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My Diary of summer 2009 - TCF Summer Camp

Sobia Raja, Commercial Portfolio Manager at The Royal Bank of Scotland shares her diary of events while volunteering at TCF’s Summer Camp 2009. The Camp was attended by TCF students and children from the local community who received help in English and Science from volunteers.

My Diary of summer 2009 - TCF Summer Camp
It’s Sunday 12th July, I arrived in Karachi yesterday morning. So far I have just slept and eaten loads. I will be starting my first day at the TCF Summer Camp tomorrow. I’m very excited yet a little nervous, as I don’t know what to expect. The day will start with me being dropped off at the pickup point at 8.30am where a TCF van will take me and other volunteers to our designated TCF School and the day will end at around 2.00pm.

I am a little apprehensive as I do not know what the children and other volunteers will be like, but I am very excited and eager to find out. I just hope I’m able to fulfil what is expected of me.

I have always been keen to get stuck in and involved in voluntary work. I recently had a discussion with my brother-in-law who is very involved with TCF and he told me about the great things TCF are doing and the annual Summer Camp which sounded like something I’d thoroughly enjoy. I then got in touch with Friends of The Citizens Foundation in London, who helped me to enrol for the Summer Camp. TCF have been very supportive and extremely organised, so I’m really looking forward to tomorrow...

Day 1:
Today was my first day working at the TCF School and I was dropped off at the City School pickup point. This is where I met other volunteers and organisers; I was surprised by the number of volunteers that had arrived – there were so many!

The organisers assigned us to the designated vans for each school. There were two campuses for the Summer Camp - one of which was the Science Camp and the other was the English Camp. There were three vans full of volunteers going to each campus. The school I was chosen to work with is in a town called Mahripur, where the English camp was set up. It took us approximately twenty minutes to reach the school from the pickup point.

As we drove closer to the school, we were on a main road and all I could see were a few scantily built houses across the road from the school and a donkey and camel sitting in the middle of the road. I was shocked to see the animals and to see the amount of rubbish that was lined up along the side of the street - it was horrible and it made me realise the extreme poverty these people live in.

Once we went inside the school, we met with the Head Mistress and she showed us around the building. It was a complete contrast to what you would see when you looked outside. I was very impressed with the school; the building was at least three stories high with classrooms on each level. The classroom sizes were good with the capacity to fit at least thirty children in each room.

The other volunteers who were with me were all students from Karachi Grammar School. They chose to take part in the Summer Camp, not only to help underprivileged children but also for the accreditation and certification they can use when applying for universities. I think that the Camp is a great idea; the young volunteers will see the other side of life, how fortunate they are and it will also help them academically. Even though poverty is noticeable throughout Pakistan, it will certainly help these youngsters to broaden their minds and feel a sense of achievement. On the other hand, it’s also very useful for the children who will be attending this Summer Camp; they’ll be able to continue with some form of study even during their holidays. None of us really know the kind of background these children come from and the depth of adversity they may be facing at home.

I’m the only volunteer from London and doing this purely on a voluntary basis. However, the other volunteers I am with also seemed keen and enthusiastic, which will hopefully project positively on the children.

Once all the students and volunteers arrived, we realised that there were more volunteers and less students. Therefore, the volunteers were paired up and each student was assigned to two volunteers. We were then asked to take the child to another classroom where we were instructed to interact with the child.

I was paired up with a girl called Maria and our student’s name was Ayesha. We asked Ayesha a few questions so that she became comfortable with us. Ayesha is 12 years of age and is one of 8 siblings (four boys and four girls); she is in Year 6 and very keen to learn. Two of her brothers already go to the TCF School and she hopes to study hard as well in order to become an airhostess when she grows up.

Shortly after, we were joined by another student Hina, who is in Year 9 and 16 years of age. I noticed that many of the children were currently studying at a TCF School and a few had heard about the Summer Camp through their siblings and relatives.

