Starting Bario!
I went to the Long-awaited Barrio in Malaysia, the second base. I explained PANGAEA to everybody and held the first activity. It took an hour from the first base of Kuching City to the second base, and, if by air propeller boat, it would take about 1.5 hours to the inland. If it was the small plane, the checking of weight was very severe and even the body weight was to be measured. Located in the high mountain, the way to Barrio is difficult. It is such an interior jungle that not many people from outside came until recently. The people at this altitude were known for the tenement buildings, called Holy longhouse. Children in Barrio highlands hadn't received education in school because of high altitude until now. Even the nearest neighborhood, it took children 15 days’ walking from where they lived. Therefore, they had to live in the boarding school. It was easy to imagine how lonely these children were, living in school away from their parents, at such elementary or middle school age.
Schools have generators to generate electricity. But the majority of regions in the village have no electricity. It took about 30 minutes from the airport to the destination, sitting on a truck along the muddy road. Because Toshi had no place to sit on, he had to stand at the truck’s carrier, holding the pillar firmly to keep himself on the truck. Unconsciously, his pants had been covered with mud.
However, compared with the seven hours in Cambodia before establishing PANGAEA, the situation was much better. Compared with the muddy roads that Kenya's Minister of Foreign Affairs had taken us traversed, the air here was pretty fresh. So I was already satisfied. We took a house of a school’s teacher’s as a base. They suggested me that I should take some instant noodle, because of the poor quality of local food, but the local food was no longer the problem at the moment. And the only problem was bathing. Since there was no bathhouse, the showers were in the washroom. There was merely cold water, rather than hot water, because of the high altitude, which made us easy to get cold. That was also the reason why I had not taken a bath for 4 days. Fortunately, I had some dry-clean shampoo with me.
Teachers were popular in Barrio, but, as for children, teachers were awe-inspiring. I was afraid whether children were willing to take part in this activity. However, in the training process, the atmosphere got harmonious gradually after the teachers’ self-introduction in children's capacity. Therefore, many villagers joined in this training, such as the tribal old lady, the old man who were adept at drawing and lived 3 kilometers away, the doorkeeper, and so on. It was just like in Osaka, everyone was happy because the presence of the old lady selling Takoyaki. And this happy atmosphere laid the foundation for the successful training in the second day.
However there is a problem. Although it is said that the locals have no problem with English, from the perspective that facilitator translated my English into something of Malay, there are still some people who are poor in English or even know nothing about English, so I have to use the on-line translation software “Toolbox” by Language Grid. Additionally a few days ago it didn’t detect the network links, so the network connection has remained the state of disconnection. Now I try to reconnect once and fortunately the connection is successful. By using Toolbox I can translate English into Malay more and more smoothly.
Everybody sees the translation and knows what to do next more and more clearly, so the progress is more and more smooth. Whether PANGAEA, or Toolbox, is everyone's wisdom. Through ICT I can feel children’s excitement because of more communication with more children in the future. I want to deliver children's smile, who were happily waving goodbye to us when we left the village, to all the people supporting for this program.
Yumi
However, compared with the seven hours in Cambodia before establishing PANGAEA, the situation was much better. Compared with the muddy roads that Kenya's Minister of Foreign Affairs had taken us traversed, the air here was pretty fresh. So I was already satisfied. We took a house of a school’s teacher’s as a base. They suggested me that I should take some instant noodle, because of the poor quality of local food, but the local food was no longer the problem at the moment. And the only problem was bathing. Since there was no bathhouse, the showers were in the washroom. There was merely cold water, rather than hot water, because of the high altitude, which made us easy to get cold. That was also the reason why I had not taken a bath for 4 days. Fortunately, I had some dry-clean shampoo with me.
Teachers were popular in Barrio, but, as for children, teachers were awe-inspiring. I was afraid whether children were willing to take part in this activity. However, in the training process, the atmosphere got harmonious gradually after the teachers’ self-introduction in children's capacity. Therefore, many villagers joined in this training, such as the tribal old lady, the old man who were adept at drawing and lived 3 kilometers away, the doorkeeper, and so on. It was just like in Osaka, everyone was happy because the presence of the old lady selling Takoyaki. And this happy atmosphere laid the foundation for the successful training in the second day.
However there is a problem. Although it is said that the locals have no problem with English, from the perspective that facilitator translated my English into something of Malay, there are still some people who are poor in English or even know nothing about English, so I have to use the on-line translation software “Toolbox” by Language Grid. Additionally a few days ago it didn’t detect the network links, so the network connection has remained the state of disconnection. Now I try to reconnect once and fortunately the connection is successful. By using Toolbox I can translate English into Malay more and more smoothly.
Everybody sees the translation and knows what to do next more and more clearly, so the progress is more and more smooth. Whether PANGAEA, or Toolbox, is everyone's wisdom. Through ICT I can feel children’s excitement because of more communication with more children in the future. I want to deliver children's smile, who were happily waving goodbye to us when we left the village, to all the people supporting for this program.
Yumi
Posted by: yumi | 8. General
