WEDNESDAY 11.09.2024
Virag and me arrive twenty minutes before the beginning of her first class of “Skills development Academy”. We arrive harried, heated and a little bit muddied; yesterday’s rain has won on the power of sun, and the soil hasn’t had the time yet to dry completely.
In the courtyard outside the office, under the shed, some students are already seated, calmly chatting while waiting for the beginning of the lesson. We are both a bit surprised; they have told us that usually they arrive late, but most probably since today is the first day with a new teacher, Virag, after two weeks of break, they are curious to see and eager to start learning again.
Virag and me are going to stay here in Nebbi for few months, as part of the European Solidarity Corps Humanitarian Aid Program, volunteering for EMOTER: Virag is going to be the new Skills development Academy” Trainer for both the group of “Agriculture and Mechanic” and the ones of “Hairdressing and Tailoring”, while I am going to be the new “blogger” of EMOTER’s website.
The few students already present wave at us, saying the usual and kind “Hello, Good morning, How are you?”.
We take our shoes off, and we enter the office, barefoot, greeting our local colleagues and setting our table for the day. It is our third day at the office, but it is the first day of class for Virag. I can see her determination and her strength while she prepares her materials, while she cuts some Hungarian chocolate that she has brought from home as a present for her students.
She is totally ready for the class, she worked hard during the previous days to finalise the activities and organise the program.
It’s now 8.57 a.m., she goes towards the door to reach the students and to start the class, I can see she is a bit nervous, even though her radiant smile is still there, and looking at me she says:
“Wish me good luck”.
“Good luck Virag”, I reply, even if I know she doesn’t need any. She is going to be amazing and the students are going to love her.
In the meanwhile the circle of chairs outside has enlarged since other students have arrived and now the chatting is a bit louder, cheering up a bit the peace of this place, immersed in the nature, where the only sounds that can be heard are the laughs of some kids playing and running around, the roar of boda-boda engines passing by and an animal noise coming from either grasshoppers or frogs.
This morning the students comes from the “Agriculture and Mechanic” group, so they are mainly boys, and few girls. I go out, staying a bit hidden behind the fence, close enough to hear but far enough not to disturb the class: I want to see how the lesson is going. Virag has prepared some games and fun activities for the first day to get to know each other, to introduce themselves and also to reflect on the past lessons and the previous part of the program, done with an another teacher.
She wants them to gain confidence and to be comfortable with her; she knows they liked a lot the previous “Soft Skill Trainer”, Matteo, another amazing volunteer under the ESC; I guess she is a bit worried not to live up to expectations and not to be as good as he was.
But she is totally wrong. After few minutes, the sound of the laughs increase and I can see Virag smiling joyfully; I guess the ice is now broken.
I go back inside the office and I start working as well. Sometimes I can hear some chairs being moved, in order to enlarge the circle and to welcome some new students who have arrived late, sometimes I can hear them moving around the patio, doing some more dynamic activities.
Time passes quickly and after 1 hour and a half, at 10:30, Virag appears back in the office; on her face I can see a bit of tiredness but mostly a new vibrant and sincere smile of satisfaction and gratitude. She is happy and she admits the class went even better than expected. I can see a new determination and conviction coming from her; she now know she is ready.
On the way back home, we exchange our impressions about the day and she tells me that the games she has organised went very well; the students were, after a first moment of shyness, as normal, very willing to share their thoughts, introducing themselves and joining the activities with energy. They have also shared some feedbacks and requests about the program, and now she knows what is needed to be revised and how to structure the next classes.
THURSDAY 12.09.2024
New day and a new class of student for Virag. This morning she has the students from the group of “Hairdressing and Tailoring”. Again when we arrive, there is already a girl who is sitting under the patio, waiting for the beginning of the class.
Yesterday the girls from this group, told me they are all really excited to start again the theoretical lessons; they are truly eager to learn and keep studying. They want a better future for themselves and they know EMOTER’s course is the best alternative and chance they have now to start a business and found a job.
The course develops over three months, with both practical classes and theoretical classes; the first one are arranged according to the group chosen (so Agriculture, Mechanic, Tailoring or Hairdressing), while the second ones are the same for all the groups and aiming to give the skills and the competencies needed to set up and manage a business.
Again, Virag prepares carefully some chocolate, the materials, she wears EMOTER’s shirt and she reaches the few students waiting for her. Compared to yesterday, the circle is quite small; there are just 4 students on time, and after half an hour other 2 or 3, join the class.
Even if they aren’t a lot, the lesson go as smooth as yesterday and from the laughs and the loud chatting, I would say that they seem to have even more fun.
As yesterday, Virag has managed to create a comfort zone in just 10 minutes.
I can see they have already established a bond based on trust and respect. The girls count on her and they really want to take the most from this possibility; they know they have just these three months to understand and to learn. They are not going to waste any time.
At the end of the class Virag has the same smile of satisfaction as yesterday, but she has to prepare the next class, the second lesson of the week for the “Agriculture and Mechanic” group, occurring in the early afternoon, so no time to relax.
For the second lesson, she has decided to focus more on understanding personal goals, motivations and plans for the future; having a clear long-term objective in mind is fundamental to organise and plan what is needed to reach that goal. Most of the students dream to build up their own business and to be independent, while others would prefer to work as employers; different personalities means different goals. Not everyone is ready or willing to be a leader, as not everyone wants to be an employers, depending on someone else instructions and rules.
Some of them appear more motivated and determined than others, some of them have very clear and admirable plans; one of the girls’ intention for example is to open her own farm, to give job and a fair salary to local people and to develop continuously her business. Such a strong and independent woman refusing to settle for mediocrity.
Some of them remains silent, not sure if because they are shy or scared to share or if because they still don’t know precisely what they want to do.
Nevertheless, either if they know or if they don’t know what path to follow and what are the next steps they want to make, they have already accomplished the most important thing that is to start and to work hard.
FRIDAY 13.09.2024
Our first week is coming to its end and for Virag the last lesson of the week is going to occur this early afternoon with the “Hairdressing and Tailoring” group. The activities are going to be the same as the ones she did yesterday afternoon. She really wants to know her students’ motivations and personalities, in order to be able to help them in the best and more personalised way possible.
I met Virag just two weeks ago, but I am already so proud of her; I can see how much carefully she organises the lessons and how much eager she is to actually find a way to help her students.
Today there are more students than yesterday; probably they have discovered that the new teacher had arrived and lessons had started again. The excitement and the determination for learning and improving their skills is still in the air; they so share their motivations, ideas and plans for the future, listening to and supporting each other.
They all have no certitude for what is next in their life after the end of the course and the graduation but they all have enough strenght to reach their goals.
To sum up, I would personally say that our first week has been a success, full of satisfaction and emotions as well; the feeling of being in some way useful, together with the consciousness of learning from the stories of the students, who have been through lots of problems and tough moments, is truly enriching.
Let’s see how next weeks are going to be!
Comments