National Exam Prep

We have been busy for the past 5 days teaching classes for the 11 students who will be taking National exams this year. Allen has been teaching Math and I have been going over English. Overall, the CRC kids do well in school and often score above their classmates. In class 6 there are 12 students in the class and 9 of them are CRC children. Talk about a CRC takeover! The class 6 students have been working hard all week. They go to school in the morning for three hours of lessons and then come home and spend another three hours in class with Allen and me. Their hard work will definitely pay off when they take the exam! Their biggest challenge is finishing the test in time, so we have been teaching them various test taking techniques that will hopefully make that easier!

There are two new children at the CRC! They are Isatu and Aminata, sisters who arrived on Monday. They are easily the shiest of the new kids but are already warming up to everyone. It is amazing to watch the process as the children come in to the CRC. They all start off quiet and shy but within a few days they are running around and fitting right in. (Although they all request a few more hugs than the older kids!)

Two sisters are welcomed to the CRC.

With less than 10 days to go in Salone, I must admit I am starting to panic a little about saying goodbye to the kids. Spending time here as a Long Term Missionary has been an indescribably wonderful experience. I have experienced Bo and Sierra Leone in deeper ways and have of course bonded even more deeply with the children. They are incredible examples of resilience and optimism. I have to often remind myself that these children have overcome obstacles that very few of us in America can grasp. It is easy to forget because they are some of the happiest people I have ever met. It really makes you stop and think. Why is it that the most miserable people I know have just about everything they could ever ask for, and the happiest people have so little?

No Training Wheels in Africa

Allen and I started off the day with a training session for the entire staff to refresh everyone on acceptable discipline at the CRC. We had some great discussions and the entire staff is eager to try out some new techniques. They particularly enjoyed the role playing exercise and a demonstration Allen did that compared a new child to a balloon. (You probably had to be there to understand that one!)

After the meeting Allen went to Njala University to have a meeting with a professor and some students from the University of Illinois. I stayed behind and helped serve lunch because some of the Aunties got called into a quick meeting. The kids thought it was really funny that I was serving them, and even when the Aunties came back and I went outside, they called me back into the Dining Hall multiple times to serve someone who had missed out.

Then one of the Uncles brought over a bunch of bikes for the kids to ride. The veteran CRC kids are excellent bike riders. They speed up and down the bumpy, rocky, dusty compound and manage to stop in an instant without breaks (Still can’t figure out how they manage that). Some of them have fun tricks and I had a mini heart attack as Moinina rode by me standing on his bike seat. His ability to balance is unreal, and he has no fear! The children that have recently come to the CRC have no experience with bikes. But they were more than willing to get in on the fun. They grabbed bikes right away and spent most of their time pushing themselves with their feet and occasionally pedaling. My first thought was, “these kids need training wheels.” But thats not how things work here. When you are in Africa, you hit the ground running and jump into each new activity without fear. Thats exactly what the kids did. They tried something new, it was scary, and they might have gotten a few bumps and bruises, but they enjoyed every minute of it. I continue to learn from these children each and every day. They are constantly inspiring me to be stronger in my Faith and to experience life with arms wide open.

During family fun time we played musical chairs. As you can probably guess, this turned competitive very quickly. There was lots of laughter, especially when the youngest children were playing. “Junior” had raced to a chair and successfully sat down, when John ran up, grabbed his hand and tugged him to get off. He did, and John scrambled up into the chair. The older kids literally fell out of their chairs laughing at the antics of the 4 year olds. It was a day full of beautiful moments and pure joy.

Getting Comfortable

The past week has been more relaxing due to the Easter Holiday. The kids had some time off school and we went on lots of walks and played many different games. They have relentless energy and I am no match for it. But I do my best to keep up!

This week they are taking their final exams for the semester. The older children have 14 subjects and have a test for each of them! I think I am more stressed out by this schedule than the kids are. We have had some study hours and for the most part they are doing well.

As for me, I am slowly picking up some African habits (mostly for the entertainment of the kids). This weekend Fudia's daughter braided my hair. It took FIVE hours. But I am now the proud owner of a nice set of cornrows. I must say it is a lot cooler. Since some of the staff was off this weekend, I ate a few meals with the kids. They all eat communally, with 2 to 4 people sharing a plate. Instead of silverware, they eat with their hands. A feat that is even more impressive considering all their meals consist of lots of rice and some sauce. Definitely not the easiest meals to eat without a fork. They suggested I try eating with my hands, and were delighted when I actually did. It was not as hard as I expected. You scoop up some rice, squish it into a loose ball, and pop it in your mouth. Yum!