Week 3 from Berbice and beyond!

Good afternoon everyone!

In the schools this week we continued our introductory lecutres on sexual health, adapting our lesson plans for children as young as grade 6 in Massiah and 59 Primary Schools to young adults at the Vryman’s Erven Training Center.  We’ve loved getting a number of inquisitive questions both in our anonymous question box and in person.  We hope it continues for the remainder of project!

Eric teaching about menstruation at 59 primary School

Ali hanging out with Junior at the Letter Kenny Youth Friendly Space

Eric and Varsha posing for a pic!

Ali taking the kids through a lesson at the Youth Friendly Space

On Friday we left for Georgetown and made it just in time to join our fellow peer educators at the Ruimveldt Youth Center.  It was an energy packed start to our weekend in Georgetown and quite a contrast to our Berbice country livin’.  Later that night we had the opportunity to cheer on Steve as he made his amateur cricket debut.  We had a great time enjoying some local Guyanese food and great company.  The rest of the independence long weekend flew by and we even got to spend some time apart for a change.  On Saturday morning, Eric had to chance to catch up with Steve on a mandate as they got authentic Guyanese haircuts and grabbed a vegetarian lunch.  Ali also spent some time walking the seawall with the ladies of the Georgetown crew.

Ali teaching a Form 2 class at Tagore Secondary School

We are finally back home and feel re-energized and feel ready to take on the unofficial 2^nd leg of our project.  Our week has been off to a great start as we wrap up some sexual health lessons.  Just this morning we had our first lesson at a new school – Lower Corentyne Secondary School.  This is an exciting addition to our schedule and we look forward to returning to teach more sessions with such engaging students!  Another exciting opportunity we look forward to is collaborating with the Guyana Foundation – a local mental health resource in the country, which we have recently been connected with.

That’s it for this week, were ready for the many lessons left to come.  Look out for some special feature blog posts in the upcoming weeks.

On another note, the rainy season has officially arrived.  Our morning runs have been tougher to take on – but we’re still smiling.

Ali and Eric

An Overdue Georgetown Update

Good afternoon (a typical Guyanese greeting),

Wow! Our third week in Georgetown has flown by yet again. It feels as though the days are going by faster and faster here in our home away from home. Today marks the half way point in our QHO adventure. We have completed 3 and a half weeks and are looking forward to another thrilling 3 and a half more.

Last week was jam packed! We focused our lessons on puberty, sex, and contraceptives both in the classrooms and on TV. Despite some giggles at the beginning the students soon became engaged in the topics and had some great (awkward) questions for us! We like to start off these lessons with a "slang shake out" where the students can get out all the sillies/giggles before we get in depth about more serious issues. Then we mix in content with some fun games to help solidify the information in an exciting way. Overall the participation in the classrooms was amazing and we feel as though the students took a lot away from the lessons. We even had some beneficial discussions, or "girl chats", after class where we could really connect with the students and give them some one-on-one advice.

Last Tuesday we were invited to a Health Fair with the Ministry of Health, a potential partner for the future years of QHO Guyana, where we sat in on one of their daily lessons. It was interesting to see how similar QHO and the Ministry of Health are in the content we provide and how we work to translate that information. The goals of both QHO and the Ministry of Health work towards making the next generation more aware of health issues and risks. We are hopeful that QHO Guyana will be working closely with the Ministry of Health in the years to come and can collaborate to make both projects more successful.

Our day spent observing the Ministry of Health and their teaching practices.

On Friday Ali and Eric from the Berbice team came to visit Georgetown for the weekend. They got to Georgetown just in time to join us at Ruimveldt Children's Aid Centre. We are always excited to be reunited with the kids at Ruimveldt and their smiling faces that make our weeks truly special. Ali and Eric had a blast at the youth space and we hope that they can join us again soon!

Some of the wonderful children at Ruimveldt before dinner time!

