This post features student writing.

We have officially begun our second week of work in the village! We’ve made tremendous progress on the houses. We are no longer laying bricks and have moved on to plastering the walls of the house. The recipients of the house are definitely excited about this which can be seen by their smiles and words of encouragement. We manage to have plenty of fun while working and can see our efforts in the progress of the house.

Not only have we been working on the houses, we have begun teaching English to the local children. This Monday we were met with a classroom full of students who were thrilled to have us teach them. They are currently not in session for school, so it means a great deal that they come focused and ready to learn. These lessons have been in the morning and afternoon to make sure every child has a chance to go. There are a variety of ages but everyone is still able to learn and of course, have fun!

We try to be creative and use various methods to teach English. We have taught them the “Head, Shoulders, Knees, and Toes Song” to remember the body parts and do the chicken dance with them for a fun break from learning. We also like to play hangman to test their spelling of the new vocabulary words they have learned. We have taught them various topics from the animals to the alphabet and numbers. They are very enthusiastic about learning more!

These past work days have been super fun with the English lessons and outstanding progress seen in the house. We have had some rain and bad weather as it is monsoon season, so we have not gone to the beach.  Yet, we are delighted as a group to keep on working with the locals!

– Alyssa S.