Making Moves!

Hey Guys!

This week flew by as every day was packed full of teaching and lesson planning! We we're happy to jump right back into things after our week in Berbice, and started by planning lessons on puberty and anatomy as well as STI's, contraceptives, and HIV/AIDS. As we were walking out of the Chase Academy on Monday morning, we happened to strike up a conversation with the coach of a table tennis team in partnership with the Red Cross. He was very excited about the topics we cover, and began asking if we could come in to talk to his athletes who often travel for the sport. After continuing meetings with him, this week we are going to begin teaching during after school practices, focusing our teaching on topics such as peer-pressure, goal setting, stress, and time management. We are excited to be partnering up with a new organization that is community-based in addition to teaching in schools.

On Tuesday, we taught our first classes at Reyaz Business Institute. This was an especially interesting class as it was our first on mental health, depression, and coping. We had the entire school divided up into two classes, so it was a new experience teaching to so many kids of all different ages. Many of the children at this school come from an orphanage nearby. Reyaz, the head master of the school, has organized time for us to go to the orphanage and cook dinner with them and spend time getting to know each other better.

This week was also our first time teaching on the National Television Network. Maddy and Anna taught a lesson on healthy diet and nutrition, while Jesse and Ali taught on physical health and fitness. We are really happy that we have this weekly segment to reach not just our peers, but to reach out to the rest of Guyana as it creates the ability to reach people in communities that we are not based out of.

Friday at Ruimveldt was the most wonderful mayhem. We brought a new basketball and soccer ball as well as two buckets of sidewalk chalk. The kids were so excited to draw and play. By the end of the afternoon, there were chalk drawings on every outdoor surface and the chalk had been completely devoured. It was so amazing to watch and see how happy and excited all of the kids were, it always rubs off on us in the best way!

We were also excited to have the Berbice team join us this weekend in Georgetown for a little bit of adventuring and taking in some of the natural beauty that Guyana has to offer. It has been a very busy and fulfilling week and we are excited to have so much in the works for this coming week!

Big hello's to everyone at home, stay tuned for more adventures!
Jesse, Ali, Anna, and Maddy