CHARITY WORK news – Local teacher returns from volunteering in Lesotho.

Lesotho Teacher Placement Programme 2013 – Dolen Cymru

The Lesotho Teacher Placement Programme provides an opportunity for qualified teachers from Wales to work in a school in Lesotho, South Africa for 5 months and Wales for 1 month. The programme focuses on sharing professional skills and improving education in Lesotho while also developing the skills of the Welsh teacher and giving them a unique international experience that enriches their work on their return to Wales.

Since its launch in 2005 50 teachers have worked in Lesotho on the Lesotho Teacher Placement Programme benefiting over 15,000 pupils and over 1000 teachers. The programme is funded by the Welsh Assembly Government and is supported by the British Council and the Lesotho Ministry of Education.

Dolen Cymru

Dolen Cymru (meaning 'Wales Link') is an independent charity that has been creating life changing links between Wales and Lesotho since 1985, developing crucial relationships in education, health, governance and civil society.

Our team of skilled staff our in Wales and Lesotho office, a committed network of volunteers and our very supportive Patron Prince Harry work together to support links that change lives in both Wales and Lesotho.

Our aims

We want to see a world where individuals, communities and nations work together in partnership to create a sustainable and equitable future for all.

Dolen Cymru works towards achieving this vision through a linking relationship between Wales and our twin country, Lesotho in Southern Africa. Our mission is to:

Promote the link Wales has with Lesotho and its people.

Engage people of all ages in active global citizenship.

Enable the people of Wales and Lesotho to share and develop their skills.

Support links between individuals, organisations and communities in Wales and Lesotho.

LTPP 2013 – Qacha’s Nek

6 teachers were chosen from a variety of backgrounds and locations in Wales in August 2012 and left Wales in January 2013. They have just recently returned back to Wales from living for 5 months in Qacha’s Nek, a border town in Lesotho. Sharon Flint was the Mentor on the programme and helped supervise and support the teachers there whilst teaching in a local Primary School just outside the town.

Profile

Sharon Flint

34 years old

From Port Talbot, South Wales

Trained to teach in the Institute of Education, London

Qualified Secondary Art teacher & practising artist

Last exhibition – “A Flints-Eye View” POP UP exhibition in Aberavon Shopping Centre, December 2012

Recently lived in Mumbles (2012) and London (2002-2011).

Sharon’s story

When I was growing up in Port Talbot I knew from a young age that I wanted to be a teacher, an obvious choice for someone who loved school. I did my first piece of volunteer work during my time at Afan College where I worked with children with Special Educational needs which instigated my love and desire to work with young people. It was during this time I started to believe that I could actually make a difference in the world and one day teach in a developing country – great ambition for an 18 year old!

After teaching for 9 years and completing my Masters degree in London I realised that young 18 year old voice had come back to haunt me. Facing the one hour commute to work in West London I realised I need to do something more. I decided to take a career break and travel to Asia and Australia leaving time to volunteer in Africa on the way back to the UK. My plans shifted however when I discovered the Dolen Cymru Volunteer placement programme, 5 months in Africa as a Welsh Educational ambassador, this truly was what I wanted for a long time.

So my African story began….I arrived in Maseru, the capital city of Lesotho on the 3rd January 2013 and moved to Qacha’s Nek with my team of teachers 2 weeks later. Lesotho is a landlocked country high in the mountains of Southern Africa where villages are remote, roads are minimal and the Basotho people are very welcoming. As we followed the Senqu River from the lowlands through the South of the country we gradually wound our way up to the highlands where layers of craggy ridges stretched as far as the eye could see. Qacha’s Nek was at the end of the road that links Maseru and South Africa on the Eastern border and was nestled neatly in a valley with a breath-taking panorama of mountains all around it.

Our home for five months was not the dry, open, red earthed savannah of African photographs but the lush, green, mountainous kingdom of sun, mist, rain and snow. We witnessed scorching heat and blazing sun, torrential rain, storms and cold temperatures over our time there, which made us all, feel “right at home”. Watching herdsmen steer their stock right outside our kitchen window, dodging Blanket clad horsemen galloping through town or staring at women carrying sacks of maize on their heads did however remind us we were in Africa!

I taught in Hermitage Primary school just outside of the town, on the side of the valley overlooking glorious views of the craggy mountains. It was a medium size school with an average of 50 pupils per class, small in comparisons to my colleagues’ school, with 150 children per class!! Children are entitled to free Primary Education in Lesotho and usually start Grade 1 at 6 years old and leave Class 7 at 14 years old….however some start late or have to repeat the year so it is not uncommon to have 20 year olds in your class. The school itself was extremely basic with electric supply only in the staff room, most floors had huge holes and most ceilings were nearly falling down, but the children did not seem to mind and

were there at 7.30am ready to learn. The teachers were not always there on time and did not supervise any of the pupils outside of their own classroom, but in class children were quiet, polite and eager. Each had an exercise book and a pencil (some tied to string around their neck) a tattered donated rucksack with their lunch box in ready for their free meal and every pupil always had a smile to offer. Even without any resources, books, interactive whiteboards and central heating all children were enthusiastic. During my time there I taught all classes about Wales and Welsh culture and I was able to set up a library from donated books and an Art learning space for them. Being able to introduce simple art materials and activities with plain paper and felt pens was exciting for them!

Additional to my role in school I worked closely with my team of teachers who were in separate schools across the town. We worked together on leading a series of Teacher training workshops across the district to improve the Basotho teachers understanding of their newly implemented curriculum. They were very successful and we now are planning to travel back there to continue this training. Literacy levels are quite good in Lesotho as English is an official language but we aim to target Reading in Primary schools as part of our Lesotho Literacy Leap project.

If you would like to get involved please contact me at sharon_flint@hotmail.com we need books and funds in order to continue this project this year. If you’re a teacher and would like to work in Lesotho the closing dates for applications for LTPP 2014 is the 28 th

June 2013, please look on the Dolen Cymru website www.dolencymru.org for details and come to our open day on the 23rd June in Cardiff.