Ah this weekend was amazing! I officially survived mountain biking, which is a major accomplishment for myself. The scenery was breathtaking. After biking for 8 miles, we hiked to see caves and lakes that made Uganda seem like the most beautiful country in the world. I learned about how the lakes were formed and the view from the top of the massive hill made every second of the hike worth it.
Last week we went on multiple home visits to microfinance beneficiaries and also people part of the Heifer project which was very exciting and interesting. It was amazing to see how the businesses and farming of each beneficiary is growing and developing. Everyone we go see is very welcoming and its fascinating to see how a little money can change their lives. It has been by far the most rewarding part of working here so far and i am very excited to meet with more people and visit their homes this week.
:)
Monday, June 21, 2010
Sunday, June 20, 2010
KWDT, kampala update
This week marks our fourth week working for Katosi Woment Development Trust! By the end of this week, we will only have one month left. Crazy!!
So far I've worked on worked on filling on grant applications and doing some editing and research here in the office. On days we don't have internet or electricity, I read past annual reports and project summaries to try and get a better background on the various successes and challenges that KWDT has to cope with. Here's a sampling of some of the grants I've written for domestic rain water harvesting programs,
- Germany International Climate Change Initiative
- DFID Development Innovation Fund
- Japan Embassy (GGP) Grassroots
- Pepsi Co. Foundation
- Mama Cash
- Rockefeller Foundation
This week, it's back to more grant research and also officially starting my intern project! On Tuesday, KWDT is holding a follow-up leadership meeting for all the leaders among the women's groups. I plan on giving a presentation on essential leadership skills and conducting an activity to re-enforce cooperation among leaders instead of competition. I am also donating three bio-sand filters using my internship funds and presenting them to the best three leaders in the community. The criteria for selection is based on nominations from other leaders, book-keeping skills and commitment to projects. I'll post an update later in the week with how the conference goes!
In July, I hope to go out to the Katosi field site for a few days to help build a bio-sand filter with some of the women construction masons and visit a hygiene and sanitation club at one of the schools in Katosi.
Side note:
There are a ridiculous amount of bananas available in Uganda. I really don't know if I'm ever going to eat bananas again once I get home. I don't even want to know the nutritional facts for a banana, because I eat at least 5 a day (when I say at least…I mean, it's more like I eat 7-8)
Here's a small sampling of the types of bananas available:
- Matooke (steamed and mashed bananas), served literally every day. Sometimes twice a day.
- Small sweet bananas
- Large "normal" bananas
- Medium sized yellow bananas (sorry im not a banana expert, I don’t know the technical names for all of these)
- Roasted plantains (I actually LOVE these)
- Steamed plantains (I was only given one bite of these, and it was torture. I wanted to eat 3 full servings)
I've heard there are sweet potatoes here (love those), but I have yet to see/eat one. I may shout for joy and buy 10 if I ever see them at one of the produce stands near our house.
Scarlet and I are experimenting with different things to cook for breakfast and dinner, maybe sweet potatoes should be our next mission!
So far I've worked on worked on filling on grant applications and doing some editing and research here in the office. On days we don't have internet or electricity, I read past annual reports and project summaries to try and get a better background on the various successes and challenges that KWDT has to cope with. Here's a sampling of some of the grants I've written for domestic rain water harvesting programs,
- Germany International Climate Change Initiative
- DFID Development Innovation Fund
- Japan Embassy (GGP) Grassroots
- Pepsi Co. Foundation
- Mama Cash
- Rockefeller Foundation
This week, it's back to more grant research and also officially starting my intern project! On Tuesday, KWDT is holding a follow-up leadership meeting for all the leaders among the women's groups. I plan on giving a presentation on essential leadership skills and conducting an activity to re-enforce cooperation among leaders instead of competition. I am also donating three bio-sand filters using my internship funds and presenting them to the best three leaders in the community. The criteria for selection is based on nominations from other leaders, book-keeping skills and commitment to projects. I'll post an update later in the week with how the conference goes!
In July, I hope to go out to the Katosi field site for a few days to help build a bio-sand filter with some of the women construction masons and visit a hygiene and sanitation club at one of the schools in Katosi.
