Literacy/Education Development Interview – Azlera: Projecto Oceano- Ilha de Mozambique
The Schools Project
I had the pleasure of sitting with James, a volunteer running a great youth education program on the island called Projecto Oceano. I was quite impressed by both the focus and the operation of this organization, probably more so than in any other project I have visited. Below is a transcript of the interview I had with James, who has been on-island for 3 months, and will be here for 9 total as part of his commitment to the organization.
- Could you give me a quick background of your organization. Its founding/conception, what need you are trying to fill, and why the need has gone unmet up until this point?
The project was founded in 2002 by two friends a French woman and Mexican man, who traveled here and
really loved the location. He had already founded AZLera, an NGO focused on education and
environmental issues after working in Wall Street for some time. The project's main aim is to give
some kids the same opportunity that he was given in life. The ultimate goal of the project is to get
8 students into university either in Mozambique or overseas, whatever is feasible. The program is
also working to prepare them to study in a different country or at the higher level here in
Mozambique; there are good scholarship programs that Oceano is trying to utilize either in
Mozambique, Portugal, or Brazil which will hopefully help with the cost of some of the educations.
In 2002, these two people came and saw the dire educational situation on the ground and saw an
opportunity to do something about it. Simple enough. After meeting in Madagascar, they had traveled
through Africa looking for a good place for an education project and settled on Ilha de Moz. The
program was around on the island for 4-5 years with no foreign volunteers-there was a few locals who
took over when both left to continue work in America and China. They formed the base, the foundation of the project. Then, 4-5 years ago, AZLera sent out a foreign volunteer from England who was here for 6 months, who saw that there was a need for a foreign volunteer on site to coordinate and manage the operations. James is subsequently the 3rd extended volunteer to be on site managing the project. The volunteers do not get paid, but they take care of accommodation, food, project expenses, and educational expenses for the volunteers, who are selected through a range of interviews and background questions. Local language skills are obviously critical for an effective volunteer.
really loved the location. He had already founded AZLera, an NGO focused on education and
environmental issues after working in Wall Street for some time. The project's main aim is to give
some kids the same opportunity that he was given in life. The ultimate goal of the project is to get
8 students into university either in Mozambique or overseas, whatever is feasible. The program is
also working to prepare them to study in a different country or at the higher level here in
Mozambique; there are good scholarship programs that Oceano is trying to utilize either in
Mozambique, Portugal, or Brazil which will hopefully help with the cost of some of the educations.
In 2002, these two people came and saw the dire educational situation on the ground and saw an
opportunity to do something about it. Simple enough. After meeting in Madagascar, they had traveled
through Africa looking for a good place for an education project and settled on Ilha de Moz. The
program was around on the island for 4-5 years with no foreign volunteers-there was a few locals who
took over when both left to continue work in America and China. They formed the base, the foundation of the project. Then, 4-5 years ago, AZLera sent out a foreign volunteer from England who was here for 6 months, who saw that there was a need for a foreign volunteer on site to coordinate and manage the operations. James is subsequently the 3rd extended volunteer to be on site managing the project. The volunteers do not get paid, but they take care of accommodation, food, project expenses, and educational expenses for the volunteers, who are selected through a range of interviews and background questions. Local language skills are obviously critical for an effective volunteer.
- First, what are your thoughts on the overall education sector in the country and in this community?
Basically, the educational sector and system are not very well run. Our newsletter has published several articles about what is going on with the schools. There is a serious lack of maturity with the kids which translates into the classrooms, and leads to very little teacher control of the classrooms. There is a lot of cheating going on in the classrooms and a lot of absenteeism by teachers, and thus, a lack of leadership. That is why this organization works with punctuation and time management, as this is not given in the school system; they need to get used to how time runs in the “real world” or at the university level. (The kids get a fine from their salary every time that they are late as well as added incentive.)
- What projects/programs are being specifically implemented by your programs here in Mozambique to combat the educational issues facing the local community?
The organization works in the areas of IT, Social Debate, Capoeira, newsletters, study groups, and language classes.
The IT classes are structured with 3 levels, taught by the scholarship students (of which there are the 8 core members of the organization who are being focused on from the community). They teach other students from the community, first, basic windows classes; then, a mathematical LOGO program which spurs the kids to thinking about logistics; and the 3rd level is word, excel, and powerpoint. Again, these classes are all taught by the 8 core members, first located and induced in 2002. These 8 get a small salary every month and have a contract which needs to be fulfilled in order to get their salary. These 8 scholarship students also have to do 21 hours of supervised study every month to get their salary as well.
