?Almost all the staff has been converted.? Odile Charoux, the director of studies at DCDM Business School, is happy to see how the teachers and students of DCDM BS are committed to the pupils of Guy Rozemont primary school in Tranquebar. The project was launched only three weeks ago and the number of volunteers has kept growing. And, according to the children?s reaction, it seems to be having a great deal of success.

From Monday to Thursday, teachers and students of DCDM BS work hard every afternoon to bring something different to pupils of Standards V, VI and repeaters. About 70 children stay after school hours for that little extra time, extra attention and affection but also for those tips on learning that teachers may not have had the time to offer.

Hands-on activities

The programme of activities has been carefully planned so that one hour is devoted to homework or in-depth work on what has been taught during the day ? in French, Maths, English, History and Geography ? and another to specialised activities like art, drama, dance and sports just to mention a few. ?To mark the transition between the end of formal school and the beginning of the activities, an afternoon snack is served to members of the club everyday,? explains Odile Charoux.

?The idea is to have hands-on activities to keep these children busy. But we also aim at helping some of them to catch up with work in the classroom by giving them back the basics through fun and practical activities,? says Anushka Coy, the project manager. About 15 volunteers ? not the same every day because of their own timetables ? go there every day to try and give those children some self-confidence and motivation to learn. They have called it the ?Club des Grands?.

This is actually not the first project organised by DCDM with this ZEP school. The ?partnership? started four years ago when the Joint Economic Council (JEC) launched the idea that each company should take one of the ZEP schools in charge. DCDM chose this particular school because they thought they could bring a lot to it, as it had only a 27% pass rate. During the first years, they helped the children on a one-to-one basis but this did not bring the results expected and the managers of DCDM BS ?felt a bit discouraged?? until they came up with the concept of the after-care centre.

?I knew it worked so well in other countries like Britain or Australia so I wanted to try it in Mauritius,? explains Odile Charoux. Even though she admits that she did not sleep much the nights before the project was implemented ? ?I did not know if we would have enough resources to launch the project? ? she has no regrets now. ?Thanks for forcing me,? she says to some DCDM students who have been there since the beginning of the ZEP project and would stop for nothing in the world now.

For Kamlesh for instance, ?We have learnt so much from them. When I went to Tranquebar the first time, I felt as if I was in a different country. These children are so innocent and they just need some attention and affection to succeed? And it is so rewarding when your first ?pupil? recognises you four years later, telling his fellows that you have been friends for years.?

Shailanaz, one of the pioneers, feels so proud when children come and tell her that they love her; ?I feel I have been able to give them a little something.? Shabneez started being involved in the project three years ago. ?Many of them do not even know how to spell their names but they are really keen on learning. They make a lot of effort.?

Akshay Servansingh, a DCDM student who teaches children karate, is happy to see that the children ?like it and learn very quickly. They are always keen to move on?. Ando, who comes from Madagascar where she was a champion basketball player, became involved in the project because she was curious to see how things are in Mauritius. ?But problems may be even more serious in Madagascar and I hope to be able to encourage people to start such projects there as well,? she adds.

Anushka Coy agrees that these children only need some more care to feel comfortable at school and learn better. ?We are able to give them that little extra attention because we provide our courses or activities in small groups. There is one teacher for approximately four pupils. What we actually want to do is to do complementary work with one of the teachers everyday so that children benefit fully from both sides.? This is where the role of Micheline Nelson becomes so important, as she is responsible for liasing between the school and DCDM teachers.

The programme of activities is jointly prepared by Tina, a teacher in children?s services certificate and diploma at DCDM BS, Anushka Coy and Odile Charoux. The project is supposed to last until October but ?we really hope to be able to go further with it,? says Anushka. DCDM BS hopes to help the whole community of Tranquebar in the future with special activities for more children as well as for parents. Parental education, cooking courses are among the ideas in the pipeline? All sponsors are welcome.