INDEPENDENT NEWSPAPERS

Kaye teaching body parts

“We came to teach and ended up learning.”

That was the comment of two Australian teachers, Lydia Mancini and Kaye Young, who travelled to the highlands of Lesotho to help with the education of local youngsters.

The directors at Maliba Lodge, Australians Nick King and Chris McEvoy, and Lesotho engineer Stephen Phakisi, have established a community trust in the area both to improve and protect the environment in the Tsehlanyane National Park and to improve the living conditions of local villagers.

Lesotho’s literacy rate of 85 percent is one of the highest in Africa but this small country has major problems, with high levels of HIV, poverty and malnutrition. It is estimated that 60 percent of the population live below the poverty line.

The Maliba community trust sponsors a work programme for the five local schools and experienced teachers are being flown in from Australia to help with tuition and to improve the skills of local teachers.

Mancini and Young, who are from Peninsular Grammar in Melbourne, have spent a month at Maliba Lodge, running workshops and helping teachers and pupils at the schools.

“We hope this programme will continue, with at least two groups of teachers travelling to Lesotho from Australia each year,” said McEvoy.

Both teachers described their experiences as “amazing”.

“We thought we were going over on this noble quest to teach all these poor people but we ended up learning so much about ourselves,” said music teacher Mancini.

“The children and teachers were very accepting and warm. The musical experience was phenomenal and really moving. They are in their element when they are singing and I am so excited that I can now sing in Sesotho.”

Young was taken with the enthusiasm of the children and their ability to work in the most demanding conditions.

“The children were so affectionate and love school and learning. Honestly, the whole experience exceeded our expectations and it has changed the way I teach.”

Young said one of the best ways to learn something was to teach it to others.

“That is one of the great things about our job. In teaching the students in Lesotho, and working with the teachers to provide them with ideas to improve their teaching methods, I found that I was also learning myself and improving my teaching skills.” Young said she had to produce creative ideas and activities for teaching students in their second language – English – and under difficult circumstances. The classes were large and there was a lack of resources and equipment.

“I have added to my teaching repertoire, which I believe will make me a better teacher when I return to Australia.

“Also, in running workshops for the teachers on a variety of topics, I have furthered my own knowledge and understanding of these areas and will therefore be a more effective teacher myself.”

While the two teachers are quick to acknowledge that they have benefited from the experience, they did feel they had made an impact. They both immersed themselves in the culture, attending church and spending the days with the children.

“We now eat pap and veg with our hands,” said Mancini.

Both were astonished at the beauty of the area around Maliba Lodge.

“The scenery was simply spectacular,” said Young. “It brought tears to our eyes – it sounds corny, I know, but neither words nor pictures can adequately describe the beauty of this part of the world.” - Saturday Star

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