For three and a half weeks our team was divided up into pairs and sent off throughout parts of Uganda, Ethiopia and Rwanda. I was placed as a "teachers assistant" at the Kigali International Community School (KICS) in Kigali, Rwanda. Choosing it primarily as a career building experience, I debated m decision up until arriving on campus. I had always seen myself in a career where I was working with severely impoverished people, but the more time I spend exploring the world, the more I have discovered that people of every economic background have needs and there are endless opportunities to serve.
Meeting with the director of the school our first day a loose schedule was created for the pair of us, with Kati focusing on passion, Elementary Education, I went up to the middle and high school. After 3 days of observing at least one class with each teacher and grade, I was generously given the opportunity to take over the 1st period 6th grade history class, the 7th period high school art class and teach a smattering of classes and grades throughout the rest of my time.
With nearly 200 students from over 3o nationalities, KICS boasts quite a unique environment for both its students and teachers. Having began in a basement in the Rwandan FHI office 4 years ago with five students and a parent overseeing the teaching, KICS has quickly erupted into a sought after institution with its anglophone instruction and American based curriculum.
Watching out the window one afternoon I saw a car from the UN, World Relief and several other NGO's arrive to pick up their children from school, just a small reminder of the work being carried out in this small country and the important need the school is meeting for this community. Taking in students from Embassies, NGOs, church work as well as Rwandan families, the school is home to a wide mix of backgrounds.
This multi-cultural and lingual composition makes for unique experiences within the classroom. Working from a required english base, language itself is not a large barrier for understanding. However, sitting through multiple classes, it became apparent that examples are not universal. Listening to the American students explain the concept of tug-o-war to the local East Africa students during a physics problem on force was almost comical. Math problems also seem to present their own challenges with units in miles and concern over trains departing from Chicago headed for St. Louis. Descriptions so far outside of their realm of daily understanding that they hold no significance for the majority of students.
After spending three weeks teaching all different subjects and levels I am closer than ever to giving in to the long standing call on my life to teach.
I could honestly see myself returning to KICS in the fall, but we will leave all future planning to God.
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