Kankia Residential School - my "computer lab" is on the 2nd floor, 1st two windows from the left
Just before Christmas last year, I started "teaching" IT lessons to tribal (Adivasi) children at Gram Vikas' nearby Kankia Residential School. Back in The Gambia a UQT is an unqualified teacher - I guess this is a promotion from my previous role as IT trainer? I spend each afternoon at the school running through the basics of IT with year six and seven kids (ages 11-13 I guess) and then an hour training their teachers too. We have four PCs (which I'm planning to increase) and a printer, no Internet connection at the moment though. I get to school using my GV bicycle as it's only six kilometres away. The countryside is spectacular around Mohuda - I head through fields of padi, tomatoes, garlic and onion. After my trip back home to the UK for Christmas I've added a few new features to my bike - a horn (vital when alerting people and water buffalo) and also flashing lights so that trucks see me on the quiet country lane (it gets dark quite quickly 6pm). Whenever a truck or bus gets anywhere near I tend to quickly jump off the road as cyclists are the lowest of the low out here.
The students are up by 5am!
I made the school boy error of parking the bike outside our computer room during my second week, every passing student couldn't resist honking the horn! This only happened on the one day as I think my bike was made out-of-bounds by the headmistress the following day. Fellow cyclists have also commented on the horn (a couple have actually turned around in amazement). I see a business opportunity here, supplying cycle accessories to the one billion bicycles in India! It's great to get out of the office (although when it gets much hotter/wetter, maybe not so) and the exercise is great too. Currently my record for the return from school is 15 minutes 42 seconds - GPS tracked no less.
Spectacular scenery on my route to school
My lessons are going well, although keeping a track of how many lessons each student has had is tricky - so far I've had six girls glasses and only two for boys? As it's Saraswati Puja this week (and Republic Day last Thursday) I think the boys have been seconded to other duties. Saraswati by the way is the Hindu goddess of knowledge so schools in the area celebrate this with a big festival. In my "computer lab" I have a whiteboard to write on and I'm slowly mastering the art of writing in straight line, without it sloping off to the right. It's strange how spelling seems to dessert you at this time and that big full stops are very important. I do occasionally have an issue with the students understanding my English accent. They seem to understand what I write on the board OK; I've been advised to try teaching with an Indian accent but I just can't do it - I'd end up sounding like Peter Sellers in the film The Party - "Birdie num num!"
Look at that enthusiasm, who says IT is boring
