Don't look now!

One has to avert one’s gaze as you walk from the staff quarters to the school as countless boys will be in the scrub bushes going to the toilet as the school’s toilets are being renovated with a new block planned. Always discrete, they are naturally embarrassed if you happen to trip over someone about their business!

 The boys here are great, they work so desperately hard, knowing that a good education is their ticket to a brighter future.  We like the staff tremendously. All articulate and trying their best at a difficult time for teaching in Nigeria: when they are paid so little. Most teachers need to earn money on the side just to make ends meet.

We will be working with the English department naturally as well as running workshops on teaching and learning to those who are interested. The English department has a ceiling tile missing which gives a large owl living in the roof space access to defecate over books and precious materials. A requisition has been made to the board to fix the tile, but it can take forever for such a trivial thing to be rectified. In the meantime, where can I get a ladder from... ? Local management of schools would rectify this!

The library is one of the better we have seen but still has very few books by any standards. The boys are desperate to get their hands on any English materials to gain a better understanding of vocabulary and comprehension. With little access to T.V.  and most bookshops only to be found in the Sabon Gari  (where the foreigners and Christians live ) district, it also comes down to money as novels are very rare and expensive. Second hand paperbacks can cost as much as ten pounds. This is an obvious area that needs support in their learning. With the help of our school, we might be able to do something about this! The boys come to just talk or borrow a book and check their understanding throughout the day on the weekend or after school during the week. Passing English is their most consuming issue. It’s not so much an issue if you come from a wealthier family.

The new ICT suite will be great when it is commissioned though in the meantime it gathers dust until all the logistics are in place. I have warned of the dangers of treating the computers too preciously. We know from experience that they should be used as much as possible as a tool for learning because they will soon become out of date. The Board will get the best price to put in a suite but the computers often come with no software or just a small pirated copy so cannot be properly upgraded. There needs to be more joined up thinking. The staff have the answers but the powers that be need to consult more when commissioning.

Cooking for 800 boys three times a day is quite a challenge. We saw the outdoor kitchen at work today as the ladies toiled away making broad beans with millet porridge for lunch. I think I’ll give it a miss today. Health and safety at work don’t make me laugh – open boiling cauldrons with babies crawling around! Now where’s that ladder?

Too many cooks?



Mmmm... boiled broad beans - very nutritious

 

"Please Sir, I want some more!"