Despite what it looks like, education is not a family affair. But still, Ghislaine ? yet pronounced ?Guylaine? ? and Christina both share the same passion for teaching. The two sisters also share the vision that teachers should be able to use original and creative ways of teaching something. This is actually what they are both aiming at through their professions ? each in their own country of residence. Although they lead their career separately in Spain and England, they however manage to find time to help pupils better communicate in English ? like they are doing at the moment in Mauritius with teachers of the Bureau of Catholic Education (BEC).

?And guess who is part of their family contacts here in Mauritius? He answered to the question himself when he introduced the ?two beautiful flowers on which he hopes to produce the BEC teachers? honey.?

All this seems a bit complicated. Two sisters not living in the same country, both of Mauritian origin, working in different areas of teaching but being able to collaborate at some points in time? Well, let?s start everything again!

Ghislaine and Christina were born in England from what they call a ?mixed family?. ?Our father, a Mauritian, left his native country for England to go to university in Oxford thanks to a scholarship he obtained. This is where he met my mother and decided to settle in England,? explains Christina.

So both sisters were born in London with one-year difference ? Christina points out she is the younger ? and came back to Mauritius only when they were 16 and 17 years old. ?We were completely overwhelmed to meet the enormous family we had here. Actually the whole family of our father had stayed here and we hardly knew them,? relates Christina. ?It also helped us to understand our father much better.?

As the result of a mixed family born in England they travelled a lot before settling in Spain for Christina and in London for Ghislaine, is it still possible to feel (at least partly) Mauritian? ?We definitely have very strong roots, as Mauritius is part of us. And we just find it a fascinating place,? comments Ghislaine. What particularly fascinated Ghislaine when she came to Mauritius the first time was the ?light and colours? of the country ? that she considered miles away from England.

Is this the main reason that led them to hold a workshop here with the Bureau of Catholic Education (BEC)? ?Absolutely! This was one of our greatest motivations to come because we wanted to see how the education sector in Mauritius was? But our family contacts also played an important role in their professional trip in Mauritius,? says Ghislaine.

And guess who is part of their family contacts here? He answered to the question himself when he introduced the ?two beautiful flowers on which he hopes to produce the BEC teachers? honey?. This is how he started. ?You might be wondering how these two ladies just arrived at the BEC with their expertise in teaching to try and help us find a few answers to the challenges the education sector is facing. Well, I have known both of them since I was a child when I used to go and see my uncle in England ? my mother?s brother,? recalls bishop Maurice Piat.

So, education is no family affair, it can at least be noticed that three members of the same family have developed a particular interest in it. And during the two-week workshop, both of them will try and pass on that interest and passion to teachers of schools under the aegis of BEC. The two training courses will aim at using pictures to learn.

The experience of Ghislaine, as a teacher or in gallery education and now as a freelance arts education consultant, will certainly help teachers understand how art can be useful to learning. As for Christina, who admits she started her career ?by accident? but she has since then fallen in love with her career as an English teacher and teacher trainer in Spain for years followed by her experience in writing course books for Oxford University Press will undeniably be of great interest for teachers willing to learn.

Ghislaine will show them how the use of works of arts can help pupils communicate in English and learn a lot more about history, science or art, while Christina will lead practical sessions to help teachers get their pupils to express themselves in English.

Now that both have acquired some knowledge of the needs and issues of the sector, they feel even more interest in coming back regularly. ?The last time I came here was a year and a half ago? But, before that, I had not come back for 30 years. So when I came back a year ago, I promised one of my aunts that I would be back very soon? And I kept my promise because I could not imagine remaining30 more years without coming back. Now we feel even more determined to carry on with what we are doing and do more work,? says Christina.