Performance Day - Zamukulungisa Primary School - Day 3

Millie Jones writes about her groups 3 day stint at Zamukulungisa Primary School -

It was the day of the performance and I had no idea what to expect. We began by teaching another English lesson and then at 10am all of the students, teachers, and even our bus drivers gathered on the grass to watch the performances. We kicked off by warming the audience up with one of their local songs, the energy was so high and it was clear that the school was excited to see the work we had been doing.

Rhian's group went first, performing an adaptation if Little Red Riding Hood, she narrated in English and D.J kindly agreed to translate. The piece was received well and it was great to see how the group had used ensemble and chorus work as a way to included all of the students whilst also making the piece visually clear to a non-English speaking audience. 

Our group went next and I think they shocked all of us with how well it went. They all spoke loud and really embraced the chance to perform to a large audience. I felt so proud watching them and couldn't help feeling a little ashamed for doubting their pieces viability for performance- they were great and proved me very wrong. 

The rest of the day was a incredible and emotional experience. It was good to finally see the other group's work and their school. The difference in facilities at the two schools was vastly different but they all managed to come together, embracing the chance to share experiences with only the difference in uniforms separating them. 

The journey back to the principles house was quieter than usual with people coming to terms with words that had been shared and the understanding that, at least for now, we had to say goodbye. Although there was a lot of tears, I think we all used our experiences a motivational one rather than something to feel down about... It wasn't long before we were all sharing with each other our plans to return to Africa or another developing country to continue our work in the near future.

My experience at the school has been incredible, and despite the frustrating language barriers and my initial longing to be at the other school, I would not have wanted to be placed anywhere else- I can only hope that the children learnt as much from us as we did from them.