Please check out the program update for Gugu on:

www.gugucenter.blogspot.com

It will give you a overview of what we are doing as an organization now.

Cairo has an amazing ability to go from cold to 100 degrees in a matter of days. However, that means it is finally warm enough to start the sports program. We began renting the playground about 3 weeks ago and the kids are so excited! Thanks to everyone who has contributed to this program (including Kiddie Soccer for providing the equipment).

We have over 70 kids at the program. In order to combat the chaos of that many kids on one playground, we divided the group into 2 days based on age. I then hired some Sudanese coaches to run the program. I had one coach quit because he didn't want to coach girls. It was quite the task arguing for the girls to play with the boys- there's such a cultural barrier here sometimes. Some of the coaches take the training very seriously as well. It's really cute watching the kids try to do organized drills, especially those who run quickly to the ball, swing, and miss. The girls wear skirts and nice dresses- a wardrobe not compatible with a tile floor playground.

There hasn't been a day that goes by when the kids don't ask, "Teacha we play football today?" There are some changes that have to be made to improve the program, but all in all, it's great seeing the kids happy and enjoying some sun and exercise.

School Makeover

In an effort to boost the morale of the school, we decided it was time to change things around. The school was starting to look like a dirty prison- small rooms, windows with bars, bare walls, old desks, dusty benches. It wasn't a happy environment (and most likely not a healthy one either). I thought if the school actually looked like a school, then things would get better. We are still using minimum resources, but the school is now much brighter.

After adult classes one night, the teachers decided to paint the drab classrooms. Little did we know how willing out students would be to help us do it. With the help of 10 students and 6 teachers, we were able to finish painting the school in 2 nights. Not only was it an exciting project, but we had a lot of fun doing it. We envision making each room themed- underwater, seasons, safari, and around the world. Hopefully, that will be done in the near future. We want the kids to be involved as well so they will be making some of the decorations. We will also decorate the one lobby with their hand prints on the wall.

The kids faces were priceless. They were so excited to see their new classrooms. While I did have one student tell me that he wanted the rooms yellow, not blue, it seemed that the rest were content with bright blue and green. They were even more excited when we took down the broken chalkboards and replaced them with brand new white boards. As a teacher, I feel the difference already. We have had some problems with the other teachers using permanent markers or keeping the lids off, but those problems seem to be almost over as they adjust to the new classroom feature.

I posted pictures for you to see the transition. And if anyone ever wants to come visit the school, you are always welcome here in Cairo!