|
11
August 2006
Dear
Friends,
I can't
believe it's nearly the middle of August and I haven't even
sent you
an update yet since I arrived back in Mongo in mid-June.
Sorry!
Rainy
season got off to a slow start which was very worrying for
people
here, but the last few weeks have brought some great rain.
Yesterday we had
50 mm in one afternoon! I felt very much at home, as you
can imagine!
On the
work front things have been busy and I've been really enjoying
getting my teeth into things. My colleague, Sakine Ramat
and I have nearly
finished the guide for the preschool mother tongue classes
for the coming
year. We spent three days last week in a nearby town checking
the document
with 4 of the teachers who taught the pilot classes last
year. It was well
received and these teachers are keen to continue next year.
One of the
teachers, Bonjos, had one of his own children in his class.
He also has
another child who has now completed 2 years of primary schooling.
He said
when he asks them questions about school things, the younger
child knows
more than the older one! Such anecdotal evidence of the
advantages of mother
tongue education is a real encouragement to them and us!
Other
than that, I've also been helping the Moukoulou literacy
coordinator,
Exaucé Magellan with some material production. We've
been working on the
Moukoulou to French transition reading book, their 2007
diary, a small
newspaper to encourage reading and raise awareness, and
finalising 4
fairytale books. Hopefully, all these things will soon be
ready to send to
the print shop in Ndjamena.
On the
home front, I'm very much enjoying the house I'm living
in and
relations with the guard and his family who also live in
the concession are
good. As they don't speak much French, it's also good for
my Arabic (coming
along, still a long way to go). And I have a puppy! He's
now about 10 weeks
old and is called Jamil. He's cute but has sharp teeth and
especially enjoys
chewing flipflops etc. He does keep me amused though and
is already showing
signs of becoming a good guard dog.
Well,
I hope the holiday season has been going well for you all!
I hear you've
been enjoying some great weather. Thanks for all the emails
- they help me
keep in touch with the outside world. I really love hearing
all your news,
so do keep in touch!
Lots
of love,
Caroline
:O)
|
