Zambia 2014, Day 3 - Name Games

So far I have visited David Kaunda Technical School and Chikumbuso Women and Orphans Project and school. Today was the second day that I got to teach the Zambian children. I, along with a partner, taught them about weather. It was extremely difficult thinking of a way to keep the children involved in the lesson while still giving them all of the information needed. We decided to play all sorts of games and just connect the to the concept of weather.

I especially loved the game ‘boom boom snap.’ It was a great name game for me to get to know the students and vice versa. I felt really good when the students would remember my name or raise their hands to help reinforce what I had just taught them. I felt like I had been teaching them something valuable as well as something that they could use on a daily basis.

In a way, I felt like I made a positive impact on their lives. I also became really happy when one of my students was really interested in my life in America. After I answered all of his questions, he decided to follow me around and tell everyone his name was Savannah as well. I thought that was really sweet and it made me smile.

 
I have really been affected by what I’ve seen and the circumstances of the citizens of Zambia. I’ve also been enjoying the students at Chikumbuso. When we took a tour around Chikumbuso, I began to think about all of the times that I’ve complained about not wanting to go to school when there are an abundance of kids not attending school. The children were just watching us walk around and all I could think about was that these kids would love to go to school everyday for free. I just thought about how in America, a lot of students often skip school or just don’t go. We, in America, take what is so precious and valuable to Zambians for granted.

Savannah, 17, Central High School