Broken Up, Deep Inside

All in all, I live a good life. In pemba for a science fair meeting and I crashed with a friend on the beach. Waking up at 5 AM daily has its perks. 

Having almost decided to write two different posts this month, I am splitting this post into 2 parts.

Part I: Broken Up Deep Inside

The past several months small things have been vanishing from my Veranda. A pencil here, a pen here, a small ball, a few colored pencils, a sponge, half a bottle of dish soap – you get the idea. Basic things – things that make life and schoolwork a little bit easier for a young student. Leading up to April, I’ve known small things have been vanishing for roughly the last 4 months now. There were 4 different students plus my 12^th grader I live with who had access to my veranda. I wanted to avoid he said and she said situations so I passionately waited and observed. In January I had a strong hunch in was the 9^th grader from turma C.

It’s late February and the sun has set. Normally this is when I pack up outside, lock the house, and head to my room for some light reading before lights out (I’m asleep at the latest by 9 PM these days). As I’m putting things away outside, my 7^th grader is sitting down on the concrete exercise pad looking exhausted or confused. Something is amiss. Of late, his family has been out of town and he’s been living with his uncle who is a 12^th grader. He oftentimes shows up to my house hungry and hoping for some leftovers. I ask if he’s hungry – he looks down and says “no”. Are you thirsty? Need some water? Again, “no”. Now he’s looking timid, almost nervous and I can’t figure it out. Alright so if you’re not hungry or thirsty, what’s up? He quietly responds that he’s nervous to which I reply, “that’s fine, you can be nervous but what’s going on?” He tells me the other boy, the 9^th grader from turma C, has been stealing things from me. I asked what he took today – “The soccer ball that went missing – it’s been at his house and he played with it today”.

Well that’s one piece of evidence. I waited a bit longer to have a second piece of evidence – the sponge. Having two pieces of irrefutable evidence, I wait to have a one on one discussion with the 9^th grader. It’s roughly 6 PM and we’re the only people at my house. I tell him I know he’s been stealing from me. I pull out a notepad and pen and tell him to recount everything he’s taken – to which he says “I stole your soccer ball in November”. I write down soccer ball and then look back up again – 
“mhhm, what else?”

“That’s all I’ve taken”

“Are you sure??” At this point, I’m mildly stunned. I’ve pulled out my notepad and pen. I’ve made it clear I know he’s taken “THINGS” emphasizing the plural. My paralysis and disbelief quickly turn to frustration. I ask him 5 more times that he’s sure the soccer ball was the only thing he took. He is.

“Okay fine. If the soccer ball is really all you’ve taken we’re going to go talk to your Uncle now. One last time before we go to your house “TENS CERTEZA QUE SO LEVASTE UMA DAS MINHAS BOLAs??” I ask one last time in a state of frustrated confusion.

We walk to his Uncle’s house. I explain everything that’s happened to him and then give the proof about the sponge. Roasted. However, I’d feel better about myself if I weren’t outthinking a 9^th grader. Not much pride when you’re a relatively well educated individual outthinking a 9^th grader. His Uncle is quite frustrated and threatens to send the kid to live with his uncle in Nakala (600km away, and realistically Nakala would probably be seen as a step up from Namuno so probably not the best threat).

The following morning I inform all of the young boys who spend time at my house of the situation and the new policy – 1) you can only be in my backyard if I’ve met your parents 2) at no point can you enter the veranda. Also that morning, I go back to speak to his uncle and evidence arises proving the 9^th grader had taken two more items – a small can of leftover paint and a lightbulb. For now, I decide he’s no longer allowed at my house. I need time to think about what I want to do. I feel torn up inside. Here’s some background knowledge – this 9^th grader grew up in an even smaller town 30km south of me, which is even further in the middle of nowhere. He’s never met his father. He sees his mother about 2-3 times per year since 6^th grade when he was sent to live with his uncle here in Namuno to go to school. He went to pemba once for science fair last year. He spent the holidays with family in Montepuez. His uniform is constantly in a state of disrepair and his shoes are usually not much better. For my first year of service he would do yard work for me. And in turn I would cover his school supplies and other various school related costs. I paid for his school matriculation fee for 9^th grade for him.

