Wednesday, March 30 – Day 19
My morning (standard): Wake up at 5:30 AM. Head up to the orphanage & attempt to help the little ones get ready. Carry Beauty + Godwyn to school (Beauty on my back, Godwyn held in front). Wait for the bus with the kids + other volunteers. Return home for breakfast. Go to a Catholic school meeting (happily brief) with Emily + Sarah. Nap for 2 hours. Review pictures from this week. Practice ukelele songs with Niki + Sophie. Eat lunch.
This gets us up to about 2:30 PM. Life is good here.
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| The volunteer house, where there exist many productive naps. The volunteer house, the old volunteer house, and the chief's house are the only three gated properties in Dodowa. Disparities abound in many instances between international volunteers and the communities they seek to serve. |
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I spent my afternoon and evening working with Stephen and Famous, both of whom Marilyn sent my way, on math(s). The day before their exam – all Word of Faith kids have math and ICT (Integrated Computer Technology) exams tomorrow – is not the optimal time to study, but both got some good practice time in on subject-specific problems. Stephen even had a couple of memory breakthroughs, including remembering how to “borrow” numbers during subtraction. Stephen is in form 6 (6th grade) and Famous in form 5 so there was a lot of big multiplication and small division along with a good dose of decimals, fractions, and percentages. Their fundamentals are weak enough that even 6x8 (or 6+8) can be a hard-fought battle, but focus was high so productivity was achieved.
George, unfortunately, decided to forgo even the smallest modicum of maths in favor of ICT, but 18-year-old boys often make such decisions. It’s a cross-cultural teenager trait. Emit, on the other hand, joined our study table for an hour in the evening at the referral of Sophie. He tries to hide his work so he can never be caught making a mistake, but sharply corrects the inevitable errors (learning is a messy process filled with imperfection) and has fairly solid fundamentals.
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| George (left) - not studying - with his then-15-year-old brother Bismark. George and Bismark had major roles in discipline and shaping the orphanage culture. Their younger brother, age 13, is also at the orphanage. They hoped that their mother might have the money (a few dollars) to bring them up north to visit for the summer school holidays. |
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