Clearing out the Resources Room, Special Needs Group and we set off to conquer Mulanje (well Jeff is to do the conquering!)

Thursday was clear out the Resources Room day and it was quite a job! The ECD tutor managed to gather a dozen ECD student volunteers to help us. We all donned zitenge and some put on masks and plastic aprons against the dust as well. The Practice Leader was a star. Two nights ago she sat up all night at the hospital with a friend who was giving birth, she was at work on Wednesday and she made a magnificent job of supervising everyone to bring all the resources that were not actually on shelves (and there were loads of them) out onto the terrace at the back of the CC and sort out what we were going to keep, what we were going to sell and what was real rubbish and needed to be got rid of. I did not always agree with her but I tried hard not to veto too many decisions, stepping in only if something was truly unsuitable or if she wished to dispose of some thing that children could really benefit from. We managed pretty well I think. Once the floor was clear we fetched mops and buckets and cloths and washed down the floor and shelves. To do the shelves we had to clear them of boxes of resources, sort the resources into sensible categories and relabel them with clear indications of what was inside. I cannot guarantee that this has been done as thoroughly as I would like, but it is all much cleaner and tidier than it was. By lunchtime everyone was pretty tired, it was physically quite demanding work. Beehive was providing a free lunch so I took them all to the kitchen and Hall where the children from the school eat and they all settled down to vast plates of nsima, fish and tomato sauce and I went beck up to the office for my vegetarian lunch which today was vegetables in tomato sauce with rice. Once sated the students stoically returned to help us sort and return to the shelves all the stuff that had been stacked on the ground outside. Of course there was not enough space on the shelves despite the big piles for binning and selling, and my idea of sorting is rather more exacting than that of the average Malawian, but again we managed a fairly acceptable compromise. I struggled to make them understand why it is not best for children’s learning if you put all the plastic construction materials of every conceivable type into the same box. I insisted however and we now have separate containers for Duplo, Lego, Megablocks, Waffles, Sticklebricks etc. Phew! We were forced to abandon the idea of sorting all the boxes of books into subject areas on the same day. We shall have to raise another set of volunteers for that job. The exhausted Practice Leader failed to make it into work on Friday morning and I cannot say I am surprised. She looked exhausted by the end of the day and on top of a missing night I think she deserved a good rest. Friday started with a delightful visit to the SEND group run by the Outreach team in the other half of the CC from the daycare. This group was led by another ex-student of mine and I could not have been more proud. She led a team of 4 other Caregivers in a parent and child group for children with special needs that was well thought out, well presented and clearly appreciated by mothers and children alike. They followed a similar format to that used in the daycare, starting with Circle Time in the garden and then moving indoors to a room set out for free flow play and ending up with porridge and banana for everyone before they set off for home. The Circle time was a delight. My student led with confidence and clarity, she slipped smoothly from Chichewa to English ensuring everyone understood everything. She called all the children and mothers by name, she was enthusiastic and sensitive, inviting the mothers to lead prayer and songs. She followed the usual format looking at today’s weather, asking which day of the week it was and then talking about what they all did on a Friday. I was happy to hear the song ‘Hello Mr Sun’ that Lindy taught the students 12 years ago. The mothers asked to lead, mostly sang in Chichewa and everyone joined in with gusto. Then it was story time. My heart sank as the Caregiver leading got out the Children’s Bible, opened it at a page with a lot of writing and a dull black and white picture and said we were going to hear a story about Joshua and the fall of Jericho. These are SEND children with a tendency to short attention span, I thought. But I need not have worried. This Caregiver was also excellent. She produced a large bag of props and told the story extempore. The walls of Jericho were a Batman castle turned backwards so the logos didn’t show and it made a very effective grey walled city. Joshua was a small blue knitted teddy who led a band of followers of bears of different colours. The story was told in Chichewa so of course I did not get all the details but first the teddies took turns to put wooden blocks on top of one another and then individual children were invited to come forward and put blocks on top to build quite a substantial tower. Children were assisted appropriately according to their needs and everyone’s achievements were celebrated enthusiastically. When the walls finally tumbled down everyone was very happy! After this we all moved indoors. The room was set up with labelled learning areas (I’m not sure if they always do this or whether the labels were for my benefit). Each area had toys and equipment suitable for the area. There was the best painting activity I have seen since I arrived, with plenty of paint and the children choosing their own colours and following their own messy ideas without hindrance but with help if they needed it. There was sensory play with shredded paper which was thoroughly enjoyed by one of the older boys. A Tuff tray was filled with sand, stuck with leaves and twigs to make it forest-like and with many small toys and animals lurking within to be discovered and played with, also a tray of water on the side where I saw splashing going on, plastic animals having a swim and so on. There were books, home corner, problem-solving and construction areas too. My only regret was that mums once sat down were reluctant to move about and so children tended to spend most of the session in the two or three areas they could reach next to where their mum was sitting. However I reflected that the relationships and support networks set up by this group were just as important as the educational opportunities created for the children. The CGs were quietly busy, talking to parents, encouraging and supporting children in their play, observing, meeting small needs of both children and parents. One CG had been given the job of videoing the session which he carried out conscientiously. He was observant and I often spotted something interesting going on only to find that he was already there, recording it. I do hope that I will be able to have a copy of that video. It would be a great teaching aid and also a good fundraiser I think. After playtime came snack time. This was a pretty substantial snack. There was a large plate of likuni phala (fortified porridge of maize and soya) for each mother and child, too much for the small children and enthusiastically finished up by the mums, followed by a banana. These children had a wide range of disabilities; Down’s, Cerebral Palsy, learning delays and disabilities, autism, but all were able to eat and enjoy the porridge. After snack, families began to leave for the walk home. There are 48 families registered for the group at the moment but my student tells me that many live a very long walk away and some choose to make the considerable effort only once a fortnight. I think there were about 27 children at today’s session. After all had gone home the group leader and I met and talked through the session and I gave her a box full of SEND resources I have collected over the years. Now and Next boards, materials for making visual timetables, sleep passes, Green and Red words information, reminders for positive management of challenging behaviour and a couple of little books, one on sleep and one on behaviour to support parent’s of children with disabilities. She was delighted, even though it was not much; it all fitted neatly in a box not much bigger than a shoe box. This afternoon Bhavna, Jeff and I set off for Mulange. Jeff is to run in the Porter’s Race tomorrow and Bhavna and I are along for the ride. We are staying in a lodge at Likubula at the base of the mountain. Jeff will be doing a 14 and a half mile circuit, climbing about 6000 feet in the process. Rather him than me but he has been training hard. Bhavna and I will be doing well if we make it to the waterfall which is at about 1400 feet.