The best teacher Pos Woh ever had

 

Many people would have heard about Valerie Azure in March 2020, when Reuters covered a story about air travellers stranded at klia2. She was photographed with her 10-year-old child, Kyri, who lay sleeping on the floor of the terminal.

Valerie is a 31-year-old Russian humanitarian worker who has helped Rohingya, Karen and Afghan refugees in Southeast Asia over the past 10 years. She was stranded at klia2 when countries closed their borders because of the lockdown following the Covid-19 outbreak.

Valerie was unable to return to Thailand and while in Malaysia, helped some aid workers deliver food to an Orang Asli village in Tapah, Perak. That was when she learnt that Pos Woh did not have a school, so she volunteered to teach there.

The necessary permits were obtained and she was given permission to stay in the village. The Semai were so pleased with their children’s progress and asked that the original teaching permit of eight weeks be extended to one year.

Valerie overcame many challenges associated with living in a village which lacks modern facilities. One major obstacle was communication. With the help of a Malay-English dictionary and sign language, she and Kyri managed to accomplish a lot at Pos Woh.

Asked how long it took for the residents to accept her, and if they felt she was intruding into their lives, she said: “At first, communication was a problem but after two months, we made lots of progress.

“Kyri made friends very easily, and the other kids accepted him within a week or two of arriving. We got along with my students very quickly, too.”

The students started showing progress in their studies and demonstrating their achievements at home. She said: “I was teaching from 8am until 9pm or 10pm. We were spending a lot of time together. With my projector, we started having outdoor film nights, celebrating the kids’ birthdays and going jogging and swimming together. Soon, we became really good friends.”

Pos Woh is a small hamlet with about 300 residents, including some 90 children. With the progress made at the school which Valerie helped set up, some of the parents soon showed an interest in learning English. She organised three lessons a week, in three-hour sessions, to teach them. Among her “students” was a woman more than 90 years old.

A typical day for Valerie began at the first crowing of the roosters and may not end till late. In the darkness of the early morning, she would wait for the first rays of sunlight to emerge.

She washed in the icy cold river water, which was refreshing, and collected water to make her coffee and porridge. As she prepared breakfast, she would often be “entertained” by a girl singing a beautiful tribal song in one of the Semai huts. All was peaceful and calm.

Valarie describes the enthusiasm of the children. “They are already waiting for school to open, and are waiting outside, as early as 7am.

“By 9am, I have about 40 children at the school. I separate them into groups according to their ages and interests. Some will do maths exercises, others English, and the rest are busy with arts and crafts.

“Kyri and the boys play football, catch and tag. Jeny (14) and Safira (16) can speak English, and they help me organise the classes. I don’t know what I would do without them.

“Eight hours pass by very quickly. There are so many things to do, so I move from table to table, to teach different groups. Children show me their drawings, their exercise books and their puzzles.”

Once a month, Valerie and the children moved all the furniture and study materials to the storage room. The school building is turned into a clinic, with a visit by a doctor from Ipoh. to examine the villagers who need medical attention. The clinic would then revert to a school, after the doctor left in the afternoon.

Valerie said she had never had such an enthusiastic, curious and motivated class as in Pos Woh. Her focus was mainly on English classes, but such was their interest that she covered other academic subjects, including physics, chemistry, biology, astronomy and geography.

“The children wanted to know everything and I’ve taught them everything I know. We talked about the continents and oceans, the structure of the atom, our solar system, human anatomy, entomology, ancient civilisations, Isaac Newton, Galileo, the composition of the Earth, the history of civil rights movement, cells and DNA, the standard model of elementary particles, Magna Carta, the Emancipation Proclamation, climate change, Nicola Tesla and Albert Einstein. These are just a few of the topics.”

Despite their busy schedule, simple computing classes were also introduced.

The original permit for Valerie to teach at the school would have expired on Oct 21 this year. On March 8, her permit to teach was rescinded and she was told to leave Pos Woh.

A sad Valerie hopes that with the help of her two most able students, the children at Pos Woh will continue with their learning experience, despite her absence.

She has opened the minds of the children and adults to a world of endless possibilities. They have responded positively and shown their willingness to learn.

Knowledge is power. - FMT

The views expressed are those of the writer and do not necessarily reflect those of MMKtT.