Amy's life changing African experience
She added: “It was amazing to see the happiness in the children’s faces as they soaked up the lessons we delivered. I taught various lessons to different age groups and without the resources we would have back in the UK. You really had to think outside the box.
“I feel this experience has made me better as a teacher as I now understand the value of what we are providing and how to make the resources we have last for as long as possible.”
Amy is now putting everything she learned into practice at Seahouses First School where she teaches Year One and Two children.
For the Sunderland graduate teaching in Kenya was an experience she will never forget.
For Amy Armstrong, the opportunity to make a difference to the lives of dozens of disadvantaged children overseas was a one she simply couldn’t turn down.
With financial help from the Futures Fund, the Primary Education graduate travelled to Kenya where she spent three weeks teaching at local schools and orphanages that are supported by the Moving Mountains Charity.
“Teaching in Kenya was a fantastic experience,” Amy, from Northern Ireland, explained. “I felt humbled by the enthusiastic manner in which the children apply themselves to their lessons, they are so keen to progress and make a better life for themselves through having a good education.”
“On one of the days we made simple kites out of paper and string and my lasting memory will be watching the sheer enjoyment and pride the children had running out of the classroom clutching these precious pieces of paper.”
Amy also found out how children aged three to five years old can speak three languages and only with very few resources.
“The school had very few resources and as result they utilised the walls of the classroom to draw the various topics of the day.
“Writing on a black board for the first time was a different experience. I ended up rubbing half the work off the board and had the children laughing like crazy. I taught them some of our educational songs and in return they taught me how to count to 10 in their mother tongue.”
The climax to Amy’s trip was climbing Mount Kenya, something she will remember as a test of endurance and patience. Other activities included hippo watching and visiting an Elephant Orphanage to see baby elephants enjoying their mid-day feed, followed by a visit to the AFEW Giraffe Centre.
“My trip to Kenya was an incredible and life changing experience. There were ups and downs but overall it was like nothing I had ever done before. I’d like to thank the Futures Fund for the generous contribution towards my trip.”