Side note:
There are a ridiculous amount of bananas available in Uganda. I really don't know if I'm ever going to eat bananas again once I get home. I don't even want to know the nutritional facts for a banana, because I eat at least 5 a day (when I say at least…I mean, it's more like I eat 7-8)
Here's a small sampling of the types of bananas available:
- Matooke (steamed and mashed bananas), served literally every day. Sometimes twice a day.
- Small sweet bananas
- Large "normal" bananas
- Medium sized yellow bananas (sorry im not a banana expert, I don’t know the technical names for all of these)
- Roasted plantains (I actually LOVE these)
- Steamed plantains (I was only given one bite of these, and it was torture. I wanted to eat 3 full servings)
I've heard there are sweet potatoes here (love those), but I have yet to see/eat one. I may shout for joy and buy 10 if I ever see them at one of the produce stands near our house.
Scarlet and I are experimenting with different things to cook for breakfast and dinner, maybe sweet potatoes should be our next mission!
Real World: Katosi
WOW- it's officially been 4 weeks since I left the US!!
It's strange, because though time isn't flying by, I still have a hard time believing it's been so long! Seven of the nine interns travelled to Fort Portal this weekend to do a little hiking and further sight seeing of Uganda! Fort Portal is a small but incredibly beautiful town surrounded my tea plantations and with the Rwenzori mountains as a backdrop. We got there in time to watch the US-Solvenia match at a mzungu bar with a few other fellow US travellers. Disappointing game but they had pizza where we watched it and that made up for any hard feelings. I'm finding the hardest thing in Uganda for me is the lack of cheese...you can't find it ANYWHERE!!! We also went mountain biking (on bikes circa 1980) to the caves and crater lakes and that was breath taking!
As for the internship- I'm meeting with the Katosi-Kampala staff Tuesday and possibly Thursday to discuss my intern project and what I'll be doing the remaining 5 weeks! I've pretty much settled into a routine of teaching M/W at St. John Bosco primary school (where there is now a grand total of 5 mzungus volunteering!!!) and excited to start a sanitation club there this week! W/Th I work with the Katosi c/u Primary school sanitation club and sports clubs- hoping to start a clean water project (that I learned about via a National Geographic magazine my uncle gave me the day before I left- thanks Uncle Ellis!!) this week as well!
Can't believe we're getting close to July! Hope everything stateside is well, with love from Uganda!
Avery
It's strange, because though time isn't flying by, I still have a hard time believing it's been so long! Seven of the nine interns travelled to Fort Portal this weekend to do a little hiking and further sight seeing of Uganda! Fort Portal is a small but incredibly beautiful town surrounded my tea plantations and with the Rwenzori mountains as a backdrop. We got there in time to watch the US-Solvenia match at a mzungu bar with a few other fellow US travellers. Disappointing game but they had pizza where we watched it and that made up for any hard feelings. I'm finding the hardest thing in Uganda for me is the lack of cheese...you can't find it ANYWHERE!!! We also went mountain biking (on bikes circa 1980) to the caves and crater lakes and that was breath taking!
As for the internship- I'm meeting with the Katosi-Kampala staff Tuesday and possibly Thursday to discuss my intern project and what I'll be doing the remaining 5 weeks! I've pretty much settled into a routine of teaching M/W at St. John Bosco primary school (where there is now a grand total of 5 mzungus volunteering!!!) and excited to start a sanitation club there this week! W/Th I work with the Katosi c/u Primary school sanitation club and sports clubs- hoping to start a clean water project (that I learned about via a National Geographic magazine my uncle gave me the day before I left- thanks Uncle Ellis!!) this week as well!
Can't believe we're getting close to July! Hope everything stateside is well, with love from Uganda!
Avery
Monday, June 14, 2010
traditional ugandan engagement ceremony
This weekend, Scarlet, Colleen and I got to experience a traditional Ugandan "introduction" ceremony. The basis of this ceremony is that the bride is introducing her fiancé to her family and asking formal permission from her father to approve him as her husband, but it is so so so much more than that.
While this is a traditional ceremony that is supposed to happen before all marriages, not many couples in Uganda still participate, so when one actually occurs, it's a huge deal. There are no American celebrations that I can really compare this too, because it is essentially the proposal, engagement party, and wedding reception all rolled into one (although, Ugandans also throw a big wedding reception after the wedding ceremony).