Friday night we were able to attend another weekly cricket match-- however a new experience for the Berbice team! The five Georgetown and Berbice PE's watched from the side lines as one of our own, Steve, was recruited to play for the Floodlight Cricket Team. It was a great time cheering Steve on and watching him make some great saves and even hit some six pointers. Reyaz, our RBI and TV contact, had Marni's (early) birthday celebration prepared at the cricket game where we explored some delicious Guyanese dishes.

Steve and Reyaz before their big cricket game.

Just as we thought Steve had hit his peak athletic career here in Guyana, Steve was drafted to a basketball team for one game. He played for a total of 45 seconds--his strength lied in his amazing bench warming skills. But we all had a blast cheering him on and are very proud of him, he even received a trophy for his efforts.

We loved having Ali and Eric visit for the weekend in Georgetown. It was wonderful catching up with them and spending time as a group, it is always nice having the full team together. We were able to celebrate Guyana Independence Day with some fireworks and delicious local Guyanese food later in the night.

The six Guyana PE's enjoying Independence Day fireworks by the Sea Wall. 

We love our trips to the market and go at least 3 times a week! We go through a ton of fruit here because we cannot get enough of it. It is so sweet and delicious!

Some of the delicious fruits at the market.

Casey and Colleen's market adventure. 

This week we look forward to focusing our lessons on STI's (sexually transmitted infections) and HIV (human immunodeficiency virus). We hope the students learn and take away important information from these lessons.

All our love,

The Georgetown Team
(Steve, Colleen, Casey, Marni)

Week 2 of Teaching in Berbice!

Hello Friends, Family, and Followers,

It's been a while since we've posted an update so we'll get you caught up. We ended our lesssons on values and goal setting in Tagore Secondary, 59 Primary, Massiah Primary, and the Berbice Islamic School. At the primary schools one of our favourite activities this week was in a little lesson on hygiene in which we all shook hands- some of us had baby powder on our hands representing people who were sick and carrying lot's of germs. By the end of the activity almost everyone's hands were covered in powder- illustrating how quickly germs and diseases can spread. The kids really enjoyed this activity and it brought a lot of energy to the classroom!

Eric preparing for a lesson at Port Mourant Secondary

Last week we also taught at Vrymen Erven Training Center where a group of older students are studying cosmotology and information technology. We talked about values and goal setting as it was our first lesson there but also did an engaging lesson on Mental Health. It was a new challenge to teach an older class but the level of engagement was exciting and we were able to share some valuable resources.

Our weekend began with a game of volleyball at the Smythfield Drop In Youth Centre; it was great to meet so many kids of various ages and we look forward to a rematch! On Saturday, after visiting the busy market in the morning, we went to the Camal Shelter and Eric played some hide and seek, dog and a bone, and participated in some colouring activities. Ali also did some colouring with the older group of girls and we talked about what health topics they wanted to discuss in the coming weeks!

Our Sunday was spent going to the beach which was a 25 minute walk from where we live. We were shown the way there by some of the neighbourhood kids and once we got there they showed us how to navigate the sinking sand out to the water. We swam, played some catch and other games and shared a fruit salad together before we made the walk back- it was an afternoon well spent!

Ali playing in the river with some friends from Letterkenny

By now we've found our spots that we regularly hit up for food, entertainment, and blogging, of course! This week has already started our second week of teaching and we are focusing mainly on Sexual Health and Puberty. So far, we have taught in two of our high school classes and we look forward to getting back in those classrooms soon to talk about the many great questions we recieved.

This weekend we will be off to Georgetown again to take in the Independence Day celebrations from the capital. We are excited for what's in store and to be reunited with the rest of the QHO Guyana team.

Until next time,

Ali and Eric

Week 2 in Georgetown: Come and gone in a flash

Hello devoted readers!

We are just finishing up our second week (about to start the third) in Georgetown now and it has been a blast so far! How time flies! We have all settled nicely into our new home and are now in the swing of things. Steve is adjusting well to living with three wonderful ladies-- practically one of the girls already!

