Cameras?

It seems my travel blog is suddenly turning into more of a charity blog. Although less of an entertaining read, it is a good way for me to drum up support for certain projects.

As you may know, I have been active with an entrepreneurship club at the school. The learners and I have been finding ways of making money, essentially with a few micro-businesses. Several months back I came up with the idea to start a small photo project with the club. As I found out, photos are in high demand in the village. Being the only one with a camera, learners and community members are constantly asking me to take their pictures for them. I recognized it as an easy and quick way for the club to make money. The only problem of course is getting our hands on a digital camera.

So, I wrote home a few months back and my very helpful parents threw a couple unused cameras in the mail. If all went as planned we were supposed to have the cameras in July and have the photo project up and running in time for term 3 this September. However, the cameras never made it. Now two months overdue, I have little hope that they will ever find their way through the less than perfect African mail system.

Now to the reason of this post; I need cameras. I am not looking for brand new, latest technology cameras, only old used ones that are collecting dust somewhere (digital and preferably with rechargeable batteries). The rate at which technology changes these days, I know it is not uncommon to have old cameras lying around that you just don’t know how to properly dispose of. This is the perfect way to dispose of them. The learners here can get the opportunity to get their hands on some technology, make money, and have a heck of a lot of fun doing it. If you have an old camera that you would like to send over, send me an email and I will get you the information.

Tangi unene!

New Entrepreneurship Textbooks

When I first began my service I thought it strange that entrepreneurship was a subject being taught to grade 8, 9, and 10 students. When I was in 8^th grade I doubt I even knew what the word meant and it wasn’t till college that I finally mastered the spelling of it. It is becoming apparent though why the subject has been introduced to such young learners; unemployment is extremely high in Namibia (over 50% in some regions) and many learners don’t have the means to continue their education beyond grade 10. Having basic business skills can become a valuable tool for learners when they finish their education. In fact, it is likely the most practical subject for them to fall back on.

Since the beginning the entrepreneurship teacher has expressed to me his frustration with the current textbook being used at the school. At first I thought he was creating excuses but I have since come to realize that the textbook is holding these learners back. There are several publishers putting out texts that follow the syllabus but they are of varying qualities. The current text being used, although simple and easy to read, is lacking good practical material. Additionally, the exams at the end of each term are being set by the regional educational office which relies heavily on the better texts for creating the questions. Further setting these students back is the fact that there are not enough textbooks for each learner. It is commonly said that “in Africa we share” but that apparently doesn’t apply when it comes to textbooks.

As a result of all of this, I have been motivated to get these learners better textbooks and enough for each learner. The lack of practicality and very low exam scores is not giving these learners the confidence they need with the subject. Without this confidence it is less likely that they will fall back on the skills they learned in class. It is my belief that better textbooks will improve the teaching in the classroom and make the learners more comfortable with entrepreneurship.

To make this happen though I need your help. The school does not have the funds to buy new textbooks for all the learners in grades 8, 9, and 10. To raise the nearly US$2,000 dollars for the new books I will be fundraising with learners to raise 15% of the amount and the school will match that with another 15%. The remaining 70% I am trying to raise through the Peace Corps Partnership Program. If you are interested in donating you can follow the link at the top of the right sidebar which will take you to the Peace Corps website where you can get more information and make your donation. Any amount would truly be appreciated.

Tangi Unene!