First week of class

Art class with the girls began on June 15th. It took a few days to get a dial up connection working on my laptop, so my entries for the first week are late. Classes were a smooth transition for the most part. It took a while for the girls to get used to having me as a teacher. I would walk in at 10:20 a.m. and find over 80 girls out of their chairs, chattering away and without a teacher in charge. However, they would see me and immediately jump to attention shouting out "Assalamolaikum, Miss" ("Hello, Miss" in Urdu). Interestingly enough, despite not having anyone in charge, it didn't take long for them to fall back into order. The classroom was small for 85 girls, many of whom were lining the walls and squeezed together behind desks. I decided to take them outside and divide them into groups of ten. After making all the girls sit in a circle in their respective groups, I gave them one object each to draw. Moving through each group I asked the girls if they had any questions, explained the process of drawing a circular object and let them begin. Even when class ended for the day, some girls were still hunched over their papers sketching away furiously. Over the course of the week, many girls gained confidence and asked me questions about where I was from and if I was still a student.


I periodically spoke to the principal of the school to discuss the school's impact on the greater community. Such an impact assessment is especially timely, as these students are the first generation of girls being educated in Keiri Reki. While the community elders were highly supportive of our efforts with reconstruction, the school principal claimed that parents would not take an active interest in their daughters' education. The mothers were too busy taking care of their families. It was also difficult to explain to the community that sending their daughters to school and making sure they attend is not the only mark of a good education. Girl's would learn something on the computer one day and the next day it would be forgotten. This was not the parents' fault; after all, they themselves were uneducated for the most part. Rather, the system was to blame. Many times, I noticed how one operational inefficiency led to a whole chain of events. If the text book content was poor, then class became boring and girls took no interest in learning. If the class was too small, it became stifling and girls lost concentration. If the parents didn't realize the importance of finishing homework, there would be no one to tell the girls what to do once they were done for the day.


Despite these setbacks, this first week was an enlightening experience. Construction is well underway. A drainage pipe has been set up to collect rainwater in the newly constructed water tank. Nathiagali has been facing a water shortage due to a strike by the water providers, so setting up a pipe at least helps us to make the most of rainwater in case something similar happens in Keiri Reki as well. I also located some mobile phone company towers close by, which can possibly be used as internet providers. One of the many contradictions of this area: phone companies will continue to operate, but water and sanitation facilities are unreliable.


Nevertheless, I can't imagine studying in a more beautiful place.