They could write their names. They could go to a bank and open an account. They could vote. But classes at the Warrior Watch school and the Mama Simba school every week were getting a bit boring. A little abstract. They were learning lots of English words they wouldn’t really use. Classes were growing quiet as there was little discussion about real world topics.
So what to do? Ewaso Lions teamed up with the African Education Trust to refresh their classes, give the women and warriors’ classes new life. In July, Moses, Pere and Ng’ang’a from AET came up to camp to roll out the new REFLECT methodology. It started with a Training of Trainers, which has equipped 15 odd members of the Ewaso Lions team to conduct the lessons, and then we brought in the eager students.
Everything begins at home. It’s a no-brainer that adults should learn in their language first about things that they chose, rather than what the teacher decides. The new method that begins with student led discussions, branching into word and then sentence construction is exactly what we needed. There is already a marked change in the eagerness of the students to learn and participate, and a fresh energy to surmount new challenges.
We can’t wait to see where this all leads for the Ewaso Lions Team!
