Notes from the Field Pt. 2 - Serving the Graduating Seniors (with VIDEO)

I mentioned in one of my earlier video updates that we would be working with the entire senior class (approximately 90 students) at the Remera Mbogo high school for orphans in Rwanda to address their anxiety surrounding upcoming final exams, exams which are more or less the equivalent of our SAT.

This school is reported to be the poorest in all of Kigali (capital city of Rwanda) and is home to several hundred orphans who survived the '94 genocide. Until recently, they didn't have running water or electricity. Needless to say, resources for actual school learning, such as text books, computers, and even teachers are not sufficient or are non-existent. Consequently, the quality of the learning experience is poor and the headmaster tells us that typically only 10% of the students will pass the exam.

The scary downward spiral

Passing this state-issued exam is a prerequisite for getting into University and having a University-level education is essential for gaining employment in Rwanda, a developing world country where well-paying jobs are extremely hard to come by.

Void of a University-level education, options become limited and scary. If able to find a job, some will have to submit to working 10+ hour days, 7 days a week to earn less than $150/month. Read that again. Others not able to find employment often submit to human trafficking, prostitution, or homelessness. Or worse.

Remember, Rwanda is not like the United States—there are no resources to catch you if you fall. Survival is in your hands and if you don't manage, the consequences can be severe. Also keep in mind that the students we worked with are highly traumatized orphans who lost hundreds of members of their family, including their parents, during the genocide. They know they are at the poorest school, they know they are not getting a good education, and they know what could happen if they don't get into University. It is a very real and very scary reality, one that is hard for us to fully comprehend. It's why over and over again the students tell us that hopelessness about the future is one of their main issues.

So you can imagine that the students' anxiety goes well beyond the anxiety we might experience when taking the SAT. There is a lot on the line.

A holistic program to ease anxiety

We spent one full day with the senior students. As most days did, we started with traditional dancing led by the students. This was always my favorite part because not only did it improve my own personal state but also the energy the students would create and the smiling faces you would see, taught me that underneath the story, the pain, and the difficulty, happiness and joy can always be found.

I want to again acknowledge the practical reality of the situation at the high school. The student-teacher ratio is out of balance and there are insufficient learning materials. These are important factors we can't control. What we can help with is in mitigating the anxiety that would cause a student to thoroughly break down during the exam and not even be able to answer the questions that they know.

We broke the students into smaller groups of four or five and tasked them with discussing and selecting the most pressing concerns they had about taking the exam. One member from each group then presented the results. This is an important part of the process. For starters, we hear from them. We hear what their specific needs are and this informs us how to tailor the program. Contrast this to the ineffective (yet common) strategy of coming in with a pre-determined agenda and list of set objectives. Importantly for the students, this time of sharing gives them an opportunity to feel genuinely seen and heard—a simple act, we have found, that goes a long way.

Hearing the concerns

The concerns relayed to us were what you would expect. The students felt immense pressure to pass the exam and ill equipped to do so, and they are keenly aware of what they face if they don't pass. They said this pressure manifested physically and mentally as having a rapid heart heart, panic, an inability to focus, shaking and queasiness, as well as a sense of resignation or hopelessness. Since for most there is significant underlying trauma from being orphaned during the genocide (read having parents who were brutally murdered), this also gets activated and further complicates the situation. They also shared their concerns about not having money to cover school fees and the lack of family support and guidance.

After hearing the concerns, we moved into the formal program of actual skill instruction. Kathryn, a member of our team, is a school psychologist and veteran of the education system and did most of the instruction of the test-taking best practices. She also taught various self-help skills to help pacify nervous system anxiety and the students were encouraged to make a habit of practicing them on a daily basis. Admittedly, I didn't have much to do with this part of the program other than leading a grounding breathing meditation after lunch—I was in another room giving Jin Shin Jyutsu treatments to some of the more highly traumatized students.


I put together this video clip from the day's events so you can get a feel for how the program flowed.

A little light goes a great distance

All the nitty gritty details of the program specifics are not really relevant for this post. What is and what I hope you will see in the video is how the students were glowing throughout the day. They left the program visibly inspired and at least a little bit more empowered than they were before to handle their anxiety surrounding final exams.

Is one day enough to really make difference?

What we have seen over and over is just how far a little bit goes. These students are remarkable in that they take what they have been given seriously because they feel like what they have received is an answer to their prayers. They take what they have received, make it their own, and apply it usually to great result.

So, we eagerly anticipate the results from the test to see if more than 10% pass this year.