The scattered tents of the slum were spread over around five acres next to a dry waterless water course. Walking through the maze of precarious bamboo and tarpaulin tents, one thinks to one's self, of only they could...

Small babies sat in the buckets of water while there mothers washed them. Then the tent schools, the primary was just like any other primary school but not... the kids sat on the ground with their dirty cloths and lice infested hair... 

 

The nursery was a hurricane of tears, yells and wide eyes. At first all the little kids were to shy to do anything but stare, then after watching the older boys they began to gain confidence. First it was only one then bang everyone wanted to be playing hand clapping! The boys asked me my name over and over, each time the pronunciation got better before we left it was 'Pantces'. Vicky (one of the boys) tried to trick me into thinking that Vicky was not his name, but I could tell he was trying to trick me because a huge cheeky grin stretched from one ear to the other. One dude was called Gandi but I can't be sure because Vicky had already tried to trick me...

From the top Vicky, 'Gandhi' and a boy who's name I can't remember!

We just watched for that day and looked at how the class was run, I must say the 'teacher' Veeru handled those little scally wags very well I am not sure that some qualified Australian childcare teachers could do what he does...

The Next Two Days.

Well, what to say? The second day we realised how unprepared for teaching we were... We played Simon says with the older kids. Vicky was just the same as the day before the biggest grin and loudest laugh, he played hand clapping with me again, and one of his friends tried to tell me a boy was his son, at the end of the day I agreed with him and pointed at Vicky and said 'and this is your lovely wife' at that point he looked shocked then him and Vicky proceeded to have a rather nasty play fight...

Today I had to teach the youngest group and three of the boys would not listen to me so I had to swap groups with Dad! Dad's group soon got bored with that card game (Jess girl as I call her to myself was the ringleader of that one). I got four of them to write the Alphabet out on the board in lower case and upper case, next we played duck duck goose and then heads shoulders knees and toes. Another game we played required the children to name the correct object from a choice of two, and dad tried to make it harder by holding the pictures upside down. But they were onto him alright and said the correct answer all the time! Then I stood up the front and asked them what everything was, they answered, and we spelt it out, then I would make the noise to go with the object, I got people to come up and do the action or noise to go with the object. Then I got every one to go round the tent doing the action or noise.

Lunch came not a moment to soon, I helped had out plates and had a mini competition with a boy,who remind s me of a boy at Woodbridge called Jordan, he handed out the plates faster than me so I lost! I was getting them drinks when Vicky beckoned to me pointing at his spoon I said 'You want me to wash it' he nodded I came to get it and saw that huge grin trying to hid behind a hand. He laughed. I walked off and looked back he pointed to his spoon I shook my fist at him which caused his friends and him to crack up. After lunch Vicky and his friends (The reason I only name Vicky is because he has the most western sounding name and I can't remember the rest) hung round playing hand clapping, thumb wars and hand wrestling I lost the last two games because my hands were tired from clapping.

It seemed to be a competition who could hit my hands the hardest. Vicky and a mute girl made my eyes water and when I looked at my hands they were RED. 'Jordan boy' and Vicky would make each other stuff up so that they could clap hands with me. Some of the girls tried to make me and Abbey dance but when we tried to dance the mute girl shook her head and did some really cool bollywood dancing. Abbey sang to them but I was to shy why I was shy beats me because I had just been imitating all sorts of strange animals in the class room...