After the pilot projects from June (see Post dated 12 June 2006, A New Frontier: Partnering with Local Community Development Centres), we had some decisions to make about the way forward for Ecole Emmanuel and teaching English classes.

Unfortunately, the location and popularity of the classes in the city were not as the teachers had originally hoped. After much consideration, it was decided that once again Ecole Emmanuel would close and go into storage. Although this time, the size of the library would have to be greatly reduced. A small selection of books were saved, about half of the library, in hope for what the future may hold.

However, the sadness at having to dispose of the other half, was greatly eased by the fact that we were able to donate the books to local associations and teachers around the country. A large portion were donated to the ‘Association des Lecteurs et des Ecrivains d’Ali Sabieh’ (ALEAS), or the ‘Association of Readers and Writers of Ali Sabieh,’ in English. A visit was made to the South and it was encouraging to see how this Association has grown and made excellent use of the old Ecole Emmanuel location. Their library was teeming with life, as adults sat reading and children streamed in and out borrowing books, returning books, or working on homework. Hopefully the donated books will help grow their English book selection for both adults and children. Other books were taken to the North to the Oasis in Tadjourah, where it is hoped to set up a room specifically for adults with books in all five of the popular languages in the country.

While Ecole Emmanuel closed its doors once again, the English classes are still continuing through the Community Development Centres (CDC). Working in the local community development centre comes with the benefit of having a location that is already well-known and regularly visited by the neighbourhood. Two English classes, a continuation from the summer, restarted at the beginning of October. These classes will run until December and finish with a certificate for those who pass the final exam.

The afterschool French programme will start again in November. It was very popular with the children in June, to the point that limits had to be set on the number of kids who could attend each day. The hope is to continue helping the students develop their French and other skills through reading and games.

There are possibly some short-term workers who will come this season to help with the different classes while they are here. Possible classes include computers, programming, French, beginner level English, and probably more. The other CDCs in the Balbala area have asked if the teachers could visit them to lead similar programmes in their CDCs. There are 4 CDCs in Balbala that are currently operational. As more teachers arrive, we will be excited to see how the partnerships with the different CDCs can develop in the different neighbourhoods.

Watch this space!