeling to be present at the shelter on Monday, Nelson Mandela Day, and to see everyone arrive who wants to help towards Ikhaya Labantu. You can see how grateful Mama Nobuntu is for every bit of help she receives. 

We made a special effort to see more of the children at the Crèche this week. On Thursday we, along with Erik, spent the day with them and tried to teach them new skills and help the teacher to keep these going. Erik thought of clever activities to get them to follow instructions better and to understand how to behave when they are at the Crèche. When we went to visit them the next day it was just brilliant to see them sat down quietly behaving and listening to the teacher’s instructions, until of course they saw us and the quietness was shattered! 

 

They truly are such special children and it’s been amazing to show them the attention and love that they deserve. We’ve already been asked what our ‘best part’ of South Africa was, and we both agreed that it is definitely the children and seeing the happiness we could bring to them. We miss all of them so much already. 

The activities haven’t stopped this week either as we continued to discover that you really can do anything in Cape Town. We went tobogganing, visited the aquarium, went on the helicopter tour, travelled by speedboat and took part in an African drumming class and meal. On Tuesday we had a fantastic meal at Sieraaj’s house with his lovely family and would like to thank them all, especially Tanya and her amazing cooking skills. To end our time in Cape Town (and to make sure we could sleep on the flight home) we went wine tasting in the Winelands on Saturday, with Erik, Ronel and Sieraaj. It was, as usual, a great deal of fun and the laughter didn’t stop. It was the perfect way to round off our experience. 

We are sincerely grateful for the unforgettable experience we’ve had and would like to thank everyone that made us feel so welcome and made it the best three weeks of both of our lives. All the memories will be cherished from Erik and Ronel’s warmth and kindness right down to Sieraaj’s crazy driving! We truly do appreciate all the effort everyone put in for us! Now, we just can’t wait to find ways that we can help towards the Pearson Foundation and most importantly, to plan our next trip back to Cape Town…. 

Tinga Tinga Tales ECD Programme, Tanzania

 

WeGiveBooks, Puffin Books, Tiger Aspect Productions, Classic Media, and The Pearson Foundation (whew!) are conducting ECD Training with 90 teachers in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania. Thirty teachers have been trained every day. The training is for in primary school teachers across Dar es Salaam, Tanzania.  

Using TingaTinga Tales books, participants learn about different teaching methods emphasizing Early and Emergent literacy. As we know, learning is not based on only reading books. The use of drawn images, dancing and singing are all a part of learning. 

During the training, the teachers have been taught how to use simple tools to make learning materials. There are so many things just lying around on the streets like paper and plastic products and all of these things can be used to create teaching tools. Upendo Maeda from the Bunge Primary School says, “The recycling of materials can reduce the environmental pollution in a city like Dar es Salaam. Every time I make the budget for my class the head teacher tells me that we don’t have money to buy the teaching materials. Now, after this training,I can make my own tools using simple materials.” “This program is very good for the teachersin rural areas where there are no teaching tools,” said Eliaich Mosha from the Tungi Primary School.

The teachers have been given a classroom set of TingaTinga Tales books from the “We Give Books”programme which provides books as the result of people reading books online. For more information, please visit www.wegivebooks.org. The TingaTinga Tales books tell African animal origin stories like why Elephant has a trunk and why Monkey swings from trees.

Mr. Clarence Mwinuka, coordinator of Early Childhood Development (ECD) at the Ministry of Education, visited the workshop. Mr. Mwinuka said that the government is working hard to improve teachers’ skills in Tanzania. “We have a plan based on improving ECD, but we are very happy to see how the private sector can help. The Ministry of Education is always open to companies assisting us in the schools,” he said. 

After the training each participant will train five additional teachers, who will also be given TingaTinga Tales books, teacher training materials and a CD containing TingaTinga Tales shows in both English and Swahili. These materials will be used by participants during their own ECD trainings back in their home districts.

by Isack Nyasilu

Tinga Tinga, Tanzania: Sarafina: “This is my year. I’m going to produce the best students”

Tanzania has been without formal preschool in Government schools for a long time and was mainly dominated by expensive, private owned Kindergartens in low density suburbs and close to the city centre. This was out of reach of the majority who resided in high density suburbs and locations. Kids were being enrolled into standard one without ever attending preschool. The impact was very heavy upon the early learning teachers.


