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IN
THIS ISSUE
Welcome
Friends and Supporters
MYO is in its 5th year!
Field
Operations
Organized
Chaos
The first day of school involved more than just the kids
attending class.
Busy!
Busy! Busy!
This year's curriculum is set and the kids are eager to
learn!
Funding Campaign
Read about the latest fundraising events and how you can
help MYO
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Welcome
Friends and Supporters |
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Friends...
 Our
5th year is now underway. Simply amazing. We continue to
grow in breadth of services, improve in quality, expand in
infrastructure, and finally are now occupying our own
facility.
We have a new spring in our step at MYO. Our 2008 staff
in Namibia is simply amazing. We have inspired and
energetic management in John and Donna Looze and our
teachers, coaches, drivers, cooks and administrative staff
have hit the ground running. When the dust settles in a
few more weeks, we will wind up with around 135 students
for the year. For us, the move into our used and unpainted
containers could not have felt sweeter even if it were
Oprah’s $16M high school in South Africa.
To say that John and Donna were thrown in the deep end
without a life vest is a massive understatement. There is
so much to learn about the culture of our environment, the
logistics of how we operate, and the intricacies of an
after-school curriculum that must complement and subsidize
government curriculum as implemented at 8 different public
schools. Add in finding a place to live, buying a car,
opening a bank account, training new staff, inventorying
equipment and materials, moving from our old location to
the new school, reviewing all legal and insurance
documents in Namibia for compliance and risk management,
meeting all the key Namibian supporters, inducting the new
MYO grade 4 students... This year we had only 3 weeks to
accomplish all the things and more--our staff performed
brilliantly.
One more thing, John is also our construction manager
as we attempt to complete our facility on a miniscule
budget. MYO local Board Members Clifford Lyners, Vera
Leech and Uschi Farbach have all stepped in to assist and
support John and Donna. I feel blessed.
Alta and Beverly and I used to joke, way back in the
early days, that whenever an obstacle arose, somehow,
someway, an answer would also rise.
While the hard work will not end, at least much of the
chaos will now begin to settle into routine. In addition
to all the great things going on in Namibia, where all of
our hard work and commitment finally manifest itself, I am
overwhelmed with the support we are beginning to realize
in the United States and Canada. Kelly Wathne, Carla
Green, September Brod and Kelly Green combined forces to
raise over $18,000 for MYO in a single-night event a few
weeks ago. That exceeds all previous fundraisers by around
$10,000. Helen Keezer has mobilized her students at
Century High School and they are narrowing in on a $1,000
raised for MYO. Fiona Kerr has held a few fundraisers that
are bringing in additional donations from our friends in
Canada. In the coming months, we will focus on getting
out the annual report for 2007 out, implementing our new
online technology donated by Salesforce.com, implementing
a student tracking database in Namibia, implementing a new
marketing strategy to attract new supporters, upgrading
the MYO website, revising our Board of Directors and
governance procedures, and rolling out a re-focused and
re-energized Youth Sponsorship Strategy. All of these
tasks are accomplished through the efforts of volunteers,
all of whom must work around the hectic lifestyles we live
in the modern era as we juggle careers and families. This
is truly what allows MYO to be successful. It is a model
of operations that I hope you find as compelling and
inspiring as I do.
PEACE Rob |
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Field Operations |
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Organized Chaos
John Looze - MYO
Principal
Chaos. It was chaos.
Organized, yes, but still chaos. To give you a taste of
what I'm talking about, here's a brief timeline for 4
February 2008, the first day of the new school year.
-
 8:00
AM: Painters are painting, welders are welding,
electricians are electrifying.
- 12:00 PM: We move
in one end of the containers, which now have become
classrooms, and push the painters, welders, and
electricians out the other end. All the time being
careful not to touch the wet paint or hot welds.
- 2:00 PM: Lunch
made on, and served from, a whiteboard lying across two
old benches.
- 2:30 PM: Opening
ceremonies. Rousing cheers, greetings, and T-shirts for
the "Newbies."
- 3:10 PM: First
classes. Teachers teach, coaches coach, cooks clean up,
driver drives, and principal collapses.
 It
was indeed a chaotic day, but a most rewarding day.
In less than two months
containers became classrooms.
In less than two weeks,
strangers became staff and friends.
In one day I saw the kids
and confirmed why collapse isn’t all that bad.
John |
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Field Operations |
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Busy! Busy! Busy!
Donna Looze - MYO Academic Manager
 We
are now up and running for this school year. Our first two weeks
were spent learning how to give assessments and going over
effective ways to teach reading. The teaching staff was great
and really embraced all the new ideas I presented to them (Read
To, Read With, Read Independently, Rubrics, Mini-lessons). We
then leveled and labeled books (which we are still working on!).
We are using literature, rather than basal readers, for
instruction.
Then came the first Monday and
the reason for all of our work arrived. The Children! Every
staff member went to work assessing learners in Reading,
Spelling, Math, and Writing. Even Tennis, Life-Skills and Music
classes now have assessments built into them. All students will
be assessed again at the end of the school year. This
information will show us how effective our efforts have been.
 Now that
the schedule has at last been finalized, all students have
classes in English, Reading, Math, Life Skills, Music, Tennis,
Volleyball and an Activities Class that includes everything from
Art to Physical Education. I am personally teaching the lowest
level readers in each grade and some lower level students in
math. With them I am utilizing a Montessori approach and
hands-on materials. Chess Club is meeting twice a week. Art Club
is on the horizon.
Volleyball has been a new
addition this year. Our nets will arrive next week and be
installed. Aislinn and Lindsay have done a great job of
introducing this sport to the classes!
I’ve only had a few opportunities
to spend some time in classes being taught by other staff
members. I watched Engelhardt teaching traditional dance moves
with a class that hung on his every move and then I felt the
container vibrate as they practiced together! I listened to
Lindsay discuss sex and AIDS with an 8th grade class. Good
questions and good, straight answers from Lindsay.
 I’ve
been thrilled by the students. Wendall cornered me to ask me if
there were any more of the Magic Treehouse Series. Over the
weekend he had read one book three times and now wanted to read
the whole series! Luckily, we have the others in the series.
Another student read Eragon twice in four days and wanted to
read the sequel. That’s one we don’t have, but must round up to
put on our shelves.
We are off to a wonderful start
with dedicated teachers and motivated students! It doesn’t get
much better than this!
Donna |
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Field Operations |
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Funding Campaign
Kelly Wathne
- Fundraising Director
 In
January, MYO hosted a metal mask workshop at the Piccolo Gallery
in Pocatello, Idaho. Twelve budding artists were given recycled
materials to create a themed African mask for auction at the MYO
Fundraising Dinner held on 7 February.
Over 50 guests
attended the dinner at Senang Restaurant called "Tales from
Namibia." The evening included moving talks by Bill Hess and Rob
Myres explaining the progress and future of MYO. A silent
auction of African goods and items donated from local supporters
along with a live auction of the masks netted MYO more than
$18,000. Rob even sold the shirt off his back! The evening was
one of great community and warmth.
Look for info
in next month’s newsletter about an exciting new project the MYO
fundraising group is developing as an ongoing and steady source
of income for MYO: the Mud Hut Trading Company. Details will
follow in the next newsletter. Until then, please consider
making a new donation, or putting
us in touch with any individual or organization you feel may
have an interest in our work.
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