During the week of April 14- 20, ETA Gordon “Peter” Bensen was able to wrap up his two final Community Engagement Projects for the year. Throughout the end of March and beginning of April, Peter recorded himself reading 20 Children’s English books that had been sent to his school, MAN 1 Kota Payakumbuh, by the Darien Book Aid (and some from his family). He also scanned the pages from each book and loaded nine flash drives with the 20 recording/scan pairs. Eight flash drives now reside in his school’s library for their use, while one will be given to AMINEF to provide for future ETA’s to add to or use at their respective sites.

On April 16-18, Peter used the new materials with his 10th and 11th grade English clubs for a listening, fill-in the blank, activity that went well. On April 19, Peter concluded his Neighborhood Kid’s English Club by taking a number of the participants and their families on a local hike to some beautiful caves. They ate fried rice at the top of the mountain and spent the morning exploring. Peter taught English vocabulary as they hiked and enjoyed the morning sun. At the end of the day, Peter provided each of his six most committed students with folders of American oleh-oleh, pens, notebooks, candy, and more. It was a truly special way to finish off the year with a group of parents and children Peter has come to call his own family.

Gordon “Peter” Bensen is currently teaching at MAN 1 Payakumbuh, West Sumatra