A question of motivation: training teachers in Namibia
Teaching is not a popular career choice in Namibia, as teachers are inadequately trained and poorly paid. Although she hadn’t originally envisaged taking her training skills to Africa, VSO volunteer Susan Somers embraced the challenge and is now boosting skill levels and bringing much-needed organisation to Namibia’s primary education sector.
Taking the leap
Susan’s relationship with VSO began at a Working Abroad exhibition in Dublin. “I was actually there looking for information about getting an Australian or New Zealand visa,” she reveals. “At that stage, I had already applied for a career break from teaching because I wanted to travel and do something different, but I didn’t really know what I wanted to do.”
Realising that getting a visa to work Down Under would be a headache, Susan began to seriously consider the idea of volunteering with VSO. A teacher colleague, who had worked in Africa for two years, convinced her to give it a go. She applied, attended an Assessment Day, and very quickly found herself signed up with VSO and heading off to Namibia.
“I don’t mind being so far from home and my family are pretty used to my ‘galavanting’,” says Susan. ”Technology has made the world quite small and keeping in touch is really easy. I’m lucky enough to have fairly reliable Internet access at work, so I can have regular conversations with my family and friends. I’ve had chats with them all at once that make it feel like we’re sitting around the kitchen table at home in Oylegate, County Wexford.”
A challenging situation
Like many in her position, Susan finds her role both frustrating and rewarding. She works with Namibia’s National Institute for Education Development, developing curricular manuals and helping improve in-service teacher training. “Sometimes my job gets bogged in bureaucracy and I’m stuck behind a desk writing documents that seem to be of no practical use to teachers, as people working at national level are often out of touch with the reality on the ground,” she explains.
“But at other times I will run a workshop and see teachers getting excited when I show them a simple game or strategy to use in their teaching. That’s when it all feels worthwhile. Everything can be very disorganised and haphazard here – I’m having to learn patience. Teaching is not a popular career choice in Namibia, as teachers are inadequately trained and poorly paid, and therefore are often lacking motivation. Working here makes me appreciate how lucky we are in Ireland.”
Cause for celebration
St Patrick’s Day provided a telling contrast between life in Namibia and back home in Ireland. “They’ve hardly heard of Ireland, let alone St. Patrick!” laughs Susan. “I spent my Patrick’s Day at the Namibian Parliament on a work visit and then met up with some volunteer friends for a few drinks (what else?!) in the evening. There are no other Irish volunteers in Namibia; in fact I haven’t met a single Irish person since I arrived. I plan to spread the word that there is more to Ireland than Guinness.”
Challenge
Poorly paid and inadequately trained, Namibian teachers are lacking motivation and the profession is in decline.
Catalyst
VSO volunteer Susan Somers brings new skills and a systematic approach to Namibia’s National Institute for Education Development.
Result
Less bureaucracy and the motivating effects of practical training gives Susan, and her Namibian counterparts, optimism.
