Less Than a Week (written 7/26)

It’s hard to believe, but this time next week we’ll be in Sierra Leone teaching away! It’s a very stressful time right now because we’re all rushing around tying up loose ends. I just got back home from a family trip to Florida, so I don’t have any time to waste. Unfortunately I was locked out of my primary e-mail account while out of town, so I’ve had to spend some good time digging myself out of e-mail jail. Our final concern this week involves rounding up group supplies. We’re going to need things like clipboards, lanyards, nametag covers, pens, pencils, paper, scissors, and any evening art projects require us to bring all needed materials like paint, yarn, crayons, colored pencils, etc. While I was in Florida, I actually looked up the phone numbers for office, educational, and art supply stores in the Tulsa area. I ended up cold calling eight different stores asking for donations. It was a learning experience, and let me tell you—by the third or fourth call I had my speech down pat! I found that larger chain stores either only donate to one charity, or they subscribe to online charitable websites where an organization must petition electronically for donations. Smaller stores like Mardel’s Christian Bookstore and Appletree give donations early in the year, but it’s first come, first serve. Anyhow, if this is truly an ongoing project, we may begin requesting supplies earlier in the year from them.

The day before we leave (this Friday) I’m driving to Stillwater (about two hours from my home), picking up a couple team members’ suitcases, then heading over to Oklahoma City (another hour away) so the suitcases can be packed with various supplies for the 4-HIM orphanage in Sierra Leone. See, since each of us is taking an extra suitcase with items just for them this is a great opportunity for 4-HIM to get much-needed supplies to their orphanage.

So, after Oklahoma City, I’ll head back to Stillwater to stay overnight with a team member so that we can all leave together for the airport in OKC the next morning. Another challenge is that my dad’s car suddenly broke down right before I came home from Florida. Since my mother is out of town, I have the only operational car in the family. So, it looks like I’ll lend him my car while I’m in Sierra Leone—it’s a long story, but he can’t rent a car in his name at the moment—which means that he’ll have to tag along with me on Friday when I’m buzzing around the state. That will be interesting!

What are we Doing?

The other day while explaining this to my mom, I realized that what makes perfect sense in my mind seems foggy when elaborated, so I'll do my best to explain.
Firstly, this is the first time our group from OSU is traveling to Sierra Leone to work with Njala University faculty and students. This is intended to be a five-year project, with Sierra Leonoean students coming to the camp at least one week per year. Our goal is to have Njala faculty and students travel to OSU over the years to cross-train with us in subjects such as agriculture, leadership, sciences, and economics (to name a few). Basically, this will be similar to an agricultural based 4-H program reinforced throughout the year by outreach and extension within the country, similar to the OSU land-grant system of educational extension across the state. 4-HIM Ministries has graciously volunteered the children from their orphanage in Sierra Leone to attend during this first round, but for following years Njala representatives will recruit children from across the country to attend. The goal is for our students to learn critical skills which may be shared and reproduced in their communities, hence improving quality of life at home.

So, when I first signed up for this assignment, I was under the impression that I would develop two courses to teach 10 student classes in which the students would create simple art projects utilizing natural materials, preferably locally available resources, so that the projects may be replicated after we leave.

Planning this sounds simple enough, but when I started working out the logistics of my classes, I began confronting problems that needed solving. First, how long will class periods last? If I want to teach art, I need an idea of how much time I have so that the projects fit into the allotted time. Also, will I teach the same group of students more than once? This way if a student does not finish their project, they may finish it later in the week. Then I wondereed about the age range of our students. Will these art projects be age-appropriate? Furthermore, what kind of supplies will we have? I understand not having paints or colored pencils, but will we even have scissors, tape, and glue?

So, I started out by asking Dr. Dicks what our class schedule will look like. The reponse was basically, "You guys will have to work that out." Ok. This poses a challenge because everyone (OSU-side) going is either out of the country our out of the state working on other projects until we leave. Regardless I decided to make a possible class schedule spreadsheet just so I could have a better idea of what to plan for. At first I started with a rolling one-hour class schedule, but that seemed to be too chaotic. Then I tried a 4-hour block schedule, but realized that would be way too much time in one class and the kids would get too antsy. From there I tried a two-hour block schedule, which seemed to be the best option so far. I put the schedule aside for a few days and then thought, why not 1.5 hour classes? This way we could fit in five classes a day, allowing us each to teach one subject to all student groups throughout the day.