Untrained housewives and retired teachers who had the means and especially property, saw it fit to capitalize on the situation. They stated to form backyard preschools. These types of schools sprouted throughout the locations. Tenants got moved out of houses to pave way for a classroom. Parents who had these young kids fell in for the trap and they enrolled their kids. Instead of improving on the situation, it still had a very big negative impact on the kids when they started standard one. Their level of understanding was way below the expected entry level. Teachers of standard one still had a huge task to bring the kids up to a better level.

That being the fact and the community in general being ignorant of the issue, the Ministry of Education and some schools made it mandatory that, unless a student attends a preschool class at a formal primary school, enrolling that kid to standard one would be unacceptable. One such school was Kimara Baruti Primary school in Kimara. They started the preschool class in 2004.

The school engaged the services of one Sarafina Jesta in 2007 and she has been teaching this class since then. The average number of students in the class then was around 40. Since last year though, her class enrollment soared up to 60 students and 65 students this year. Her involvement in teaching preschool made it easy for the standard one teacher. Hers is the only class at the school and she is faced with a class consisting of kids who are aged from 3 to 6 years all in one sitting. Their level of understanding is very different and everyday she is faced with kids, some who are still fit babysitting and some who are almost ready for Standard one enrollment.

For her, it’s a common feature to have some very young kids falling asleep during a lesson due to their young age whilst others are fighting for a place to sit on or for a color pencil to use in a drawing. Sarafina has to do with almost no resources at all. She has no textbooks or even reading books to help her students. At one time she resorted to the use of posters in her class but the non availability of windows on most classrooms made it very easy for vandalism to take place. Posters where pulled down and torn apart or simply taken away and burnt. It’s this kind of situation that makes her a teacher she is – make do with whatever is there.

Sarafina attended the Tinga Tinga workshop held in Dar Es Salaam and out of the workshop she, just like all the other attendees, walked away with a set of Tinga Tinga tales books. She has put the books to maximum use in her class since it’s the first time in her career when her students have had a reading book per person. Kid’s faces lit up with excitement as they went over the pages of the book fascinated by the colorful drawings. Since receiving these books, Sarafina says everyday she is looking forward to being in class with her students whom she reads for and they dramatize the Tinga Tinga Tales stories together. All she could say was, “This is my year. I’m going to produce the best students”.

by Charles Nyembe

James & Matt in Cape Town, South Africa: The ‘IS IT’ Weekend

The weekend began with a Safari trip in Inverdoorn. It was an early start and a long drive, but it truly was worth it. We saw a great deal of wildlife including buffalos, lions, cheetahs, zebras and we were even lucky enough to walk with the giraffes. In the evening we met Kulsoom, a friend of Erik and Ronel’s and employee of Nokia, and the five of us went for a meal at ‘The Opal Lounge’ in the city. It was a delicious meal and yet again another great night with plenty of jokes and laughter, but whatever you do, don’t ever let Erik ask you to solve any of his riddles!

On the Sunday we visited Cape Point with the same company as the night before. We took the scenic walk and saw some beautiful sights; thankfully the walk wasn’t as treacherous as the Lion’s head walk Erik took us up last week! Next it was time for us (or rather the ‘Blokes on Patrol’) to see the Jackass Penguins at Simon’s Town. It was a great deal of fun as we filmed a documentary with Erik sharing all of our wisdom on the penguins and we can’t wait to finally see his film editing skills for ourselves. In the evening it was a pleasure to meet Fatima, the CEO of Pearson South Africa, and to enjoy a lovely meal in Camp’s Bay, with the sunset in the background, to round the weekend off.

Everyone is making us feel so welcome and it’s going to be really difficult to say goodbye to such a brilliant place with so many warm and hospitable people!

James & Matt in Cape Town, South Africa: All Work No Play….

We have had an amazing second week in Cape Town. We’ve had three computer teaching classes this week and the improvement is becoming apparent in all the students. They’ve become far more independent with the exercises and are completing them a great deal faster. The commitment they’re showing is wonderful and we’re honoured to be part of such a great programme.

