This summer’s program was rather special. We organized the teaching of different subjects and skills to improve on the current  Dream To Shine (DTS) curricula for our students of Akako village. Our program this year was very special because our founder Miss Sayuri Yumoto was able to join us and participate in teaching our students for two months.

We welcomed our founder of the project in early July; and received teaching materials; especially, art teaching materials from Japanese donors. The materials were of great quality that inspired our teachers and students. These materials helped improve the material quality of education in the school. We want to say a BIG thank you for the support we received from all donors. 

After much discussion, we decided to welcome kindergarten students and hire another teacher. This was a difficult decision due to shortage of budget and materials. In total, 110 students attended this summer school special program. We had three sections for the students according to their grade level, with section A for students of Grades 4-6, B for students of Grades 1-3 and C for kindergarten students. The number of students in sections A, B and C was 30, 40 and 40 respectively.

 We taught different, diverse skills to our students - to cultivate critical and creative thinking through art. Many students improved during this time. Other students discovered hidden talents, especially during the art classes. Parents were grateful for this opportunity as usually students would not have such a program to attend outside their usual school. 

  Despite the challenges navigating huge student numbers with limited resources and teachers, everyone was filled with joy and worked hard. 

Movie time

 We scheduled movie time once a week. We wanted our students to not just study, but to be able to have fun and relax especially after a long year of academia. The movie was screened by our teachers before being made available to the students. This was to ensure the quality and appropriateness of its content, and its role in educating students. 

Training for parents

In this summer program, we also arranged training for parents in the community, believing that  parents have a huge influence on students’ physical well-being. We have recognized some problems and challenges faced by parents raising their children. Some problems relate to lack of understanding and others arise due to cultural practices. We arranged interactive teaching sessions on nutrition, sanitation and family planning.

It was a lively, fruitful session well attended and participated by mothers. Some mothers were able to challenge the normalized but harmful cultural beliefs related to family planning. Many mothers were keen to have more of such sessions in the future.