The celebration is a weekend-long affair, with members of the bride's and groom's family travelling across the country for this special day. Preparations begin days in advance with tents set up, chairs brought in, hundreds of pounds of matooke and rice and beef and chicken prepared for hundreds of people, traditional dresses bought and ironed and women getting all "done-up" in the salon. We arrived in Mubende on Friday evening and went straight to the home of the bride's family, where the celebration was to be held. The bride happens to be the niece of Margaret, my boss for the summer, and she invited Scarlet, Colleen and me along with her to take part in the ceremony. As soon as we arrived, we were greeted by our guests and met the bride's father, some more aunts, brothers, sisters, cousins, and many others who I can't remember. We were then officially accepted as part of the bridal party and told we would be participating in the next day's events. At this point, I was not aware that our status at the party was to be the ultimate in VIP (I think we may have stolen the spotlight from the groom's family). Before we left, we took some pictures of the preparations and of the cow that was about to be slaughtered for the next day's ceremony.
We stayed at a hotel on the side of a hill overlooking Mubende and had a beautiful view of the valley on Saturday morning as we ate our breakfast on the porch. Our escort, George, drove us to the top of the hill after breakfast to see the Nakuyima shrine, an ancient spiritual tree that people journey to for prayer and celebration.
After, we went back to iron our gomessi (the traditional Ugandan dress that most women wear here daily) and to prepare for the ceremony. We had some trouble getting the dresses on correctly, but when we arrived at the bride's house around noon, every woman there wanted to help us fix them. In all their eagerness to help, my dress was untied and re-tied at least 10 times. This may have done more harm than good, but everyone was so excited to see three "mzungu" in gomessi that I don't think they could help themselves. Everyone kept saying "you look so smart, you look so smart!"
The ceremony lasted for about 8 hours.
All of the bride's family arrived first and sat under one of the large tents. The important fathers (taatas) of the family sat under a smaller tent in the middle and across from the bride's tent was another tent set up for the groom's family. The ceremony officially begins when the groom's family arrives. They all line up outside of the tents on the other side a decorated arch with a ribbon stretched across. Before they enter, they are formally greeted by the bride's family. As the VIP, we were asked to go and greet the guests. We walked up the red carpet to the archway and I was handed a microphone. Luckily, I practiced the traditional greeting repeatively the night before;
"Tusanyuse okubalaba bassebbo. Tusanyuse okubalaba banyabo. Eladde bassebo. Eladde banyabo. "
Rough translation: "We welcome you gentlmen. We welcome you ladies. How are you gentlemen? How are you ladies?"
The groom's family was more than surprised and delighted to have been greeted in the traditional Ugandan way by a mzungu. They then cut the ribbon, and the grooms family processed down the red-carpet to their tent. For the next couple of hours, the groom's family was greeted by various members of bride's family. Men in traditional tunics and women in gomessi danced out to ugandan music, kneeled before the family, and repeated the greeting I wrote above. We also got to participate in this and danced out with all the other daughters of the family to kneel before our guests and formally greet them. ( I say all the "other" daughters, because scarlet, colleen and I are now officially daughters of the bride's family, which was confirmed on Sunday when we were toted around the small village where margaret's entire extended family lives)
The there was much presenting of gifts, and joking between the two emcees (one for the bride's family and one for the groom's family) as they built up to the identification of the groom (done by the "Auntie of honor", margaret) and the presentation of the bride. After the bride (Joannie) and groom (Godfrey) were "identified" (it's clear who each is, but each party pretends they don't know) with a bouquet of flowers and a boutonniere, the bride then formally presented her fiancé to father. He accepted, naturally, and there was much rejoicing as the groom's family all went out to their cards to retrieve the gifts.
Godfrey's (the groom) family then re-entered with hundreds of gifts for the bride's parents to show their appreciation for the father's approval of Godfrey. The gifts included but were not limited to: pineapples, melons, tobacco leaves, cooking products, coffee, sugar, bread, pictures, personal gifts, two chickens, a cow's leg, a suitcase, a bull, and kitchen cabinet set. All of these gifts were then presented formally to the bride's parents as we sat and watched.
