Fulfilling a dream

Times Reporter  

 

Rwanda, a place best known for the genocide in the ‘90s, is not usually somewhere people plan to go work for a few months. For Sacred Heart Academy teacher Sarah Watson, who has always wanted to go to Africa, it’s a dream come true. Watson will be in Rwanda from the beginning of August until December. 

“Not a specific place, we were focusing on Tanzania because it is considered a little bit of a safer area of Africa, but in my head I wasn’t saying I absolutely have to go here, or I have to go there, it was I want to go to Africa,” said Watson.

“For some people who maybe aren’t religious it will sound corny but I’ve always felt called to go there for whatever reason to do some kind of work.”

She loves volunteering and does quite a bit of it both in Strathmore and Calgary and said opportunities to travel and volunteer are passions of hers. 

She will be teaching at the Green Hills Academy, which is a private school. 

“My understanding is I won’t have a specific class but who knows I might get there and they might be putting me in a class because that’s what they need at the time. What I have been told is, I am going there as a literacy coach for the teachers and I will be modeling lessons, I will be sharing resources. They have meetings every Wednesday and I will be getting a good chunk of the hour and half time that they have to act as PD for the teachers,” said Watson.

In preparation for her trip she had been speaking to the kindergarten and Grade 1 teachers to find out what sort of tips and strategies they use when teaching language arts.

Her family is in Ontario and they are used to her being away from home. She said they are very excited because they know how much she wanted to do something like this, but they do, of course, have the nerves that come along with seeing your daughter head off to a distant, developeing country for a few months. 

Trying to think of everyday things she uses in Canada that might not be available there and then stocking up five months worth has been a little tough. Batteries are supposedly very expensive in Rwanda so she was told to bring a flashlight and batteries. 

“I might pack a few things of Alfredo sauce or taco seasoning, just a few things to remind me as I eat the food that I haven’t heard too many good reviews about,” Watson said laughing.   

Along with five months of clothing and personal supplies, Watson will also be bringing as many books and learning tools as she can. There are a couple of people from the Christ the Redeemer school board going to Rwanda just before she arrives and staying for a few days after. They are willing to take an extra piece of extra luggage for her.

“I have three pieces of extra luggage of school supplies that I’m taking with me, school supplies and books. So that’s kind of exciting, I could probably take 15 or 20 if I could,” said Watson.

Watson hopes to travel a bit if she can while there but it depends on wheather or not other teachers want to travel. She knows the school has drivers that they can hire, but for safety she will not be travelling by herself. 

“It’s just going to be an adventure, it really is. I’m going to be very adaptable and flexible and I’m just going to have to go with the flow and I just have to tell myself that every opportunity is a learning opportunity,” said Watson.

“I know it’s a cliché but it really is, it’s going to challenge me, it’s going to take me out of my comfort zone. What better way to grow as a person then by putting yourself in a situation like that and even just to appreciate (what you have).”

She thinks the more a person travels to countries like Africa and places that don’t have the luxuries and amenities that we have, the more people can appreciate what they do have and see how much they take for granted.