Maria and I started the class by going through the Handbook given to all the volunteers. The first activity was to spot the differences between two pictures. Both girls were very quick at picking up the differences - it was then that we asked them to say their answers in English. Even though there was an age difference between the students, they were approximately at the same level of understanding.

Both Ayesha and Hina knew their numbers and alphabets in English but it became a little difficult when they wanted to make sentences. First, we made them write down all the differences they could spot in English and then helped them to correct their spellings. Then they wrote down the meaning in Urdu - the purpose of this was so that they could refer back to it when they were at home.

In the second task, we made sentences out of each word found in the pictures. Maria and I thought this would help them to understand what context these words can also be used in.

After a short break, we wanted to interact with the girls so that they could practice the English they already knew and to also incorporate the new words they had learnt in class - so we decided to play ‘Eye Spy’. They’d look around the room and try to guess, and when they were not familiar with a word in English, we would help them and tell them to write it in their books, as well as drawing the object so that they wouldn’t forget.

Maria and I realised that we would not be able to use the other exercises in the Handbook as it was too advanced for them and so we had to improvise. After going through all the colours with them in English, we decided to play Hangman. The idea of playing a game was to help the children become comfortable with us and also to gain an idea of how much they already knew.

We started off by telling them the concept of the game, which they partially understood but they still tried to guess the words before calling out the letters. As a result, we told them to write the alphabet in their books, then close their eyes and point to a letter on the page. They then realised what we meant and picked up very quickly. I soon realised that these girls were bright and keen on learning, and were confident in asking questions when they did not understand.

It helped that Maria and I got on well, as it was necessary to work together to make the activities as fun and interactive as possible for the students. Although they were reluctant at first, I believe the exercises helped to build their confidence, and slowly, as the day passed we could see their personalities shining through.

There were two other volunteers and students in the class who were not as interactive as Ayesha and Hina, but I believe this was down to the volunteers teaching them. The way a teacher comes across really makes a difference to the level of input from the child. Your body language, your tone and teaching style all play a part, as the child feels vulnerable and does not know you. As it is, girls tend to be a little reserved and it can take a little more time for them to open up. I wanted to bring out each child’s full potential, but I was conscious that I’d only have a limited time with them on this trip.

After Hangman, we tried to play ‘Simon Says’ and ‘Charades’ just by doing actions – the children had to guess what we were doing and had to repeat it in English. We had to be very creative on the spot and improvise a lot of the time, however I enjoyed this as it allowed me to use my initiative and I was given the opportunity to understand things from a child’s perspective.

I thoroughly enjoyed today and felt happy that I was able to help a child learn something, even the smallest word, colour or object. It helps to have a student who is dedicated and enthusiastic. When a student repeats something you have taught them, it gives the teacher an incredibly rewarding feeling!

I’m looking forward to tomorrow and know that I need to think of more innovative activities I can do with the children. We have already thought of playing ‘Stuck in the Mud’ or as they call it, ‘Baraaf Pani’ during break-time tomorrow.

Day 2:
A few more girls joined our class today which was exciting. We started the day by getting students to write about themselves. While they were doing this we realised that they were unable to understand the concept of past, present and future. So we wrote a few sentences on the board with some words missing and asked them to fill in the gaps, to assess how much they knew. We then drew a past/present/future chart and asked the children to put words into the correct columns such as, after, went, should, does, etc. The girls responded very well to this and to help them further understand tenses, we formulated sentences using the words in the chart.

Every time we do an exercise, we ask them to explain what the words mean in Urdu, so that we can ensure that they understand everything properly. When they respond correctly, you feel an immense sense of reward that they’ve learnt something new.

During the break, we played ‘Baraaf Pani’ and KoKo with all the girls in school. This allowed the girls to relax a little more and enjoy themselves. They also felt a lot more at ease around the volunteers.

We continued the day by playing Hangman and Pictionary. I was amazed at how well these students could draw; their pictures were so detailed! There is definitely a hidden talent within each child. They are so clever and enthusiastic, and the TCF Summer Camp had now given them the facilities and means to realise what they could achieve. This is why I think TCF is a great organisation - it’s bringing education into the lives of those who are not as fortunate as us and hopefully these children will grow up to become something wonderful in life; being able to support their families and secure a better future for themselves.