We have spent time in the office at Ikaya Labuntu this week trying to help the team become more efficient with the aid of computers. It was such a joy to see that we could make a difference and to see Mama Nobuntu’s beaming smile as we taught her computer basics and set up her own personal email account. Later on in the week we created a brochure for the shelter, which will hopefully achieve an increase in donations and general recognition.

As well as seeing the children that we saw last week, we also got the opportunity to spend time with the younger children aged 1-3 years old. We had so much fun with all the children and had the privilege of donating knitted hats, made by Shelley and friends, to the children to keep them warm during the winter. The children are constantly smiling at the crèche; it really is making a positive impact on their lives and seeing the kids is something we’re going to miss hugely.

During our free time the fun hasn’t stopped. During the weekdays we visited Robben Island, Ratanga Junction theme park, went go karting, went to a hilarious comedy night on Long Street and have finally experienced a traditional Braai (a BBQ to us). We also went paragliding which was an amazing experience and the view we saw of Camp’s Bay was stunning. On Friday night we went to Mariam’s daughter’s engagement party with Ronel, it was fascinating to witness the works of a culture we are pretty alien to so we were anxious at first, however we ended up having a great night and would like to thank Mariam and all her family for inviting us and making us feel so welcome.

 

We have been so fortunate in all the activities we’ve been able to experience in Cape Town and we can’t thank the team enough for making this possible. We can’t wait to make the most of our last week and will be extremely sad to leave this place!

James & Matt in Cape Town, South Africa: Our First Weekend

On Friday night we finally got to meet Erik and Isaac as we all went for a meal along with Ronél. It was a pleasure to meet them both and hear all about their trip to Geneva. Isaac’s heart-warming story really shows just how much the Pearson Foundation is achieving; 4 years ago Isaac couldn’t use a computer and now he’s given a talk to the UN! The atmosphere was great; good food, good chat, good company!

The next day it was time for shark cage diving with Ronél. It truly was an amazing experience. The boat took us 15 minutes away from the shore, close to Hermanus, and then bait was thrown into the sea to attract the sharks. 4 people at a time climb into a cage attached to the side of the boat, so we could go underwater and see the great white sharks up close. Fortunately for us the weather was fantastic and it was like totally an awesome day like!

On Sunday we were up early to climb ‘Lion’s Head’ Mountain with Erik and Ronel. Who’d have thought it would be scarier than shark cage diving! After an hour and a half it sure did feel like an achievement to reach the top and see the breathtaking views. Erik departed for Morocco, however Ronél and ourselves then went to eat in Blouberg and eventually, spontaneously ended up going quad biking! Yet another brilliant experience that we must repeat with Erik. To top the whole weekend off it was then time for ice cream and to lie on the beach at Blouberg in the scorching weather…. and apparently it is meant to be winter here!!

We’re enjoying our time here so much and we’d really like to thank the team for making us feel so welcome and helping us have such a great life changing experience.

James & Matt in Cape Town, South Africa: All Settled In

After our first couple of days we finally got to meet with Mariam, which we’d heard was going to be an experience in itself with her upbeat and positive attitude, and she certainly lived up to our expectations! She made us feel so comfortable and welcome and there was never a dull moment. We met her at ‘Grass Roots’ which is a teaching development centre; it’s a wonderful place which will strongly improve the teaching quality for children. Although we were outnumbered by around 20 eccentric female teachers, they all treated us like one of them and we learned a great deal about how to communicate with the children through puzzles and block building and how to nurture the children’s skills.

The next day we were involved in the computer lessons again which are coming along very well. Nolwazi really is making a difference to their lives and it’s a privilege to be involved with something going towards such a good cause. Later that day we had the opportunity and pleasure of meeting Claudia Regnart, of Pearson Southern Africa. It was fascinating to find out how the business side works and how Pearson Foundations came to be.

In our spare time we’re enjoying the local gym and we went up Table Mountain (in the cable car, we couldn’t survive walking!) which exposed us to some breathtaking views. On the Thursday we got to spend time with the children at Ikaya Labuntu and use our newfound skills courtesy of Mariam. The kids are filled with so much joy and we had loads of fun despite the language barrier, of which we soon found ways of communication. The creches, thanks to Mama Nabunto, the team and the donations, are making a huge difference to the children’s lives.

