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Before arriving at Bethany I had only a limited idea of what to expect, a lot of children of course but nothing quite prepared me for the entrance we had to Bethany. Having the children running up to you, so happy to meet you and see you is one of the most overwhelming things I have ever experienced, but yet one of the most happy, lovely things I have encountered and was probably one of the many highlights of the trip. Another moment that stays with me is when Karen and I held a lesson with the children making a fruit salad based on the sotry of Handa’s surprise; the smiles on the children’s faces are something that will stay with me for a while. One of the hardest things to overcome and get your head around on the trip for me was the language barrier, of course before the trip this was something I had expected but never knew quite how to approach the difficulties that would arise from this. However having a group leader that is able to communicate with the children and staff is a bonus that couldn’t have been more helpful. The children I taught were standard one and two, standard one were extremely bright children who were so eager to learn new things and who approached learning head on engaging directly with the activities that were set up, like the minibeast hunt. Standard two were a class that put me out of my comfort zone, enabling me to learn a lot more about teaching practice; however were extremely fantastic children that all had their own personality and who were so eager to please. Overall my time at Bethany was life changing and really showed me what I could do to help, it also took a lot of pre-conceived ideas I had of Africa and gave me a new foundation to work with. All of the experiences however would not have been made possible without our group leader.
Hollie North
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