The public taxi park
Getting outfitted to go into the mosque
Nearing the top of the minaret
Kampala from the top of the minaret
A typical street in downtown Kampala
Sunday, June 30, 2013
Saturday in the City
Today we had our first big day visiting Kampala's major sights. We have spent so much time working that we haven't really had much time to explore! First we visited the Owino market which was quite the experience-stalls upon stalls of vendors enclosed in small dark alleys made from wood. We then made our way to the city's largest mosque (which was funded by Muammar Gaddafi) where I donned a hijab. We were able to climb up the minaret and from the top we could see Kampala from all directions-it was quite a sight. Moving on we visited a Sikh temple where they opened the temple just for us to see. Walking most of the way we were able to experience the hustle and bustle of daily life in Kampala. Everywhere there are vendors on the sidewalks, rushing motorcycles and people calling out their services for all to hear. By the time we got home we thought our feet might fall off, but there is still so much left for us to see before we leave.
Week One
It has been a great first week in Uganda! We are finally feeling settled. This week we volunteered at New Kabaale Busega Monday-Thursday and All Saints on Friday. We are planning on continuing this pattern for the next three weeks. There is so much need in the schools here and my only regret is that we can't stay longer!
New Kabaale Busega
We sang Twinkle Twinkle Little Star with the Primary 1 & 2 classes and then colored our own stars
All Saints
Coloring with the Pre-Schoolers
Sharing songs
Face painting with the pre-school
Mom playing with bubbles
Head, Shoulders, Knees and Toes
Nap Time for Pre-School!
Sharing a laugh with Ernest, a child who was permanently removed from his home because it was unsafe. He now lives with the All Saints foster mother year round. He is 2 and will start at All Saints in the next few years.
Doing activities with the All Saints Primary 1 class.
Tuesday, June 25, 2013
New Kabaale Busega
Today was our first day volunteering at New Kabaale Busega, the school where we will primarily be working for the next 4 weeks. New Kabaale, much like All Saints, has classes for students ranging from the nursery level to primary 7 (about 6th grade in the US). The school has about 500 students, and while the classrooms differ in size the smallest are about 45 students (nursery) and the largest are about 80 (primary 1 and 2). All of the classrooms are completely full, and there is only one teacher in the room with the students at any given time. Just like at All Saints there are students who board and those who come only during the day. The students who board are orphans and underprivileged students who do not live in close proximity to the school. The school is also located in a fairly poor area of Kampala, so even the day schoolers often come from poor homes. Some of the children pay school fees, others pay subsidized rates, and still others come to the school for free.
We arrived at New Kabaale at 9:30 am, while the students were still in their morning classes. We began by making plans with the principal, Rose, about what we will do during our time at the school before leaving to be introduced to all of the classes. As we entered each classroom all the students would stand and shout together "You are most welcome our visitors"-- their facing beaming with broad smiles. Rose introduced us to each class as "Auntie Christina," "Uncle Andrew" and "Aunt Jennifer"- titles that are typically given to teachers in Uganda to show respect. When she announced that we would be staying for a month all of the children began to whoop, cheer and wave their hands--excited as we will be the first foreign volunteers to work in their classrooms for at least the past 3 years.
After introductions we were thrown right in, beginning in the older pre-school class. We did not know that we would be teaching a lesson today and had no formal plans, so we were a little caught off guard and had to make do with the little we had. We taught a lesson about the names of colors (school in Uganda is primarily conducted in English, so study of the language begins at age 3) and did some face painting with the children that corresponded to the colors they were learning. It was a little chaotic with even the small 45 student classes but we learned some important lessons that will help us in the future. The children had to share crayons-- about 1 to every 5 students- which made using different colors difficult. In addition there were few working pencils, as to sharpen each pencil the students and the teacher would use knives to whittle the wood away and create a tip. Tomorrow we will return to the school to teach at the Primary 1 and Primary 2 levels and I am optimistic that with a coordinated lesson plan things will run much more smoothly- even with 80 students in our class!
* We didn't want to overwhelm the children too much so we didn't take many pictures today. We plan on taking more in the later weeks- hopefully more of the students working and of the interiors of the classrooms. Today we were distracting enough as new foreign faces!
We arrived at New Kabaale at 9:30 am, while the students were still in their morning classes. We began by making plans with the principal, Rose, about what we will do during our time at the school before leaving to be introduced to all of the classes. As we entered each classroom all the students would stand and shout together "You are most welcome our visitors"-- their facing beaming with broad smiles. Rose introduced us to each class as "Auntie Christina," "Uncle Andrew" and "Aunt Jennifer"- titles that are typically given to teachers in Uganda to show respect. When she announced that we would be staying for a month all of the children began to whoop, cheer and wave their hands--excited as we will be the first foreign volunteers to work in their classrooms for at least the past 3 years.