Next, we run social debates, which are led by one of the scholarship students. They are held 2 times a month and have mandatory attendance by the 8 project members. In addition, we try to get more kids involved from the schools and from the community as well. The project members decide on the topics, such as HIV and domestic violence. Oceana aims to develop critical thinking, the ability to structure thoughts logically as opposed to yelling, and knowledge sharing through these debates. Oceana is also starting current affairs classes to introduce the kids from the island to world news-there will be an hour a week of supervised reading of materials for the 8 project members and then the kids will need to present the information back to a larger audience. (This is also a great opportunity for teaching English vocabulary and grammar skills!)
Next, the Caporiera classes: these are held every night of the week and anyone on the island can come to practice; this is aiming to broaden the projects exposure on the island and bring a funner aspect in. A local students, one of the project members, is the teacher of the classes.
The project holds a daily Open Study Group. From 2-8pm, students can come and use their pens, chairs, computers, and text books to study. Oceana aims to have the center utilized as much as possible, and to create a solid learning environment as an alternative to the kids just listlessly hanging out after school.
Oceans holds language classes; English, Spanish and French classes are all held for one hour per week in the evening. These are open to all students; however, the students must commit, and cannot miss more than 3 lessons in a row or they are not invited back. The classes are run by one of the scholarship students, and the aim of the attendance rulesis to professionalize the project and create a more seamless educational environment.
Oceana produces a monthly newspaper. One of the 8 students must head this every month, with at least 3 articles written. Every Friday, there is a newspaper meeting, in which articles are suggested and approved and structured. The students are given 2 weeks to write the articles, they are then peer edited and checked for research and published at the end of the month through Microsoft Publisher. This also helps to improve computer skills. Additional aims are to help in writing structure and idea formation. This newsletter is sent to all the schools (300 copies are printed per month). This also increases the profile of the project on the island and serves as an advertisement for the what is happening with the project.
All of the areas are run by the 8 core members-James needs to oversee them, but it is up to them to organize everything-this is the idea behind the sustainability of the project. The biggest issues are the punctuality and keeping the decorum in the room, especially during the study group.
- How can this project be implemented in other areas of Mozambique? What will it take for others to bring this concept to other, remote areas?
This could work in other areas. The biggest reason for this is that the focus is small-just the 8 students. The goal is manageable and achievable; setting the scope small helps and makes it attainable; trying to reach too many is a recipe for not working. The danger comes with huge goals which get lost in translation. It will only work if the 8 core members are passing on the system to the younger students.
- What exposure do you have with teachers and the formal education sector here? What role can they play in closing the digital divide for their students?
James has the English curriculum so he can focus on preparation for exams and the modules that the kids are expected to learn in the class; the idea of Oceana is to give them something extra and to tie it in to the curriculum-the alignment is critical. Otherwise there is very little engagement with the schools teachers or administration.
- Teachers play an absolutely crucial role in this area. Is there any drive to get teachers more involved with the project?
It would be nice to tie the project in closer with the schools, but at this point, corruption is so endemic in the schools that it is very challenging to get a fair focus on what is going on. At this point, there is enough contact with the school, and the schedule is filled.
- Who are the most essential partners that you work with in the local setting?
At this point, the project is quite self-sufficient. There are the 8 main project members, plus the original teacher who set up the project for the first 4 years of its inception. Oceana also has an informal arrangement with SAMAN to arrange some computer training and exchange students and ideas. They are also going to try to implement career sessions who can come in to do a presentation on local careers; the problem is that the people who are volunteering to come in are expats. Oceana want locals instead. They also do CV sessions individually with the students to help with their career planning.
- Where do you see your programs in 5 years? 10 Years?
Oceana is coming to the end of the original generation of core members. We are hoping, realisitically, for 4-5 of them to go to college and leave the island. We are thus looking for a new group of 14-15 year olds who can come to take on the responsibility in the future. They would like to expand the program in the future, but the practicalities are showing that it will remain the same size. Also, if made bigger, the focus will change and possibly get lost. Before getting any bigger, there will have to be locals to delegate responsibility to.
- What resources are currently most needed by both your organization and by the schools system in Mozambique overall?
Textbooks, computers, and basics such as pens, paper, and notebooks. The issue is using these materials responsibly. If there were more computers at the center they could have bigger classes; now there are 2 kids on each computer during classes. A big need would be with a projector; however, these are constantly stolen on the island.
