The Needs of Torit

I’ve been back in Torit for almost four weeks now and things just don’t seem to slow down. After a long weekend of recuperation at the beginning of February, I dove back into my areas of ministry.

Work at the hospital has been pretty sluggish. My first week and a half saw no patients. I learned from Richard, the counselor I work with, that many people in the area just don’t know that the VCT clinic (Voluntary Counseling and Testing) is at the hospital. Now I knew this was a problem prior to the World AIDS Day event in December but I thought for sure more people would be aware of it by now. But the reality is, that there are people in Torit that are traveling to Nimule and Magwai (other counties within Eastern Equatoria State) to visit the VCTs there. These people are spending money to travel to a VCT in other areas of the state when they could walk freely to a clinic in their own town. I suggested that perhaps we could send out some fliers. Richard liked the idea but thought that people wouldn’t even know where the clinic was located. The problem is the clinic currently has no sign; not even on the building where the clinic is located. Richard has been in contact with the AIDS Commissioner in Juba to get funding for a sign but to no avail. I asked him how much it would cost for a sign and he told me over 1000 Sudanese Pounds (roughly 500 USD). I thought that was a bit outrageous but learned that this would include signs on both ends of the town (so those traveling through in either direction would be aware of the VCT) and one in front of the hospital. Signs and advertisements are the best option for the VCT. Word-of-mouth usually works but that doesn’t seem to be a very reliable stream of communication at this time. To remedy this, I have asked if I could create a temporary sign or plaque to be attached to the building. This way, as long as people know that the VCT is at the hospital, they can just wonder around the compound until they find the right building. Richard has okayed this and so I hope to get a sign made very soon. The next step I will take will be to create fliers, with Richard, that can be spread throughout the town. I hope that we can send them by the various government buildings and churches. I will be using some of my funds to finance this project in hopes that the VCT will be able to be used to its fullest.

Peace and Amama

Primary School

School, on the other hand, has been incredibly busy. School actually started before I got back which I didn’t think would start until the end of February. AND the school has expanded to not just nursery, Kindergarten, and Primary 1, but those three plus P2-P4. When I found this out my first question was “And who will be teaching all these levels?” When I left in December there was only Charles (the headmaster), Rogers, and myself. We now have another young man from the church and Beatrice, Pastor Peter’s wife. Beatrice, however, only teaches when she’s not incredibly busy. (She constantly has to play hostess and she’s a mother of three, one of which is still nursing.) I was a bit apprehensive in coming back to the school and this news made me even more apprehensive. I knew how much I struggled in the last term; I wasn’t sure what this term was going to be like. But God is good and I am actually very much enjoying school. I met with Charles and Rogers to discuss what I would be doing during this term and we agreed that I would still come on just Tuesday and Thursday mornings, but this term I would only teach English to P3 and P4. With how the schedule works, I will be teaching P3 and P4 Tuesday mornings and only P4 on Thursday mornings. Charles thought that the older students would understand me better and be a bit more disciplined. So far he’s right. I arrived my first day of teaching in this new term and found the school relatively organized but still a bit chaotic. Classes have been separated as best as possible but with large numbers. Two classes meet in a large UNICEF tent behind the church (they’ve made a partition to separate the classes), two more classes meet under big trees beside the church, one class is in the church, and the other is beside the school office (also in the church). While school seems to be going well, the numbers keep growing. In fact, it has been four weeks since the beginning of school and we still have parents registering their children. I’ll give you an example: My first day of teaching P4 (Thursday, February 14), I had six students. The second day (Tuesday, February 19) I had 12-15 students. The third day I had 21 students. Last Thursday I had close to 30 students in just P4. I have only taught one P3 class and that was over two weeks ago, so I have no clue what the class will look like now. I believe that there are easily 200 students at the school right now and only four-five teachers. (See if that would be suitable in the States!) I think the reason they are still admitting students to the school, even four weeks after the beginning of the term, is so that the school will be recognized by the government. I also think that is the reason for the addition of more class levels. I don’t believe the AIC school in Torit was recognized by the government last year, therefore the teachers do not get paid. (I’m not really sure how the pay system worked last year or if the two teachers even got paid.) Once the school is recognized by the government, the government can also send in more teachers and hopefully funds for a real school building. Right now there is a real need for teachers, trained teachers, in Torit. The town is growing and it’s growing fast. More and more families are moving back to town and they need schools to send their children to, thus the need for teachers. If you are interesting in teaching in Torit, let me know! Anyway, back to school…my students do seem to be a little more disciplined than last term and they seem to understand me better. I have two or three P4 students who speak English very well and they have been such a blessing to me. They have been able to translate a bit of what I’m saying to the rest of the class. I feel more encouraged at the school this term and I definitely enjoy it more. I still see areas of struggles from time to time but it was nothing like last term. One struggle I still have is the style of teaching. I have to be gracious in this area because the way the other teachers teach is the way they were shown when they were in school. They have also not been properly trained. Usually a lesson consists of the teacher copying the lesson in English straight from the book onto the blackboard. They will read what’s on the board and make the students repeat it several times aloud and then they walk away leaving the students behind to copy what’s on the board into their notebooks. That’s it. There is no real teaching going on. They don’t work one-on-one with any child and they don’t even give the children a chance to ask questions if they have them. The children are expected to understand it. And of course most of the children don’t really understand even if they say they do. Most of them can’t speak English, so I’m sure they can’t read it. I have been trying to do more teaching than just copying things onto the board. I am using the books for the grade levels but I try to explain the lesson and then give them an exercise. With P4, I actually grade their exercises during the class time so that I can correct them and see patterns of misunderstanding. At the end of the lesson, I then go over the entire exercise and have them give me answers. I have even told them that if they do need help or they don’t understand something that I will help them. I actually had one little boy this past week ask for help because he didn’t understand what he was suppose to do. I hope that I can model this style of teaching not only to the students but to the other teachers so that hopefully they will at least be able to see the difference in styles.

Making Jewelry

Not only have I been busy in the school and the hospital, but I’ve also been helping Russ and Lyn Noble with a project. Russ and Lyn’s ministry is literacy within native languages. In the past they have run training courses in eight different languages of South Sudan. This coming week they will be starting a training course in Latuko or Otuho (both the same language just different spellings and sayings). The Latuko tribe is one of the largest, other than Acholi, in Eastern Equatoria. The goal of the course is to train teachers from different areas around the state to teach literacy in their mother tongue. There are two teachers coming from seven or eight towns across Eastern Equatoria. The course will run for ten days at the end of which the newly trained teachers will go back to their home churches and start a literacy class. In a couple of months, Russ and Lyn hope to travel to these churches to see how the classes have progressed. So, where do I fit in? Well, they have been creating materials for the course over the past two weeks which need assembling, cutting, laminated (yes, they have a laminator), and other things. That is what I’ve been doing in my spare time. Any of you who know me well and have worked with me know that I actually enjoy doing these things. It has actually been really interesting to do some of these things because I’ve gotten to see a little more of the Nobles’ ministry and a new language. The Latuko language has 35 letters in their alphabet! 35! I found out that another language in Western Equatoria close to Congo border has 45 letters in their alphabet! Russ and Lyn have been persevering through computer glitches, teaching methods, and teaching materials for the past few weeks but they are just about prepared and should be ready to go Tuesday morning. Please be praying for them over the next two weeks and specifically, that they can produce eager, well-trained teachers.

P1

That is just a taste of what life in Torit has been like since I’ve been back. There is much more that I have not shared, but I’m sure I will share those experiences in due time. Well until next time…Salaam Taaki!

Winny