After introductions we were thrown right in, beginning in the older pre-school class. We did not know that we would be teaching a lesson today and had no formal plans, so we were a little caught off guard and had to make do with the little we had. We taught a lesson about the names of colors (school in Uganda is primarily conducted in English, so study of the language begins at age 3) and did some face painting with the children that corresponded to the colors they were learning. It was a little chaotic with even the small 45 student classes but we learned some important lessons that will help us in the future. The children had to share crayons-- about 1 to every 5 students- which made using different colors difficult. In addition there were few working pencils, as to sharpen each pencil the students and the teacher would use knives to whittle the wood away and create a tip. Tomorrow we will return to the school to teach at the Primary 1 and Primary 2 levels and I am optimistic that with a coordinated lesson plan things will run much more smoothly- even with 80 students in our class!
* We didn't want to overwhelm the children too much so we didn't take many pictures today. We plan on taking more in the later weeks- hopefully more of the students working and of the interiors of the classrooms. Today we were distracting enough as new foreign faces!
Primary 6 students
Primary 1 boarding students washing their clothes after class
Saturday, June 22, 2013
All Saints School
Today we went to visit the All Saints School located a little over an hour outside of Uganda, at the request of a good friend of ours. The school was started less than two years ago, and we were the first westerners to ever come and visit. Although the drive was long (mainly due to Kampala's notoriously terrible traffic) it was worth the trip. The All Saints School serves over 200 students. 40% of the students are orphans, children from abusive homes and children who are from underprivileged families. The other 60% of the students pay school fees, to subsidize the cost of the education and allow the school and its programs to be sustainable. The school serves children from ages 2 to approximately 14 and has instruction at the primary and pre-primary levels.
Going to the school on a Saturday we did not have the opportunity to meet all the students, but we were able to meet the approximately 100 students who live full time at the school--boarders as they are known here in Uganda. Many of these students make up the 40% who otherwise would be in unstable and/or unsafe homes, or would not be able to attend school due to financial constraints. Upon arriving at the school we were greeted by all of the office staff. We were able to tour the school with a lovely woman named Betty--a social worker who works at the school full time. Every person at the school was incredibly warm and welcoming and we immediately felt at home.
The All Saints School takes very good care of all their students-- considering their physical, emotional and spiritual health. The boarding students live in large dormitories, where they are taken care of by matrons who live in the same room as the students. The matrons have grown into adoptive mothers for these children and showed such genuine love for them. Every school day the students eat together- boarders, non-boarders, teachers and administrators alike, fostering a sense of community among the students and staff. Meals are cooked by the kitchen staff and the food primarily comes from the garden where students learn to grow various crops. All meals are free for the students, and the diet focuses on nutrition (as many students come into the school malnourished). Throughout the classrooms were amazingly clean and organized, and although it was the weekend all of the teachers were at the school working- many with students- on their plans for the week to come. The dedication of the staff to their students was inspiring, and they are really trying to work beyond simple education and toward nurturing their students in many ways.
The work that All Saints is doing is incredible. They have done so much for the students that come to their school- working to ensure that their students who come from difficult backgrounds have a chance to flourish and thrive. We are hoping to go back to the school to do some activities with the children at a later time, and to foster deeper connections with the people we have already met.
Going to the school on a Saturday we did not have the opportunity to meet all the students, but we were able to meet the approximately 100 students who live full time at the school--boarders as they are known here in Uganda. Many of these students make up the 40% who otherwise would be in unstable and/or unsafe homes, or would not be able to attend school due to financial constraints. Upon arriving at the school we were greeted by all of the office staff. We were able to tour the school with a lovely woman named Betty--a social worker who works at the school full time. Every person at the school was incredibly warm and welcoming and we immediately felt at home.
The All Saints School takes very good care of all their students-- considering their physical, emotional and spiritual health. The boarding students live in large dormitories, where they are taken care of by matrons who live in the same room as the students. The matrons have grown into adoptive mothers for these children and showed such genuine love for them. Every school day the students eat together- boarders, non-boarders, teachers and administrators alike, fostering a sense of community among the students and staff. Meals are cooked by the kitchen staff and the food primarily comes from the garden where students learn to grow various crops. All meals are free for the students, and the diet focuses on nutrition (as many students come into the school malnourished). Throughout the classrooms were amazingly clean and organized, and although it was the weekend all of the teachers were at the school working- many with students- on their plans for the week to come. The dedication of the staff to their students was inspiring, and they are really trying to work beyond simple education and toward nurturing their students in many ways.
The work that All Saints is doing is incredible. They have done so much for the students that come to their school- working to ensure that their students who come from difficult backgrounds have a chance to flourish and thrive. We are hoping to go back to the school to do some activities with the children at a later time, and to foster deeper connections with the people we have already met.
First Days
Getting used to life in Kampala has been fairly easy. We are living comfortably in a guest house that is right near the hospital where my dad is working. There is a kitchen attached and we are hoping to be able to cook for ourselves. One of the fun parts about our place is that it is up a small hill and is very serene in comparison to the bustle and congestion of the city. In fact, we even have wild monkeys that live in our backyard. They like to climb on the roof in the morning and wake us up.
Thursday, June 20, 2013
Safe and Sound
After over 30 hours of travel we made it to Kampala, Uganda! While it certainly wasn't the most calm traveling experience I have had (we had to run to two out of our four flights) we made it here in one piece. However, while the travel was long we did met some pretty incredibly people on the way.
