MYO Blog

Tuesday, August 05, 2008

MYO choir in the church

MYO music was invited to sing at the Lutheran church youth choir concert on the 12 of July 2008. We decided to come together on Sunday 2 hours prior to the concert to dress and go through the 2 songs we were going to perform.
We had some of the grade 8 drummers, grade 5 choir members, some of the grade 6 and 7 choir members and grade 7 recorders.After rehearsing the 2 songs we walked to the church, which is pretty close to the MYO campus. Upon arriving at the church we tested the acoustics by going through our music and standing and sitting positions. We were first on the program since we were the youngest group.
The 2 songs we sang were Tuli Tuli and Namibia Lyetu Yene – both Namibia traditional songs. The children did really great since the acoustics of the church was very live as well. Most children stayed to watch the rest of the concert and it looked like the really enjoyed it. This was also a good experience for them to see how other musicians perform.
Thank you to all the teachers who helped and attended as well as Joris and his wife for coming to the concert.
Engelhardt MYO Music teacher

Labels: choir

Thursday, July 24, 2008

M.Y.O. at the Museum

It was an unexpectedly beautiful Thursday afternoon as the grade 5 learners of Mondesa Youth Opportunities paid a visit to the Swakopmund Museum. The Museum is located right on the beach at the foot of the lighthouse.

Learners engaged themselves in an educational hunt where they explored all the exhibits the museum had to offer looking for the answers to various questions. The exhibits included information about Namibia’s people, its flora and fauna, archeology, the country’s rich mineral deposits, and the colonial era.

After a focused exploration, MYO’s eager young minds got to release their energy on the beach, back flips and all. They enjoyed a small treat and then went on a beach hunt looking for shells and remnants of plants and animals to later identify. To wrap up the day, learners had an excuse to run around as they played a game learning about shell formation.

The museum daytrip concluded just as it started with spirits high and every learner in one piece. M.Y.O. is grateful for the museum’s generosity and looks forward to taking future groups.

Grade 5 Volunteer teacher Naethra Sreekrishna

Wednesday, July 23, 2008

Cheetah Conservation Fund Field Trip Grade 7

As the Grade 7 teacher, I am blessed with a wonderful class. Not only their behavior, but their attendance is excellent. In fact, their attendance is so good, that 29 out of 30 were able to go on the Grade 7 Field Trip to the Cheetah Conservation Fund (C.C.F.) outside of Otjiwarongo. With such a large group, we needed all the hands (and listening ears) that we could get, so it was great to have enough room to take seven staff-members.

On July 4th, we left Swakopmund with a convoy of two 16-passenger combis and a 5-person car. We stopped twice for short breaks and ate our lunch in the combi before arriving at C.C.F around 4 PM. After arrival, we set up our tents and then headed off for a quick game-drive with our C.C.F. educator, Gephardt. On the game-drive, a few people saw some cheetahs and all of us saw some gemsbok, red hartebeest, a bat-eared fox (we think), and some other beautiful animals. We then returned to the camp-site and made a fire to warm our hands and prepare our supper (spaghetti bolognaise)! Different crews (Lions, Leopards, and Cheetahs) were responsible for cooking and cleaning and they did a great job despite the freezing cold weather (literally). After dinner, we chatted for a bit, but soon went to bed because it was very cold!

After a long night (because it was literally frozen!), we woke up and ate an early breakfast, so that we could get to the site by 8 AM for the exercising of the cheetahs. After watching that, Gephardt led us through various educational activities, including several “Predator Preyground” activities demonstrating the challenges that face cheetahs in the wild. We then went on to the museum where the kids learned a great deal about the cheetah and they later had to show their knowledge through some worksheets. Through all these activities, they listened remarkably well and had such a positive attitude! Later in the day, we saw the cheetahs being fed and then had a break for lunch, showers, and a bit of soccer. In the late afternoon, Gephardt showed a video on C.C.F, explaining its mission, purpose, and various activities that they are engaged in. In the evening, we went on a game-drive with Laura, one of the foreign volunteers working there. On this game-drive, we were able to get out and walk around which the kids really enjoyed, though the game-viewing was significantly reduced as they all ran away! Once the sun was setting, we returned for a quick viewing of the clinic where they examine cheetahs for sickness or wounds and then back to our camp-site. That evening, we ate well with boerworst (sausage) sandwiches and pap (corn-meal mix) a-la-Ephraim-and-Herman (one of our staff members and one of our students). After washing up, we enjoyed a Talent Show initiated and planned by the Grade 7s. It was wonderful to see the musical and dancing talent of these young adults and to see their comfort level with each other!

Sunday morning, we were greeted by friendlier weather, particularly because we saw the sun before 10 AM! This helped the mood greatly and everyone was ready to head back home after an interesting and wonderful trip! All in all, it was a wonderful trip and the Grade 7s impressed us with their positive attitudes, good questions, hard work and integrity.

volunteer teacher Jeremy Hoover

East Winds

East winds is a Swakopmund phenomenon. When they start in the winter time, they bring the hot air from the desert to the normally cool town of Swakopmund, here at the coast. But they do not only bring the heat, they also bring the sand in...... So today I had to choose between closing the windows and be toasted in my container office, or keep them just a bit open to profit from a slight breeze. I kept some windows a bit open, and now the office is dusty. If tomorrow is OK again, we'll do some cleaning.

