Parent Workshops are over!

I am finally having a chance to report on the parent workshops my school held. I could not be more pleased with the turn out. After all our hard work encouraging parents, we had a total of 55 parents total come! 55! From our small rural community, I was thrilled. Everything went smoothly and shockingly, the workshops started on time. That is another big accomplish for the Caribbean. Even Saturday was a success despite the downpour that happened and the fact that we didn’t have the key to open the office or kitchen for the first hour. Everyone on staff had a role either facilitating one of the three session or managing the food, rotation bell and camera. We all had a great time seeing the parents’ excitement and enthusiasm. Many parents told me they had never been to a workshop before. I was grateful to give them the experience and opportunity to learn more ways they can support literacy in their homes. Each parent got a bag we had made by a local seamstress with a folder of handouts, notepad and pencil (which MANY parents took notes), and a container with materials and supplies to use at home. Parents completed a survey after the last session and the overwhelming response was to have more workshops in the future, even to make it an annual event. A great sign that it was what parents needed. At the end of the workshop, parents also received a certificate of attendance and a challenge. They are now asked to implement 3 practices in their home by July and those who do will be the newest members of our parent leader group in the community and receive a t-shirt and certificate at our school graduation. So I still have a bit of work to do, besides all the reports I have to make that has piled up. It was all worth it. Best part is I went around the day after the workshop and asked students whose parents participated if their parents started anything new with them when they came back home. From what the students were able to tell me, at least 25 parents had started the night of the workshop to use the practices they had learned. Awesome!

Immediately after the workshop, I hopped on a bus and went up north for a Peace Corps conference. All the volunteers from my EC86 group from the different islands came for our Close of Service conference and it was a rollercoaster of emotions. We gave a lot of feedback since we now have completed two years and were also the first group of the primary literacy program for the Eastern Caribbean. That got heated and we all enjoyed venting together. It was informative as our staff shared struggles returning home, finding jobs, going back to school, working for the PC agency and even the Foreign Service. We found out ways to manage our last three months and our long lists of tasks to wrap up everything. We also got to reflect on our service and share how we feel we have made a difference. There were tears and really sweet moments too. And the FOOD! We stayed in a really nice hotel and the food was excellent. I guess that was our thank you present for our service. We also had a beach party and got to go out for the last time as a group. I had to do all my good byes to all my friends, it seemed unreal and August 22^nd is still far away in my head. I guess all the stress from the workshop, the overwhelming COS conference and the bitter cold of the AC at the hotel (don’t laugh, the AC really messes me up, I can’t handle it!) together made me fall ill. When I got home, I was really sick and had to call the doctor. I ended up getting strep throat and spent the next 6 days in bed. I’m finally going to go back to school tomorrow. The Ministry of Education decided to come visit our school tomorrow so now I get to give presentations tomorrow to the Minister of Education, his whole team and also Peace Corps on what I have been doing at the school for the past two years. Great. Back to work!