A Gimpse Into the Villages
Trip Start
Sep 30, 2005
1
91
101
Trip End
Ongoing
Rundu, Namibia
Thursday, April 27, 2006
The real excitement was the following day when we were taken to a local school, some villages and a church. There, we really got to see how the people lived their day-to-day lives. It was interesting to hear about how they live, work and play.
Our first stop was a small school. We first met with one of the teachers who explained how the school ran. They had grade 1-7 at the school. It cost about two Canadian dollars for school fees, and some families still couldn't afford this. The teacher came up with a solution by having the students make necklaces and cards in Arts and Crafts class to sell to visitors like us, to pay for their school fees. It is not mandatory for kids to go to school. It is up to their parents, and not all see it as necessary. The teachers start teaching in English in grade 4. The students often go to school until age 15, when many girls become pregnant, or the boys are needed at home. They go to school from 7:00am until 1:00pm, and the older students come back for P.E. from 4:00-6:00pm.
It is incredible to have been there and seen how little they have, and yet how similar they are to us. All over the classroom walls were learning posters. Not the nice bright posterboard we buy and laminate at home, but simple papers created by teachers and parents with information about months of the year, the alphabet and numbers. There were math times tables on the wall, letters and photos from pen-pals, the alphabet and more. The students sang us a song or two including their beautiful national anthem, and then after a few pictures, we moved to visit some of the surrounding villages.
Rough, dirty huts, all round with a roof like that of a chinese conical hat, were the livving accommodations in the villages. There were virtually only two to three huts in a section surrounded by fields and a pathway that led to the next 2 or 3 huts. These people used everything at their disposal for their needs. They used the seeds from the fields, leaves from the surrounding trees, mud and dung from the ground, and every part from the cow when one was butchered.
Our favorite part of the day was visiting the church. This is something we will never forget. We were walking towards it through a tall mixture of dry, yellow stalks of corn preventing any view of where we were heading. As we grew closer, young voices rang out in song as if from nowhere. As we stepped out from the tall fields, a small church appeared before us with two lines of children on either side of the lane singing to welcome us. I never knew children could sing so loudly and beautifully! It sent shivers throughout our bodies. We walked down the path between the two rows of energetic singers and into the church. It was the United Reformed Church of Christ and was a simple cement and stone building situated in the middle of a dry field. The children followed us in still singing and clapping their welcome. Once we were all seated, the pastor also welcomed us. While explaining that he was happy to see us, he also mentioned that it was also a sad time as the other pastor, (the founder of the church) had recently died and his funeral was the previous day. We listened to the pastor's message on love, enjoyed some more songs from the children, and before we knew it, it was time for us to head back to camp once again.
After another delicious supper, we were treated to some traditional dancing. The women wore skirts made of long reeds which resembled Hawaiian grass skirts. As they danced, the skirts made a jingling noise that made us think of Santa's sleigh flying over rooftops. Upon closer inspection, we realized the source of the jingling was actually beer-bottle caps at the bottom of the reeds. (Maybe not so traditional). The men played the drums as the women danced. It was great fun as some of us were pulled onto the stage to join them in their dance and shake our 'bon-bons'. What a great time!
It didn't turn into too late of a night as we were all very excited to be heading to the Delta the following day!!!
Hugs and Love,
Dana and Trevor
