SEGA Classes
We will spend 9 nights in the visitors’ quarters at SEGA. The quarters are on the edge of the campus, so we spend a significant amount of time walking back and forth. Last night, many of the girls were out dancing in the yard with loud music. They were so happy. I think they went under the clotheslines since it was dirt instead of the wiry grass. There was also quite a crowd, besides us, watching them. Classmates, teachers.
Below, the Big Banda dining hall, with the residents waiting for the next meal. If I see an Alfred Hitchcock cameo walk-on, I’m outta here.
We’ve also learned to check the benches before we sit down, due to all the large birds.
Four days. Nine classes. 280 girls and 25 women. One possible broken rib. (Claudia. I didn’t do it.) I think I’m up to four sprained fingers. One nicely hyperextended knee (mine). One really awkward question from a counselor, to Claudia (cancer survivor).
The first day was 90 degrees and about 95% humidity. It was miserable. The ceiling fans were lifesavers. I think on that day I drank more water than any other day in my life.
Below, working on a technique to get an attacker off you, so you can get back on your feet. To demonstrate this, we recruited the head of security—Joffrey. The first try, his grasp of English clashed with my failure to explain it thoroughly before he was on top of me. I think we are dating now. Sorry Ginger.
Today we were planning for scheduled classes outside the school. We will be in more public settings. I was asked not to do the ground work. It is feared that the girls sitting on each other, as in the pictures, will be construed as promoting lesbianism. Any homosexual activity is illegal in Tanzania, and the topic is very much taboo. It is very strict. While I find this appalling, it isn’t my culture. I’m more worried that we will again find ourselves spending time chasing away guys who want to watch the class.
We also had three girls in wheelchairs in the classes. I had spoken to several people (thanks, Phil, Michele, Lou) about what to modify to teach them. I had prepared some different material, but struggled. As it turned out, it came pretty naturally as we taught.
Any technique that needed to be modified, I handled with the girls in chairs. Plus making sure they were on the right track with all the other techniques. They were really appreciative of being completely included and learning the material right along with their classmates, plus the modifications for their situations. It worked great.
In the pic above, Joffrey is in the lower left corner. We invited him to attend a full class, since he’d been helping with one technique anyway, and his job is keeping the girls safe. He helped teach, with Claudia shadowing him the whole time to make sure he did it right.
Grace and Susan with keychains. Each successive day, they were helping us take over more of the class. They observed the first day. Assisted with part the second day. Assisted with all the third day. Mostly led the class the fourth. Grace, on the left, is one of the counselors in the school. And Susan (right), is the Child Protection Officer. They were so impressed with what Claudia and I brought to them that they wanted to learn to teach it. And now they can.
We finished the four days with a class for the women staff. Of the 9 classes, it was by far the smallest and by far the most difficult. The teachers were distracted and some weren’t that interested. Rhona, white shirt above, is the Communications officer, and one of our main contacts. The other is Isabella, who is on the right in the picture. She is in charge of Hospitality.
One other new (for the class) topic we have added is the issue of “freezing.” This is a common defense mechanism reaction by women and girls to sexual assault. We talk about it, assuring them that it doesn’t mean the woman is a coward and certainly doesn’t mean she is consenting. We try to focus on making one simple move to break the freeze.
Below, a view from the campus.
