Kein Weg zu weit

Wir sind unendlich dankbar für den riesigen Einsatz, den die Lehrerinnen und Lehrer in unserer Schule über die vergangenen Monaten geleistet haben! Im Gegensatz zu den meisten Schulen in der Region wurde der Unterricht nicht einfach durch WhatsApp ersetzt, sonder Klassen fanden virtuell statt, sogar die Band probte auf diese Weise. Natürlich ist das in einem Land, wo Internet-Zugang längst nicht Standard ist, eine besondere Herausforderung. Familien, die weder Computer noch ein Smartphone besassen, wurde ein Gerät gespendet. Für Kinder in abgelegenen Gegenden ohne Internet-Verbindung liessen es sich die Lehrpersonen nicht nehmen, persönlich vorbeizugehen - natürlich unter Einhaltung aller Sicherheitsmassnahmen - und zu unterrichten. So wurde kein Kind zurückgelassen und alle Schülerinnen und Schüler wurden während dieser herausfordernder Zeit nicht nur schulisch sondern auch emotional begleitet.

Coping with Covid-19

Screen Shot 2020-07-08 at 18.52.42.png

 As if life was not challenging enough for our kids after numerous earthquakes on the pacific coast, Covid-19 struck the country very hard. Our school in Bahia de Caraquez adapted remarkably fast since confinement began on March 14th. Teachers have been working even harder than before with three hours of virtual classes every day; preparation of videos on demand for the students; attending daily meetings with the Ministry of Education; staying in touch with the parents and attending conferences on general education and human values. Congratulations to all of them!

The presential classes are slowly beginning, by government order, in rural schools where one teacher serves the whole school. We expect our kids to be back in their classes in August, three times a week in small groups.

Fingers crossed.

Music to honour life

IMG_5060.jpg

Remarkably, this small school has a music band with 105 schoolchildren! Enrique, the only music teacher, manages this lively bunch. From the age of 8 years, all students play an instrument, ranging from wind instruments such as trumpets, trombones, saxophones, saxhorns, flutes and melodicas to percussion instruments like drums, guiros, congas and xylophones. The musical repertoire including various Latin rhythms is considerable and the whole group in action sounds almost like a very energetic carnival band! Several times a year, the band marches through Bahía as part of a parade to honour life, peace, solidarity and tolerance. Everybody always gives their best and the cheerful music certainly manages to attract much attention across the city to this worthy cause!

The Kfouri Science Center is taking shape

IMG_5200.JPG

We owe you an update on the progress of the new science center! Building the basic structures of the science center was the first step: a single large room, built on pillars about 2.5 meters above the ground, thereby providing a second work area underneath. Open yet sheltered, this additional space is currently used for chess classes, painting activities and storage of building materials. Inside the lab there are three large workbenches with six sinks each. The room is high and spacious and flooded with light from the large windows. Over the course of the past few weeks, the lab make excellent further progress: stone benchtops were put in place, electrical installations were fitted, floor tiles were laid, wooden doors were mounted and the whole building was painted ochre-red. When finished, this will be a fabulous facility for a big range of scientific activities at the school!

A new year and still growing

IMG_5202.JPG

The school is not only growing flowers and fruits figuratively as an institution, but also quite literally around the school grounds. The other day a truck full of colourful plants arrived and the older students came to unload them into a shaded nursery, the “huerto amor” (the “orchard of love”), where they are cared for until being planted around the school. Each student will pick one plant and is then responsible for its care after planting it. Since the early days of this school in 2001, the steep, dusty block of land has thus been gradually transformed into a beautiful, flowering garden.