I shared the schedule spreadsheet with Dr. Dicks and he was very happy with it. Then I shared it with my trusted classmate and co-adventurer, Pia, to see if she thought it was realistic. While reviewing it we both realized there was no way we could each just teach two classes for the whole week. If the kids are there for five to six days, we'd be done with the two classes within a couple days. So, we'd have to plan for at least four classes, maybe five. We were both finding it hard enough to think of two appropriate classes to teach--how were we to create four or five? See, we were both concerned about cultural differences that might limit what subject matter is appropriate to teach. Additionally since we don't know the kids or Njala faculty, it's just plain difficult to plan. I think by the end of the conversation we concluded if in this first round in Sierra Leone we can just smooth out the edges around the daily schedule that would be a big accomplishment. There truly is no way to predict what our time there will be like. From the beginning I've kept the mindset that this will be more hectic and spontaneous than anything--we all just need to keep an open mind and team spirit to make it work.

Anyhow, to make a very long story a bit shorter, last week we had a conference call to sort out the details of our project. Pia and I were very relieved to find out that Njala faculty already have classes planned, and we will be there to support them like teacher assistants. Whew! What a big relief! We will still have after school time to do special projects with the kids, like art, crafts, music, and games. That sounds much more manageable, and I hope to still do some artsy things with the kids.

Who is Going?

Crystal: She’s affiliated with 4-HIM Ministries, which sponsors the orphanage from where our students come. I think one word describes her-wonderwoman! She has put so much time and effort into making this trip work, from coordinating our flights, to arranging meetings with Njala University faculty and 4-HIM orphanage staff, to giving us “insider information” to prepare us culturally. She’s just amazing, I can’t say it enough.

Dr. Dicks: He’s a professor with the OSU College of Agriculture and the newly seated Endowed Chair of International Trade and Development in the OSU School of International Studies—he’s the mastermind behind this project and the one who brought all of us together.

Dr. Hattey: He’s a professor with the OSU College of Agriculture and also visited Njala University in early-June, so he’s been really helpful in giving us an idea of what to expect when we get there.

Dr. Blackwell: She’s a professor with the OSU College of Agriculture. We’re lucky to have her with us because she’s spending almost the whole summer lecturing and teaching overseas in one country or another. I’m looking forward to working with her because I also happen to be taking an Agricultural Communications class she will teach next semester (totally coincidental).

Annie: She’s a graduate student in the OSU College of Agriculture. Annie is also Dr. Dicks’ graduate assistant and is originally from Ghana. Annie is so smart; before starting grad school she had a job involving commercial agricultural chemistry experiments (I can’t quite remember what company it was, but it was great real-world experience).

Alyssa: She’s an undergraduate pre-med student at OSU. I don’t know her that well, but from what I’ve heard she’s a pretty amazing person. Her field of study is medicine in the developing world, and she has already worked with a group of friends to create an afterschool program for kids in South Africa (called Thanda). In fact, she’s been a vital fundraiser for the program and recently was awarded a scholarship for like $10,000 to fund the Thanda project. The more I hear about her the more I admire her. Can’t wait to get to know her in Sierra Leone.

Pia: She is a doctoral student in the OSU Social Foundations program. Pia also graduated from OSU School of International Studies last December. Of everyone going, I know Pia the best. We actually met late last year in a class. We have a special connection not only because of our shared grad major, but also because Pia is Chilean. See, I was a high school exchange student in Chile (1996), and affectionately say that I have corazon chilena (a Chilean heart). In addition to teaching with us, Pia will conduct surveys that will serve to document the students’ thoughts about the program. Pia is actually teaching English in Puebla, Mexico this summer as well, so she’ll have a quick turnaround when we leave for Sierra Leone. I am so glad she is part of our team.