Wow, we
cannot believe that it is already over half way through our stay in beautiful
Guyana. Although it is rainy season we have not seen too much rain and have
been able to enjoy the hot weather. This week was shortened in our classrooms
as Independence Day, May 26, fell on a Friday this year.
We started
our week off with a mutual learning session with the GRPA (Guyana Responsible
Parenthood Association) by leading a conversation on Depression and Suicide.
Through our conversations we were fortunate to hear the insights from some
Guyanese individuals regarding the struggle to engage in Mental Health
conversations in Guyana. We cannot wait for next week to be able to have the
GRPA lead a session concerning sexuality and gender in Guyana.
For the majority of this week we were very
busy with classrooms and lesson preparations. Now that we have been with some
of our classrooms for 2-4 weeks we are able to start teaching more of the
content heavy lessons such as Depression and Suicide, HIV/AIDS, and Healthy
Relationships. Although we utilize our teaching manual to create our lessons,
we ensure that we are teaching topics that are relevant to particular schools
and students. In each classroom we provide the opportunity for students to ask
questions through an anonymous forum, our question box, so that we are able to
focus our lessons on concerns of the students and answer students’ inquiries.
On Thursday
we again appeared on NTN News for the Morning Show to talk about substances and
substance abuse. Although it is sometimes challenging to condense this content
into 5-7 minutes per topic we always ensure that we cover the most crucial and
relevant topics. We have been incredibly fortunate to be given the opportunity
to discuss important topics on a nationally broadcasted morning show so that we
have the ability to spread information more efficiently.
As Thursday
was the students’ last day of the week they were naturally more restless and
ready for the long weekend. We could definitely relate to the feeling of
anticipation and excitement for the upcoming weekend as not only was it
Guyana’s 51st Independence Day, but our lovely other half were
coming from Berbice to Georgetown for the weekend.
It was
amazing having Kate, Megan, Megan, and Robbie visit us in Georgetown so that we
could enjoy each other’s company. During their time in Georgetown we made sure
to walk to our favourite restaurants, get some much needed ice cream into their
stomachs, and visit the worlds largest single drop waterfall, Kaieteur. While
on our two hour adventure we learned from our tour guide Jamal that ‘teur’
actually means falls. This means when referring to it as “Kaieteur Falls” we were
actually saying ‘Kaie falls falls’ and have made sure not to make that mistake
again. Walking through the rainforest was incredible, and we even had the
pleasure of seeing a golden frog, blue morpho butterflies and a more than
slightly poisonous snake. Even though this excursion was a personally paid for
venture, it was an amazing opportunity that we were able to have by being in
Guyana with QHO’s initiative.
Throughout Berbice’s stay we were
actually able to engage in conversations regarding the complexities of
volunteering abroad. Although we have enjoyed our experience immensely thus far
we continue to ensure that we do not remain ignorant about our position as
foreign volunteers. Through these conversations we have been able to synthesize
what we have learned from interacting with Guyanese people, our observations,
and learning opportunities in classrooms. Despite the fact that not every
moment is positive, we have been provided with an incredible learning
experience, and one that we hope will allow us to be able to continue
strengthening the organization as a whole.
This was
yet another amazing week in Guyana and we cannot wait to continue learning
throughout the next three!
Peace and love,
Shannon, Manny, Shannen, Haylee
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