One of the girls told me she liked my English and how she wanted to learn so many languages (Pushto, Punjabi, Persian etc) but her dad simply said, ‘How are you going to?’ and laughed at her. I felt so bad and advised her that whenever she comes across someone speaking another language, she should ask them to teach her. What can you say to a 12 year old girl, who is so keen to learn but just doesn’t have the means to learn all that she wants? I really wish I could do more for them and I hope that whatever we are teaching will be of some help, even if they take away only a little.

I intend to teach as much as possible in the short time that I am here. The feedback from the other volunteers is pretty much the same - most commonly some children can read English but have little understanding of what they were reading.

Day 3:
We now have a classroom of five girls between Maria and I, and some of the other students have requested to join our class. Today Maria brought in A-Z flash cards which proved to be a very useful teaching resource. We decided to plan our day in the morning, as in the first two days we made up activities as the day went along. So this morning, we were determined to come up with a constructive lesson plan that would bring out the most from our students.

Using the flash cards, we got each student to take a card, draw the picture on the board and then describe the object’s features. Then they wrote everything down in English and we asked them to repeat the sentences that they had formulated and to explain what the sentences meant.

E.g.:

This is a cat.
The colour of the cat is black and white.
It has two hands and two feet.
It eats fish.

I felt that it was necessary to ask them what they had written, as one child may have understood but another child may not have. They copied everything into their books and anything they were unsure of, they wrote in Urdu too so that they could refer back to it.

After this we played a memory game; where we would show them a few cards and then hide them – they would then have to repeat what they saw. We began with four cards and then increased the number of cards, eventually stopping at eight cards at a time. The object of the game was to remember as many of the flash cards and for each one they guessed correctly, they’d get a point. Through this game I realised just how competitive these girls were - this was a good sign and they also contributed and worked well together as a team. It was really nice to see and helped us to encourage them. At the end of the memory game we realised that they had remembered all the words on the cards which was fantastic as this wasn’t our initial aim. At first we played this game so that they could have some fun while learning, but Maria and I were so surprised and happy at how quickly they all picked up the new vocabulary.

Now, without using the flash cards we played Hangman again but the girls had to use the words from the flash cards (from what they could remember). The girls asked to play Hangman which proved that this game had definitely gone down well the last time we played! Sometimes the girls need a little push but they are becoming more confident which is very rewarding and satisfying for us.

Every day I feel good that we have achieved a little more with them and that the outcome has been positive. We realised that they were a little confused with body parts and so that will be on our agenda tomorrow.

Day 4:
Today we mixed up the classes with the boys. The first half of the lesson consisted of similar activities undertaken in previous lessons, flash cards, Hangman etc. This was to get the boys and girls to feel more comfortable around each other as they were not used to being in the same class and working together. The girls won Hangman, which was a great lift to their spirits as they were very shy at first to even speak up. There were two boys from the group of six who were very clever and the rest of the group relied heavily on them. I found that one of the boys was very shy but he soon opened up when he thought that I had cheated by helping one of the girls during a game. I found this very amusing, as he kept saying that I had cheated and this highlighted his competitive streak. He was very quiet for most of the lesson as he didn’t have the confidence to answer questions and would often shy away. To think, if this boy had a little more help and confidence in his knowledge, he could combine his skills and competitive streak to get really far in life. It’s a real shame that these children do not have the means to study and nurture their intelligent minds. Hopefully, as more TCF schools open, more and more children will have a brighter future ahead of them.

In the second half of the day, we talked about the world by looking at a globe and wrote about Pakistan, their country and everything that they knew about it. One of the boys was very clever and you could see the eagerness in him every time a question was asked. He would shout out the answers and his fellow students would look to him for answers too. Khubaib was definitely a smart child and very enthusiastic - it’s children like him that make you want to help TCF as you know that they can achieve so much if they are given the opportunity and means.