Given all of that – 1) kids had a rough life. He’s taking small things like a sponge that make it easier for him to do housework at his own house. His Uncle doesn’t give him quality attention and he lacks role models and mentors in his life. 2) Everything I’ve done for him and he’s willing to betray my trust? Over what, a sponge? You’ve got to be friken kidden me!!? No logic whatsoever. There’s plenty of other young people here who I can support, tutor, mentor, and cover their school fees.

I spoke to some of the American families in Montepuez over Easter. I knew they have a 0 tolerance policy with their workers. No matter how small, any stolen item means you lose your job. But this kid is, well, a kid! Not a worker. I ask for some advice 1) people are notorious for taking advantage of opportunities. There’s a saying that if you want to fire a worker, let them handle the petty cash. Eventually they think no one is watching and take a small amount. That’s more than enough to fire them. The simpler solution to preventing thievery is to remove the temptation. If they cannot enter your veranda then they cannot take things out of it. 2) Sometimes with young kids (and adults) we don’t appreciate what we have until it is gone. So, give him a break from your house. One of the American mothers recounts a story about a young local who played with their kids. The young mozambicain started swearing one day and the mother said one more time and you can’t come back for two months. Kids love a challenge don’t they? What’d the kid do? Yup, that’s right. The kid swore again. So the kid was banned from entering the yard for 2 months. Since then, the kid has acted poorly and sworn exactly zero times. We appreciate what we have when we have lost it or when we imagine ourselves losing it.

I was skyping with one of my old high school homies and recounting the story and trying to think/talk through my solution. I was explaining the 0 tolerance policy the American families have with their workers and how someone had mentioned that there are plenty of people here who need support, love, and their school supplies covered so might as well support someone who will not steal. To which she said “Ya, but Daniel that’s not you”. It stopped me in my tracks. It was like, damn straight that’s not me! Harsh punishment has its time and place. Mercy, redemption, and more chances have their time and place. Ending a relationship forever over some stolen items regardless of the logical reasons is not me.

The 9^th grader is banned from my house until second trimester (so about 2 months in total). After which he can come over to my house on Sundays only after he attends mass.

With my 12^th grader roommate I discussed my full plans. If everything goes well during the second trimester I’ll bump up Sundays to include Fridays and Saturdays. Third trimester I’ll let him come over during the week again. Harsh but just. I’m happy with it. I run into the 9^th grader every now and then and he lights up every time he sees me. Seeing that gives me a self-fulfilling emotion that I made the right choice.

Part II: Education

The system here on paper should work effectively. In many countries it does work effectively. On paper, it appears to be a top-tier world education. However I still have 8^th grade students who cannot read or write. How is this possible?

First, let me briefly layout an aspect of the system – grades. The traditional European grading system is used here in Mozambique. This means grades are out of 20 points and a passing grade is a 10. 

Here’s the general impression of grades:

6 – You’re failing miserably and probably not showing up to class (like a 50% in the states)

8 – You’re failing but barely (like a 60% in the states)

10 – Passing! Phew. Still not proud, but feeling okay about yourself (a C in the States)

12 – Excitement, but not bragging rights

14-17 – You’ve earned major bragging rights. This would be around an A in the States

18-19 – Generally this is where one assumes the professor would rank. Scoring this high means you understand the content as well as the teacher.

20 – You’re the next Genius who is going to revolutionize your field

Overall the government seems to be attempting to reform the system to improve education and to help cross this disparity gap between what it looks like on paper and what it is in reality. However, I do not believe the government alone will ever achieve a lasting solution. They are fighting a losing battle – let’s talk about passion.

