Day 1 and 2

Day 1 After Assessments: The majority of the children worked in their assigned groups today. Having the children in these groups allowed us to work with the children at the appropriate levels and observe their individual needs. Many of the children are in need of just the basics, letter recognition and sounds, while others are readers but very low readers. Children that are between 10-16 years are reading at a second grade level. What is alarming is that many of these children are said to be in the 9th grade here in Zambia. The children who are struggling the most have a look of disappointment and shame in their eyes. We are doing our best to share with them that we are very proud of them and all that they have accomplished so far. We are hoping that with the love and compassion that we have brought along with all the curriculum, these feelings of shame will quickly diminish.

I was able to perform more assessments with the older children today. These assessments included phonemic awareness, nonsense words, and reading comprehension. It was refreshing to find that the children did exceptionally well in all of the assessments. I am more than excited to see where these children will go from here. Please continue to pray for all of them!!

Day 2: We have been filled with joy today in the improvement that has been made in the children in just one day. The children are more than excited to begin every morning and get into their groups to learn. I praise God for what he is doing in these children and how he is using each of us to do his mighty work. I know that God has great plans for each of the children here, and I look forward in seeing it happen first hand. GOD IS GOOD!!