TEN local teachers have been spending their summer holiday supporting fellow educators in Rwanda to develop their spoken English.
Through online Google Meet sessions, the teachers have been helping Rwandan colleagues build confidence and competence.
The initiative is not only benefiting teachers in Rwanda, with the ten Islanders finding themselves developing new skills and expanding their own teaching practice.
Many of the volunteers have been able to reconnect with educators they met during previous Jersey Overseas Aid education projects in Rwanda in 2023 and 2024.
For some, this experience has allowed them to work alongside teachers in Rwanda for the first time, opening up their insights into life and learning in East Africa.
With average class sizes of around 60 pupils, often with a single blackboard, and teaching sometimes extending to 12 hours a day, educators in Rwanda face significant challenges in their classrooms.
Against this backdrop, the opportunity to gain practical classroom ideas is hugely valued, as the Jersey teachers have been working hard to model creative, low-resource activities that can be adapted into their own classroom settings.
Volunteer Tracey Moore, a senior advisor in the Education Department, said: “Teaching online across continents can sometimes mean competing with local birdsong or even the sound of an angle grinder in the background.”
Yet for Ms Moore, the joy of connecting with colleagues “always shines through”.
Education Minister Catherine Curtis said: “This reflects Jersey’s ongoing commitment to international educational partnership and professional exchange.
“As the Ubumwe partnership continues online, teachers in both Jersey and Rwanda are proving that meaningful connections can flourish across thousands of miles, bringing learning, inspiration, and friendship to classrooms in both countries.”
