Not much has changed in good ol’ Africa.  My students and I are both going through mid-semester exams so life has been pretty busy.  If you would have told me last year that while taking course exams in Africa I’d also be correcting South African English exams, I would have never believed you. 

All the students have been writing letters for their English exams.  During this time, I have pulled certain students who I have seen struggling in order to help them pass the exam.  I was working especially with three 9^th grade girls in the past week.  When I realized that their letters were just jumbled words, I knew they could not pass this exam any time in the near future.  First, I gave them three questions to answer that went along with the directions to the letter they were supposed to write.  They still could not even answer the questions.  So, I asked them to read the directions to me.  Although I thought this was a simple task and they would just not be able to understand it, I quickly learned these three girls could not read.  They cannot read Xhosa or English.  Suddenly, my job just got a lot harder.  I had to come up with something on the spot because I had another hour to spend with these girls before I went to teach my next class.  I finally just said, “alright, you’re going to teach me your language and I’m going to teach you mine.”  This has to be the only way for us to communicate.  They seemed happy to see me trying to learn.  It seemed as if as long as I was trying my hardest, they would also try their hardest.  The past couple days, though frustrating, have been back and forth…just trying to learn the sounds each letter makes in each language…. Who knew the alphabet could be so difficult.

Though these days have been a little discouraging, I have begun to pour my heart and soul into this school.  I may not have gotten through to them previously because they couldn’t understand me, but I am now finally getting to know individuals and learning names. 

This past Tuesday, I was supposed to be in my 5^th grade class for a half hour of review because they are writing their exams this week.  The teachers for their next two classes never showed up, so I ended up staying there for an hour and a half.  By the end, the kids knew the material on the test inside and out!!  All I could think was “FINALLY!” I had made progress with someone!!  Though doing so consisted of me jumping, running, and making an idiot out of myself, the students were all laughing, engaged, and learning.  Nothing is more rewarding than a class laughing AND learning. 

The sixth grade reading club has become my family at Hlengisa.  I am finally learning most of their names—clicks and all!  They even come to eat lunch with me instead of with their friends and hang out with me in their free periods.  I focus on one table each day and have each person at the table read to me.  I can already tell how much the students are improving.  They are all able to read almost every word in the library books.  The only hardships they have are with names of people and countries. 

UWC has also been going very well. We made it through our first papers and exams.  The entire house is beginning to get sick, though.  Certain people have been missing school and service on random days in order to make doctor appointments and catch up on rest.  We leave for a 10 day road trip tomorrow in a huge bus so just pray that the entire group doesn’t end up sick by the end of that!!

Some people at home have also been asking me if they can help me in any way.  Unfortunately, it costs a ridiculous amount of money to send things all the way here and it takes about 3-4 weeks to receive.  Also, most things are also cheaper here anyway.  I would love to get a rug and some pillows for the library so that students do not have to sit on wooden chairs every day while they read.  I would also love to get some more fiction books for the students because many of the books are about technology and computers that they don’t have access to anyway.  So, I have set up an account at Village Bank and I will use all the money solely for service purchases.  The children at Hlengisa and I would appreciate any donations possible.  Even $1 goes so much farther here than at home.  Checks can be made payable to me and be sent to:

Jeffrey Modena

Village Bank & Trust

311 S Arlington Heights Rd

Arlington Heights, 60005

I will never see the checks or who sent what, everything will be anonymous through Jeffrey.  Every penny of this money will go toward the children—for the most part, the library that I am still in the process of ‘opening.’

There are also a few girls in my house who are teaching at schools that do not even have paper or pens for the students.  Any left over money will go toward buying supplies for these schools.  I would love to get any donations by APRIL 30.  This should give me time to buy everything and bring it to the schools.  I will also be looking for local donations from the Cape Town library and local businesses. 

Thank you again for all your thoughts and support.  Anytime I’m feeling in over my head, I always have family and friends behind me.  It means more than you could possibly imagine!