Quite a few volunteers are going home or overseas for a Christmas break, but I am staying put in Georgetown as I don't feel I can afford to spend the money at the moment. I have arranged to stay over for the actual Christmas bit with a good volunteer friend locally - she says she will do the cooking so that sounds OK! I am teaching her to play bridge, so that will give us a bit of a hobby. The weather here is still hot humid and sunny, we have not had a rainy season because of El Nino - it is just a bit cloudy on some days and can rain heavily for half an hour or so at times. You know about it if you are caught out in it though. So the Christmas experience will be quite different from the UK, with outdoor events being the order of the day.
On Tuesday there was a Christmas event in the park run by the mobile phone company. There were beautiful fairy light decorations strung between the trees, and entertainments of various kinds on the bandstand - carols, gospel singing, speeches by the prime minister and the leader of the opposition, prayers by Christian and Hindu religious leaders, and a visit by Santa. The statistic is that 95% of people in Guyana have a religion, and from my experience that means a very strong religious belief - in a multitude of varieties. The zeal of young people is particularly striking - in the UK it would be small children dressing up as angels, but here it is teenagers who lead.
Last night our choir sang the Halleluia Chorus at the end of the Carol Concert in the Catholic Cathedral, which went pretty well. Then the second half of the evening we had our own practice working on the big piece we are preparing for our Christmas Concert on the 27th. It is a bit ambitious - the idea is to sing along to a backing CD but we have practised with someone playing the piano - so now the conductor and the choir are trying to make sense of the changes in pace on the recording, and also pick up enough rhythm to get the entries correct - if you miss it, then there is no adjustment like you'd get from a pianist! I am enjoying the challenge of the music, I have borrowed a recorder from someone in the choir so I can go over my part at home and try to learn it. It is also good to be busy at this time as many other things take a break over the Christmas period.
Friday, 18 December 2009
Tuesday, 15 December 2009
Music events
The party on Friday was pretty special - one of the leaving volunteers likes live music, so we had a group of drummers. They had a large bass drum, a medium drum and some small drums worn around the neck. They said that it was similar to Muslim drumming - it was extremely LOUD. The rhythm starts quite gently then gets louder and faster, with complex sub rhythms. The leader spoke to me about it afterwards - he is trying to revive local traditions - it is based on a mix of the cultures of Guyana. They played outside in a yard, so the sound was bouncing off the stone floor and walls. The other interesting aspect was that the neighbours did not complain, but that is also due to the local culture that having extremely loud music blasting out is absolutely fine. However some of the VSOs live near a rum shop which was very loud late at night, and they have a banning order in force at the moment which has kept the volume down to a low level - so things do sometimes happen and do get enforced.
It was the Bishop of Guyana's enthronement on Sunday - there was a huge choir based on all the five anglican churches in Georgetown plus our Woodside Choir. The amount of singing was huge as it was a very formal service with sung responses, huge long hymns and anthems. It went off well - we managed a bit by the skin of our teeth as we had not really practised some of the things much, and it was difficult searching through all the sheets to find the music for the various bits and pieces. Afterwards there was a reception on the top of the bank building, which is about 4 storeys high, one of the biggest buildings around - so we had a great view round Georgetown by night. We could see the ships with lights passing up the river, see the stadium lights, the harbour bridge, the old lighthouse and of course the centre of the town below. There is another new and very posh bank being built across the road from where I work - it seems strange to spend all that money on a huge bank building - but then I suppose banks are about people trusting that the bank has money - so the grander the better!
Today I have arranged a small training session at the primary school where the unit for the blind is. I hope that that will lead to some individual contacts to support the staff to move forward a bit in inclusion.
It was the Bishop of Guyana's enthronement on Sunday - there was a huge choir based on all the five anglican churches in Georgetown plus our Woodside Choir. The amount of singing was huge as it was a very formal service with sung responses, huge long hymns and anthems. It went off well - we managed a bit by the skin of our teeth as we had not really practised some of the things much, and it was difficult searching through all the sheets to find the music for the various bits and pieces. Afterwards there was a reception on the top of the bank building, which is about 4 storeys high, one of the biggest buildings around - so we had a great view round Georgetown by night. We could see the ships with lights passing up the river, see the stadium lights, the harbour bridge, the old lighthouse and of course the centre of the town below. There is another new and very posh bank being built across the road from where I work - it seems strange to spend all that money on a huge bank building - but then I suppose banks are about people trusting that the bank has money - so the grander the better!
