Kisondela Teaching Day

Hello all,

Well today started like any other at Kisondela, a long but picturesque walk. This morning walk often dragged in, however this morning was different. A buzz could be felt… well, with me at least, because today was teaching day. This was our opportunity as students to have a real, direct impact on the students of Kisondela. We could further their knowledge on often forgotten or even taboo subjects. As a group we taught 3 lessons; Feminism and the suitability of women in leadership roles, human trafficking and how to avoid it, and finally how to maintain a healthy lifestyle including STD prevention and reducing slat in the diet (some Tanzanians role entire hard-boiled eggs in salt).

With some people at Katumba 2, my group consisted of merely 3 members, myself, Olivia and Laura, however we didn't let this hinder our lesson. We taught the life of the average British woman and how both socially and legally they are equal to their male counterparts, with the students mesmerised at concepts such as maternity leave, we opened the class up to a debate. Posing the question; 'Should Tanzania ever have a female President?'. To say some points were controversial is a significant understatement.

'Women do not have the mental capacity to maintain leadership roles…' this was rather fittingly followed by 'Are you claiming our headmistress is incapable of carrying out her role?' As you can probably imagine, it was a great laugh. Following some thirty minutes of debate we would conclude the lesson and often proclaim the feminists as the winning side.

The afternoon that followed was a great amalgamation of Tanzanian and British dancing, including classics such as the Hokey-Kokey, the Konga and the Macaraina. Myself and Olivia undoubtedly coordinated the best performance of the afternoon, including a rendition of Baby by Justin Bieber and Don't Look Back in Anger by Oasis. This was swiftly followed by a lunch of rice and random meats, which ultimately concluded our day at Kisondela.

  • Oliver


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