Hospital

On Mondays and Thursdays, EVS volunteers participate in the clinic for children under 5 years of age in collaboration with the staff of the Chididi health centres. This activity has been going on for three months. As the volunteers have integrated other activities, they can share the days to run the clinic for children under 5 years old at the Chidi hospital, their schedule is as if they were a couple supporting this activity. This group management of the clinic for children under five has improved the involvement of the volunteers and the hospital staff so that they can work effectively, as sometimes there are not many people as there is not much work to do. The volunteers are also involved in IMCI (Integrated Management of Childhood Illnesses) and family planning at the Njazi Village Clinic. Most of the activities carried out during this village clinic are public health awareness campaigns where the volunteers work with the Community Health Workers to inform the communities about how to deal with childhood diseases such as malaria and other common diseases, this is done two days a week, usually Friday and Tuesday. Unfortunately, due to other activities, the volunteers can only help once at the VH. The volunteers are satisfied with their work, as they can help to provide information on how to deal with tropical diseases.

Bogdan assists in measuring the body size of children

LAURA MEASURES THE ARM OF THE CHILD IN THE VILLAGE CLINIC

Early childhood development

In the beginning it was very difficult to take care of the children, because some of them were afraid of the volunteers since the beginning of September, until now the children have already become familiar with the volunteers and can interact with them, they are not afraid anymore. The activity has already brought first results, as the children can now remember the colours and numbers and recite some poems. The two kindergartens are generally very different. While Masimo’s teacher is more committed and enthusiastic – she does everything and only lets the volunteers assist during breakfast and playtime – the Masona teacher expects the volunteers to do all the activities during the two hours. The children at Masimo’s are better prepared (alphabet, calendar).

The challenges:

The children are afraid of volunteers because of skin differences, the constant interaction with the children solves the problem by itself.
As there is a lack of prayer material to entertain the children, the project will consider the possibility of obtaining some.

The primary school

The activity with the primary school has not yet started at this time, as there is the problem that the previous headmaster we were dealing with has been transferred, as the new headmaster is considering the better way to integrate the volunteers, as he also gets used to the new environment. Based on the agreement we had during the planning meeting, the volunteers were to work with the young people in Chididi Primary School in the areas of physical education, anti-AIDS clubs, discussion clubs, environmental clubs and sports. The volunteers will also advise the young people on the dangers of early sex and early marriage, they will also work on the school attendance campaign to solve the problem of girls’ abortion It takes a long time to draw up the timetable

The organisation SURCOD will again discuss with the Headmaster how the volunteers will be integrated into the activities if the situation is extended until next week.

Challenges

Lack of organisation and communication with teachers
Too many students and too few teachers, rooms and materials.

Different opinions within the volunteer team, some of them think that the primary school teachers are not really looking forward to the support, while Bogdan thinks that they have not asked for enough.

The goals:

Integration of the English classes
To start the activities

The secondary school

This is the first month in which the volunteers have actually started the activities with the secondary school. On the contrary, all the teachers here are happy to work and take advantage of the volunteers’ presence. The volunteers are involved in the following activities: English grammar and English literature, life lessons, debates, sports lessons, French and partronisation of different clubs such as environmental clubs, debate clubs and other outdoor sports – all volunteers are involved in different activities at different times and according to their background and skills. English literature, grammar and life skills (Laura, Bogdan and Lorena). Sports (Marco, Bogdan and Mathias) and French (Bogdan and Mathias).

Challenges:

The afternoon debate class is not well attended.
Poor understanding of the English language
Lack of materials, students have no books to study and read at home
Laziness, they don’t take notes
Due to lack of discipline, they can leave the class whenever they want without asking permission. Lack of organization, the timetable is not always respected (teachers and students)

Positive aspects:

The students are interested in French lessons
Because the training is so basic and not well organized, the volunteers can achieve a lot at the end of the year.
Positive support for the teachers
The volunteers are happy to be busy now.

Youth Center

The volunteers carry out the activities in the Youth Centre twice a week, on Tuesday and Thursday at 3 pm. So far, they have given computer lessons, debates and presentations of the different projects with the young people. So far, the volunteers are looking into the possibility of initiating a waste management project, as waste collection is one of the main problems facing the people of Chididi. The project was presented in the youth centre. The Youth Centre, in collaboration with the volunteers, also supported the SURCOD awareness meetings with Drama. Two awareness raising activities have been carried out so far: The first one was carried out to sensitize the women to focus on their savings as a tool to fight poverty, the second one was to sensitize the farmers to prepare their cultivated areas in time and according to the methods of integrated agriculture.

Challenges:

Youth absence every time there is another reason not to come
Difficult solution to attract more young people
Laziness and lack of interest among some young people

COMPUTERCLASS IN PROGRESS