After the gifts, dinner was served to all the guests. Delicious matooke and yams, white rice, brown rice, beef stew, pineapple, fried irish potatoes, and kale. All types of soda in glass bottles were available and guests ate and laughed in the glow of the evening sunset.
We took a short walk after dinner to "make room in our stomachs", as George said, and then returned to watch the formal proposal between Joannie and Godfrey and the presenting of the rings as they placed a "permanent mark" on each other. Then small fireworks (yes, fireworks) were lit on the cake before it was cut and distributed among the guests. The groom's family then processed out and congratulated the couple as they left. With the formal ceremony over, the after-party began soon after with dancing and laughing and rejoicing among the bride's guests.
The dancing went on all through the night and we crashed in our bed's late at night, exhausted, full and happy.
Before we headed home on Sunday, we made the rounds in Margaret's family's small village to greet all her family members. We were served tea (with milk) and steamed maize at her father's, given avocado's at her mother's, and received warmly everywhere we went. Everyone seemed excited to meet the Mzungu's who had been at the party the day before. Our final stop was the bride's family's home, where we stayed and talked for a while before we said our final goodbyes.
We packed the car full of gifts and leftovers from the party. After a three hour journey home to Kampala along some paved roads, some shambly roads, and some not-really-roads-at-all, I took my backpack out of the trunk only to find it covered in fresh cow's blood from a bag of meat that Margaret had brought home from the slaughtered cow.
No better way to end a traditional Ugandan weekend than with a little cow's blood on your belongings.
All in all, a great success.
Saturday, June 12, 2010
Are You Ugandan??
Uganda is amazing, but the sun is something serious. We are right near the equater so the beams are so intense. Its not muggy and unbearable here like it is back home sometimes but I am actually about 5 shades darker already. I have really bad tan lines on my feet from my sandals. Its actually hilarious.
The kids at the orphanage are so freakin adorable. There is this one kid that was abandoned from Kenya that came a couple of days ago named Oweeno. He is about two years old. He has started to warm up to everyone and had the most adorable smile ever. I am seriously going to ask my mom to consider adopting him. Anyway, I am teaching Primary 6 which is like 5 th grade English and Creative writing. Its kind of a struggle because they are so far behind and its hard for them to understand English with an American accent. I am making it work though. Thursday I taught them how to count to 10 in Spanish during the last few minutes of class and they loved it. It was like the first time I actually enjoyed Spanish. Our living situation has been interesting. At first we were living in this small hotel room. We had to move out quick because of the previous reason and it would cost way to much to stay there for the entire summer. So we found a house and rented it for about 150 dollards for the whole summer. Its pretty nice and it was just built. We're basically living large in Uganda....NOT. The day after we moved in we lost electricity,which in Busia, that means we also loose water. I was the saddest. Total darkness for 3 days, we had to bathe in bucket. I was mortified. I have learned that I am a bit of a diva when it comes to things like this. BUT, I will say that out of all my friends, Im the only one who could probably survive it. We get our meals from the directors house where these two funny women named Olivia and Faith are the housemaids that cook. I really enjoy them. There are acually alot of Ugandans and Americans our age in Busia who we get to hang out with. There are like 5 interns from Harvard and 2 from other schools. So thats pretty cool. Most Ugandans are really kind but I do get tired of people blatabntly staring at me everywhere I go. Its not rude to stare here like it is in America. Me and Jamila took a weekend trip to Jinja this weekend to meet up with some of the other interns in Uganda. They are absolutely hilarious/crazy. We just got back from a boat cruise on Lake Victoria and saw the source of the Nile River! The guy driving the boat asked me was I from Uganda. I told him, no I from the U.S. when in actuality, being an African American, I really dont know where I originally came from. I could possible be from "western Uganda." He said I favor the Mbarara people. Interesting to say the least. Last night we went clubbing. The club was nice but the music was horrible. All they played was like some bad 80s music. The club we went to in Kampala the first week here was 20 times better. I would really like to stay another night but we promised the kids at the orphanage we would be back for church tomorrow since we didnt go last week. Im cool with that though because we are going on a safari in like two weeks with the other interns!!! yay.
Finally an update from me (Jamila)
Hey all. Sorry for the lack of updates-- internet access in Busia is really shady.
