Adventures in Africa: Education at Zimpeto Children's Centre

Zimpeto children's centre was the first of Iris Ministries in Mozambique. It is now the largest and most developed, having a large day school, where the numbers double to around 600, to take in 300 local children, who would not be able to afford education. This photograph was taken as the front gates were opened, as they crossed over the sports field to the classrooms.

The school day starts at 7.30am with all the classes lined up singing the national anthem of Mozambique. I was amazed at the number of verses; there must have been at least eight, each followed by the chorus. Everyone stood very still for this, even the smallest children. I have cropped the top as there was too much light coming through between the trees and the lines.

After assembly they filed off to single storey classrooms for their basic education. Pupils, who have passed their 6th Grade, travel into town to a high school. I was therefore surprised the see a large proportion of the older boys still at the primary school, catching up on missed education. I think the UK is fairly unique in streaming by age, rather than ability, and not keeping back pupils to retake a year.

The school day finishes by noon and in the afternoon there are classes for over eighteens, rather like our Basic Skills classes, which I used to teach. All of the classes at the school are taken by Mozambican teachers who are paid by Iris. One of the activities that short-term visitors can help with is English conversation classes. I took four classes during my time there and it was good to keep my skills sharp. There are few resources and they rely heavily on 'chalk and talk', but I have found that I can be very flexible, scanning the room for any object, using colours, shapes and textures to their maximum effect. Many of the older boys speak fairly good English, having learnt from the numerous visitors over the years. Here are two men who were regulars in my class; Antonio, on the right, is at the Bible School, and Acacio lives locally. This class was held early in the morning in a room next to the front gate.

In addition to the day school Iris runs a Bible School at Zimpeto. Up to 50 pastors at any one time can come for three months intensive teaching and then return to their own areas to put it into practice. They can come again for further three-month blocks, until they have completed their studies. They also get practical training, taking part in joint services with the staff and children several times a week.