Meet VSO volunteer, Mary
Muraho (Hello)! My name’s Diane and I’m a VSO volunteer working to support children with disabilities and special educational needs in my home country of Rwanda. I’m delighted to be taking you forward on your sponsor a volunteer journey. Read on to find out more about me and my role, and the difference your support is making for children and families here.
August's featured volunteer
In this update, I want to introduce you to one of my fellow VSO volunteers - Mary from the UK. It’s a big team effort to forge long-term, sustainable change and I learn so much from the people around me – the amazing volunteers, the hardworking teachers and, of course, the fantastic children I meet every day! And behind each of us here in Rwanda is you, supporting us from so far away to improve education and change children’s lives. Thank you, as always.
I’m delighted to be volunteering with VSO and to have the opportunity to share my experiences with you all. I’ve worked in education for several years, supporting children with special educational needs. When I heard about VSO’s early education project here, I knew I wanted to be part of it. This felt like my chance to help every child get the learning and life opportunities they deserve. Thank you for standing with me and helping to make a positive impact in my home country.
Too many children in Rwanda still repeat the first year of primary school because they have had no or little quality pre-primary education. Every day they aren’t building the solid foundations needed to flourish in education, they're trapped deeper in the cycle of poverty. With your support, my colleagues and I are leading a range of training to support teachers to give young children the early education they deserve. Through the use of storytelling, puzzles, role-play and games, we’re helping teachers see how play supports a child’s development, not just academically, but socially and emotionally too. Working alongside other organisations, we’re part of an incredible movement to create long-lasting change.
August '25 volunteer update
Mary WatkinsThere are a zillion things you can do with just a few plastic bottles.
VSO volunteer
Mary is from a town called Newport, in South Wales in the UK. I’d never heard of it before, but perhaps you have? She was a primary school teacher there before travelling all the way here to Rwanda to volunteer as a teacher trainer for VSO in 2014 and again in 2018.
Many of the schools here have overcrowded classrooms and limited teaching resources to stimulate the students. Teachers always tell me the lack of materials is a problem, which is true, but Mary showed them how, with a bit of imagination and glue, they could create their own resources out of everyday items or even rubbish. For example, she demonstrated turning plastic bottles into skittles, bottle tops into counters, and toilet rolls into dice. She also gave the teachers ideas for games and activities to play with these homemade resources. Young children learn through play – it’s amazing to see the power a toilet roll has in driving their learning, fun and laughter!
You can see Mary in action with rubbish, scissors and glue in this little video below:
Diane Uwamahirwe
Helping with attention and memory
I often show the teachers I work with, like Olivier, how to make teaching and learning materials themselves. And also give ideas for games, activities and songs to use the aids with. These sorts of resources can be especially good for children with additional needs – they provide a different way of learning and one which can capture their imagination or creativity, and spur their learning. For example, those children who have difficulty concentrating can be captivated with bottle top counters, or those who have challenges with their memory can suddenly recall their numbers after playing with dice.
VSO
Still volunteering from Wales
It’s been many years since Mary was here in Rwanda - she’s back in Newport now. However, she still volunteers with VSO and provides online training for teachers all over the world – she’s such an inspirational and energetic person! As well as our teachers in Rwanda, Mary has trained educators in Ethiopia, Bangladesh, Nigeria, Nepal, Mozambique and Myanmar – all from her living room in Wales!
“People really underestimate the importance of play,” Mary told me. “In terms of development, it can help with fine and gross motor skills but it’s also about play and creativity. Once you’ve missed those early years of education it’s very difficult to get them back.”
I hope you enjoyed hearing from Mary - perhaps you are even inspired to make some dice out of toilet rolls yourself now?! Send me a photo via email at sponsoravolunteer@vsoint.org if you do! Or remember, you can also leave me a message below.
I’m looking forward to writing to you again soon.
Murakoze cyane (thank you very much),
Diane
Want to ask a question?
VSO’s Sponsor a Volunteer team will share your message with the VSO volunteer and get back to you with a response. Your email address will not be used, disclosed or transferred to any VSO personnel, it will be stored securely in accordance with VSOs privacy policy. A sample of messages including display names will be published to the Sponsor a Volunteer homepage each month.
Your latest questions answered
Thank you for all the information and pictures about the help you are giving to the children in school in Rwanda. I am particularly interested in the help you are giving to special needs children as my daughter in law is also a special needs teacher.
Diane
Hello Pauline,
Thank you for taking the time to leave me a message! I do hope you enjoyed reading my update and looking through all the photos.
It’s lovely to hear that your daughter-in-law is a teacher and also works closely with children with special needs – they are lucky to have her! Teachers are an inspiration and I’m grateful to work with so many amazing teachers here in Rwanda.
I hope you enjoy reading my updates – I look forward to writing to you again.
Diane
Thank you for taking the time to leave me a message! I do hope you enjoyed reading my update and looking through all the photos.
It’s lovely to hear that your daughter-in-law is a teacher and also works closely with children with special needs – they are lucky to have her! Teachers are an inspiration and I’m grateful to work with so many amazing teachers here in Rwanda.
I hope you enjoy reading my updates – I look forward to writing to you again.
Diane
Thank you very much for the information you have provided describing your work with VSO in supporting children with special needs. It is very interesting for me to learn about this and to see some pictures of you with some of the children.
Diane
Hello Giles,
It is great to hear from you. Thank you for your kind words – they will keep me and the team motivated in continuing to support children here in Rwanda.
I’m glad to hear you enjoyed reading my update and I look forward to writing to you again.
Diane
It is great to hear from you. Thank you for your kind words – they will keep me and the team motivated in continuing to support children here in Rwanda.
I’m glad to hear you enjoyed reading my update and I look forward to writing to you again.
Diane
We bring about lasting change not by sending aid, but by working through volunteers to empower communities in some of the world’s poorest regions. You can read more about VSO’s areas of work and discover more about our projects here.
More news from VSO
Using play to inspire learning in Rwanda
Learn how volunteers like Celestin are supporting children in Rwanda to learn through play. Children are taught problem solving, strategic thinking and inter-personal skills, all while enjoying the learning process.