Here's basically a run down of my life:
Miranda and I rented a house not too far (about five blocks) from the Orphanage. There are two rooms (a "sitting" room and a "bedroom") and one bathroom. We are paying 500,000 shillings for two months, which is a little over 200 dollars. Not too bad for two people!
We eat breakfast at our house (bread with butter/bread with peanut butter and tea/coffee) or at our director (Ken)'s house.
I teach P5 (4th grade) English at New Hope. It's really frustrating because the teachers dont seem to care that much about the students, basically--and the kids are all really behind on everything. To be promoted to the next level they only need like, 30% correct on their final exams...so needless to say, they're all at the base level in all subjects. My class has 18 kids, ages 13-15. The school system here is different, explaining the ages.
Miranda and I eat lunch at Ken (director of New Hope)'s house everyday at 1pm. We have the same thing (more or less) each day- rice, beans, meat, chapati (delicious fried bread item), avocado, sweet potato, regular potato. We have the same thing for dinner most days, too. On good days we'll have pineapple or fish (or spaghetti!). They also make this BANGING passion fruit juice. What? Delicious.
In between teaching I hang out at the orphanage and play with the kids or talk to the older orphans. The youngest is 2, the oldest is about 20. They're all the best. There is a 2 year old named Joseph (I die with joy) who is getting adopted by a very white, blonde, rich young couple in Kansas (along with Matthew- the most hilarious divaest of diva babies).
There's no cold water (or ice, for that matter). I lather myself in sunscreen and mosquito repellant daily, which is actually kind of gross. My feet are perpetually covered in foreign muck.
We met up with the other volunteers from UNC this weekend to watch the opening games of the world cup. I personally dont give a what about sports, but it was kind of cool to be in AFRICA watching the world cup take place in AFRICA, you know? Today we took a boat ride in Lake Victoria and then to the source of the NILE RIVER. The circle of life type stuff. It was cool.
Random Uganda tidbit: There are goats everywhere. And chickens. "Free Range" has a whole new meaning here. Also, Every morning at 5am we hear the Muslims chanting (through their literal loudspeakers) to wake up the entire town and call everyone to the first prayer of the day. Awesome.
We were without power or water for three days last week and it was guaranteed my lowest of lows. You don't know "roughing it" until you've washed your underwear in a basin in the bathroom and then hung it beneath your mosquito net. Cute. TMI? Blame Africa.
Miranda and I rented a house not too far (about five blocks) from the Orphanage. There are two rooms (a "sitting" room and a "bedroom") and one bathroom. We are paying 500,000 shillings for two months, which is a little over 200 dollars. Not too bad for two people!
We eat breakfast at our house (bread with butter/bread with peanut butter and tea/coffee) or at our director (Ken)'s house.
I teach P5 (4th grade) English at New Hope. It's really frustrating because the teachers dont seem to care that much about the students, basically--and the kids are all really behind on everything. To be promoted to the next level they only need like, 30% correct on their final exams...so needless to say, they're all at the base level in all subjects. My class has 18 kids, ages 13-15. The school system here is different, explaining the ages.
Miranda and I eat lunch at Ken (director of New Hope)'s house everyday at 1pm. We have the same thing (more or less) each day- rice, beans, meat, chapati (delicious fried bread item), avocado, sweet potato, regular potato. We have the same thing for dinner most days, too. On good days we'll have pineapple or fish (or spaghetti!). They also make this BANGING passion fruit juice. What? Delicious.
In between teaching I hang out at the orphanage and play with the kids or talk to the older orphans. The youngest is 2, the oldest is about 20. They're all the best. There is a 2 year old named Joseph (I die with joy) who is getting adopted by a very white, blonde, rich young couple in Kansas (along with Matthew- the most hilarious divaest of diva babies).
There's no cold water (or ice, for that matter). I lather myself in sunscreen and mosquito repellant daily, which is actually kind of gross. My feet are perpetually covered in foreign muck.
We met up with the other volunteers from UNC this weekend to watch the opening games of the world cup. I personally dont give a what about sports, but it was kind of cool to be in AFRICA watching the world cup take place in AFRICA, you know? Today we took a boat ride in Lake Victoria and then to the source of the NILE RIVER. The circle of life type stuff. It was cool.
