The summer of 2016 started with ambitious plans for Matandani. The project has grown in strength from the previous summer, resulting in 10 new volunteers and a successful fundraising drive. The new volunteers arrived at Matandani and were eager to get straight in to one of the many projects identified for the summer.
The Scoil Bhride Gang All the Volunteers Together
The jobs that have got under way are;
- Construction of new toilet blocks including flushing toilets
- Connecting the classrooms to water to allow the students drink and to wash their hands in class
- Understanding the curriculum to help provide new teaching resources
- Painting the classrooms and windows, generally making the classrooms brighter and more inspirational
- Creating a first aid kit cupboard
- Installing netball posts and improving the netball pitch
With up to 180 students in a class, it is a challenge for the teachers and a very different learning environment that the teachers from Ireland were used to teaching in. Teachers from Matandani have paired with teachers from Ireland in order to share their knowledge and to understand how best we can assist them in creating successful learning environments.
This year’s emphasis is on working with the teachers to understand how to make the school a positive and engaging learning environment. The main project for 2016 is to connect each of the school classrooms to water, building new toilets for the children and improve the connection to electricity to facilitate wifi for learning and communication. Thanks to the many kind donations, the school now has it’s own A3 printer, a second projector and numerous laptops. This provides access to further resources for the teachers, and will open Matandani to a wealth of information.
The last day of school brought the annual teachers versus students netball and football match. The girls who look so quiet and gentle, turned into ‘dodgeball esque’ throwing athletes on the pitch, and it was a very tough match. The score was neck and neck for the match, but a last minute goal gave the teachers a well fought win. Unknown to the non netball playing Irish teachers, Malawi apparently competes at a top worldwide level in netball, and it shows! The girls leapt around the pitch with speed, accuracy and excellent timing and showed amazing skill. The boys however got their own back on the teachers in the football, and beat them 1 nil.
With so much progress already seen in 2 weeks it is an exciting time at the school and we can’t wait to see what will be achieved in this summer! More updates will follow….
