We have been on
site for a little over three weeks and arereally starting to figure out what the rest of
the summer will look like! I am so ready to actually be having a plan instead
of just “going with the flow” every single day. So here is what all we are
working on-
Zawadi Shop-
Small store at the centre. The thought behind this store was for children to earn
points by attending school, doing chores, ect. They then could trade in their
points for items in the store. The items could include toy, clothes, books,
school supplies, games, and hygiene products. The shop reinforces the idea of
hard work and how if you work hard enough you can get what you have set your
eyes on. When we arrived to the centre the shop was in some bad conditions. The
shop was currently closed due to the system of points not working properly and
a lack of donations. The few donations that were there had no system or
organization.
We started with
repainting some of the very dirty and messy walls. Our new decorations on
different walls include a puzzle wall, a local artist’s painting of an amazing
mountain scenery, children’s hand prints spelling out CYEC, and some simple
designs. We then went through all of the donations. We completely revamped the
layout of the store. It is a lot more functional now!
Health Wise- This
is a project I am working on with a volunteer from Australia, Zanya. Health
Wise is a program to promote education about life knowledge. The program topics
included managing your emotions, expressing yourself, respecting differences in
others, leadership, conflict resolution, and more. This information is what an
individual typically would learn from their parents, caregiver, adults, ect. The
program was developed my two people from Penn State. Zanya then found out about
it and decided to implement it at the CYEC. I am just simply assisting her in
this project. We will be doing a lesson each week. Each lesson is taught to the
same group of individuals how range from 14-18 years old. The lesson is taught
by a CYEC staff to make sure the program is sustainable after Zanya leaves.
When she leaves I will be here to make sure everything is still running
smoothly and be here for support. I love this program. The information is very
valuable and needed at the center. This is right up my ally. I am very lucky
that I am able to assist with it!
Leadership
Workshop- My favorite. This project is now our groups new focus. Here we are
leading a workshop twice a week discussing different topics about leadership.
The ten students that attend the workshops are the prefects at the CYEC. The
prefects are the children who hold a leadership role. They were chosen because
of there character. We have held three workshops total so far. I am lovinggggg
teaching these guys! They are all so great! I am really able to see the
leadership potential in them and cannot wait to watch them lead this centre.
They have been really welcoming to our ideas. We were able to sit in on one of
their meetings to hear more about what was going on in their team. From that we
learned a lot! We then took what we learned and started creating our
curriculum. I just love this project. I love these ten kids already. I am so
excited that we found our project, are so passionate about it, and have a
strong vision for what we want do with it!
Zawadi Point
System- We helped create and implement a point system that allows children and
youth to earn points by going to school, doing chores, working, ect. They then
are able to spend their points however they chose. The youth that are out of 8th
grade have to pay for their food and rent with the points they earn. I love
this idea because it is teaching them how the real world is. It is showing the
idea of budgeting, saving, working for what you want, and how things are not
free. There was a huge need for this in the centre and I think we create
something very sustainable. (I won’t go into details about the ins and outs of
the system because it deals with accounting and junk and I don’t want you to
fall asleep). One day I walked out of my room and asked a child what they were
up to. He replied with feeding the rabbits to earn points so he can purchase a
game. My heart melted. He is learning the importance of how hard work can pay
off. I am really excited to watch the system grow this summer! I know there is
a lot more we are going to have to do with it, but this project is definitely headed
in the right direction!
In conclusion we
are working on a lot and are starting to fell that we are actually helping
here. I love serving here. I love love love it. The children are amazing. The
children make all of the long meetings, difficult decisions, and hours of
planning worth it. Every time I am overwhelmed or worried about a project, I
just go visit some of the kids. Right when I talk to them I know everything is
worth it. I am so excited to continue our work over the next six weeks!
Miss you all!
Talk to you soon!
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