Time goes by so quickly!

This Saturday is the end of the third marking period here at Gugu. It’s hard to believe that we are now in the home stretch of the school year and that I’ve completed two terms with my students. Exams will be this week. Time is going by so quickly!

We’ve moved all of the classes to the morning session now (8am -12pm) because of a lack of teachers. This means that one of my classes is now in the lobby with an old chalkboard propped up on the wall. However, it seems to be working for now. I will be teaching science for the last term as well. Not really my specialty, but I’m sure I’ll pull something together.

The after school program is going well as we gain more and more students each time. I want to expand for the rest of the school year, especially since all of the children have nothing to do after 12pm. I am going to have the older girls come for a separate program on Tuesday. There are two reasons for this: the girls are too advanced for my current afterschool program and there is a great need to focus on the self-esteem of these young women. We are also looking to start an “after school movie” program once a week. If we get the funds to buy a DVD player, we will show children’s movies once a week for 1 L.E. for the students. This will raise some (not a lot of money) for the school, but it will also give the chance for the kids to have something to do.

Keep in mind that the school is really struggling. The administrator of Gugu said he will be surprised if we can even finish the fourth term because of finances. The teachers are still lacking a consistent salary and are threatening to not come back for the next term. There’s definitely no teacher union here! Also, the school has been having a hard time raising the money for rent. I think there has been some mismanaging of finances, but I don’t want to see the children suffer because of this. Please pray that we receive what we need to have the school function until June. We’ll tackle whether or not to open the school for the next academic year once we get through with this one! There is a parent, teacher, and staff meeting on Friday to discuss these problems.

Needs for the Remainder of the School Year:

- Teachers’ salaries- approximately $300 per month

- Rent of the building- approximately $400 per month

- Committed teachers

- A DVD Player ($40) for the new movie program

- Classroom supplies (markers, chalk, paper)

I’ll keep you updated as we work on these problems. I’m confident that things will work out as they should!