I know what you were thinking: he's given up his writing like so many others. It's fun for a while but then you invariably get tired of it because you haven't been keeping up with your thoughts or realize that nobody is reading your ramblings. Unfortunately I have not given up yet, I was simply...unavailable...for a few weeks due to several hundred schoolchildren invading my every living moment.
Pic: The PR picture in front of the KiP bus.On the first of November we began our Kids In Parks (KiP) programme in Augrabies Falls. This ambitious project set up by the national parks and several sponsors is intended to allow all schools within a certain distance to visit their park free of charge for three days and two nights. Obviously we don't let these undersized balls of adrenaline run free for three days - we prepared a fun-and-fact-packed schedule for each and every school...which we almost never stuck to since this is Africa after all. A schedule in Africa is like David Blaine's latest stunt: impressive, with the best intentions, but it's just not going to work. In any case it did give us an idea about how to fill up the days. We had powerpoint presentations, a three-legged water race, a national parks game, talks on alien plants and the foodchain, in-the-field water tests, sunset drives in the park, a nature concert and of course a guided walk to the falls...plus we also had a lot of shouting, laughing, nervous breakdowns, monkeys, blood, sweat and tears.
Pic: Marisa giving the obligatory powerpoint...Now I can go on with some amusing anecdotes, like the time we scared the living daylights out of three boys who just did not want to be quiet in their tent by scratching our nails over the canvas or the time I pretended to be a black eagle to illustrate how these birds catch their prey. But I won't. Since I do have a lot more to write I will keep to what mattered most: what we learned from the children. You see the overwhelming majority has never set foot in a nature reserve or national park ("how is that possible? there are so many in Africa!") and is even less aware what their purpose is aside from attracting a great deal of pasty looking foreigners who regularly drive past their villages. The Kids In Parks project allows them to finally witness their natural heritage for themselves and without having to pay or worry about a single thing. Just show up at school in time to catch the KiP bus, bring a sleeping bag and you'll be good to go!
Pic: Elton, our head ranger, doing water testing with children at the river.What has struck me most after these four weeks is the unbelievable variation in educational level between children of the same grade/class. Most children came from grades 5, 6 or 7 - which means most were between the ages of 10-14, although it wasn't uncommon to find 14 year olds in the same grade as 11 year olds. This is due to an utterly insane education policy which states that if you've failed a grade twice in a row you automatically move up a grade...makes sense doesn't it? You fail, twice - the level is obviously too difficult for you, fine - you get rewarded by going up in the exact same level. Wait...what? Alright I hear you say, but the government probably does not have the resources to establish different levels of education. That might be true but that's not the government's excuse for having a single education standard: equality is the excuse. You see, "they" reason that establishing different levels of education or (God forbid) special needs classes for mentally disabled or dyslexic children would be unequal. Such a system would automatically create inequality since not all children would get the same level of teaching. (if this is starting to make sense to you please let me know)
Pic: Hilarity ensues during the water-races.This equal (hahahaha...) system is the cause for some of the children I met to be very behind on their classmates. A child about to begin secondary school would be expected to read and write adequately in at least (in our area's case) Afrikaans, and have some understanding of English. Well you'd expect wrong. In one grade 6 class there were a few who could barely manage a legible sentence in Afrikaans whereas one boy was reading and writing in perfectly acceptable English! Same frigging grade people!! I now understand their teacher's challenge a little better: when in a class of 30-40 children some are very much ahead of the pack and others are way behind, how do you give each the right level of teaching? It can't be done. At one point during the programme we hand out exercise books to all and do some activities related to nature and the park: such things as writing a poem, doing crosswords or reading a story and answering questions. In my group (around 20 kids usually) I would be helping two boys spell the word "kudu" while a bit later explaining some of the careers in the park in English to another group. With some I would have difficulty having them remember their own province, let alone the 5 national parks which are located there, and with others I'd be going over the different European countries. Same grade.
Pic: Posing with a few marshmellows.Poverty is of course an issue with which most people around here struggle. Since we (me, my supervisor Angela and our two conservation students) shared every single moment of the day with these children we all were confronted with this and while I think we had all become used to what life is like around here we were still in for a few unpleasant surprises. The little boy who had only an old dusty blanket to sleep under immediately springs to mind. On the morning of the third day the children have to sweep their tents (three people per tent) clean. I noticed that one of the stretchers (army beds) in one of the tents was covered in sand. Not thinking about the cause I asked the boy if he would help me take out the stretcher so he could clean it. Only after this was done I noticed his dirty blanket, also covered in sand. This was so because at home he (obviously...) sleeps on the ground, hence the sand...
Pic: A winning water-race team with me, Lize and Marisa.There were many moments when we nearly lost our tempers and some moments where we actually did - I never thought I'd say the "f" word in front of kids but everybody has their limits. There were days when we were all at the end of the road. The same meals every day, which were a treat for the children but became somewhat of a challenge for us (sausage and beans for the tenth time at breakfast...whoopee!). The long days and the short nights, which we often spent in a tent of our own...there would be much to complain about if it wasn't for the fact that we had some amazing children visiting us, learning from us and appreciating what we were trying to do. Some will never learn of course but that is true anywhere, most were very interested and a few are now considering a career in the national parks. Nearly all enjoyed themselves regardless of what we were teaching them, which is also a positive result I think. The hugs, "thank you's" and "miss you's" at the end of those three days made it worth it, as well as the knowledge that we were able to give them something which they rarely, if ever, get: generosity and (for just three days) freedom from worry.
Pic: On the boardwalk with one of my groups.
Pic: Alien plant talk by Marisa.The goal to give these children an unforgettable learning experience has been achieved, but I admit that I have probably learned as much if not more from the children in return. By far the best experience I have had this entire year and one that will stay with me forever. The letter me and Marisa received from one school says it all really and is now one of our most prized possessions (hope you can read Afrikaans).
