Education East Africa

Much of education is focused on the wrong priorities. Too many charities think getting everyone a computer, tablet or smart phone is all it takes to lift people out of poverty. If only life was that easy. Teachers cannot be replaced by technology.

 

The heart and soul of our charity is Teacher-to-Teacher training, combined with our own highly instructive textbooks and materials.

 

We understand that many of the teachers we train struggle with English as a second language, so our books are written in their native tongue.

 

Our classes are small, with eight – twelve teachers working diligently to improve their English and Maths skills. We use everyday common products such as bottle tops and tins as teaching aids, because these are the kind of props teachers can easily access in their schools. Combining the visual with the tactile not only improves comprehension, it also encourages teachers to teach interactively themselves.


We create a sense of camaraderie by turning something as common as a tea break into an opportunity for interactive improvisation, with the teachers practising newly learned skills with one another in a relaxed, supportive environment.

 

Even the most reticent amongst us is eventually enticed to participate fully in the fun, demonstrative exchange our courses are designed to encourage. Everyone learns faster when freed to express themselves with confidence.


These workshops are conducted in the participants' native tongue. This is particularly important for our English training as the finer details of English language structures can be explained.

 

Teachers leave our training with renewed energy and focus to do what they do best: Teach. Once they've experienced our training courses, they're eager to come back for more and we are just as motivated to work with them again and again.

Our Teacher Training courses are headed up by Katy Allen and Barbara Kerr. Katy's the brains behind our English Programme. She also teaches most of the English classes. Barbara expertly masterminds and teaches our Maths Programme.

 

Early childhood specialist Jane Firth created our maths programme for ages 5 to 8. Based on her initial experience in the schools, Jane wrote the three maths books we use in all our teacher training.

 

We have trained over 500 teachers and would love to add at least three more zeros to this number.

 

One of our many goals is to share our Teacher Training expertise with other educational enterprises who share our philosophy and passion.

 

With an average teacher/student ratio of 1/60, a well educated teacher needs all the stamina she can muster. Equipping her with the skills and books she requires to prepare the next generation is essential.

 

A single well-trained teacher can help lift hundreds of children out of poverty. This is the most important work we do in East Africa.

 

Find out more about our books here.