Miss Yardley and Mr Power would like to thank everyone who has visited the blog during our visit to Sierra Leone; over 2500 hits!
We really enjoyed our visit and have brought back some very special memories, some of which we will share with you at school over the coming weeks. In June, staff from our partnership schools in Sierra Leone will be visiting our schools in the Crosby and we look forward to repaying their hospitality.
Over the coming months and years we hope to work together to build and strengthen the links between our schools in the UK and Sierra Leone.
During the February half term Mr Power (MTGS) and Miss Yardley (Stanfield) will visit our partnership schools in Waterloo, Sierra Leone. They will be travelling with the Waterloo Partnership, funded by the British Council. The aim of the visit is to strengthen curriculum links between the schools and also to provide assistance to the schools. You can follow the progress (technology permitting) via this blog.
Thursday, 24 February 2011
Saturday, 19 February 2011
On our way home and pictures
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| At former Waterloo Station with our UK colleagues |
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| Miss Yardley and laundry!! |
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| Mr Power has a new best friend! |
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| Gifts Presented to Mandela High |
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| Heads of Hope and Stanfield with Elizabeth |
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| An important poster at Mandela High |
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| Mr Power and the Principal of Mandela High and his children |
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| Ferry trip home. |
During our time we have held meetings and made important contacts with members of the British Council and the Department for International Development; key agencies in the transformation of education in Sierra Leone.
We have taught, laughed, danced, planned, challenged and cried during our very short time here. The affection showed toward us has been both genuine and humbling. The work of the Waterloo Partnership is inspired!
Our girls have from MTGS and Stanfield have provided us with excellent resources that the children and teachers have loved and appreciated beyond our expectations!
They thank you from the bottom of their hearts.
Mr.Power and Miss Yardley.
Friday, 18 February 2011
Heading Home
We have reached the end of a memorable and probably life changing journey. We have seen desperate poverty and also the remarkable life giving work of the Waterloo Partnership.
Technology did not work as expected and so I thank Sean for his assistance via the last two entries.
Be sure of lots of stories. I will also update the blog with photos after we arrive back home.
Mr Power and Miss Yardley
Technology did not work as expected and so I thank Sean for his assistance via the last two entries.
Be sure of lots of stories. I will also update the blog with photos after we arrive back home.
Mr Power and Miss Yardley
Wednesday, 16 February 2011
We have been in our schools for 2 days and we are humbled by the respect and good will given to us. The Internet provision is patchy so we have been unable to update as frequently as we would have liked.
We have also visited more amazing work by the Waterloo Partnership: a bakery and a school for the children of disabled adults.
We really have had the most amazing experience in a most beautiful country and we thank our good fortune every day!
We have also visited more amazing work by the Waterloo Partnership: a bakery and a school for the children of disabled adults.
We really have had the most amazing experience in a most beautiful country and we thank our good fortune every day!
Tuesday, 15 February 2011
Various pictures (whilst the Internet is connected)
Dear all,
thank you for your lovely messages of support and encouragement - it is lovely to read them. I am uploading some pictures from various places over the last few days, to give you an idea of the progress that the country is try to make and to highlight the amount of work that still needs to be done.
Everyone we meet values that that we are here and that we are trying in a very small way to help them to rebuild their lives. For example, a gentleman wanted to charge us 10 dollars each to enter a museum (which was free), when he found out that we were teachers, he did not want the money!
They also value peace and one of the great things we saw today was the dismantling of a United Nations base, which indicates that they really want to put the civil war behind them.
Tomorrow we are back to school. Mr Power to Mandela High and Miss Yardley to Hope Prep. Mr Power is teaching about the elementary canal and Miss Yardley will be teaching Fere Jaques and London Bridge. Believe it or not both of us were practising it in the car on the way to school the other day - the driver stayed very quiet !!
thank you for your lovely messages of support and encouragement - it is lovely to read them. I am uploading some pictures from various places over the last few days, to give you an idea of the progress that the country is try to make and to highlight the amount of work that still needs to be done.
Everyone we meet values that that we are here and that we are trying in a very small way to help them to rebuild their lives. For example, a gentleman wanted to charge us 10 dollars each to enter a museum (which was free), when he found out that we were teachers, he did not want the money!
They also value peace and one of the great things we saw today was the dismantling of a United Nations base, which indicates that they really want to put the civil war behind them.
Tomorrow we are back to school. Mr Power to Mandela High and Miss Yardley to Hope Prep. Mr Power is teaching about the elementary canal and Miss Yardley will be teaching Fere Jaques and London Bridge. Believe it or not both of us were practising it in the car on the way to school the other day - the driver stayed very quiet !!
Monday, 14 February 2011
Some photos from Day 2
It is quite difficult to do updates and upload photos - I will keep trying (this has taken nearly two hours to connect).
Here is MTGS Partnership school Nelson Mandela High. They want a Merchants flag to go next to their country's flag!!
The larger boy to my right 'languages' he told me. He cannot afford to go to school, so the 4 of us had an impromptu Spanish (1 -10 and colours) lesson.
The final picture was taken by the Tourism Development, which offers accommodation and sport facilities near the beach. (Miss Yardley was playing football with some local children as I took this).
Here is MTGS Partnership school Nelson Mandela High. They want a Merchants flag to go next to their country's flag!!
