Sunday, February 27, 2011

Home Visits

Today I went along on home visits to the homes of the Light of Hope Center girls. Each girl's family is visited. Next week there's a parent meeting with a gift for those who come on time. The center workers shared announcements with the families, checked on how they were doing, and prayed for them. One mom is behind in her rent again, and asked for help. Another mom was burned with cooking oil and asked for ointment. Another had prescriptions for glasses and need money to get them filled. The Light of Hope Center helps the families in many practical ways, but they also pray for the families, and provide a nurturing Christian environment for the girls.
 Lots of goats on the way as a part of an NGO's project to help the village.

 The only outhouse we saw.
 Two of the LOH girls whose families we visited.

 She's making poop sticks for fuel. She scoops up poop and smashes onto the sticks to dry.
 This is Jasmine's family.
 Many others came to see the white ladies. They asked to have their photos taken.
 The one n the middle goes to the center.
This is Shuma's mom, holding her grandchild.

Thursday, February 24, 2011

Documentary

The Day My God Died is the documentary the speaker showed last night. I found it on YouTube. The link is on the right. Warning! It is not light fare. It is heartbreaking. I am still processing all I heard and saw at last night's seminar. A whole new list of things to pray for. 

Wednesday, February 23, 2011

Human Trafficking Seminar

Is there a more sobering topic? The presenter, Anuradha Koirala, is one of the top ten recipients of the CNN Heroes Award for 2010. The statistics are staggering; the girls' stories are devastating. The damage is unbelievable. I didn't realize how many of the girls are actually sold by people they know -not their families. The families are told that the girls will be trained and given a job. The families are given the first year's salary. They are told their daughters will be well-cared for. Other girls are enticed by a family friends or someone they know. They are given a Pepsi or something to eat. The next thing they know, they are in a brothel.
Anuradha showed a film where some of the rescued girls shared their stories. Several of these are working hard to rescue girls from the brothels where they them selves had been held.
Anuradha sat down by me for a few minutes. I have so much admiration for the work she is doing. I think of the girls I am working with now. They are at risk for trafficking. Recently, one of the little girls was snatched. She screamed so much that others were able to get her back. The girls know they must always walk to and from the center in groups.
No one wants to acknowledge just how great the problem is. I hope you will watch the clips from the CNN program and some of the many clips available on YouTube. Only by being informed can we find ways that we can take a stand and do our part to put an end to human trafficking.
http://www.cnn.com/SPECIALS/cnn.heroes/archive10/anuradha.koirala.html
http://www.ijm.org/

Tuesday, February 22, 2011

Subbing at WCA

This week, I am a substitute teacher at a private Christian school where 80 % of the students are uslim. I am teaching English and reading for grades 2 and 3. What fun! The week started off with a special celebration for a national holiday. Two students performed a national dance as the teachers sang in their mother tongue.





 Class three.
 Class two.
I was so impressed with the size of the classrooms!
 I get to share His love all week with these precious kids.

Monday, February 21, 2011

New Books at Light Of Hope Center

Yesterday was a big day at the center as the girls got new donated text books. They were so excited! Below, the big girls are receiving their books.






Thursday, February 17, 2011

Visiting a Pre-School/Kindergarten

In preparation for presenting a training for the teachers of this pre-school/kindergarten, I have been doing some observations. The school is very impressive. Take a look!
Play School is a bit of a misnomer, as a lot of academic achievement goes on here. My educational philosophy is that learning should be fun. I found that to be true here, at least in the first three levels. KDG 2 is academically tough!
National language class. This is an English medium school, but the children receive daily instruction in the national language.
 Frobel has a wonderful playground -probably the best in the city.



 They have a small zoo as well with bunnies...
 ducks...
 doves and pigeons...
and an aviary full of different colorful birds.
 Painting with starch paint. This will be background paper for a pond scene.
 The nursery class (3.5 years to 4.5 years old) starts their day with what we would call centers. This is the number center where the child traces the numerals.
 Pound, pound, pound, roll, roll, roll the clay.
 Block center.
 Matching center.
 The students are learning about farm animals.
The focus letter of the week is "a." Play group classes (2.4 to 3.4 years old) learn 12 letter sounds, and nursery class learns the sounds of 26 letters.
 In the creativity room, the nursery students made foot prints.
 Each co-ordinating teacher has two teachers with her, and an aide to do all the messy work, and help with toileting needs, snack, snaps, buttons and zippers!
 The students review from their class big book.
 Puzzle time. Each table had different sets of puzzles.

 Kindergarten 1 class. Now they are at desks.

 Kdg 2 class is doing a science experiment with plants.
 The walls of this school are colorful and inviting.


Now, doesn't this look like a fun place to learn? And this is in a country where 50 % of the population lives below the international poverty line. The adult literacy rate is 58 %.