Callie's Story
Peace Corps Volunteer Callie Sorensen's remarks about the Pen-Pal program between a school for the deaf in Kenya and a Chicago classroom.Please download Flash Player to see this video.
Narrated by Peace Corps Volunteer Callie Sorensen.Callie's Story
Callie Sorensen Remarks about Pen-Pal program between Kenya and Chicago via World Wise Schools March 2006 Reverend Muhoro School for the Deaf Kaheti Village, Kenya
My name is Callie Sorensen. I'm a Peace Corps Volunteer in Kaheti village near Mokuraene in Kenya and I'm teaching HIV and AIDs in the secondary school for the deaf called Reverend Muhoro.
I'm starting to get really involved in the World Wise Schools. I've partnered up with my father's school in Chicago and so what we've been doing is-I've started the pen-pal club. And so all the students who have been interested wrote letters to the school back in America and they're able to ask questions about America-what kind of food do you eat? You know? They want to know about the tv, about the dancing, you know? They have a lot of questions, so we use these pen-pal letters as a way to communicate with schools in America. And then what happens is then my father's school-just actually today, we got a package in the mail with photos. The AIDS quilt was in America, so the students took pictures of the AIDS quilts and kind of explained about it. So they're sharing ideas back and forth learning about the other cultures. So many Kenyans have this wrong perception of America. They think it's full of white rich people and that's all that it is. So we kind of exchange ideas back and forth just to get their minds open about things. And it's also good for my father's class to learn about Kenyans. They're excited to write to each other.
I think World Wise Schools is very important because it accomplishes two of the Peace Corps goals-which is, one, to educate Americans about Kenya or about the other country. And then to educate the Kenyans who are here about Americans. So by doing this pen-pal exchange, it's a good way to accomplish both of those goals.
And see, it's cold there. They have jackets. It's cold. Not like here, it's hot.
She's saying she wants to go to America to meet the students. So they're learning about ... yeah, Kenya's there. And then my father's school is there-far.
This is the school bus. But Muhoro has nothing. Maybe they'll send one.
These are the teachers. Here are teachers in a meeting.
But you guys have net ball, yeah? We don't have in America. We don't have. But maybe you can teach. Maybe we'll video, yeah? And send it to America and teach them how to play net ball because they don't know.
(Class dances)