Picture of the Day 04/09/2014

We visited the catch-up school in GAHANGA for the last time today, we are so sorry to see the end of this project, we had such a fantastic time taking part. The teacher Olivier said "we thank you, we have spent a long time together, you've been a great help to us!"

Henry leading a class

To see what we got up to at the school watch our video - Catch-Up School

Holiday Camp Visits

When we started work with AEE the children had already started their school holidays, during July they get two weeks off school. In the second week we led two different holiday camps; one in the Gahanga sector and one in the Kikicuro sector.

Some of the children making animals shapes during a drama session - can you guess what they are?

In these holiday camps we planned many different topics such as: HIV prevention, hygiene and sanitation, music, drama, dreams and ambitions, and obviously lots of games! In the Gahanga sector there were around 160 children that attended whilst 96 children attended the Kikicuro Holiday Camp. In the Kikicuro Holiday Camp the caregivers were present instead of the teachers to work along side us in conducting these sessions.

The children were split into three groups depending on their age; one class for Secondary and P6, one class for P4-5 and one class for P2-3.

Children playing the trust game during one of the drama sessions.

The group for secondary and P6 was HIV prevention. The topics discussed were transmission and prevention of HIV, focussing on sexual intercourse and the importance of abstinence in order to avoid HIV. The students were split into 5 groups and were each given a different ‘impact’ topic that HIV can have on a person or their family such as: poverty, strifes in relationships, isolation etc. They were given time to discuss as a group how they would portray this impact and act it out to the rest of the group.

The Children really enjoyed the drama session and requested that they would love to do more drama in the future with their teachers. Drama has a very positive impact on children’s self-confidence and their ability to speak in public places in front of their peers, as every member in a team had to have a speaking part.

Children miming out their chosen profession to highlight their dreams and aspirations - these ones want to be footballers!

The group for P4-P5 focused on music, drama and dreams. The sessions focused on getting the children to express their dreams, and the importance of staying in school to get good grades. We started by playing a game to get them to use their faces to show various emotions. This was helpful for them to practice using their facial expressions and emotions while acting to give a good and captivating performance. They then split up into groups and had a different word that they had to portray in a mime (so they were not allowed to talk!). The children enjoyed trying to guess the words and some of the groups had very impressive ideas on how to act. Lastly the children split up into different groups depending on what career they wanted in the future and acted out different scenarios they might come across in that profession. The children were excited and happy to participate in these sessions and enjoyed learning a new song in English ‘Our God is a great big God’ which included actions to the lyrics of the song.

David and Rachel leading a session on personal hygiene - hand washing, clothes washing, hair washing!

The group for P2- P3 focused on hygiene. The children were taught the importance of personal hygiene and how good hygiene can prevent illnesses, such as worms or typhoid. We explained that by preventing illnesses it can enable the children to remain in school and to achieve a high attendance. The children enjoyed learning a step-by step process of how to effectively wash their hands.

All age groups participated in games together such as: Duck, Duck, Goose, Bulldog, making animal statues in teams, throw and catch with tennis balls and a national game Sticks, which is a girl v boy game where it doesn’t end until one team has caught up with the opposition team and touched them with their stick.

One of the children demonstrating their new knowledge!

As the holiday camps were a one off it is difficult to predict the outcomes of these visits, however we believe that as we worked alongside the teachers and caregivers our methodology will be passed onto them and can continue to use it to plan their sessions.

Picture of the Day 02/09/2014

At the nursery today we were teaching the children about fruits, we did this by getting them to paint and colour in stencils, as well as drawing the fruit from real life objects!

Getting all messy with the paints!!

Kimihurura Farming Cooperative

Since our very first week here at AEE we have been working at Kimihurura farming cooperative most weeks, which makes it one of our, if not, our most regular project we have been committed too.

Kimihurura farm is run by women in a local community. Some of these women are widowed and the income they earn from the farm is what they have to live off.

Rachel and Vicky watering

The majority of our time spent here is watering the crops. Although this may seem like an easy job that they could do themselves, it's the extra time that we are really giving. Whilst we are busy watering the crops, they can get on with other tasks on their agenda's such as feeding the animals or holding their team meetings with all the members of Kimihurura farming cooperative.

Henry filling up his watering can

The watering job itself can be quite tiring especially if the sun is out, as it is fairly physical as there is no hoses, so we have to continually fill our watering cans in the water holes. But we have a lot of fun together, we sing songs, and often it's a great time for us to learn more Kinyarwanda!

Chinwe, Rachel and Beth having a bit of fun!