At the start of the week we spent time meeting with schools and youth spaces to finalize our teaching schedule for the next 6 weeks. Last years team set up great connections with some of the local schools and we hope that we are able to strengthen that bond this year. With the help of Ms. Tony we established two new schools for this years project: St. Pius Primary School (where we are teaching a grade 6 class) and Sophia Training Centre (an institution organized to develop various trade skills). We are thrilled to have the new contacts and are looking forward to working with the schools in the years to come.

We had a great day at Ruimveldt on Tuesday afternoon and love going to see the kids-- always a new and thrilling experience. We have been going to Ruimveldt twice a week (Tuesdays and Fridays) and the kids are becoming more familiar with us. We love playing games with them like "dog and the bone", "lost my belt" and climbing on the monkey bars. We are truly developing great bonds with the children at Ruimveldt and look forward to their enthusiastic greetings each time we come.

Some of the kids from Ruimveldt!

Wednesdays are jam packed days as we teach three classes in a row. This week we focused our teaching on nutrition, healthy diets and physical fitness. The students loved some of the creative games we came up with--including push-up competitions!

Thursday was our big break at NTN This Morning as we had our first segment. Casey and Marni taught about nutrition while Steve and Colleen taught about the importance of physical fitness and lead an exercise class. We were all a little bit nervous but it was a great experience. We look forward to teaching again this week about puberty and sexual health.

Marni and Casey getting ready for TV!

Colleen and Steve ready for stardom! 

Also, on Thursday we had our first lesson at Reyaz Business Institute (RBI). The students were so amazing and well behaved. Their participation was great and they seemed to really enjoy the lesson. We cannot wait to teach about more serious topics with the kids. Friday we attended our second cricket game--each time learning more and more about the unfamiliar, yet fascinating game. Steve has even been drafted to play in this upcoming Friday's game and we cannot wait! Needless to say, the girls perform best as cheerleaders on the bench.

We love the food here and are enjoying tasting all the native foods. Tonight we even cooked our first dinner at the guesthouse with the help of the Rima ladies-- Channa, sautéed vegetables and rice. It was delicious!

Casey and Colleen enjoying the channa, pumpkin curry and cook-up from Shantas! 

Our homemade dinner of rice, channa and veggies!

Thank you Georgetown for yet another lovely week, you continue to capture our hearts each day!

All our love,

The Georgetown Team

Berbice Update: Getting Started!

Hi Everyone,


We've been up to lots since our last post!  This past weekend we had the pleasure of attending a traditional Hindu wedding in Georgetown.  We were so thankful for Omeshwar's hospitality and it was great to meet up with the other half of QHO Guyana and trade stories about our first few days.  The wedding itself was filled with dancing, good food, and great company.  Our ride back to Berbice was somewhat of an adventure... we caught a cab in Georgetown, and had to wait for it to fill up with two more passengers.  The Berbice river bridge (located about 1.5 hours away from Georgetown) closes at certain times each day.  Unfortunately we arrived to the bridge 3 minutes after its daily closure and ended up waiting for 90 minutes for it to re-open.  Luckily enough, we had the time to catch up on some reading and enjoy the nice breeze coming off the river. 


Back in Berbice, we began to teach our first lessons about values and goal-setting at Port Mourant Secondary, J.C.Chandisingh Secondary, and Corentyne Comprehensive Secondary schools.  So far, we have really enjoyed getting to know the kids and discovering what interests them.  This morning we each had the opportunity to teach alone, in separate class rooms.  It was a challenging venture, but a very good learning experience for us both.  We are excited to continue to teach this week and return to schools next week and cover topics in more detail.


In Letterkenny, we opened up the Youth Friendly Space for the first time since last summer.  The kids were all very excited and we had the chance to explore how we can best use the space.  Hopefully we will have a great first lesson later today when we introduce topics regarding self-esteem.


That's all folks!


Until next time,
Eric and Ali

Georgetown Update

We've had a busy first week in Georgetown and we're just getting started! We have been finalizing our schedule and are looking forward to working within the schools this upcoming week. We are starting to get into the swing of things and officially feel at home. 

