20 May 2007

Chitengo School

Natasha has founded Chitengo's first school! At the moment it is purposefully small - only 4-6 students, all beween the ages of 3 and 6. We have supplied the school with a variety of materials including children's books in Portuguese, fingerpuppets, a small kitchen with plastic plates and utensils, and wooden food (Mom, remember these?), and a variety of musical instruments. Sophia and Natasha brought a lot of things from Portugal as well - plasticine clay, paints, colored pencils, and other games. These kids haven't yet had any school here, and are delighted by everything they are exposed to. I bought a chalkboard along the road in Chimoio last week so now Natasha is working with the kids on reading and writing letters and numbers, and even a little bit of math. The local kids are due to be moved to their new housing situation soon, and we're not sure what will become of the school when this happens. Natasha is planning on offering her services for visiting tourists as well, or for any of the kids of staff who are living in Chitengo. Ian is very happy to have friends and playmates, and as the school is all in Portuguese, he is forced to listen and try to understand, and maybe he will start speaking some of the Portuguese that we know has managed its way into his brain...