The parents and students in attendance
Today is a public holiday. In fact around the world it is International Woman’s Day. I don’t think it is recognized so much in the USA.
ATEFO has selected fifty farmer groups in Bugiri district to receive intensified training. While ATEFO waits for additional funding to bring back the other trainers, Matthews and I will start on three of these groups. I wanted to do four or five, but Adams insisted on only three to start. We were supposed to go out Monday, but on Sunday Matthews learned he lost a 9 y.o. grandson to cancer, and the burial was Monday. Knowing that I have been anxious to start training again, he was willing to stay in Bugiri, but I said he should go to the burial. One more day won’t matter. So hopefully tomorrow we will finally get back out to the villages.
On Saturday, Matthews had requested me to speak to a meeting of parents and children of a school he is supporting in his home village near Kamuli. I had to take two taxis to get to Kamuli, where Matthews met me and then we took a borrowed motorcycle to the village. The taxis were slow, as they often are, constantly stopping to solicit passengers. I sat in Jinja for 45 minutes waiting for the taxi to Kamuli to fill up. By the time we got to the meeting we were an hour late. Being late is a Ugandan tradition but I didn’t want to add to it. Many had gone home, but there was still a nice size crowd when we arrived. The local LC-1 and town council chair were also there.
When we pulled up, they started up with a song to greet me. It really caught me off guard, and they did another chorus, led by Matthews, so I could film it. See it here. The women love to make those yelping sounds.
View from the front door
This village, like most, has a high level of poverty. So far, the school is only pre-school, then P-1, P-2 and P-3. If possible, a grade will be added each year. They are crammed into a very small building,
I think it used to be a home. Matthews says there is the need to accommodate 100 students at these ages, though many don’t go to school. While 100 students per classroom is pretty normal in Uganda, no way is this school large enough. Somehow they need to raise the funds to build more.
What can I say to these people? Essentially I tried to motivate them to cooperate together to overcome their challenges, and appreciate the efforts of supporters like Matthews. I discussed the importance of education, and in particular the importance of keeping their girls in school. I interacted with the children and encouraged them to obey their parents and appreciate the sacrifices they make to see that they get an education.
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Note the blackboard on the left
Another room, No blackboard here. Most of the benches were taken outside for our meeting.
Meowri is back to being feisty.
I encouraged the headmistress to add English to the curriculum. With 90 different dialects in Uganda, English is the common denominator that might help with their future mobility for jobs. World-wide, English is the “money language”. Simon’s children at my home stay were taking English lessons at the same primary level, including printing it. The village kids are behind in this regard, although just getting to go to school is a challenge.
I mentioned my own father attended a similar one room school house in Virginia Dale, Colorado (Another one room school house built on my pioneer ancestor’s homestead stands today at the Littleton Historical Museum. A few owners later, the Lilley homestead is now Columbine Country Club).
Back side of the school
I met a few of Matthews’ children at his home after the meeting. His daughter wears a Colorado T-shirt
My Aunt Shirley’s hand made stars up in Matthews’ ceiling. They will be Christmas ornaments next year.
Church under construction. Roofing tiles in the back.
I wasn’t particularly impressed with myself, but Matthews said later I was a big hit. I might represent a ‘great white hope” but securing the resources to improve the school is likely beyond my reach. It’s frustrating, but I have a few hundred farmers here in Bugiri I hope to boost in some small measure. On the plus side, there are couple of acres around the school which can be cultivated to provide nutrition to the students and income for the school. A permagarden can be dug out back and take water from the roof. I may go back to help Matthews dig it. I think Father Christmas will visit the kids too.
Before taking me back to Kamuli to get my taxi home, Matthews brought me by a nearby church under construction It is Seventh Day Adventist. Matthews is a pretty devout SDA, and also is supporting this construction (although not lately!). The walls are up but it still needs a roof. During rainy season, they use a tarp. I saw a pile of roofing tiles to install soon. The church was at least four times the size of the school. I struggle with this. In this village, should the church have the same or higher priority than the school? In my country there is a similar weighing of priorities. Citizens can choose to make a tax-deductible donations to support construction of Churches, and/or choose whether to vote for bonds to repair deteriorating schools or build more. Heaven and Education, both laudable goals, sometimes competing for scarce resources.