English class

Except Computer class, I also started teaching English class. Well, not on a regular basis, just to help out Eliab, the regular English teacher, while he prepares for his exams. My methods are a bit different from Eliab. I noticed that he concentrates more on grammar and less on conversation. The result is that the women know irregular verbs by heart, but they have difficulties in putting a sentence togehter. That's why I decided to focus more on conversation. And did I hit the jackpot. 

The girls now seem to completely forget about the Computer class and want to focus only on English. In fact, we skipped Computer class altogether last week, to focus more on English. Some of them still don't have enough vocabulary to actively participate in the conversation, so I usually say/ask something in English, one of the girls translates it to Kinyarwanda, they first answer in Kinyarwanda and then we try to put the sentence together in English. For now we are doing great, but I'm running out of themes I can cover for vocabulary. We already did „colors“, „fruits&vegetables“, „clothes“, „sports“, „geography“, „getting around town“, „time“, „sewing“, „animals“... Also, sometimes I hate how I forget myself and act like I'm still in Europe. When we were talking about sports I just went on and on: „Yeah, we have football, basketball, handball, swimming, waterpolo, skiing, ski jumping...“ Then I see the confused look on their faces: „Ok, sorry. Forget about skiing and waterpolo.“

Marko

Fundraising

The current project from which NWC receives most funding is over in a few months. From September the normal functioning of NWC is questionable , unless we get some now funding. So, while the Peace Institute in Ljubljana prepares big project proposals for the European Commission and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Slovenia, we are helping Marie Aimee, the president, to write smaller applications for funding. 


Last week Suncica wrote an application for Global Fund for Women, a nonprofit grantmaking foundation that advances women's human rights by funding women-led organizations worldwide. The GFW grants range in size from US $500 to $30,000 per year. We also finished a letter of interest for MamaCash, an international women's fund that supports pioneering and innovative women's initiatives around the world. MamaCash grants range from $5000 to $50000 per year. If successful, the grants would be used for an uninterrupted continuance of all NWC's activities, including administrative expenses necessary, for a few months. 


Few days ago, we received a confirmation from GFW that they received our application and that it's in their system now. Also, they note that it usually takes them 7-9 months to decide. We are trying to be optimistic about the applications, but what worries us is the fact that WC is a rather small group. It consists of only 13 members. International organizations like GFW and Mamacash are maybe more willing to give money to bigger groups. And so we come to one of the biggest problems of NWC. The 13 present members are reluctant to receive new members, as they view NWC as a source of profit and they don't want to share it with more women. This way of thinking is perhaps understandable from their point of view, but also makes NWC look more like an exclusive group of women and not as an NGO that expands it's influence and grows bigger every year, how it was concieved at the beginning. Still, we hope that the accomplishments of NWC thus far (and there has been a few) will impress the donors.


Marko

Damage report

We didn't thought of ourselves as being very accident prone, but somehow we managed to cause damage. On the place we live in, as well as on ourselves. On the day we arrived, when we first tried to open our backyard doors, we broke the key. It stayed in the lock. So we first tried to get out the piece of the key stuck in the lock and then to find a lock-smith somewhere in the busy, dusty streets of Nyamirambo.

Then a mirror. There was only one small mirror in our room and we kept it on the window. Of course, it fell on the floor. There is a saying about seven years of bad luck brought by a broken mirrow... We are just not sure does it come to the owner of the mirror or the breaker of it.

In the days after the mirror we mostly caused physical injuries to ourselves. First Marko banged his head diving in the pool of the Hotel des Mille Collines. His face is all scratched and has a bump on his forehead which makes him look like a unicorn. The rest of his face looks like he washed the steet with his cheeks. We usually tell people he fell of a moto-taxi. It sounds less embarassing. Then Suncica burned her leg, while riding on a moto-taxi. Or at least we thing it was while riding a moto-taxi. There was a bubble on the place of the burn, but it burst at some point. It doesn't look nice. If there are any doctors reading this, please feel free to contact us – we kind of suspect it has become infected and it would be very unconvenient for our plans if we would have to amputate her leg right now. And let us not forget the tooth Marko broke while eating some brochettes (skewered goat meat).

Suncica & Marko

Computer class

Computer class

Last week, on Thursday, May 3rd, I started teaching computer class. Usually Eliab, who works as the English teacher, also volunteers at the computer class. So we agreed that, for the timeI'm here, I can take over computer class. My class, for now, consist of seven wonderful ladies: Jeannette, Mariam, Joyce, Eugenie, Epiphanie, Mayimuna and Zayinabi. I've been told that there are more women who are attending, but for now, they haven't showed up. Also, the idea of time seems to be very fluid to some of the women. If the class starts at 11 a.m. some have the habit of slowly walking in at around 11:50. But I'm usually also always late for work back home, so I don't take it against them.

Until now, Eliab held the class with only one computer, which can be very frustrating, not to say almost impossible to organize. He would show them an exercise and they would each had to repeat it one by one on the same computer. I brought in my computer, so now we are working on two. It's a bit easier. I organized them in two groups. In each group there is one woman who is doing a little bit better then the rest and knows a bit more English, so she can make my job easier by translating, and help the other women in their exercises. I forgot to mention that most of them (with two exceptions) know English very poorly, which makes my job even more challenging. More challenging, but also more rewarding if I manage to teach them something. For now we did some repetition of basic Microsoft Word Office stuff. Since not all of them have their e-mail accounts, we also created one for each student and I’m teaching them to compose e-mails, send and receive them. In the coming week I plan to do some more Word Office, some Internet use, and maybe even some Excel.

I am really fascinated by my students. Some of them are women in their fifties, but they are coming to every class, trying really hard on every exercise and staying long after the class is finished to practice some more. Every single time we break the schedule for at least na hour. I also like the enthusiasm some of the women have for learning ICT. I just hope that they will be able to put in use in everday life everything we practice. I think the computer class is also a good opportunity for women to spend some time together. It is also really touching when, after the class, you get e-mails from your students saying how they are happy to learn new things. For example, one of Jeannette's e-mail I got two days ago: „Hi! My good Teacher,I see you are very good on face to face,you are very very happy,the first all of I want to thank you so so so much because you teach us very well that's why you welcome in our class,you are my best Friend and May God help all things you want and God bless you.“ In Croatia they would just cut the tires on your car. Oh yes, as much as I would like them to call me "Marko" or at least "Mark", they just call me „Teacher“. Which I hear is not a big compliment in Rwanda, since teachers are very underpaid. 

Marko

Computer class with Eliab

Biryogo market opposite the NWC