 We are pleased to report this interesting account by Therese McPhillips, who generously served for a month as a volunteer at the Solidarity Teacher Training College in Yambio teaching ‘Professional Studies’. Thank you Therese!
“I have just returned to Juba after a month spent working with students in STTC, Yambio, South Sudan. I was a tutor and we focused on English language across the curriculum. At the weekend, I regularly walked into Yambio with another tutor and some students and we went to the market. On one occasion, we met a group of young children making Galimoto toys (a pull-along truck made from cardboard). They were engrossed in the activity, even the youngest could insert the holes (with a large nail) to tie short pieces of wire to assemble the truck. Very creative play! Children often play the board game ‘Abbanga’, it seems to be a cross between Sudoko and Draughts. I watched intently as each player drops six stones into each ‘cup’ then calculates how to beat his opponent by counting forwards, backwards, and assessing how to make winning moves. Mental arithmetic in action, we would call that ‘realistic maths’!
Children are inventive with the available materials which they re-purpose for toys. I watched a group of young boys racing along the path between houses, each whipping the outer rim of a bicycle wheel, and a branch. They could maneuver the wheel rim with skill. A very young boy had made his own wheel from a cut out circle of the sole of a plastic shoe, and showed me how you have to keep it upright (on the rim) to get a good speed with the stick. Children also make small animals from clay – and they dry in the sun. When the older boys are making bricks to build a new house, the clay is perfect for small hands to make and mold little creatures.” Therese McPhillips |
Date Published:05 March 2025 Author:Alice, Officer
Article Tags: Latest News, South Sudan, Solidarity, Teachers training, Education, Yambio, Children, Local games |
