Highland teachers to gain lifetime experience in Malawi
Two Highland teachers will have life changing experiences this summer when they live and work in Malawi under the Global Teachers Programme which is run by the international development charity Link Community Development.
Gairloch High School, Chemistry Teacher, Dr Clare Caley and Kirsteen Wells, Principal Teacher at Bun-sgoil Ghàidhlig Inbhir Nis will be giving up their summer holidays to help improve education in Malawi while attaining new skills to help them on their return to work in Scotland.
Clare and Kirsteen are two out of 14 teachers from throughout Scotland who are taking part in the Global Teacher Programme which sends Scottish teachers and head teachers for a third year to Malawi. The programme provides them with challenging, rewarding and motivating professional and personal development experiences.
Clare and Kirsteen will live and work in a rural community in the Dedza district of Malawi. She will work with staff at the school on how to cope with classes with over 100 pupils and minimal resources. While on her placement Clare will be helping to develop leadership, management and teaching practice in the school and at the same time will be learning a lot herself, as she will be living with a host family in the local community and stretching her own professional skills.
The programme lasts 15 months and the highlight will be Clare and Kirsteen’s
five-week placements in LCD’s school improvement project in Malawi. The Global Teachers Programme is funded by Link Community Development with support from the Educational Institute for Scotland for its members. The Malawi School Improvement Project is supported by the Scottish Government Education Department.
Clare said: “Having travelled in Southern Africa on several occasions, including a visit to Malawi in 2004, and experienced the warmth, generosity and friendliness of the people, I was keen to do something that would benefit the young people of that region. When I heard about LCD’s Global Teachers Programme I knew it was something I wanted to get involved in and the short term placement meant I could do it during my summer holidays.”
Following her placement Clare will work with children at her school and the Gairloch associated primaries to raise awareness of development issues in Malawi. She hopes to forge a long-lasting link between Gairloch and her project school in Malawi, so children can make friends with their counterparts overseas and learn about each other’s culture and lives.
Kirsteen said: “I have always been interested in working in Southern Africa and was encouraged by a colleague, who was a Global teacher in 2006, to apply. I am hugely excited to have been given the opportunity to live with a family in their home and work in their community. It is a true privilege.”
Kirsteen will be primarily hoping to open up International education to the Gaelic educational community by becoming a point of contact for her colleagues and producing curricular resources. She is very keen to visit both Gaelic and English Medium schools to share her experiences with pupils and staff and support others in embracing Global Citizenship in their schools.
LCD works to improve the quality of education in Africa and raise awareness of development issues in Scotland. LCD believes education is the key to breaking the cycle of poverty and their education development projects in Africa are run in partnership with departments of education.
To support Link Community Development in Scotland please phone 0131 243 2685 or email: scotland@lcd.org.uk. For more information about Link Community Development visit http://www.lcd.org.uk/.
Notes to Editor:
1. For more information, photographs or to interview Clare Caley please call 01445 712275 or email Clare at: clare.caley@gairlochhigh.highland.sch.uk
2. For more information, photographs or to interview Kirsteen Wells please call 01463 725980
3. LCD Community Development (LCD) is a non-profit organisation working in South Africa, Ghana, Ethiopia, Uganda and Malawi working on long-term development projects, providing ongoing training and support to over 1000 schools. LCD’s patron is Archbishop Desmond Tutu and is a registered charity in Scotland.