Blog
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Due Process and Rectifying the Basic Infringes of Human Rights in Liberian Prisons
We have all heard it when the alleged perpetrator of a crime says “I want to make a phone call”. It seems the right thing to say when you have been accused of a crime and you need help from your parents, guardian or a lawyer. We have all got used to hearing these same […]
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This is the time to build walls
It’s time to build a wall. Walls are in right now, a trending topic. A wall solves almost all problems. And if it doesn’t? Make it bigger. A great wall. The narrative of the wall keeps people safe. It creates corresponding images to the wall in our heads. The others need to be kept out. […]
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Speed dating with Eritrean teacher educators – a dive into learning-centeredness
Research after research shows that teachers are prone to teach the way they were taught at school. If the educational system is to be developed, then, it’ll be critical to expose teachers to learning experiences that support the desired change. The Eritrean National Curriculum emphasizes on a learner-centered and interactive approach to teaching, but teachers […]
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If only my kite could take me back home to Syria
Fleeing from killing and war, the refugee children have very few toys with them. Toys were left at home in Syria. Kites are integral to spring in the Middle East. They’re everywhere in different shapes and colours. 440 children in the Zaatari and Azraq refugee camps received their own kites when Finn Church Aid organised […]
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Amman Calling
How would you feel sending your children to study in a school that was damaged in battle and had no learning materials available? What would you think if your child was attending a class much lower than other children his age because the exams were in a foreign language and he couldn’t pass them? Would […]
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Teachers studying their own work
A new semester kicked off at our workplace, the Asmara Community College of Education, in February. That also marked the start of a course we had been involved in organising called Introduction to Action Research, which is a course aimed at second year classroom teacher students. The course is meant to provide students with tools […]
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A day in primary school in Eritrea
Primary school children dressed in bright green school uniforms smile and wave at us on our morning run while the morning rush hour is only just about to start. As sunlight breaks colours into soft evening shades, groups of school children returning home bring colour back to the streets of Asmara. What is going on? […]
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Teachers without Borders volunteers in Eritrea
It only takes some 13 hours to get to Asmara from the Helsinki Airport in Finland. Yet, Finland and Eritrea are located on the same time zone. It is perhaps more accurate to measure the actual time difference between the two countries in decades rather than hours. The city of Asmara is characterised by charmingly […]
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“I wish Syria would get back on its feet!”
Reading the newspapers in Jordan, one sees stories every day about how many Syrians have again crossed the border to Jordan. According to today’s paper, 67 refugees had entered the country within 48 hours. After emergency personnel had tended to the wounded, the refugees were taken to the safety of a refugee camp. All of […]
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Rethinking learning – find an inspiring location
How could I improve the learning environments of children in the difficult places I have visited? This was the question I was asking myself last autumn, sitting in my new room in the new FCA office, looking at the empty walls around my desk. My head seemed to mirror the emptiness, even though I was […]
