April = Malaria Awareness Month! 9 April 2016

            While many of you looking forward to raising temperatures and spring flowers fully blooming, Peace Corps volunteers around the world are doing projects to help combat malaria. While I am busy teaching and preparing for a friend to come visit next week, I am also helping do activities focused around malaria education. As this is a huge part of my days, I also thought I would post about the activities here as well so that you can get a glimpse into my life. So here are the malaria related activities and projects I’m working on for the week of April 4-9, 2016.

April 4, 2016: Public announcement about bednets

            Today at flag ceremony, my counterpart and I made an announcement about this month being World Malaria Awareness month and that Peace Corps can get malaria nets for all students that need them. We asked students to talk to families and assigned class monitors to record students who need them nets. Our goal is to get Desalgn, regional manager, a list of names by the end of the week for a demonstration and distribution next week. Talked with at least one G14 health volunteer who is also going to come and help with demonstration and distribution.

April 5, 2016: Class Activity (9A and B): Fact Based Opinions about Malaria

Tying in a fact and opinion section of the Grade 9 textbook, I wrote 10 facts on cards from WHO’s website and Skillz Malaria workbook. For first period in 9A each group of students had to identify what was fact on their cards. They then had to share with the class what the facts were. Finally students wrote a quick letter to me telling me what they know about malaria currently. Over break other teachers and vice director also read the cards and discussed. There was great debate over whether 1,500 malaria cases occur in America was true or false. During 5th period with 9B students and a few 9C students, after reviewing fact and opinions, I asked students to read sentences from malaria cards while classmates had to decide if the card was fact and opinion and why. I then wrote on the board “Malaria is bad,” to start a discussion that while this statement is an opinion it can be fact-based. Students then read cards to find facts that supported this opinion (example: 438,000 people died from malaria in 2015.) Student then wrote a quick letter to me explaining what they know about malaria.

April 6, 2016: Class Activity (9A,B,C): Listening Activity themed around malaria

            For class today I gave the listening section of the skills assessment. Instead of having one of the characters have HIV, I changed it to being about malaria. Afterwards we talked about how we are supposed to treat people with malaria.

April 6, 2016: Piñata Construction    Piñata construction has gotten underway!

April 7: Class Activity (9A,B,C): Writing Acrostic Poem

            For class today, I revamped the poetry section in Unit 10 to include rhyming and acrostic poetry. Students practiced describing Ethiopia and Tigray and then malaria using adjectives and nouns to complete the description.

April 8, 2016: Class Activity (A): Writing Activity themed around malaria

            For 9A’s class today I gave the writing section of the skills assessment, changed to be about malaria. Students had to tell ways of preventing malaria and what are safe ways of staying away from unhealthy skills.

April 8, 2016: Bednet Distribution Update

            Today I was told by our vice director that 773 students had signed up for a mosquito net. Peace Corps was shocked at this , but assured me there wasn’t a way that we could have that many. There are only 300ish for the region with lots of volunteers doing programs. Instead of having a formal distribution, for the next two weeks we are going to have lottery at the end of the day for those that signed up. If there was a miracle and 773 nets could just materialize in Selekleka that would be amazing!!!

April 9, 2016: PINATAS ARE FINISHED!!!!

            I now have two mosquito piñatas finished and ready for kids to smash. Due to being busy and trying to balance lots of things, I’m unsure how many layers finally got on the 3 foot insects, so either kids are going to break it really easily or it is going to take a while. Each bug took three balloons, 3 pipe cleaners, 18 popsicle sticks, 3 toilet paper rolls, 2 black garbage bags, 4 brown paper bags and lots of flour and water. Kindergarteners are going to have a go at one of them on Wednesday and 9th grade students on Friday!