The larger boy to my right 'languages' he told me. He cannot afford to go to school, so the 4 of us had an impromptu Spanish (1 -10 and colours) lesson.
The final picture was taken by the Tourism Development, which offers accommodation and sport facilities near the beach. (Miss Yardley was playing football with some local children as I took this).
Day 2 - Church, Fishing Village, Tourism Development
Today we visited a church 'Our Lady's' in Waterloo, very close to both our schools, following this we went to small fishing village to see the work of the people who sell seafood in the market. The Partnership also support their work.
Wherever we go, the children treat us with quite dramatic affection and ask for us to take their photo, when they see their photo - they go wild with laughter. We realised today that this is because they do not have a mirror and so never see themselves!
One young boy would not let go of my hand today and it was very hard to leave the village we were in. Mr Jones please note (and MFL department) I was teaching Spanish and French in the middle of the street to some 15 children in the same village!
We can not overstate the amount of severe widespread poverty there is, however, everywhere we turn very happy adults and children greet us.
Also, today we visited Kent, where some of the Slave Trading took place. We saw the horrible low and cramped dungeons that the slaves were kept in and some of our group were quite emotional.
We also visited a tourism development initiative, showing that Sierra Leone is trying to make progress on all fronts.
Tomorrow we will be visiting our schools for the first time, although, we met some of the pupils at the Literacy Festival on Saturday.
We are having a very moving experience and would like to thank you all for your comments to date.
There are problems uploading photo's because the Internet in the hotel keeps losing it's connection so we have been unable to upload as many as we would have hoped.
Mr. Power and Miss Yardley
Wherever we go, the children treat us with quite dramatic affection and ask for us to take their photo, when they see their photo - they go wild with laughter. We realised today that this is because they do not have a mirror and so never see themselves!
One young boy would not let go of my hand today and it was very hard to leave the village we were in. Mr Jones please note (and MFL department) I was teaching Spanish and French in the middle of the street to some 15 children in the same village!
We can not overstate the amount of severe widespread poverty there is, however, everywhere we turn very happy adults and children greet us.
Also, today we visited Kent, where some of the Slave Trading took place. We saw the horrible low and cramped dungeons that the slaves were kept in and some of our group were quite emotional.
We also visited a tourism development initiative, showing that Sierra Leone is trying to make progress on all fronts.
Tomorrow we will be visiting our schools for the first time, although, we met some of the pupils at the Literacy Festival on Saturday.
We are having a very moving experience and would like to thank you all for your comments to date.
There are problems uploading photo's because the Internet in the hotel keeps losing it's connection so we have been unable to upload as many as we would have hoped.
Mr. Power and Miss Yardley
Sunday, 13 February 2011
A few pictures from the first day
Stanfield's well traveled bear - Barnaby !!
Bridge rebuilt after the civil war by the Waterloo Partnership
Gentleman who trains the mechanics with his tools - provided by the Waterloo Partnership.
Saturday, 12 February 2011
Day 1 - Arrival and Visit Villages and Schools
We have arrived!! Miss Yardley and I arrived safe and very tired after a 23 hour trip by coach, plan, car and ferry to Freetown.
Today we accompanied other members of the Waterloo Partnership to Waterloo to view some projects that they have funded over recent years. It really is remarkable the work that has gone on, from school support, supporting young people in getting a trade, re-building bridges destroyed in the civil war - the list goes on.
We were stars guests at the village Literacy and Culture Festival (if you can call us that !). We saw children from our partnership schools, perform plays and skits (funny plays) - one which acted out why girls should 'really focus on education' (Mr. Power can feel an assembly coming on!).
We have had quite a surreal day and I cannot believe how friendly the people are in such dire situations.
I will upload some pictures later on as the Internet is very slow at our accommodation.
Mr. Power
Today we accompanied other members of the Waterloo Partnership to Waterloo to view some projects that they have funded over recent years. It really is remarkable the work that has gone on, from school support, supporting young people in getting a trade, re-building bridges destroyed in the civil war - the list goes on.
We were stars guests at the village Literacy and Culture Festival (if you can call us that !). We saw children from our partnership schools, perform plays and skits (funny plays) - one which acted out why girls should 'really focus on education' (Mr. Power can feel an assembly coming on!).
We have had quite a surreal day and I cannot believe how friendly the people are in such dire situations.
I will upload some pictures later on as the Internet is very slow at our accommodation.
Mr. Power
Thursday, 10 February 2011
Thursday 10th February - Set to go!
Miss Yardley and I will be departing for Sierra Leone, via London and Malaga tonight. We would like to thank parents, pupils and staff for your gifts and good wishes that we will take to our schools. We will be creating and strengthening curriculum links whilst we are there and also visiting projects supported by the Waterloo Partnership.
I am uploading a couple of pictures (to make sure I can !!) of some games that Year 8 girls created in their own time and, more importantly.....using ICT!!!
We will update this blog as soon as we can with details of a hopefully safe journey!
Mr. Power and Miss. Yardley.
I am uploading a couple of pictures (to make sure I can !!) of some games that Year 8 girls created in their own time and, more importantly.....using ICT!!!
We will update this blog as soon as we can with details of a hopefully safe journey!
Mr. Power and Miss. Yardley.
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