Oftentimes you hear young children and students aspiring to one day be teachers or have government jobs. Sounds awesome right? If only more americans dedicated themselves to service roles right? Not quite. Government jobs are the best chance someone has of securing a monthly salary and crawling out of poverty, of having a better life than their parents – at least that’s the common view and from where I stand, it feels correct (I’m sure a research study could prove or disprove this conjecture).

Therein lies the problem – education is a service based role performed best with passionate teachers funded and supported by the community or a formal government system (someone or something to make sure the teachers have what they need to do their jobs to the best of their abilities). Until obtaining a government job is not longer the easiest or lowest hanging fruit, education will remain in shambles.

Coupled with the rapid growth in medical care, medical treatment, and population growth, there will quickly be too many people for the education system to handle. My school has 64 teachers and roughly 1800 students. Last year we had 58 teachers and 1600 students. With all of this education, where are the students hoping to go afterwards? They’re hoping to go into nursuing (government paid job) and teaching (government paid job).

Theoretically governments get their income from taxing the local population – taxing land, income, and sales. So if everyone is trying to get a government job, what exactly will fund the government in the future…?

If we want other nations to become independent of international AID they need more jobs. Mozambique does not need another 1 Million USD in grant money to fight malaria. They need 1 Million USD to invest in their economy, workforce, and infrastructure. They need Americans willing to come here and do business. As a government volunteer coming from the US maybe what I’m writing is a bit heretical. After all, I’m currently being funded by US Govt money (thanks Uncle Sam!).  

I do not mean to imply that we should stop funding projects that fight malaria – we need to be doing that do. But fighting health topics and education inadequacies without addressing the economy seems ineffective in the long-term. And to further clarify, I know there are business support programs here and the business AID/grants do exist. However, it is no where near as prevalent as it needs to be.

Given my situation, I cannot bring hundreds or thousands of jobs and I do not have millions or even thousands of dollars to invest. However, I refuse to do nothing. I’ve led several mentoring programs throughout my years in college. I’m using my experience to pilot a new tutoring/mentoring program between my 9^th and 8^th graders. So far, we’ve only had one tutoring session so far and it worked exceedingly well. Most of my 9^th graders were in my 8^th grade class last year. So, they know how to add, subtract, multiply, and divide at a bare minimum. On Fridays I have a double period with my 8^th graders. So a small group of 9^th graders meet at my house Friday mornings at 7 AM. I go over the plan for the day and give tips about how to tutor and how to teach. I walk the 9^th graders through the exercise problems and where the 8^th graders are most likely to get stuck.

At 8 AM we all walk over to the school and the 9^th graders enter the classroom with me and my 9^th graders. As I said, we’ve only been able to do it once but it worked well. We’re at the end of the first trimester so I plan on continuing the program every Friday next Trimester. Here’s the sitch about me and my work – this program may or may not work. If it does not work, I will stop investing my time in it. I will come up with a new idea and pivot. I will continue to try new ideas until something works. I refuse to be bogged down in a system that neglects the learning of the students.  

To wrap things up, here’s a short conversation that happened while I was in chapa going to Pemba:

“I teach at the high school” – me

“Oh so you teach English?” – fellow passenger

“Nope” - me

“So you teach Portuguese?” – fellow passenger (this makes me feel real good about myself!! That’s right you thought I teach Portuguese!!!!!!!)

“Nope – I teach math” - me

“Math!?! Wow.” – the fellow passenger

“Oh and Physics” - me

“WOWWWWW!!>!?@” - the fellow passenger says in disbelief having previously assumed that as a foreigner I clearly must be here to teach English. If not English, then clearly Portuguese with my ability to speak it. Wait math and Physics?? I can only imagine him thinking to himself “who is this dude who speaks English and Portuguese well enough to teach it but actually teaches Math and Physics?”

My hope for all of us is we continue to be idea generators. May we always find another solution, another idea, another way to move our societies forward and bring them together.

With all my heart,

Daniel Bladow