a day in the life of....

Hi everyone

As I was thinking what I could write about this week, Fiona gave me an idea. She commented that no one would believe what a variety of things happens on any one day in my life, and so I decided to take a day and write about it. The pictures don't really bear any relation to any one day but are just chosen at random from my vast library of pictures.

Usually I get up around 5am just as the light is beginning to come over the horizon. I get dressed and make something to eat before the day ahead. I go to school for 6.30am to open up and welcome the children and teachers. If all teachers are present then I retreat to my office within the school to do some admin duties for school. If all teachers are not present then I spend the morning in a class!

Admin duties in our school are similar to those of a Head teacher - preparing accounts, registration, and writing any letters which need written. I am Head teacher/secretary/teacher/Synod Co-ordinator all rolled into one! It can be quite a juggle.

I may have to go and buy supplies for school such as cleaning materials and drinks for the children (as I am the only one with a vehicle, its my duty!). I also deal with anyone who comes into the office whether a parent or a visitor. I may have to go to the bank which can take some time depending on how many people are inside! I may have to go and collect barrels of water if we have no water!

On top of this I have my duties as ECD Co-ordinator for the Synod. I am continually organising training programmes and often am out training myself. This past week, I was out one afternoon taking a committee meeting at a school within Mzuzu, and on Friday I was training all day.

Going to the market may also be part of my duties - whether to buy some supplies for school or just to get something for lunch.

Lunchtime is at 12 noon - no morning coffee breaks for me! The past few weeks a German volunteer has been helping us at school and so she comes to my house for lunch, and Fiona has also been here. So, I rush home at 11.50 and make something for our lunch - usually a sandwich and a cup of tea or coffee! Then after a break of 30 minutes its back to school.

On two afternoons a week I teach the teachers in our school - we have two agegroups and so two different sets of teachers. I enjoy this but it takes a lot of preparation time. I also assist Nicolas with his course work for the Montessori education course which he is doing.

During the day I have many visitors in the office - maybe a minister coming to discuss his nursery school, or a director from another nursery school, or someone looking for funding. I also organise and prepare for people coming in the UK summer months - their projects, accommodation, transport. No time for computer games!

In the evenings, I try to do some study for the MA - this past week has been particularly frustrating as the internet has been so slow - it took about 4 hours to download 3 documents which in UK would have taken a few seconds. So life can be frustrating sometimes.

A few weeks ago, I attended a meeting organised within Mzuzu for directors of nursery schools. It was established that no directors have had any training in ECD and so are treating young children like primary school kids even to the extent of doing exams with them. Because of this need, I offered the services of the CCAP trainers to train these people in the basics of early childhood development. Last Friday, we had a very successful meeting with about 70 people attending. A second seminar has been arranged. Praise God that we can share our knowledge with others! The photo below shows the people attending.

So, life is never dull. No two days are ever the same. Each day determines its own schedule and you really need to be a flexible person to be able to cope with this. Many times I set out with a list of 6 things to do and only manage to get one done in a day. Patience is a virtue necessary in our situations here and sometimes it is absent. Today church lasted only two and a half hours..

So next time you get frustrated, think about people like me working in third world countries, where jobs which you could do in a few minutes may take us hours.

The positive side of all this is that people have time for people - I may spend most of the day talking with people - listening to their concerns, discussing their visions for nursery school education. Its an exciting job and one which I would not swap for a nursery school job in the West.

One day during the week, some of our kids called me to come and see the crocodile - they were so excited! We have a small toy crocodile in school about the size of a large lizard- and they had seen a large lizard running up an outside wall! I must admit I was relieved it was not a crocodile!!

Wishing you a great week full of joy in your life and your job!

Best wishes

Diane