The Power of Words

The girls of GSGC-sponsored Rise N’ Shine Club wiped clean the dusty plastic chair they set for me under the club’s thatched-roof structure in rural Lupinyu, 12 miles outside Victoria Falls, Zimbabwe — and we got to work.

We started with one word: initiative.

The vocabulary challenge came from Global Sojourns Giving Circle founder Priscilla Plummer. I was volunteering with GSGC for an extended stay in Zambia and Zimbabwe, and Priscilla thought I could use my love of language to help these girls pass their Ordinary Level English exam.

In the province, nearly 70 percent of 16-year-old girls complete Form 4, the U.S. equivalent of the first years of high school. But to move to the last two years of secondary school, students must pass five Ordinary Level exams with a grade of C or better. Doing well on the Form 4 exams — especially the English exam — is crucial. By age 18, only 8.5 percent of girls in Matabeleland North finish secondary school.

Rise N’ Shine members meet across the road from Victoria Falls International Airport, where travelers can take a shower and buy a latte. On their side of the road however, girls pump their water from communal wells where cattle also drink. In the province of Matabeleland North, more than 51 percent of secondary schools have no electricity, 2.5 percent have no access to water, and only 45 percent have some computers for students.

Initiative. “Who has an idea about what initiative means,” I asked. Silence.

OK, I continued, using it in a sentence to try to illustrate the meaning. Again, silence. I figured they don’t know me well and were hesitant to go out on a limb. Auntie Sfe and I exchanged looks. Channeling Priscilla’s intent, I suggested we talk about “opportunity,” and Sfe suggested we talk about “volunteer” and “philanthropy.”

Princess, who wants to be a pastor, knew the definition of volunteer. “Doing something from your heart,” she said. “And expecting nothing back,” I added.

Occasionally, Sfe would translate my explanations into Ndebele, the predominant local language, for clarity. Our shared definitions were not precise, but Form 4 exams were coming up soon and the vocabulary lessons took on an urgency. The girls, regardless of age, and I turned up regularly. Gradually, they began to trust themselves and speak up more often and with greater confidence. Months later on a return trip, one of the previously quiet girls greeted me on street in Victoria Falls, calling me by name. I was thrilled.

We had plowed tough vocabulary ground: Innovate. Adventure. Routine. Motivation. Mitigation. Synchronized. Confrontation. Litigation. Embarrassed. Devastating. Dispute. Accelerated. Impress. Plagiarism. Identical. Neglect, among others.

Still, I knew definitions for these few words would not a passing grade make.

Back at my guesthouse, I tapped into the Zimbabwe education ministry’s website on my computer — a resource the club girls don’t have — and found old O Level English exam questions and the vocabulary words officials want students to use in their answers.

Capturing the information and making useful sense of it was a labor of love. Auntie Sfe urged, “use it, read it, study it.”

I am eager to hear the results.

— Holley Gilbert, GSGC volunteer