Two teachers from River Valley School (RVS) packed their bags and went on a humanitarian tour to Kenya for two weeks in July, along with 23 others from Central Alberta.
Nicola Smith, one of the teachers, said the experience was overwhelming. The teachers in Kenya had been on strike for two weeks due to issues with the government and wages when they arrived, yet the students were still at school eager to learn, she said.
“We thought ‘well, we'll go out and tour the school anyways'. We get there, the first school we toured was K-8, and there were children in their desks with their books open working, in every room. No teacher in sight,” said Smith.
The tour, organized by A Better World, aimed to share professional development opportunities with teachers in Kenya, as well as working with students in three rural schools.
Tanya Braybrook, the other teacher, had her Grade 3 students write and illustrate a book about Canada for the students in Kenya, in the months leading up to the tour.
“I wanted to connect my students in Canada with the students in Kenya and I'm excited to bring lessons from my experiences back into my classroom here,” said Braybrook after the tour.
Both teachers experienced working with children in extreme poverty, without access to water and other basic resources.
“In Alberta, we always feel like we're asked to do more with less, but these people are doing a fantastic job with nothing,” said Smith.
There was no power at the schools they visited, the desks were hardly holding together and there were 30-50 children in each classroom, she said. School is from 7:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. and students walk several kilometres in the dark to get to school every morning.
“Life is very difficult for the people we met and they have to work hard just to meet their basic needs, but they are so satisfied with what they have,” said Braybrook.
“Some of them were using crayons and paints for the first time and they were overjoyed to post their artwork up on the wall. Seeing the value of learning through their eyes was absolutely thrilling. There were so many amazing, inspiring and hopeful moments and then there were moments that were heartbreaking.”