Today I have arranged a small training session at the primary school where the unit for the blind is. I hope that that will lead to some individual contacts to support the staff to move forward a bit in inclusion.
Friday, 11 December 2009
Busy week
The training course on Monday was fine. The teachers at the special school liked the activities and we were able to listen to their concerns and needs. Hopefully we will be able to follow up to address some of these.
On Tuesday and Wednesday I went out to do training at the other unit for the blind which is inland, about an hour and a half by minibus. I arrived at the bus park, then took a little ferry over the river, then taxi up to the school. It was only a few minutes drive, so I was pleased at the end of the day that one of the teachers showed me the way so that I could walk there and back for the rest of my stay. It was the end of term so things were quite flexible - I was able to do some training with basic tactile equipment and diagrams, Braille and Jaws. The two staff are very enthusiastic and keen to learn - I just responded to their questions which led down many different paths. It was great to have a close match between my skills and what they wanted to know. Although it was quite a challenge to set up the Jaws training for them, as this is not something I've done before. But they had a list of keystrokes, so I practiced myself and set up a Noddy guide for them. I stayed overnight in a guest house, which was fine - I was the only one staying, but the staff in the canteen were friendly so that gave me someone to talk to. I went on a long walk in the late afternoon, to the library to attempt to get the internet, along by the boat ferries and market, and off along the main road out of town towards the mines. It is a bauxite (aluminium ore) mining area. I felt quite safe walking as long as I stuck to busy places. I have just finished writing up notes from this training so I can send them a copy, also these will build up to be a manual on teaching the blind - which I will be leaving as an online resource as well as print copies here, in the training college, as well as in the units for the blind.
Tonight is a party for a batch of VSOs who are leaving. Then over the weekend and next week there are a number of choir rehearsals and performances at carol concerts and at the bishop's enthronement service. I like being busy!
Weather here is a little cooler, so the temperature of the swimming pool at 7 am is a slight shock to the system. I'm just trying to make you jealous...
On Tuesday and Wednesday I went out to do training at the other unit for the blind which is inland, about an hour and a half by minibus. I arrived at the bus park, then took a little ferry over the river, then taxi up to the school. It was only a few minutes drive, so I was pleased at the end of the day that one of the teachers showed me the way so that I could walk there and back for the rest of my stay. It was the end of term so things were quite flexible - I was able to do some training with basic tactile equipment and diagrams, Braille and Jaws. The two staff are very enthusiastic and keen to learn - I just responded to their questions which led down many different paths. It was great to have a close match between my skills and what they wanted to know. Although it was quite a challenge to set up the Jaws training for them, as this is not something I've done before. But they had a list of keystrokes, so I practiced myself and set up a Noddy guide for them. I stayed overnight in a guest house, which was fine - I was the only one staying, but the staff in the canteen were friendly so that gave me someone to talk to. I went on a long walk in the late afternoon, to the library to attempt to get the internet, along by the boat ferries and market, and off along the main road out of town towards the mines. It is a bauxite (aluminium ore) mining area. I felt quite safe walking as long as I stuck to busy places. I have just finished writing up notes from this training so I can send them a copy, also these will build up to be a manual on teaching the blind - which I will be leaving as an online resource as well as print copies here, in the training college, as well as in the units for the blind.
Tonight is a party for a batch of VSOs who are leaving. Then over the weekend and next week there are a number of choir rehearsals and performances at carol concerts and at the bishop's enthronement service. I like being busy!
Weather here is a little cooler, so the temperature of the swimming pool at 7 am is a slight shock to the system. I'm just trying to make you jealous...
Monday, 7 December 2009
I have a busy week ahead. Today we are doing the first training session at one of the seven special schools in Guyana, hopefully this will give me a start in working with those teachers in sharing good practice, or perhaps developing good practice. I would like to set up a way for ideas to be shared with teachers in other special schools, hopefully tobuild the confidence and motivation of teachers. I will need to follow VSO's advice to have big ears and a small mouth, so that I listen to what is needed and not impose my own clever scheme which may not work with the local culture.