Random Uganda tidbit: There are goats everywhere. And chickens. "Free Range" has a whole new meaning here. Also, Every morning at 5am we hear the Muslims chanting (through their literal loudspeakers) to wake up the entire town and call everyone to the first prayer of the day. Awesome.
We were without power or water for three days last week and it was guaranteed my lowest of lows. You don't know "roughing it" until you've washed your underwear in a basin in the bathroom and then hung it beneath your mosquito net. Cute. TMI? Blame Africa.
Until next time.
Friday, June 11, 2010
St. John Bosco
This past week in uganda has been awesome!
Avery and I started to get more involved in the community, especially in the schools. Every monday and wednesday, we spend half a day (which actually ends up being about six hours) teaching at the primary school called St. Johnny Bosco that is about an hour walk from Katosi. We have been teaching together in the 4th grade classroom everyday so far, and I think that is working well because even though we are only working with one class, i think we are much more effective together (teaching is harder than I thought, especially because i am not the best at explaining things, haha). The way they teach here in Uganda is a little different in the US, especially because the schools pretty much have NO access to resources. There is a chalkboard in every room, rows of benches (the kids have to kneel on the dirt ground and use the bench as a table when they are taking a test), no electricity or water, and each kid only has one notebook. Each teacher only has one or two workbooks that they can teach out of, and apparently all the teachers at St Johnny bosco are volunteers (very dedicated ones!). So basically in order to learn something, the teacher says a sentence to the class, and then repeats part of the sentence again and the students finish it. Like for example, in one social studies lesson we watched, the teacher said "ok class, the advantages of a nuclear family are that children are more likely to have access to basic needs." and then he repeated "the advantages of a nuclear family are that children are more likely to have access to basic what?" and then the class said "basic needs!" in unison. Even though it is hard to tell if the kids are actually learning the meaning of some things as opposed to simply repeating what the teacher says, I think it is the best option they have. It is also slightly funny, one of the other interns said she went to a conference on domestic violence, and at the beginning the leader said "So today we are going to discuss domestic violence. Today we are going to discuss domestic what?" and then everyone repeated "domestic violence!" That just seems a little ridiculous, but baller nonetheless! (especially since the women here clearly work to empower each other).
Anyway, so the yesterday at St. Johnny bosco, we taught math and social studies (which was more like geography because we were learning about physical features of Uganda, yay!!). Then, when the kids were looking a bit bored, we decided it was time for physical education so we went outside and played duck duck goose. They had never played before, so it took awhile to get started, but they absolutely LOVED it. I think they thought it was cool because it gave them an excuse to chase each other, haha. and I am pretty sure they were saying "dog dog goose" instead of duck duck goose, but hey, that works too!! I also brought out my frisbee, and I showed them how to throw it around for a few minutes! they were sooo excited, i felt like i was throwing a bouquet at a wedding because they all crowded in front of me and when i threw it they would scream in their little high pitched voices and all try to catch it! then i had to go inside for something, and when i came back it had been broken into two pieces! but luckily i brought like five, haha.
I am also helping the peace corps volunteer build a community garden at another primary school. I am going to learn how it works and everything, and then I am going to introduce the idea to st. Johnny bosco. I think it would be cool because it will help the kids work together and also give them some extra food to eat at lunch. right now, the school can only provide them with pourage (i have no idea how to spell that word haha). You can plant cabbage, carrots, tomatoes and things like that in key hole gardens, and you use compost and dirty water and things like that to make the plants grow. I also might have each class come up with a mural design to paint in their class rooms! a lot of schools and buildings have murals, but st johnny bosco just opened, so it does not have any yet.
I also have some other projects that I want to do, although they all may not actually work out. but anyway, I am going to host a kickball tournament at one school, and at another I am going to teach the kids how to play field hockey! The headmaster asked me what my favorite sport was, and i told him field hockey but i didnt think i could teach them because I did not bring any sticks! but he said, "we can MAKE field hockey sticks!!" so I guess that is what we shall do!...perhaps out of dead trees?? hahaha, we will see.
And I am going to talk to Katosi's town clerk on thursday, because I heard he wished there was a map of Katosi!....I am going to see if he wants me to try to make one (which is perfect, seeing as how I love maps!) I do not know how that will work, but i think any map is better than nothing.
