Learning a Thing or Two About Friendship
Followed the Whampoa kids on Beyond Social Services' Fundraiser Streetwise Run early July, and I learned a thing or two about friendship and determination.

There was the pre-run prep, where kids who showed up a the bus pick-up point early then walked to their friends' flats to make sure they were up and would be ready to leave on time. There were the older kids who were holding the younger kids' hand on the 5k walk - kids that I wouldn't have dreamed would even think of looking after other kids.


And there was the sheer determination on the faces of the runners - the same kids who had problems sitting still to read for any amount of time. Three of the Whampoa kids came in top three in the under-12 category. They were proud, the volunteers and social workers were cheering like mad, and it was worth the humidity and heat.

We're making progress. Last Saturday the older kids actually sat down and participated long enough to discuss vocab for a topic (the Garden Festival - I'm so sorry boys, we'll do something with explosions next time), mind-map, and write about the morning they spent at the horticulture event. Then they had 30 minutes left over and played Risk or Chess or Taboo. Yes, even that was split along gender lines.

Had a meeting with the volunteers as well, to look at gaps. Three emerged. Volunteers wanted:
- a more systematic way of learning more about the kids, backgrounds, and family life
- a better understanding of the school curriculm and skills in planning learning activities for the kids
- skills in managing kids/managing classroom

Then, we divided up the tasks up and are working on a program to fill those gaps.

So now - I'm looking for volunteers with a teaching background who want to help with curriculum planning, and basically, making learning fun and engaging and interactive. And teaching the rest of us volunteers, mostly corporate geeks, to take our programs up a notch. Onward and upwards!