Recently, the Lord has blessed me with the chance to work at
a nearby teachers’ college. Called
the Kotobi Institute for Teaching Education (KITE), it was founded only a few
years ago with the help of the Mundri Relief and Development Association (MRDA)
and some generous outside donors.
The campus consists of teachers’ and students’ living quarters, a dining
hall, and about 8 large school rooms.
World Harvest has been involved with the college through part time
teaching of the students here.
Ever since I arrived in Mundri, I’ve been yearning to get involved. God has been good to open doors for me
to teach there on Fridays. (One open door being the ability to drive stick
shift!!)
This past Friday was my first day in the classroom. The students and other professors were
all extremely gracious towards me, as I wrote with my scribbly handwriting and
spoke with my incomprehensibly fast English. This particular day, I simply reviewed the parts of speech
and gave examples of common grammatical mistakes. The students eagerly listened to my examples and had many
insightful questions themselves.
It reminded me of how inconsistent the English language can be and how
dependent we English speakers are on the context and on our own cultural experiences. It is always a joy to teach grammar, but
I’m happy to say that I will be focusing on literary elements next month. Plot, theme, symbolism, and metaphor,
here I come!
What makes me even more excited about teaching literature is
teaching it to teachers, modeling for
them ways to make reading fun and interactive in their own future
classrooms. I understand that many
of the popular American teaching methods are not practical in an African
setting, but I’m eager to pull out a few fun “tools” from my proverbial
teacher’s toolbox. Next week, the 95
students at Kotobi will begin their student teaching placements at various
primary schools in Mundri. I’m so
excited to be working with them through this process, as my own student
teaching experience (with all of its stress and excitement) is still fresh in
my memory. I may even get a chance
to observe them in the classroom, making note of their strengths and weaknesses
as teachers. It is extremely
humbling to think that I may soon be observing other teachers, when I feel that
I have so much to improve on as a teacher. I just have to hold to the truth that God uses all everyone,
regardless of his/her abilities, to work for good according to His purpose.
After morning classes, the professors and Melissa and I met
together to eat a delicious meal of savory stew, greens, and rice, while discussing
our frustrations with education.
We both vented over teacher pay, high teacher turnover rate, and
disrespect with students. However,
the main concern was over the future of S. Sudanese education, when the government
spends the majority of its money on its military endeavors (also a relatable
issue in America). Whatever small
amount is left over ends up getting eaten by corrupt, high-ranking
officials. The government is three
months behind in paying its teachers, while community development organizations
like MRDA have no money left.
Wisdom and Justin, two of the head masters at KITE, expressed their
worry over the future of the teachers’ college. They are beginning to send their KITE students out into the
community to fundraise, literally going from compound to compound asking for
money. They hope that these newly
acquired funds can go towards a revenue-generating project that can sustain the
campus for years to come.
It would be easy to become overwhelmed by the obstacles
facing educators in S. Sudan.
Poverty and corruption really are a way of life here. However, God has been giving me small
glimpses of hope in my time here in Mundri. South Sudan’s independence has given its people a renewed
sense of ownership in their education.
Many young leaders are stepping up and looking for effective ways to bless
their communities—and they are doing it with the joy and zeal that comes from
the Holy Spirit.
Side Note: Melissa and I have been brainstorming ways to
bless KITE this Christmas. We will
either set up a way to donate to the college or we will collect books for the
school’s library. Stay posted for
updates on that.
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