Sitting next to my father and brother on the plane was a young man from Malawi who had grown up as an orphan and fought his whole life to get an education. In secondary school he would walk 4 hours a day just to get to and from his school. When he got to the university he still had no money to pay for his school fees, and was only able to stay because a man spotted him in the registration line and offered to pay his fees. During his first year of university he would study by day and stay up all night keeping guard for a British professor. Earning the respect of the professor due to his hard work and dedication, the professor offered to pay for the rest of his university fees. Today he is in graduate school working in leadership programs, and mentors 20 or so orphaned youth like himself- paying for them to stay in school and continue their educations. This man's amazing story of resilience in the face of hardship was particularly warming, as the story of this young man mirrors that of Paul, the man who set up the Molly and Paul Foundation where we will be working. On the other side of the aisle sat another incredible individual- a woman who was flying to the South Sudan where she will be helping the country draft their new constitution. This woman helped draft the constitution of Kosovo, and the work that she will be doing was fascinating and will change the course of history.Getting off the plane we also met another interesting individual, whose job it is to track down human rights abusers and gather evidence against them so that the US government can implicate them for their crimes. These are just a few examples of the fascinating people that we have met just in the first few hours of our trip!
Having just arrived we haven't had much time to explore the city of Kampala. With a 10 hours time difference, and experiencing jet lag there wasn't much time (or energy) to go exploring. Hopefully in the next few days we will get a better sense for the city and all that it has to offer. Thus far I can say that the Ugandan people are extremely warm and welcoming. The city always busting: packed with cars, motorcycles and pedestrians even after nightfall. We will be living in the apartment designated for my father's medical organization here in Uganda: "Health Volunteers Overseas." My father will begin his work tomorrow. My work at Molly and Paul won't begin for 3 days. Wish him the best of luck on his first day!
Sitting next to my father and brother on the plane was a young man from Malawi who had grown up as an orphan and fought his whole life to get an education. In secondary school he would walk 4 hours a day just to get to and from his school. When he got to the university he still had no money to pay for his school fees, and was only able to stay because a man spotted him in the registration line and offered to pay his fees. During his first year of university he would study by day and stay up all night keeping guard for a British professor. Earning the respect of the professor due to his hard work and dedication, the professor offered to pay for the rest of his university fees. Today he is in graduate school working in leadership programs, and mentors 20 or so orphaned youth like himself- paying for them to stay in school and continue their educations. This man's amazing story of resilience in the face of hardship was particularly warming, as the story of this young man mirrors that of Paul, the man who set up the Molly and Paul Foundation where we will be working. On the other side of the aisle sat another incredible individual- a woman who was flying to the South Sudan where she will be helping the country draft their new constitution. This woman helped draft the constitution of Kosovo, and the work that she will be doing was fascinating and will change the course of history.Getting off the plane we also met another interesting individual, whose job it is to track down human rights abusers and gather evidence against them so that the US government can implicate them for their crimes. These are just a few examples of the fascinating people that we have met just in the first few hours of our trip!
Having just arrived we haven't had much time to explore the city of Kampala. With a 10 hours time difference, and experiencing jet lag there wasn't much time (or energy) to go exploring. Hopefully in the next few days we will get a better sense for the city and all that it has to offer. Thus far I can say that the Ugandan people are extremely warm and welcoming. The city always busting: packed with cars, motorcycles and pedestrians even after nightfall. We will be living in the apartment designated for my father's medical organization here in Uganda: "Health Volunteers Overseas." My father will begin his work tomorrow. My work at Molly and Paul won't begin for 3 days. Wish him the best of luck on his first day!
Tuesday, June 18, 2013
We're off!
Hey all! Many people have asked for updates on my trip to Uganda this summer, so I decided that I would write a blog for anyone and everyone that is interested. I have never blogged before, and I am both excited and nervous to share my stories with you. I feel so lucky to have been given this amazing opportunity and blessed with all the love and support I have already received.
For those of you who don't know my family will be leaving today for Uganda, where we will stay for the next 6ish weeks. For the first 4 weeks of the trip my father will be working in a hospital in Kampala (the capital city), while my mother, brother and I work at the "Molly and Paul Foundation"- which sponsors a school that serves some of the poorest children in Uganda. "Molly and Paul" works with orphaned, destitute and needy children- many of whom come from the slums- and provides them with the opportunity to stay in school. What they have already accomplished is incredible. I know I speak for all of us when I say we are very excited.
Thank you for letting me share my stories with you. I can't wait for the adventures to come!
~Christina
For those of you who don't know my family will be leaving today for Uganda, where we will stay for the next 6ish weeks. For the first 4 weeks of the trip my father will be working in a hospital in Kampala (the capital city), while my mother, brother and I work at the "Molly and Paul Foundation"- which sponsors a school that serves some of the poorest children in Uganda. "Molly and Paul" works with orphaned, destitute and needy children- many of whom come from the slums- and provides them with the opportunity to stay in school. What they have already accomplished is incredible. I know I speak for all of us when I say we are very excited.
Thank you for letting me share my stories with you. I can't wait for the adventures to come!
~Christina
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