I have been a GRS Coach since 2018, I started with a Peace Corps Volunteer (PCV) at Koali Primary School, Berea. A few years later I was transferred to Leqele Primary School where I found the information also very essential for the learners here.
I have been a GRS Coach since 2018, I started with a Peace Corps Volunteer (PCV) at Koali Primary School, Berea. A few years later I was transferred to Leqele Primary School where I found the information also very essential for the learners here.
One would wonder why I call this a blessing! Oh yes it is a blessing as a female coach to have a group of participants mostly as boys in the rural areas at high school level. The community influence, the peer pressure, the cultural barriers and gender diversity among other issues usually become stumbling blocks in allowing a smooth collaboration between males and females and in most cases between female teachers and boys.
One would wonder why I call this a blessing! Oh yes it is a blessing as a female coach to have a group of participants mostly as boys in the rural areas at high school level. The community influence, the peer pressure, the cultural barriers and gender diversity among other issues usually become stumbling blocks in allowing a smooth collaboration between males and females and in most cases between female teachers and boys.
I am Mateboho Mapesela, a former Koali Primary School teacher and GRS Coach. I have changed sites and currently teaching at Leqele Primary School. I did Skillz when I was a teacher at Koali Primary School.
I am Mateboho Mapesela, a former Koali Primary School teacher and GRS Coach. I have changed sites and currently teaching at Leqele Primary School. I did Skillz when I was a teacher at Koali Primary School.
It has really been an awesome journey!! In one of the good days, in February, one GRS coach from nearby made me aware of the refresher training workshop and without hesitation I wrote the letter of interest. I was like, this is the opportunity I have been waiting for. I had stopped the interventions in 2018 while still with my Karina. The only reason was the reporting which as counterparts were not trained on reporting without PCVs. So, when the opportunity popped, I wouldn’t wait any minute.
Teachers often hear, “Why do I need to know this?” from their students. Although it’s usually coming from a place of frustration rather than inquiry, it’s a fair question. Finding an answer that is satisfactory in my students’ minds can be especially difficult but, as a Peace Corps Volunteer, I try my best to find the response that will motivate them. For my students who want to work in STEM, I’ve recently found a stellar way to answer their question.
I had my reservations about meeting my host family. I wondered if I, a first generation Tanzanian American, would fit their preconceived notion of a Peace Corps volunteer.
One day as I was sitting in my rondaval, looking at
the people who were passing by my host mother’s tiny shop, I saw that my host
sister was talking to a boy.
If I were to paint a picture of where I spent 24 months as a Peace Corps Volunteer, I would paint steep, green mountains and snow-capped peaks—simultaneously beautiful and, at times, severe.
