Retiree talks about teaching in Africa
When Sharon Roth spent three weeks teaching English in West Africa early this year, she was struck by how happy the students were despite their poverty.
“The community that I was teaching in, they were very, very happy students,” Roth said Thursday. “They didn’t have much, but they were happy. Half of the students could afford to buy the lunch that cost 11 cents and the other half did not eat lunch.”
She said it was “eye-opening” to learn people could be so happy despite being poor, because they did not know what they did not have. Only a few of her students had televisions or radios, Roth said.
Roth spent her weeks in Africa teaching English at the Saint Lazarus School in Dano, which is located in Burkina Faso.
A retired teacher from New Paltz, Roth said she left the United States on New Year’s Eve in 2016, and arrived in Ouagadougou, the capital of Burkina Faso, three days later. There had been “delays” with her travel, she said.
Her trip to Africa began several years ago, though, Roth said. She said it was in 2011 that she met Dr. Eric Somé through a Toastmaster’s International event. At the time, Somé was working for Bill Gates at Pfizer, conducting research to find a cure for malaria, Roth said. She said Somé told her he had built a private high school for youth in his country, Burkina Faso, and asked Roth to teach a month-long English enrichment program to the students.
Somé built the school because two-thirds of sixthgrade students are not allowed to continue their education because they fail a state-mandated test, Roth said. She said he also felt that students who learn English will be more successful in his country, where French is the official language of government and business.
Roth had begun learning French at the age of 10 and went on to teach it throughout her career, as well as English and Spanish.
“So, he invited me to come to his school to teach the students English for a short period of time,” Roth said. “And I planned to go in 2013, but Ebola happened and my family said, ‘No, you’re not.’” She said it then seemed to be the right time to go this year.
During her time in Africa, Roth said, she taught 217 students at Saint Lazarus School, all of who were between the ages of 15 and 23. The students had three hours of English lessons each week, she said. Roth said she stayed in Dano during the week, but on weekends spent her time with Somé’s family at their home in Ouagadougou. She said Dano is 140 miles west of Ouagadougou.
Tuition to the Saint Lazarus School is $130 per year, but the average annual income for a person in Burkina Faso is $400, Roth said. She said that is why she helped Somé establish a non-profit charity called “Light for All Inc.” The charity accepts donations to keep the school open and help students afford tuition, Roth said.
“I was there for three weeks and I taught them about Barrack Obama and Donald Trump and I taught them songs,” Roth said. She said she tailored her lessons to the students, which included one class of 70 people.
“They participated,” Roth said. “I spoke to every single student at every single class.” She said she provided them positive feedback and taught them a song about donkeys, which are prevalent in the country, and the song, “We Shall Overcome.”
One time, after they had
sung “We Shall Overcome,” a student named Somda asked to sing a song he had written, Roth said. She said his song translated to mean now that they had democracy there, slavery was finished.
Roth said she also shared with her African students “Peace cards” that had been written by her students at the Woodbourne and Fishkill correctional facilities, where she has served as a volunteer teaching inmates for a year.
The inmates wrote positive messages for Roth to share, such as “I am praying for you,” and “Education is important,” she said. Roth said her African students then sent back cards for her students in prison.
“After I got home, my friends asked me if it was a life-changing experience,” Roth said. “And I thought about that and thought I could not say ‘yes’ because my life had not changed. But, then, my youngest son, whose name is Ken, suggested that the students’ lives had been changed.” She said it was a wonderful experience.