On Friday morning we met with Rayaz, the principal of RBI and the host of NTN This Morning. He introduced us to all of Georgetown on his television show and set the stage for our future lessons that we will be teaching weekly on his programs. Unfortunately, Steve is significantly taller than the girls which made it difficult to see all of us on television at once. It will definitely be a challenge teaching but looking forward to our big debut!

Following our television premiere, we taught a lesson at Sophia Training School, an institution designed to foster individuals in different trade skills. It was amazing to be able to teach at this school since the students are all around our age. We will be teaching them just as much as they will be teaching us and we cannot wait for the next six weeks with them. 

We have exciting news! Earlier last week we met Dr. Karen Bailey from McMaster University out for dinner. She noticed the QHO t-shirts and mentioned that she is apart of the Canada-Guyana Medical Partnerships Coalition (C-GMPC), which is an informal grouping of the numerous Canadian-Guyanese medical outreach groups working to identify and address health care needs in Guyana. She invited us to the C-GMPC meeting held this past Friday where we were introduced to many promising contacts. We are setting up a meeting this week to meet with the Ministry of Health to discuss our potential partnership in the upcoming years of the Guyana project.

After the exciting meeting, Kate met us back at the guesthouse after leaving Ali and Eric in Berbice. She was able to join us for our second visit to the Ruimveldt Children's Aid Centre and meet all of the wonderful kids. We were thrilled when the kids came running up to us as we arrived, indicating that they remembered us and were so happy to have us back and ready to play. Janet was sad to say her goodbyes but she knows she is leaving the kids in good hands. 

Colleen and Steve with some kids at Ruimveldt!

Janet-- we feel so lucky that we got to spend the week with you here in Guyana. You made the transition easy and painless. Thank you for showing us around and introducing us to all of the schools. We will do our best to make you proud. 

Friday night we were fortunate enough to be invited to one of Rayaz's weekly cricket matches. Although it was our first time watching cricket, we tried our best to learn the rules and we believe we somewhat understand. We felt so welcome at the match and are hoping to go back soon to watch again. 

We were reunited with our Berbice friends yesterday and were so happy to be back together. The six of us had a great day catching up. At night we attending a pre-wedding Hindu party, a first for all of us. We had an amazing time eating from leaves, dancing and getting henna done on our hands. It was an experience none of us will forget.

The six PEs ready for the wedding! 

Eating dinner out of leaves!

The beautiful henna!

We look forward to the week ahead as we begin to get into a routine. 

Until next time,

The Georgetown Team (Marni, Casey, Colleen and Steve) 

Berbice Update: Settling In

Hi Everyone,

After spending a couple nights in Georgetown, we (Eric and Ali) headed up to Berbice with Kate to get us settled in to our new home for the next few weeks in Letterkenny. We're lucky to have such gracious hosts that have made us feel so welcome in their houses. We have also been able to meet some wonderful families and kids in the Letterkenny community. We've enjoyed participating in our first cricket match with them and trying some home made Guyanese dishes- the hospitality here continues to astound us. 

Our project has hit the ground running and after visits to the Regional Ministry Offices we were granted permission to teach in four new public secondary schools- an exciting opportunity! After talking with various Headteachers we are in the process of finalizing our weekly schedule and we're very eager to begin. As of right now we will be in Rose Hall and Port Mourant, as well as Wednesdays spent in Skeldon and Fridays in New Amsterdam.

Today is our first day in Berbice on our own, our lovely Project Director, Kate has headed back to Georgetown and is flying out from there tomorrow. We want to thank Kate for all of her hard work throughout the year to get us this far. Kate's enthusiasm and endless positivity has helped us adjust almost seamlessly to our new life here in Berbice; we are lighting mosquito coils and catching cabs on the regular. Kate- we'll miss you!

Now that we are settled in, look forward to more updates about our ventures in teaching!


Love,


Ali and Eric

A Successful First Day

Hello from the Georgetown Crew!

