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I am nervous and excited! In some ways, I cannot believe that today is the actual day. So much preparation and planning have gone into this. And finally today is the day! I walk into the classroom and they are already here. Dressed in their finest clothes, with huge smiles on their faces, they are eager to get started. I can feel the excitement and synergy in the room.
You probably thought I was writing about the first day of school, but actually I am writing about my first day working with participants from across Africa at a technology workshop in Lomé, Togo. Twenty-one teachers from seven different countries came to our workshop. But the work for this project did not start when we arrived in Africa. Dean McKinney and I had worked on this project since we were both informed that we would be part of a project team in one of the many international programs sponsored by the Canadian Teachers’ Federation (CTF). Dean and I would work with the Pan African Teachers’ Centre (PATC), which receives major funding from CTF’s Social Development Program (SODEP), which, in turn, is funded by the Canadian International Development Agency (CIDA). Through the help of CTF, the Pan African Teachers’ Centre was able to establish a facility in Lomé.
In Lomé, Dean and I saw and experienced first-hand the difference that various programs like our technology workshop make to the teachers and students of Africa. We also saw the book-publishing program that has been the mainstay of the PATC organization. This program provides seminars for local women teachers to conceptualize, write and illustrate basic readers for their students. Once written, the manuscripts and artwork are printed, bound and distributed across Africa. These Women Writing Workshops truly empower the women that attend them. CTF is PATC’s main international cooperating partner and provides financial, technical and material support that is indispensable to PATC’s provision of professional services in teacher development, book development, promotion of ICT and technology in education delivery, website development and maintenance, and action research to solve problems in African educational systems.
The PD and workshops that Dean and I conducted in Africa were projects to teach teachers about technology. We also provided workshops to help various teacher associations create a website to share information. And what enthusiasm the African teachers showed! They could hardly wait to get started. Each day we began our work at 7:30 AM. We were to stop at 6:00 PM, but most days we continued into the evening. Over meals we shared stories and experiences. I am still, many years later, in contact with teacher colleagues in Kenya, Togo, Cameroon and Ghana who write or e-mail me with stories of their struggles and aspirations.
While in Africa, I had the opportunity to visit schools and meet people. I met students who walked three to four kilometres to school every day. I remember one student who had drawn a Canadian flag and thanked me for helping them. I was never so proud in all my life to be a Canadian. CTF’s international programs have promoted the skills, enthusiasm and dedication of thousands of Canadian teachers who have worked with tens of thousands of teaching colleagues overseas. Provincial teacher organizations across the country have committed member funds toward the success of these programs. Canadian governments, through the offices of CIDA, have traditionally supported these programs unstintingly and generously, because the benefit of the programs is so eminently clear. Canadian teachers work with teachers in developing countries to improve local teaching skills and abilities. Overseas teachers share their professional lives, challenges and successes with Canadians. Overseas students benefit from their teachers’ improved teaching abilities, and students in Canada share in their teachers’ experiences and, thereby, broaden their understanding of the world.
The work that Canadian teachers do worldwide as part of Project Overseas has made a positive difference. I know because I have seen the results and been involved in providing professional development to teachers in Africa. I am thankful for the opportunity and to all the teachers who have volunteered their time and efforts to help others. Teachers helping teachers makes a better world.
Edna Dach is Education Manager, Alberta Education, and is on secondment from Elk Island Public Schools.
