Nick's+Journals

Journal 1

After my first visit to the Found Africa Child learning Centre (FACLC)

I saw how poor the quality of education was for them, especially in

comparison to my own. It was a humbling experience to see these people

eager to go to their small, crowded school and learn when I go to my

school that couldn’t be any more different. It struck me how many

students could attend such a small school, fashioned out of a ground

floor apartment. The few teachers present were overwhelmed by the

large numbers of students squeezed into the tiny classrooms, a quarter

of the size of those here at CAC. Here I saw a chance to make a

difference. The students, despite being eager to learn, would not be

able to take much from the overcrowded lessons with the teachers, but

we would be able to achieve far more by breaking them up into groups

and teaching them. I also saw an opportunity to do little things to

help their education experience such as much needed cleaning and

organization of the little school. I left after that first visit to

the school feeling humbled and saddened after seeing how their

<span style="background-color: rgba(255,255,255,0.917969);">education compares to mine, but also feeling good that I could make a

<span style="background-color: rgba(255,255,255,0.917969);">difference to people who would really appreciate it.

<span style="background-color: rgba(255,255,255,0.917969);">Journal 2

<span style="background-color: rgba(255,255,255,0.917969);">One of the times we went to the school we went on a holiday for the

<span style="background-color: rgba(255,255,255,0.917969);">FACLC Students. We used the time at the school without the students

<span style="background-color: rgba(255,255,255,0.917969);">cleaning up the school and fixing some of the broken benches and

<span style="background-color: rgba(255,255,255,0.917969);">tables. The school was completely filthy. We spent over 5 hours

<span style="background-color: rgba(255,255,255,0.917969);">cleaning and an hour sending the benches and table to be fixed. Here

<span style="background-color: rgba(255,255,255,0.917969);">at CAC we have a dedicated full time cleaning and maintenance team

<span style="background-color: rgba(255,255,255,0.917969);">that keep our school spotless and fully functional. At the FACLC,

<span style="background-color: rgba(255,255,255,0.917969);">where there was nothing of the sort, the resultant build-up of dust and

<span style="background-color: rgba(255,255,255,0.917969);">litter, as well as the amount of work needed to clean up such a

<span style="background-color: rgba(255,255,255,0.917969);">comparatively small school, greatly enhanced my appreciation of the

<span style="background-color: rgba(255,255,255,0.917969);">cleaning and maintenance team here at CAC. The huge pile of broken

<span style="background-color: rgba(255,255,255,0.917969);">desks and benches also showed me how lucky we are to have such great

<span style="background-color: rgba(255,255,255,0.917969);">equipment here at CAC which is constantly maintained to a good

<span style="background-color: rgba(255,255,255,0.917969);">standard. At the FACLC they didn’t even have enough unbroken desks and

<span style="background-color: rgba(255,255,255,0.917969);">benches to use, something we take for granted here at CAC. Before I

<span style="background-color: rgba(255,255,255,0.917969);">had gone to the FACLC I had never really pondered on the idea of what

<span style="background-color: rgba(255,255,255,0.917969);">my life would have been like if I had been born elsewhere, but I am

<span style="background-color: rgba(255,255,255,0.917969);">now far more great full of the upbringing I have been given.

<span style="background-color: rgba(255,255,255,0.917969);">Journal 3

<span style="background-color: rgba(255,255,255,0.917969);"> As I began to regularly attend the FACLC I began to recognize some of

<span style="background-color: rgba(255,255,255,0.917969);">the problems in the education and see the importance in the activities

<span style="background-color: rgba(255,255,255,0.917969);">we were carrying out. In English for example, although they were

<span style="background-color: rgba(255,255,255,0.917969);">already being taught by the teachers in the overcrowded classes, the

<span style="background-color: rgba(255,255,255,0.917969);">students were only able to recite sentences and basic rules without

<span style="background-color: rgba(255,255,255,0.917969);">fully understanding them and their connotations. This was much the

<span style="background-color: rgba(255,255,255,0.917969);">same with their maths, as although they could recite times tables,

<span style="background-color: rgba(255,255,255,0.917969);">they showed little true understanding of what was going on. As a

<span style="background-color: rgba(255,255,255,0.917969);">result we made it our focus to concentrate on the understanding side

<span style="background-color: rgba(255,255,255,0.917969);">of the learning. By doing this we have able to make far greater

<span style="background-color: rgba(255,255,255,0.917969);">progress with the students than before. This experience has given me

<span style="background-color: rgba(255,255,255,0.917969);">an insight into what being an educator must be like and has yet again

<span style="background-color: rgba(255,255,255,0.917969);">made me feel grateful that I go to a good school like CAC and have

<span style="background-color: rgba(255,255,255,0.917969);">talented teachers who value our understanding.

<span style="background-color: rgba(255,255,255,0.917969);">Journal 4

<span style="background-color: rgba(255,255,255,0.917969);">My experience volunteering at FACLC has greatly altered my view on my

<span style="background-color: rgba(255,255,255,0.917969);">life for the better. While teaching there I heard the stories of the

<span style="background-color: rgba(255,255,255,0.917969);">great lengths students went on to get to school. One story in

<span style="background-color: rgba(255,255,255,0.917969);">particular that stays with me is that of a girl who lives on the

<span style="background-color: rgba(255,255,255,0.917969);">outskirts of Cairo who travels near to the complete length of the

<span style="background-color: rgba(255,255,255,0.917969);">metro and on various minibuses to get to the school located in New

<span style="background-color: rgba(255,255,255,0.917969);">Maadi. This trip takes the girl over two hours on a bad day. In

<span style="background-color: rgba(255,255,255,0.917969);">comparison my 15 minute walk down the length of Port Said street

<span style="background-color: rgba(255,255,255,0.917969);">every morning seems effortless and I feel ashamed of the complaints I

<span style="background-color: rgba(255,255,255,0.917969);">have made about having to complete it. I am also grateful for the

<span style="background-color: rgba(255,255,255,0.917969);">opportunity taking this course has given me to help other people's

<span style="background-color: rgba(255,255,255,0.917969);">lives. The students we taught came on massively during the time we had

<span style="background-color: rgba(255,255,255,0.917969);">them, not only in terms of their academics but also our relationships.

<span style="background-color: rgba(255,255,255,0.917969);">Towards the end we were building what felt like the begging of a friendship with some of the students. Especially after we took a group of them to CAC to play football we began to feel quite close.