Mary Powell – Lead Instructor
This week marks the end of an exciting summer session! We have had several visitors teaching students about small business finance, first-aid, and food and beverage service. We are all sad to see the session end, but the saddest part is that we must say good-bye to our three incredible volunteer tutors, Nina Meghji, Marissa McCoy, and Jenna Frydman. For the last six weeks, they have volunteered their time and energy to helping our students become better English speakers and stronger women.
The tutors have been working intensively with the Akilah women on their English. Students were split into three language levels and spent four hours per week in large groups with a tutor, plus three hours per week in small groups of 4 to 6 students. Working in these groups, our tutors were able to give students the individualized attention they need to really hone their language skills.
During their tutoring sessions, students have engaged in debates about women’s issues in Rwanda and read countless news articles from international news sources and from local Rwanda newspapers. Students have learned Carly Simon, Michael Jackson, and a song by Mariah Carey about what it means to be a hero. They have debated women’s rights in Rwanda and learned about how cellular text messaging is saving women’s and babies’ lives in Rwanda because they can cheaply and easily alert emergency health workers during difficult labor. In addition to all this, the tutors have helped students finesse their English grammar and augment their vocabularies. All of us have noticed a real improvement in only six weeks of individualized language tutoring.
We all send our deepest gratitude to Jenna, Marissa, and Nina! We will all miss you!
** Do you want to volunteer at Akilah? Keep your eyes peeled for future calls for long- and short-term volunteers! **