Anyway, one of the dilemma's of working here as a manager at MYO. I took over from John and Donna in May, and we have had a lot of events since then. We had a big dedication event when Rob and friends were here in June, to thank the sponsors and celebrate the fact that we do now have a facility in place. At this event, we had the MYO choir sing for the guests, together with the big Mascato choir.

Furthermore, 2nd semester brought a lot of field trips for the diffferent grades: we went to the Swakopmund Museum, the Aquarium and the Kristall Gallery which the kids really enjoyed. And more construction; we now have a garden, more pavement, paint on containers and the fence to keep them from rusting away, and even a nice palm tree. Rotary helped with donating new chairs, desks and cupboards.

OK more next time,

kind regards,

Joris Uppelschoten

Wednesday, May 21, 2008

Back To Work

The staff has returned from holiday and the kids are back to school. The 2nd term has begun. Vera and Uschi have done an amazing amount of work on our new school during the break and it now is beginning to fully resemble a functional education facility. All is well at MYO.

Alison Holmes has joined us from Canada and will be implementing a science program for our students. Liz Michael will travel over from Cincinnati and will join MYO as a teaching assistant. Myself and 15 others will be traveling over in June to attend the grand opening ceremony and lend a hand to those who have worked so hard this year to help us realize our dream of building our own facility.

The Rotary International Grant money has shown up and we have now ordered our new office and classroom furniture. Julian has returned from his tennis coaching course in Windhoek and Paulina and Ndeshipanda have returned from their tour of South Africa with the Namibian National Tennis Team.

Fiona Kerr, the program manager for MYO's Youth Sponsorship Program, has initiated a new campaign drive to help us get over 80 new sponsors before the end of this year. That consistent funding is critical to our long term success and there is no better way to get engaged than to sponsor one of our children.

Since we founded MYO in 2003, I have averaged 3 trips over each year. At no time have I been more excited than I am for this coming trip. No only am I being accompanied by 15 friends and family, but for the first time I will get to see our fully functioning facility-- a dream 5-years in the making.

More to come. Check back. Sponsor a child. Spread the word.

PEACE - Rob

Wednesday, March 26, 2008

March 26, 2008

We are really pleased with the progress that continues to be made on our facility. The kitchen has counters, double sink, shelving, an island to work on, plenty of space, a fridge/freezer combo and a window to serve the learners “snack” (lunch) from. Lucia runs the kitchen with help from Paulina. She also is now making out the menu and doing the shopping. She is always on time and keeps the kitchen immaculate. What a wonderful cook we have! We are so lucky to have her.

The office is finally done and we (John, Donna and Reggie) actually have desks to sit at and work on. We have wireless internet! Uschi was kind enough to provide a file cabinet and a standing wardrobe to handle office files and supplies. The library is presently housed in the office, but will eventually be moved to its own location. The office and kitchen are housed in the same container unit but have a wall separating them.

Classrooms are running. Windows in and curtains up to separate classrooms. They are a wonderful African print. Dividers will be built to separate the classrooms, as the noise of two classrooms in a container is really overwhelming and difficult to teach with. The curtains will them be recycled to the new library location.

Progress, progress!!!!

Wednesday, March 05, 2008

Falling into a Routine

Finally things are calming down.
The learners are remembering their schedules.
The library is up and running and continuing to grow as we work on leveling all books and labeling with color-coded dots. Our assessments have given us the information to place each child at his correct reading level.
In Math. and English we have learned that some basic concepts have not been grasped. So, we are back-tracking to make sure a good foundation is in place before we move on.
We have a fabulous staff who work and work and then still work some more!
The children are like kids anywhere --- give them new and interesting information and lessons and they will soak it up! Because our class sizes are smaller than a typical Namibian classroom, we can do more novel activities and the children can participate more in their lessons.
A week ago we took our first block classes and organized work crews. The children went around with sacks, shovels, rakes, gloves, and a wheelbarrow and cleaned our campus grounds. It needed it badly! I have included a few photos taken during that event. Since then we have found them taking more pride and not littering the grounds. (Now if only the construction workers would be as respectful as the learners!)

Donna Looze

Saturday, February 16, 2008

Week 2 was a good one.

Second week under our belts. We remade the schedule last weekend and that made things flow better. Learners are getting used to teachers and the facility. The new peanut butter and banana sandwiches were a real hit! Curtains went up this week to divide the classroom spaces. These make a big difference. They really don't cut the sound, but they do make it so that there is no longer the visual distraction of the other class and what they are doing. The library is up and running and being really used!! We still have about 150 books to level, label and get out on the shelves.
Julian, our tennis coach, was able to get to Windhoek for a workshop this weekend. A nice donation from Bill Hess in Pocatello made this possible. He was very grateful and eager to attend.
Volleyball is a new addition to MYO this year. Aislinn and Lindsay are very enthusiastic instructors and have students "bumping" the ball control and direction.
Our new visitiblity has us with many students and parents who are asking how to get into the program. Some of our grades are not quite full, so we have been able to boost our ranks in this way.
Donna

Labels: Second week under our belts.