We started the weekend by going back to school. The head teacher of Chiputula Primary School invited us to their Saturday recreational activities. These Saturday activities are led by Anno’s Africa, an organization based in the United Kingdom that works in several African countries to provide visual and performing arts education to children who might otherwise not get exposed to creative outlets. The group is composed of a handful of teachers that cover a wide array of class subjects, including poetry, drama, music, dance, and physical accomplishments. They visit Chiputula Primary School every Saturday, and have formed a great bond with their students.
We divided into two groups. One group with Jade, Tiffany, and I (Rena) led outdoor activities. We played red light green light and “Fishy, Fishy cross My Ocean” with the kids. Another group with Miku, Sally, Penny, and I (April) taught students some popular line dances from the United States, including the Cotton Eye Joe, the Cha Cha Slide, and the Chicken Dance. All the students had a great time, and they picked up the dances and activities so quickly! After some time, we switched with the teachers from Anno’s Africa. We observed their classes, including art, music, modern dance, acrobatics, and guitar lessons. I (April) spent most of my time with the modern dance group. It was such a fun experience to spend more time with some of our students, and learn more about their traditions.
Afterwards, some of us went to hike in Kaning’ina Forest Reserve, a popular hiking spot close to Mzuzu. As it turns out, Kaning’ina Mountain is also a popular place for people to pray. The hike was short but steep, so the views from the top were stunning!
On Sunday, we did some more sightseeing! We started off very early for Vwaza Wildlife Reserve. After driving for three hours, we arrived. At the gate, we picked up an armed guard who helped show us the best trails in the reserve. We saw many hippos who were swimming in Lake Kazuni, a large, shallow lake that is a popular place for many species of animals. Unfortunately, we didn’t see any elephants, but this gives us yet another reason to come back to see some of the places and things that we missed. After a few hours of observing animals, we headed back home to finalize our lesson plans for next week.
Highlights:
- Playing games with students at a Saturday class
- Hippos at Vwaza
All the photos were taken by SHANTU (Verbal consent was obtained before taking the pictures)
