The vision for Give a Heart to Africa focuses on empowering women through improvement in their education. In our free school, students study English, business principles and computers. Many lack the confidence to greet, turn on a computer or enter numbers on a basic calculator when they begin their 6-month semester. The progress each individual makes is astounding. Though our classes begin at 9 AM and continue until 12 PM, more than half of our students arrive by 8 AM. They have a chance to work in pairs, practice on the computers, or simply socialize. Imagine 42 students, most of whom did not know even one other person, hanging out, laughing, making plans together. They clean the classroom floors and the tables and benches. Some scour and mop the area in and around the student’s bathroom. A few green thumbs water our herbs, pick up any debris that has blown onto the grass, tidy up the shrubbery, sweep the dirt area all around our gated entry. On Tuesday and Wednesday afternoons between 2:30-4:30, students can get extra help in small groups or one-on-one. They actually come and spend 2 more hours!
I have been trying to learn their names. It’s a challenge because they change seats every morning! This Monday morning, nearly every woman had a different hairstyle—I’m not kidding! So far I know the guy who always (even in this heat) wears a knitted beanie; I know the woman whose husband was my taxi driver on every airport pick-up of volunteers last year; I know the two who are brother and sister; I know the one who has an attitude; I know the one who was soooo excited because I am older than she is! Like them, I am a work in progress here.
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