We’re looking forward to reuniting with Ronel, finally meeting up with Erik, who we already have so much to thank for, and Isaac after their trip to Geneva!

By James Freestone & Matt Johnson.

Erik and Isack with UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon

 



















Time to leave Geneva after a really great day for Pearson and the Pearson Foundation. Isack set up a lunch meeting with the Minister of Education for Tanzania and we had a great talk. I also spoke to the Minister of Education for Kenya. Ban Ki-moon came through the booths and basically just shook hands and moved on. But, Isack and I kept him at our booth for a long time! He seemed very interested and we were the only to happy.

PPT: Best practices of Emergent Literacy workshop

Mtwara is one of 25 regions in Tanzania. It is in Southern Tanzania and quite close to the border with Mozambique. Its city centre is close the Indian ocean. Unlike Dar es Salaam, it is a sparsely populated area.

The Pearson Foundation team was in Mtwara facilitating a programme that aimed to integrate best practices of emergent literacy into primary schools.

One of these teachers, Dyonita Kapinga, was born in Mtwara and raised in this rural village. She studied very hard and after finishing school, decided to head to the big city of Dar es Salaam to practise her new profession.

She is a mathematics teacher for grade 1-4 at Naliendele Primary School. It has now been more than ten years since her last teaching assignment. As a result, she attended the workshop and offers these insights as the most important issues facing teachers in Tanzania:

- Lack of books in the classroom
- Over-population of students in the classroom
- Difficulty of teaching English when most people speak KiSwahili as the primary language

She sincerely hopes that upon completion of this programme, her life (and the lives of her students) will be much easier.

by Hassan Kassim

James & Matt in Cape Town, South Africa: Our first days

We arrived in Cape Town on Sunday morning for three weeks volunteer work with the Pearson Foundation. It was raining, cold and we’d had no sleep during our eleven hour flight, but what better way to cheer you up than our driver for the next three weeks, Sieraaj. He showed us the sites quickly and then took us to our accommodation. In the afternoon we met the wonderful and very helpful Ronél who introduced us to more of the city.

Matt

James

On our second day we got to visit the Ikaya Labuntu Shelter and Creche. It was an absolute pleasure to meet Mama Nobunto, who runs the shelter and has been doing since it begun. Mama Nobunto is a wonderful lady with a big heart and her story of how the shelter came to be how it is today was both enchanting and awe-inspiring; it is amazing to see what she has achieved. We helped out at the computer teaching classes that are running three times a day, three times a week. The teacher, Nolwazi, is another incredible person to be in the company of; Nolwazi has no experience, but her teaching and enthusiasm came naturally and it was easily clear to see that her presence will greatly improve the skills of those taking part in the computer programme with her calmness, contagious laughter, yet controlled attitude!

So far we could not have asked for a better welcome to South Africa, and we could not be more thankful for such an opportunity to meet so many incredible people!

We can’t wait for the next few weeks and we hope to help the Foundation as much as we can! By James Freestone & Matt Johnson.

Geneva Day One: UN Education and Socio-economic Forum.

Isack and I flew from Cape Town to Paris, then to Geneva. We went to the United Nations Palais des Nations to set up the booth and get ready for the Forum starting the next day. After that we strolled through the lovely old village area and had a bite to eat after scaling the circular stairway up the towers of the cathedral.

This morning, we put on our suits and took the train to the UN. We met Euan and Alice and prepared to speak to delegates about the work both Pearson and the Pearson Foundation are doing globally. Dr. Asha-Rose Migiro was the first to stop by (with the press!) to speak to Isack and Alice. Isack knew her from Tanzania. She was a Ministry official there, but is now Deputy Secretary General of the UN (right under Ban Ki-moon). Isack was great! He greeted her in Swahili and she loved it. He then switched to English so that the press would know what he was saying. He and Alice tag-teamed it and Dr. Migiro was quite impressed. We spent the rest of the day meeting other delegates and talking about our work. A great first day.

by Erik Gregory