Welcome to Photo Friday! Each Friday, we share photo collections of our favourite shots from our sponsor sites around the world.
On October 5, we globally celebrated World Teacher’s Day, a time to recognize all of the incredible teachers that share their knowledge and shape the future of the precious young minds in their care.
This week, we’re sharing our top 5 “teacher” photos from our sites! At each of our sites, we have so many ambitious teachers working diligently to educate sponsored and non-sponsored children alike. Some schools may be in disrepair and supplies may be lacking, but day after day, teachers inspire students to shine in the classroom.
#5: Maisie and her many minis!
Maisie is a teacher at St Charles Lwanga Nursery School, located in the Muchinga province of Zambia. This is an acutely poverty stricken area; many parents work as farmers and earn less than a dollar a day. The Sisters and teachers who work at the school provide quality education for under privileged children, and ensure they have a meal each day through the school’s feeding program.
#4: Melanie makes the grade
When Melanie was growing up, she sponsored through our Samar site in the Philippines. As the eldest of her siblings and cousins, “I was always the teacher!” she laughs. She started to love being the teacher and shepherd to her flock of relatives.
With the help of her sponsor and the scholarships she earned, she completed her Education degree. Now she teaches grade six. Her favourite part of the job is encouraging her students, especially those facing the same kinds of difficulties she had. “I tell them that they need to never give up,” she says. “You can do whatever you want if you choose to believe in yourself.”
#3: Smiles for Samuel
Samuel is the head teacher at St Mary’s School for the Visually Impaired. He’s much loved amongst all of the students and staff alike! Samuel works hard to make sure that each and every child’s individual needs are met so that they can reach their full potential in the classroom. He is one of very few teachers at the school who is sighted.
#2: Raichel mentors moms
Raichel is the Community Coordinator at STAR site in India– which today, means being the teacher for a group of mothers in a Chalice family circle. The lesson she’s teaching is how to use their ledger books, and how to ensure they have balanced their accounts properly.
#1: Rose sees Pangawe bloom
Many sponsored children attend Pangawe School, located near our Mbinga site in Tanzania. Rose, the head teacher, says the school and the community have all benefited from the school garden and feeding program, started through the help of Chalice donors. Since they’ve been started, absenteeism is reduced and enrollment has jumped from 400 to 600 children. “The school garden has educated these children to the extent that their starting similar projects in their own homes. We can see that knowledge is even spreading to the community,” says Rose.
Follow Chalice on Facebook and Instagram for daily updates from our sponsor sites, impact stories, and more! Be sure to check back next week for another Photo Friday.