Tim sits in front of me, LouElla to my right. The three of us are relaxing on Jay's patio. Jay is away on an errand. South African reggae artist Lucky Dube is playing on the speaker, blasting into the air. The sun is falling. A rotating fan is breezing away the heat. It is Tuesday, May 15th, 6:59 pm WAT, 2:59 pm EST, 11:59 am PST.
Today I stuck my right foot into a red ant pile and have the marks on my ankle to prove it. My stomach was uncooperative around the middle of the day necessitating a pretty aggressive sprint to a primitive bathroom (crooked toilet, no seat, no light, virtually no toilet paper, slanted floor, unlockable door) that I wouldn't have used unless nature demanded it — now! I did public speaking in a hall outside of which was a military band playing rousing numbers nonstop, competing for the ears of everyone in the room. I shooed away a spider the size of a mouse. I sanitized my hands multiple times to avoid Lassa fever (a virus for which there is no vaccine) which has been reported in Margibi County where the city of Kakata is. And I loved this day! It may have been my favorite yet.
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| LouElla Taufer Fan Club, Global Cares Chapter |
Today we left the house early for the drive to Kakata. It rained hard last night so many of the bumpy dirt roads were bumpy muddy roads. It was market day which meant driving through traffic thick with pedestrians and motorcycles and cars loaded with fruits and greens and pigs and fish and people. Traffic through these market areas is so tight walkers pull their shoulders back to avoid our rearview mirrors on the sides of the truck. Car drivers fold in their side mirrors so they can squeeze past us. And they do these things as a matter of course. They are not bothered by it one bit.
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| Jay delivering the message |
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Preach!
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| Tim's message |
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| LouElla's intro |
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| Electrical probably does not meet code |
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| Military band outside City Hall |
The focus of the day in Kakata was a teacher workshop for fifty-two educators. These were the teachers of the students we met at last week's three-day event in the same city. Today's event got rolling around 11:00ish. LouElla, after much coercion and friendly prodding from Jay, opened the event with a brief welcome to all the attendees. Jay then did a great job of establishing the purpose of our presentation with the group. He had them identify their most pressing problems as educators and what type of situations they needed help with. I followed with the Study Technology presentation up to and including the first barrier. This, I thought, went very well. I added a number of slides to the presentation for this section. The best additions were photos of the students from last week doing clay demos.
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| LouElla before the event |
Jay then returned to the floor and elicited their thoughts on what we covered and how they could use what they learned so far. Jay, again, was masterful at fielding their ideas, keeping them on task and relating it to their scenes. Being short on time, I then zipped through the second barrier so we could spend as much time as possible on the misunderstood word.
By the way, my presentations have been peppered with videos from Intelligensint.com. They have been invaluable. (Thank you, Dan and Ari!)
My segment ended with the use the Applied Scholastics lesson planning outline and how the teachers can weave Study Technology through all of their lessons. The grand finale however, was Jay's final word to the assembly. For some twenty minutes he delivered a message of inspiration and hope, painting a picture of their duty to the students in their classes and how they will be the ones who are making the future of Liberia. It was a galvanizing moment for all. Well done, Jay!
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| Another successful event! |
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| Traveler |
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| Market |
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| Rice and cooking oil delivered |
After Kakata we returned to the city and headed for Global Cares Mission Academy orphanage. Prior to our arrival, we stopped at a roadside market and bought two giant bags of rice and a big container of cooking oil. These would be gifts to the orphanage. For the entire trip, LouElla has been asking to visit this place. Today was the day. We arrived, climbed out of the truck, unloaded the rice and oil, and were met with dozens and dozens of young faces from toddlers to teens. It was remarkable. Everyone was so curious and friendly and pleasant.
Scenes from the orphanage.
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| Boys |
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| At the pump |
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| Carrying water |
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| Girls |
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| Smiles |
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| Friends |
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| More friends |
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| All smiles |
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| Teachers at the orphanage |
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| Titus, Prince, and Tim |
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| Tim and Mother Florence, the director |
There you have it. Day number nine complete.
We're still collecting to fund this grand adventure. Share the love then share the link.
https://www.gofundme.com/african-literacy-project-2018
Colin
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