Then Tuesday and Wednesday I am off to the other unit for the blind which is up country. It takes about an hour and a half by minibus. I will stay over on Tuesday night at a guest house there. Again I need to listen to their needs and find ways that I can share skills with them.
Over the weekend I had a first game of bridge - the new VSO wanted to learn. I think that will be a good little group as we are none of us inclined to be too serious, there is plenty of time to chat.
I saw the person from the Rotary Club on last week, so hopefully that will push forward my appeal to them for funding for a Braille embosser. She invited a couple of us to their Christmas concert which we went to last night. It was a bit of an elegant event, with jazz and blues backing group and a succession of lady singers - it seems funny to have songs about mistletoe and snow flakes when it is still 30 degrees and so humid!
This week is a big choir event supporting the cathedral choir for the enthronement of the new Anglican Bishop of Guyana. We are singing at the big service on Sunday. I've really enjoyed the experience of going to the practices every Saturday over the last few weeks. There are people from the five anglican churches in Georgetown all joining in - a choir of fifty ish.
Then Tuesday and Wednesday I am off to the other unit for the blind which is up country. It takes about an hour and a half by minibus. I will stay over on Tuesday night at a guest house there. Again I need to listen to their needs and find ways that I can share skills with them.
Over the weekend I had a first game of bridge - the new VSO wanted to learn. I think that will be a good little group as we are none of us inclined to be too serious, there is plenty of time to chat.
I saw the person from the Rotary Club on last week, so hopefully that will push forward my appeal to them for funding for a Braille embosser. She invited a couple of us to their Christmas concert which we went to last night. It was a bit of an elegant event, with jazz and blues backing group and a succession of lady singers - it seems funny to have songs about mistletoe and snow flakes when it is still 30 degrees and so humid!
This week is a big choir event supporting the cathedral choir for the enthronement of the new Anglican Bishop of Guyana. We are singing at the big service on Sunday. I've really enjoyed the experience of going to the practices every Saturday over the last few weeks. There are people from the five anglican churches in Georgetown all joining in - a choir of fifty ish.
Monday, 30 November 2009
Birds, Dance and Music
Saw a pelican fishing on the foreshore on Friday which was a first - something I've never seen before - it was surprisingly agile for something so big - taking off and skimming for fish in the shallows.
Sunday I chanced going to a Hindu event which was advertised on local TV as having singing and dancing. It turned out to be a talent contest for thwe hindu youth who are learning chanting, singing, classical dance and folk dance. I really enjoyed the music - they played harmonium (one hand does the bellows) double ended drum played witht he hands, and a device like a triangle with a long rod so it can be damped with the other hand. They served up food - rice and small tasters of mild curry - on large lily leaves. Better than the ubiquitous polystyrene boxes which litter everywhere around here. They have some Hindu dance classes on a Sunday afternoon starting in January so I'm going to give that a go. Should be a bit of a new challenge. I also found out about a steel drum group that I could join - things are looking up.
Today I had my three month review with my VSO manager - she is pleased with how I am getting on. It was good to be able to discuss my small successes and the challenges I'm working with.
Sunday I chanced going to a Hindu event which was advertised on local TV as having singing and dancing. It turned out to be a talent contest for thwe hindu youth who are learning chanting, singing, classical dance and folk dance. I really enjoyed the music - they played harmonium (one hand does the bellows) double ended drum played witht he hands, and a device like a triangle with a long rod so it can be damped with the other hand. They served up food - rice and small tasters of mild curry - on large lily leaves. Better than the ubiquitous polystyrene boxes which litter everywhere around here. They have some Hindu dance classes on a Sunday afternoon starting in January so I'm going to give that a go. Should be a bit of a new challenge. I also found out about a steel drum group that I could join - things are looking up.
Today I had my three month review with my VSO manager - she is pleased with how I am getting on. It was good to be able to discuss my small successes and the challenges I'm working with.