Day 5:
I have not been in school for a few days as I was off sick and we also had a big rain storm which has caused a lot of problems in Karachi. My main worry is for the poor children whose houses must have got ruined.

When we got to school, I asked one of the girls (Sajda) why she was absent on one of the days and she replied, saying that her house was flooded and covered with rubbish that had come in from the streets. She said her father told her to stay at home to help tidy up, so she was unable to come to school. Today they still have a lot of rubbish and water in the house, and her father was very angry with her for wanting to go to the Camp, but she ignored her father’s orders and still came to school today. I thought this child really must want to come and learn and get away from the harsh realities facing her family.

We began the day by setting homework for them covering what they had learnt over the past few days. In today’s lesson we posted answers on the board and the children had to formulate corresponding questions. We spent quite some time on this exercise but the children did very well!

We then sat with each child and had a conversation in English. I sat with one student at a time and we had a conversation in front of the class. It was a role play where I asked them questions such as their name, how many siblings they have, their parents’ names, their hobby, what they want to be when they grow up etc.
The girls were very sceptical at first but they soon warmed up and enjoyed it once they realised that they could do it. They just needed to have some confidence and with a little push from Maria and I; they began to warm to the exercise.

I always tried hard not to make the lessons intense and boring; in an environment like this the child needs to be comfortable and know that learning can be fun. It’s not just a case of memorising everything so that you don’t look silly in front of others; it’s about understanding what you’re being taught and helping others who are struggling.

Day 6:
We went through the homework in the morning and the majority of students got the answers correct, however Sajda got full marks! She really is the bright spark of the class. We went over some more questions and answers with the students to help them in areas they were unsure about. The children then practiced conversational phrases that may prove useful in the future, such as, ‘How much does this apple cost? and ‘I would like five mangoes please’. This activity was thoroughly enjoyed by the whole class!

The children also did an exercise on personal profiles where they wrote about themselves and then designed their very own Identity Cards. The children love to draw, so this activity really brought out their creative side.

The children stamped their Identity Cards using thumb prints and then as a class we discussed what having an identity meant. They did such lovely drawings of themselves and decorated them to their own personal taste. It was in this exercise that my student Ayesha was unable to tell me what her date of birth was as she didn’t understand what a birthday was. I really felt for her; in modern times, every person should know when they were born and to know that this girl had never celebrated her birthday really saddened me... Isn’t a birthday something that every child looks forward to?

Ayesha is a lovely girl and nearly every day she uses her pocket money to buy Maria and myself sweets. Maria and I were very embarrassed and refused to take them from her but she got very upset and so from then on, Maria and I took it in turns and always brought the girls sweets and at the end of each day, after a game or exercise we would hand them out. Although many of the girls would not take them at first, they soon opened up. I really felt bad that Ayesha had done this with us, as she should have used the money to buy some snacks for herself during break and shouldn’t have spent her money on us...

Day 7:
We went through the homework in the morning and gave the children a final test. The test covered everything that was taught over the course of the week.

I thoroughly enjoyed my experience at the Camp and I am very grateful for the opportunity I was given. I’ve made some great friends and learnt a lot; we not only taught these children but these children taught us. They have taught us how fortunate we are and just how much we take for granted. They have helped me to build personal confidence; I never knew that I could teach someone and especially a language that is foreign to the children. I have broadened my skill set and hope that I’ve been able to pass on valuable knowledge that will help them going forward.

It was my last day and I was so pleased to see that the girls had done well in their tests and also that they each made me a beautiful card to remember them by. One girl even brought in henna and decorated my hands. Before I left, I gave them all sweets and a few goodies to take with them. I was sad to be leaving as I had an incredible experience... The children were wonderful and I am very glad that I was part of the TCF Summer Camp. TCF are doing a fantastic job and I wish them the very best of luck in educating the poor children of Pakistan. I hope that the word spreads about this charity as it’s truly a great cause. With the current condition of Pakistan we need to support charities like TCF who are working very hard to bring a positive change through education.

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