Since Monday was the Arrival holiday in Guyana, there were no classes taking place in the schools. We waved goodbye to our Berbice Team as they headed off, wishing them luck in Letter Kenny.

Waving bye to Kate, Ali and Eric as they head for Berbice!

On Tuesday we met with the head teachers of Adult Education Association (AEA) and Chase Academy teaching schools. We received our schedules and began to plan our lessons right away. We called multiple other schools and set up times to meet with them to continue building our schedule-- needless to say we have been busy!

Today we taught our first lessons at Chase Academy to the secondary students. We started with introductions about ourselves and QHO as well as name games to start getting to know the students better. After getting the ball rolling we dived right into teaching a lesson on values and goal setting. The kids were very well behaved and enthusiastic when answering our questions. They loved getting to know this years Peer Educators and seemed very excited for the weeks to come. Colleen loved dancing with the girls and singing "Happy" by Pharrell. Casey loved the energy in the classrooms and the kids eagerness to participate. Steve loved joking around and making fun of himself in order to get the kids engaged. Marni loved sharing stories with the kids and talking to them about their favourite activities. Overall it was a great success and Janet was so proud to watch her PEs in action even though she was struggling to stay seated instead of teaching.

Steve, Colleen, Marni and Casey at Chase Academy getting ready to teach!

Right after teaching our second lesson we went to Ruimveldt Children's Aid Centre where Janet introduced us to Ms. Patsy and Ms. December. They were so happy to welcome us and we established that we will be going back every Tuesday and Friday after teaching to hopefully facilitate some lessons and play with the kids. The Ruimveldt Children's Aid Centre is a place for kids of all ages to go hang out after school and have dinner. Janet was so excited to see all of the familiar faces from last year. The kids have so much energy and loved running around outside. We are so excited to go back in a few days!

Janet and the kids at Ruimveldt! 

Rima's Guesthouse has become our home away from home. The ladies have welcomed us into their home. Though the bug nets were hard to get used to, we now enjoy feeling as though we are sleeping in princess beds. Georgetown has become familiar and the PEs can now somewhat navigate through the streets without Janet's help. We are looking forward to learning more about Georgetown and the weeks to come!

Until next time,
Georgetown team (Steve, Marni, Colleen and Casey)

Hello from Guyana!

Good morning from Georgetown!

We made it! After Marni's dad got us on a earlier direct flight we arrived in Georgetown at 5:30 am. The heat and the delicious smell of the jungle hit us right when we stepped off the airplane. We settled in at the guesthouse and we feel very at home here.

After a quick power nap, Kate and Janet took us to Shanta's Snackette to try some Guyanese food. Our favourite foods were roti, channa, cook-up and pumpkin curry. After lunch we went to the grocery store and the market to get some fresh fruit.

Later in the day, we had our first meeting with Miss Toney, our partner with the Ministry of Culture, Youth and Sport. We discussed plans for the following seven weeks, and we can't wait to start teaching!

Kate and Janet have done an excellent job showing us around the city and exploring the markets. They feel like they never left Guyana! Colleen has a total of 28 mosquito bites and a sunburn and we have only been here for 30 hours - but the smile has never left her face. Eric enjoyed our group run this morning, it was nice to run home in the rain to cool us off. Marni loves falling asleep to the vibrant sounds of the Georgetown streets. Steve forgot his water bottle at home, so now he's drinking out of a kids water bottle with a kitten that says "Dreamy Kitty" on it. Needless to say, he has a new nickname. He's dying to play basketball at the court near our guesthouse! Ali is really enjoying all the delicious tropical fruit and loves the hustle and bustle of the market. Casey loves the Guyanese food and is doing her best to learn all the names of the new dishes.

Tomorrow is a holiday in Guyana, so we will be spending the day lesson planning and getting organized for the week ahead. Kate, Ali, and Eric will be heading to Berbice tomorrow afternoon. We're so excited to get started!

That's all for now, we will post again soon!

Kate, Janet, Colleen, Marni, Casey, Steve, Ali and Eric

The Guyana Team boarding the plane to Georgetown!