Anyway, I think everything is going well, even though it is still going slowly. But last night when I went to buy an egg, I ran into the headmaster of St Johnny bosco. He was not at school yesterday, but he said the teachers told him Avery and I were really good teachers, and that they want us to come back as much as we can. It felt good to hear that!!
Avery and I started to get more involved in the community, especially in the schools. Every monday and wednesday, we spend half a day (which actually ends up being about six hours) teaching at the primary school called St. Johnny Bosco that is about an hour walk from Katosi. We have been teaching together in the 4th grade classroom everyday so far, and I think that is working well because even though we are only working with one class, i think we are much more effective together (teaching is harder than I thought, especially because i am not the best at explaining things, haha). The way they teach here in Uganda is a little different in the US, especially because the schools pretty much have NO access to resources. There is a chalkboard in every room, rows of benches (the kids have to kneel on the dirt ground and use the bench as a table when they are taking a test), no electricity or water, and each kid only has one notebook. Each teacher only has one or two workbooks that they can teach out of, and apparently all the teachers at St Johnny bosco are volunteers (very dedicated ones!). So basically in order to learn something, the teacher says a sentence to the class, and then repeats part of the sentence again and the students finish it. Like for example, in one social studies lesson we watched, the teacher said "ok class, the advantages of a nuclear family are that children are more likely to have access to basic needs." and then he repeated "the advantages of a nuclear family are that children are more likely to have access to basic what?" and then the class said "basic needs!" in unison. Even though it is hard to tell if the kids are actually learning the meaning of some things as opposed to simply repeating what the teacher says, I think it is the best option they have. It is also slightly funny, one of the other interns said she went to a conference on domestic violence, and at the beginning the leader said "So today we are going to discuss domestic violence. Today we are going to discuss domestic what?" and then everyone repeated "domestic violence!" That just seems a little ridiculous, but baller nonetheless! (especially since the women here clearly work to empower each other).
Anyway, so the yesterday at St. Johnny bosco, we taught math and social studies (which was more like geography because we were learning about physical features of Uganda, yay!!). Then, when the kids were looking a bit bored, we decided it was time for physical education so we went outside and played duck duck goose. They had never played before, so it took awhile to get started, but they absolutely LOVED it. I think they thought it was cool because it gave them an excuse to chase each other, haha. and I am pretty sure they were saying "dog dog goose" instead of duck duck goose, but hey, that works too!! I also brought out my frisbee, and I showed them how to throw it around for a few minutes! they were sooo excited, i felt like i was throwing a bouquet at a wedding because they all crowded in front of me and when i threw it they would scream in their little high pitched voices and all try to catch it! then i had to go inside for something, and when i came back it had been broken into two pieces! but luckily i brought like five, haha.
I am also helping the peace corps volunteer build a community garden at another primary school. I am going to learn how it works and everything, and then I am going to introduce the idea to st. Johnny bosco. I think it would be cool because it will help the kids work together and also give them some extra food to eat at lunch. right now, the school can only provide them with pourage (i have no idea how to spell that word haha). You can plant cabbage, carrots, tomatoes and things like that in key hole gardens, and you use compost and dirty water and things like that to make the plants grow. I also might have each class come up with a mural design to paint in their class rooms! a lot of schools and buildings have murals, but st johnny bosco just opened, so it does not have any yet.
I also have some other projects that I want to do, although they all may not actually work out. but anyway, I am going to host a kickball tournament at one school, and at another I am going to teach the kids how to play field hockey! The headmaster asked me what my favorite sport was, and i told him field hockey but i didnt think i could teach them because I did not bring any sticks! but he said, "we can MAKE field hockey sticks!!" so I guess that is what we shall do!...perhaps out of dead trees?? hahaha, we will see.
And I am going to talk to Katosi's town clerk on thursday, because I heard he wished there was a map of Katosi!....I am going to see if he wants me to try to make one (which is perfect, seeing as how I love maps!) I do not know how that will work, but i think any map is better than nothing.
Anyway, I think everything is going well, even though it is still going slowly. But last night when I went to buy an egg, I ran into the headmaster of St Johnny bosco. He was not at school yesterday, but he said the teachers told him Avery and I were really good teachers, and that they want us to come back as much as we can. It felt good to hear that!!
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