Thursday, 26 November 2009
Sharing good practice
We have a day off tomorrow as it is a Muslim holiday. There are quite a few holidays as we get the Christian, Muslim and Hindu, but maybe not all of all of them. It is always a week for something or other as well, and next week is National Disability Week. There is an awareness raising march, a free concert in Main Street, a sticker campaign about letting persons with disabilities onto minibuses. So I'll be going to these events and networking. The Disability Bill is having its second reading in the Guyanese Parliament today. It has taken five years to get this far. If it gets passed then it gives the right to equitable education, so that will make a big difference to Special Needs Education (hopefully). This week we heard that the government is planning on increasing spending on education generally, I hope that includes giving teachers more pay. Currently they get less money than us, and we are classed as volunteers. Most teachers just want to get qualified then go overseas.
Yesterday I had a workshop about how Rehabilitation links up to Education - aimed at teachers and workers in special schools. It was run by the VSO for Rehab, so it was a fun day. We had a game of cricket (guess who hit the ball out into the road and lost it) - then we were asked to list the skills involved in cricket, link the whole experience to education, then think how it could be adapted for a child with any disability to take part. The interesting idea was that every subject on the school curriculum could be taught through the medium of cricket. Cricket is a national obsession in Guyana - maybe I mentioned that I met Clive Lloyd who is a famous West Indies cricketer - are you impressed?
One of the new ideas I am getting involved in is to work on building up a curriculum for special needs based on sharing good practice between the special schools. The idea is to use it as a vehicle to empower teachers - to make them feel that they have valuable expertise, and so they will feel more motivated. But it is hard when they are so badly paid. To get the atmosphere in the schools think about 1950s in the UK. We are going to look at the idea of working on little bits of curriculum, then getting someone to try it out, then it will be tried and tested in Guyana. Then we have to monitor whether it is actually used in classrooms.
A guy at choir says he has a piano accordion that nobody uses, so he will bring it. So maybe I can have a blast on that. Will they cope?
Yesterday I had a workshop about how Rehabilitation links up to Education - aimed at teachers and workers in special schools. It was run by the VSO for Rehab, so it was a fun day. We had a game of cricket (guess who hit the ball out into the road and lost it) - then we were asked to list the skills involved in cricket, link the whole experience to education, then think how it could be adapted for a child with any disability to take part. The interesting idea was that every subject on the school curriculum could be taught through the medium of cricket. Cricket is a national obsession in Guyana - maybe I mentioned that I met Clive Lloyd who is a famous West Indies cricketer - are you impressed?
One of the new ideas I am getting involved in is to work on building up a curriculum for special needs based on sharing good practice between the special schools. The idea is to use it as a vehicle to empower teachers - to make them feel that they have valuable expertise, and so they will feel more motivated. But it is hard when they are so badly paid. To get the atmosphere in the schools think about 1950s in the UK. We are going to look at the idea of working on little bits of curriculum, then getting someone to try it out, then it will be tried and tested in Guyana. Then we have to monitor whether it is actually used in classrooms.
A guy at choir says he has a piano accordion that nobody uses, so he will bring it. So maybe I can have a blast on that. Will they cope?
Friday, 20 November 2009
VSO Forum
I am on the annual VSO Forum. There are 47 VSOs plus staff. We are staying at a pretty wacky guest house on the north side of the Demarara river. The proprietor was living in the US for 20 years, and got homesick. So he collected anything he could from Guyana on various visits. So then when he came back he had to build his house bigger just to house all the junk. The place is packed with old furniture, maps, bottles, books, pots, documents, household objects. It is a bit spooky to be constantly surrounded by it all. It is a very common thing for Guyanese to be returning from overseas, over half of Guyanese live overseas.
This VSO Forum is a chance to do a lot of networking, to see how we can work together between the different programme areas: education, disability, secure livelihoods. It is also a chance to hear the inside story of how other vols are getting on in their placements. Many people have similar stories about how the written objectives look impressive, but in fact the best way to get started is on a much more basic level. I'm going to try to do more work in partnership with the disability vols.
This VSO Forum is a chance to do a lot of networking, to see how we can work together between the different programme areas: education, disability, secure livelihoods. It is also a chance to hear the inside story of how other vols are getting on in their placements. Many people have similar stories about how the written objectives look impressive, but in fact the best way to get started is on a much more basic level. I'm going to try to do more work in partnership with the disability vols.
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