A couple of weeks ago when we went to Kimihurura they asked us to work the land by using hoes. This was a really nice change for us from the watering we usually do. Also this gave us an opportunity to work along side two of the ladies who work on the farm. We had previously used hoes once before so we all had a fairly good technique. This meant we were much more efficient with our time and the ladies praised our efforts and work that we did!

It was particularly nice to help them with this task as one lady told us she was meant to be doing this work but was unable to due to her being pregnant! Like our previous time using the hoes, most of us managed to come away with blisters over our hands, but at the same time loving every minute of it.

Working along side two of the members of the farm

This particular project is nice for us to come back to and get stuck into physical work as all of our other regular projects are either teaching at schools or teaching English to the staff here at AEE.

It is also nice to come here as it is our only regular project that we get to work as an 8. It has been so lovely to work as an 8 and see how it helps our team to bond and have fun. In our teaching projects we always split up into groups to teach the different levels.

In summary our time spent at Kimihurura has been successful and after every session we spend at Kimihura the ladies are always very thankful of our time.

Picture of the Day 14/08/2014

Today we went to a Nursery school, and discussed what we are going to do with them for the next four weeks - we will be teaching the nursery children from 7.30am to 10am every Tuesday morning until the end of our placement.

Nursery school children at play time - our first lessons are going to be about domestic and aquatic animals.

Picture of Day 26/07/2014

Saturday Morning on the 26th of July 2014 we partook in umunganda; a beautiful and inspiring community spirit and environment!!!

Joining together with members of the local community to help level out and construct a road - such an eye opening experience!

Picture of the Day 25/07/2014

Five members of our team visited a catch-up school with Madame Donatile, one of the projects we hope to get massively stuck into during our time here!

Madame Donatile with some of the children who attend the school.

Picture of the Day 24/07/2014

Busy morning spent tilling one of the fields at the GIKOMERO co-operative, where there are 210 women as members of the group.

Team working hard at the GIKOMERO co-operative

Picture of the Day 22/07/2014

A busy Tuesday morning for the whole team spent watering plants at the KIMIHURURA farming co-operative!!

Getting down and dirty mucking in at the farm...

Picture of the Day 18/07/2014

"Before being supported by AEE our children were malnourished and suffering diseases due to malnutrition, but after being supported by AEE they are now in good health... I do not know what malnutrition is due to AEE"

Members of the co-operative working hard to prepare the tomatoes in their five green houses.

Picture of the Day 17/07/2014

"I couldn't get an everyday meal, but now breakfast, lunch and dinner are always available"

Eugenie is a member of TWITEZIMBERE group. With the assistance of AEE she was able to set up her own stall selling shoes in her local market. 

Picture of the Day 16/07/2014

This SSF/HIV project funded by the Global Fund works to empower the poorest members of society through training to members of associations and giving them livestock.

Epiphanie is part of the group called DUFATANYE. Her goat has transformed her life, and is an excellent example of how sustainable this project is.

Meet the Team!

Welcome to team AEE Kigali! We are all volunteers with Tearfund ICS and will be spending the next ten weeks together! 

(Left to Right..) Chinwe, David, Vicky, Henry, Lion-Sam, Beth, Rachel, Claire

Chinwe is from London, UK. Chinwe likes to give out a lot of banter and brings a lot of energy to the group. She is our team photographer and along with Lion Sam she is in charge of this blog and taking photo's/ making videos!
David is the team leader, he is also known as Pastor David due to his passion and gift for speaking the Word of God. 
Vicky is from West Sussex in the UK, She is the nominated assistant to David. With a level head, and keen eye for detail she is sure to keep the team on track.
Henry is from Kigali in Rwanda. He's full of life and jokes, and along with Beth and Claire is in charge of creating our daily reports.
Lion-Sam is from Kigali, he is jointly in charge of the teams blog, he has an undying love for One Direction and Liverpool FC.
Beth is from Devon, UK. She has been tasked with keeping the teams daily reports, with a bountiful love of life she keeps the team upbeat and enthusiastic.
Rachel is from Essex, UK. She's the teams time keeper, food connoisseur and dungaree lover.
Claire is from Kigali. She is the teams nominated singer, she has such a beautiful voice and an extensive knowledge of Rwandan songs, as well as a new found love for Amazing Grace.

Group work during the in country Orientation

During our time at orientation we were asked to create a set of house rules to make out time in Rwanda run seamlessly. These are the rules that we came up with...

Kigali Team House Rules:

1. Do everything with joy and passion
2. Respect everyone
3. Equal roles and responsibilities
4. Being flexible and open minded
5. Have daily team prayer and devotionals
6. Eat together
7. Time keeping
8. Full participation
9. Support and encourage one another
10. Taking care of everything in the house/our environment