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Pomfret resident's Japan connection leads to Africa
Wednesday, Feb. 4, 2009
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A teacher at the school Zainabu Williams visited in Burkina Faso where her friend Miyuki Katsuma teaches. The two friends met while Williams was teaching in Japan. This is the kindergarten class Katsuma taught.
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Zainabu Williams, 26, grew up in Pomfret, but got exposed to different cultures from an early age.
"Since I was about 8 years old, my family would sponsor Japanese students in our home," Williams said. "I can remember tagging along with these 20- and 21-year-old kids while we would go to the shopping mall and to the museums in [Washington,] D.C. The students would always bring me toys and snacks from Japan. I remember learning how to do ‘Head, Shoulders, Knees and Toes' in Japanese."
Williams became fascinated by Japanese culture when she was very young, long before it became as popular as it is today.
After Williams graduated from La Plata High School in 2000, she moved to Japan to teach English for two years. Williams didn't forget her Charles County roots while she was overseas. One of the programs she implemented was a pen pal program between her students in the middle school she was teaching and the students at Matthew Henson Middle School, which is the school where her mother, Ismay Williams, teaches foreign languages.
Williams taught English in Mitsu, a small town in Japan comparable in size to La Plata.
"When I got there, I was amazed by the size of everything," Williams said. "There were little small pickup trucks and little toy-looking cars. The loaves of bread were tiny, and everything came in small packages. Cups and plates were so tiny, like little kiddy-sizes. The Japanese are very conscious of space."
While in Japan, Williams became friends with some of the best friends she would make anywhere.
It was her Japanese friend, Miyuki Katsuma, who convinced Williams to visit Burkina Faso, a small, landlocked West African country.
Burkina Faso is one of the poorest nations on the planet and has hardly any tourist infrastructure. Katsuma works there teaching English in the local kindergarten through the Japan International Cooperation Agency, which is Japan's version of the Peace Corps.
"Miyuki wanted me to come see her before her two years in Africa were up," Williams said.
Williams took the long, layover-sprinkled flight to Burkina Faso, about 24 hours of travel time.
"I had to go from D.C. to New York, then to Paris and then to Burkina Faso," Williams said.
Williams didn't know what to expect when she got there.
"I thought it was kind of like India, just not as colorful," Williams said. "I saw the poverty contrasted with the warmest of people."
Williams said everyone she met would just invite her in and feed her.
"At first people looked at me strange," Williams said. "I could see them thinking that my skin wasn't as dark as theirs and I didn't dress like them, but I wasn't European."
Burkina Faso is not set up for tourists, so the contact between local people and foreigners is very limited.
One thing Burkina Faso is famous for is dancing and drumming. Williams took advantage of the weeks she spent there to take some lessons.
"I would try to get the rhythm of the different beats and the different instruments, which originate in the villages," Williams said. "The kids would just listen and watch. It was entertainment for them."
Katsuma is a kindergarten teacher and Williams went with her to observe the differences between the educational systems she was used to and the Burkina Faso educational system.
"Education isn't free in Burkina Faso," Williams said. "It costs around $80 a year to educate a child. That is a lot of money in that part of the world, so most people can't go to school."
The average annual income in Burkina Faso is $1,200.
The parents usually pay a little per week, and that is the money the school uses to purchase books and pencils. The school itself doesn't have a lot of resources.
"There are about 50 students in a class, with two teachers," Williams said. "There is only one table in the school, which is about 4 feet long, and has six or seven chairs around it. The students take turns sitting at the table and working with the teacher. I am sure you can imagine 40 or so unsupervised kindergarten students sitting by themselves. There is a lot of sleeping and squirming and punching going on."
Williams said it was culture shock going to Africa and culture shock coming back.
"I returned to JFK [airport in New York] just as the man was trampled to death by Wal-Mart shoppers. When I contrasted that to where I just came from, it brought me to tears," Williams said.
Williams hopes to continue traveling and wants to visit Greece.
