Volunteer Teaching in Guyana with WorldTeach - (past program)

Life in the hinterland of Guyana presents quite a few challenges daily. The good thing about challenges is they are usually followed with rewards. The day-to-day wonder if there would be water or electricity always helped to add excitement. Every task was so simplified it helped provide perspective on different parts of life. The students are excited to have volunteers and for the most part enjoy them. I will not lie to you and tell you these kids are angels. If you want a challenge, the Guyanese classroom is the place for you. Even after my worst situation in the classroom, I would go back and teach those students again in a heart beat. Being so far away from the capital and really any officials there were issues getting important things taken care of. They were always but it was usually quite the ordeal. It is just apart of being a satellite. Not all programs in Guyana are hinterland most are actually around bigger towns. Now in Guyana cell phones and electricity are much more available. In our little village we had electricity, kind of. It's run on a generator for the whole village, so there are many issues there. Also, most people has a blackberry, so you can get on the internet, blackberry internet that is. One of my favorite things about Guyana is the laid back, slow pace of it. It's nice to be able to slow down and really appreciate the moment. This program through all it's up and downs was a wonderful experience and I would do it again in a second.

One of the best experiences of our life, full of laughter, challenge, new friendships, hardship, and joys. Living in rural Guyana was definitely challenging! But you can't beat fresh pineapple and mangos overflowing from your porch (as thank yous from the community). We'll never forget the dissection frogs coming alive in the middle of the night (if kids brought them to our house "dead" they could get out of a written test). We learnt to be flexible (the water pump that was supposed to run each day sometimes when 12+ days without working, we didn't get our first paycheck until 6 months into the programme), innovative (teaching computers with no electricity!), and creative (trying to teach science lessons with just a few beakers and no running water. It wasn't easy but it was one of the best years of our lives! We were really remote (no electricity in the village at the time although it was promised to arrive any time) up a river 10 hrs by boat. Sharing 3 phones with the whole village was interesting. It really was a year of appreciating the simple things (lots of book-reading!) and realising that life is more than modern conveniences and each day truly is a gift!

Overall: The year I spent teaching in Guyana is one of my proudest and most challenging endeavors-- something I speak warmly and highly of even 7 years later. I was part of the first group of 25 volunteers in the pilot program (2005-2006), so in many ways, we were World Teach trailblazers in our school and community. To those that came in the following years, you might find this hard to believe, but as I'm sure you saw, change takes time. I attribute these early growing pains to some of the lower ratings. To future candidates, you don't want to miss out on this experience. It's truly like none other and the daily, non-tangible rewards are abundant.

My school near Georgetown, despite a recent World Fund grant, had many short comings including broken desks and benches; no chalk or teaching aids; books few and far between; not to mention an uninspiring headmistress, lazy teachers and rude children. Somehow despite these odds, you manage to corral your class into listening and learning for one period. And before you know, the dry season (first trimester) has passed and it's Christmastime and your students start asking you, "Miss are you coming back?"

Over the 11 months, you will undoubtedly encounter the seemingly most frustrating experiences like getting paid your salary on time, pushing to get a seat on the minibus on market day, no water/electricity days, little communication with home/the outside world. And before you know, it's the rainy season (second trimester) and you've figured out where the best/cheapest place is to buy tennis rolls and mangoes; how to comfortably sleep under mosquito netting; gained an appreciation for handwritten letters; and your students are excited for Mashramani celebrations.

In between all the teaching and the frustrating parts, you're learning too. Not only do you learn about another beautiful, unique culture and people, but you learn a lot about yourself through the difficulties and in stillness of simple, "unplugged" living. You travel by bike, boat, foot, minibus, and twin propeller plane to remote places of Guyana like Kaiteur Falls or to the coast to help with leatherback turtle conservation; you visit and laugh with your volunteer friends; or even a trip to the nearby Caribbean. And before you know it, it's time to go home. And if you're lucky enough, you have touched the lives of one student; you have new friends to reminisce with for years to come; and you know how to make a spicy curry/roti.

