Sponge fruits 2

Once all the various "fruits" and "vegetables" were completed, they were gift wrapped, with each bag containing a colourful, tempting selection.

The completed bags of sponge fruits and vegetables- thank you  for all donations.

There were enough bags to allow for some to be taken with us last week when the Special Education unit travelled to the remote southern part of Guyana, the Rupununi. (The Rupununi is famed for its biodiversity, and its scattered eco-lodges have hosted visits from David Attenborough, Gerald Durrell and the like.)
Travelling by air, in small planes with strict baggage allowances, and wanting to present some active teaching and learning methods using simple aids, the feather -weight sponge fruits, plus an adaptable story in my head, and plenty of ideas shared with my Peace Corps teacher buddy Susan, supplied the materials I needed for our teacher training sessions.

Telling a story-with actions and role play- to teachers at Moco Moco Primary and Nursery school.

The Rupununi covers an area of about 5,000 square miles of mostly untouched and largely unexplored savannah, dense jungle and mountain chains. The Bradt guide book describes the area thus: "biodiverse wetlands, rainforest covered mountains, endless fresh water river systems marked by strands of palms in the middle of grasslands, Dr Seuss-like termite mounds, sprawling Amerindian villages and cattle  ranches steeped in history." The Rupununi is home to an estimated 15,000 inhabitants living in 60 scattered villages, and another 3,000 in the main regional town of Lethem.

Visiting five nursery and primary schools and meeting with teachers from another two, plus therapists from Lethem hospital Physiotherapy department (staff of 2) meant we only reached 1/7th of the schools in the region. Nevertheless, the teachers we met were enthusiastic, eager  to  discuss and learn and clearly committed to the education of the children in  their schools. With the Kanuku mountains in the background and the breeze blowing through the benab (an Amerindian style structure with a roof and open sides),  the training session at the appealingly named Moco Moco Nursery and Primary school must rank as one of my favourite locations of all time.

Children from Arapaima Nursery waiting to be collected at the end of the morning .

Children at Moco Moco Primary line up for lunch. Older pupils, (who stay on at the primary school in the top class  rather than leave the village to board in Lethem and attend secondary school) act as supervisers.