LEGO Fun in COBET

One of the gifts sent out by Galway Education Centre this summer was a huge box of LEGO. Sr. Annette decided to start a Saturday building club in the COBET project. While preparing the LEGO for the first session, dividing it into boxes etc, I discovered that LEGO had never been seen before in Mbagala. The Tanzanian nuns, the teachers (primary and secondary) all expressed amazement at the colourful interlocking blocks. 
I got a bit worried myself and set about making examples for the pupils to see. As the COBET children speak Swahili and have very little English, I wouldn't be able to explain very well what they could make with the LEGO.

The first LEGO Saturday dawned and at 9am 14 kids and a teacher waited for me. The pupils were all in uniform and had been chosen by the principal as inventive children who could be good construction.
I showed them the samples I had made and then showed them the LEGO pieces. Through their teacher translating into Swahili I asked them to make a vehicle and off they went to work.

I have never worked with a quieter, more engrossed set of students. There wasn't a sound for two solid hours. I thought the two hours set aside for the workshop was too long and that I would have to break it up with activities. Not a hope!
These kids were intent on making their vehicles and trying every tiny piece of LEGO. It was amazing to see what they came up with.

After two hours of LEGO making, only interrupted by my insistence of photographs, we all gathered around a table to play "Sinking Ship", a board game also donated by the Galway Education Centre. Needless to say, the children had not much experience playing board games and they seemed to really enjoy this type of concentration game.
Finally I had to choose the best vehicle and pictured below is the winner with her prize of the Sinking Ship board game.