EACH DAY YOU CAN EXPECT TO LEARN SOMETHING NEW ABOUT YOURSELF AS WELL AS THE STUDENTS YOU TEACH. I TAUGHT AT TUTORIAL SECONDARY IN BERBICE AND BARTICA SECONDARY IN BARTICA. AT BOTH SCHOOLS I HAD GREAT EXPERIENCES AND THE HEAD MISTRESSES WERE TOUGH YET VERY CARING ABOUT THEIR STUDENTS AND FACULTY.

I WAS PROVIDED WITH THE MATERIALS THAT I NEEDED AND ALL I HAD TO DO WAS MOLD THE YOUNG MINDS FOR THE CXC EXAMS.

IT WASN'T ALL A BED OF ROSES THOUGH. THERE WERE TIMES WHEN I JUST WANTED TO STAY IN BED AND LISTEN TO THE ROOSTER SING AND HEAR THE COW GRAZE BY MY WINDOW RATHER THAN DEAL WITH MY HEADMISTRESS OR THOSE BAD KIDS. THERE ARE JUST TIMES WHEN YOU FEEL "OVER IT". BUT YOU STILL DRAG YOURSELF INTO WORK AND BY THE END OF THE DAY YOU REMEMBER THAT YOU REALLY ARE FOND OF THOSE KIDS AND THE HEADMISTRESS ISN'T THAT BAD...

CHALLENGES OF THE COMMUNITY-
EVERYONE KNOWS EVERYONE. EVEN IN GEORGETOWN PEOPLE KNOW WHEN YOU ARE FOREIGN. I THOUGHT I WOULD BLEND IN MORE HAVING FAMILY IN GUYANA BUT THEY STILL KNEW I WAS FOREIGN AND THEY ESPECIALLY KNEW IF I ASKED A QUESTION. YOUR ACCENT WILL GIVE YOU AWAY ALL THE TIME. WITH THAT BEING SAID CONTRARY TO WHAT I RECENTLY READ ON TRAVEL.STATE.GOV THINK GUYANA IS VERY SAFE AND I HAVE NEVER BEEN SCARED WANDERING THE STREETS OF STARBROEK OR BARTICA AT NIGHT. PEOPLE ARE GENERALLY FRIENDLY AND LOOK OUT FOR EACH OTHER WHICH IS VERY UNLIKE THE US (SPECIFICALLY NYC).
ITS TOO HARD TO JUST THINK ABOUT EVERYTHING YOU DID IN A YEAR BECAUSE YOU NEVER REMEMBER EACH DAY YOU JUST REMEMBER MOMENTS IN TIME THAT STOOD OUT TO YOU THE MOST, I.E. YOUR FIRST DAY, GETTING USED TO STUDENTS CALLING YOU MISS AS IF ITS YOUR NAME, FINDING YOURSELF USING WORDS LIKE SKYLARKING, SHY(AS IT SHY THE BALL TO ME), TENESSE (NOT THE STATE- IT MEANS THE BLEACHERS), DANCING THE NIGHT AWAY WITH THE LOCALS (INCLUDING STUDENTS WHO ARE OFFERING TO BUY YOU ALCOHOLIC DRINKS- NO AGE LIMIT TO DRINK), MASHRAMANI, PHAGWAH, EGG BALL & CHANNA FOR LUNCH W A COKE, SPORTS DAY (AKA SPORTS MONTHS), CXC EXAMS, REGATTA, LAST DAY OF SCHOOL, AND LASTLY CRYING AS YOU SAY GOOD BYE TO YOUR NEW GUYANESE FAMILY.

SO IF YOU CAN'T TELL I STILL LOVE GUYANA AND I LEFT THERE IN 2007. I VISIT WHEN I CAN AND YES THE STUDENTS STILL CALL ME MISS. IT FEELS SO NICE AND ITS GREAT TO SEE THAT YOU LEFT AN IMPACT SOMEWHERE AND THAT YOU WILL ALWAYS BE A GREAT TEACHER TO AT LEAST ONE OF YOUR STUDENTS.

GOOD LUCK! I HOPE YOU ENJOY GUYANA AS MUCH AS I KNOW I DID!!