After 3 months at site we had our education reconnect In Service Training (IST) in January. All of the Deaf art volunteers got together to talk about things we’d like to do together. One thing was finding a way to have a training about working with students with multiple disabilities in a mixed abilities classroom. All of us had those kids in our classes and struggled to create a classroom environment to support them. So we decided that an IST was needed to support our understanding of these students. And I was chosen as the Point of Contact (PoC) among the volunteers.What followed was nearly 10 months of discussions, meetings, e-mails, more meetings, phone calls, negotiations and more meetings! And then it finally came together!
The First IST on Special Education and HIV/AIDS Peer Education happened from October 9th through October 13th. It was funded my the President’s Emergency Plan For Aids Relief (PEPFAR). With this funding not only were we able to have the special education training we were seeking but were able to invite two students from each of the volunteers’ schools for training on HIV awareness, prevention and how to be an effective peer educator. One of the goals of Peace Corps is to build capacity and create sustainable change. To this end we invited teachers from all of the 13 schools for the Deaf to attend the workshop and we had excellent turn out! 12 of the 13 schools were represented!
Armstrong and my student, Sam, discussing the opportunites and challenges of being a Deaf student
The first day we were divided into two groups. The students attended sessions on reproductive health and HIV education. We brought a knowledgeable member of the Deaf community to assist us as well as some excellent Peace Corps Staff. All of the students were attentive and wanted to stay later to be sure they copied all of the notes and were even reviewing them at 6am the next day!
Meanwhile, the teachers and volunteers received training in the assorted disabilities we may see in our classes, how to approach challenging behaviors, how to write differentiated lesson plans and how to manage a classroom. We had numerous heated conversations about appropriate punishments (caning is big here) as well as direct commentary with the offiicials in charge at the education office. The day was long and we could’ve kept going!
The second day was a day entirely focused on HIV/AIDS education. We played some games to promote awareness that we will take back to our schools and implement as educational tools. We met a woman living with HIV, a surprise for many who assumed a person living with HIV would look ill rather then strong, confident and outspoken. We had question and answer and we planned for the last day, a visit to the Jamasi School for the Deaf where we’d put all we learned into action.
The students with Gifty, the woman living with HIV
On the last day we traveled by bus to the Jamasi School for the Deaf. Once there the volunteers paired with their counterparts and one other teacher taught a lesson on a subject of their choosing ranging from science, to math, to art. These lessons lasted about an hour and were then followed by an HIV/AIDS lesson with instruction by the students. After a debriefing and feedback the workshop was officially closed!
My counterpart, Juliana, and Francis, from Kibi Deaf, teaching a lesson about plants
After so many months I was so thrilled to have the training actually work out, meet the goals I had originally envisioned and has inspired me to do so much more! My students are planning HIV activities at the school while I have begun looking more closely at the students with additional needs and assessing how best I can help them.
In my Peace Corps service there isn’t often tangible evidence of my impact here and for the most part I’ve accepted that, but finishing the IST I can see what I have achieved. I walked into the Junior High 1 class. The teacher for the hour wasn’t present and Abigail, one of the students who accompanied me to the workshop, had written “HIV/AIDS” on the board and was listing modes of transmission underneath. She had decided that in her free time she would instruct the class on what she had learned about HIV/AIDS at the workshop! This alone makes all those months worth it.
The Workshop Participants (I’m in the last row, left hand side)