Yesterday we brought our children to Kampala for a tour (field trip). It was really interesting and educational. We took two coasters and each row had about 12 children sitting in it where there are only 5 seats so many children were carrying other children. In my row we had 12-14 people and I had one child sitting on my lap the whole time we were moving. The children were surprised by many things and it made me realize even more how little these children are exposed to places and things. As we were moving to Kampala they saw an aeroplane and were so excited that they were standing up in the coaster to see it better. I was thinking, “haven’t these children seen an aeroplane before?” and half way through the thought realized that most of them probably haven’t seen one so close before.
We left the school at 4:30 AM and travelled to Kampala. We reached around 8 AM and first visited the Kasubi tombs, the place where the Buganda kings are buried. We spent some good time there learning about the place and the kings that are buried there. We then gave them their breakfast around 10:30 AM of juice and a bun/roll as we prepared to move to the next place. We then visited the Uganda martyrs’ memorial. It is a now a Catholic church and we learned the history to the martyrs and why they are remembered every year on the 3rd June. We then visited the national stadium and the football players were able to play for about 15 minutes on the field. The last place we visited was Didi’s World which is an amusement park. We feed them lunch/dinner of rice and juice around 6 PM. They went back to the school after that and got home around 11 PM.
I’m so glad that I was able to move with them and also see these places. I learned a lot myself about the places we visited and also got to know our pupils better. I will be moving with the secondary next week when they also go for their educational tour to Jinja. I’m looking forward to getting to know some of our secondary students better and learn even more about Uganda.
We had our final football and netball competitions on the 10th July. All of the houses did very well and we have seen a lot of talent within our pupils. A local football coach, who was our referee for the day, has offered to come and help train our pupils to further develop their talents in the field. Secondary began their competitions on Monday and I am also on their committee. They are doing it inter-class instead of inter-house because of difficulties with the students changing houses. They are very competitive and I’m looking forward to enjoying their competitions also.
I’m counting down the days until my mother and brother, Andrew, come to visit me. I’m down to two weeks. The pupils and students are also waiting to welcome them. Thanks to all of you who are praying for me and the school and those who are supporting us financially. I pray that all of you are doing well. God’s blessing and prayers until I write again.
Saturday, July 18, 2009
Thursday, July 9, 2009
visitors
We welcomed the first team of visitors on the 22nd June and they stayed until the 28th June. They were people from Lake Bible Church and Christ Church. They cemented the floor and dedicated the new dorm. They also did some teaching, serving of porridge, and cleaning of the compound. We were very grateful to them for the work that they did.
The second team came on the 2nd July and stayed until the 6th July. They work for GSM international education so they sat in some of the classes to see the teaching and met with the teachers. They spent a lot of time interacting with different people at the school and encouraged them to continue the work.
Both of these teams brought many supplies for the school. We appreciate them for what they are doing and the things that they brought to make our school better.
On the 6th and 7th July we had 35 people from Solar Africa. They put two solar panels on our school. One on the primary side for P5-P7 and one on the main hall of secondary. We used them for the first time on Tuesday night. The ones for primary gave enough light that the pupils could easily study preps (7-9 PM) and winter (5-6 AM) and still have a security light on all night. The one on the main hall lights the hall but none of the classrooms. Still it is extremely helpful to use the solar lights instead of hydro lights as the transformer for the area blew on the 27th June and still has not been fixed. We have been using the generator since that time for preps and have not been having winter due to the cost of the fuel. The teachers are saying that the lights for solar are so much brighter than the hydro lights. We cannot thank the people enough for their love for our school. They have told everyone that they are coming back next year to provide us more panels and lights. We are waiting for them and praying for them as they have greatly given to our school. Words cannot express our love and thanks to these wonderful people.
On the 3rd July we had the visitation day for day school and then on the 5th July for the boarders. It is always good to see the parents and show to them how their children are doing in class.
We will have our final competitions for football and netball on the 10th July. The teams have been learning and growing in their skills during the league play. The Solar Africa people also helped us as they gave a set of uniforms to the primary and a set to the secondary for their football (soccer) teams. In addition, they gave us a good football and volley ball.
Then on the 17th July we will have a tour (field trip) to Jinja. We are still setting the program of the places we will visit, and I’ve been informed that the day may be changed due to availability of the places. We encourage every child to go but the tour costs sh. 22,000 (about $11.00) which is difficult for many families as the cost of tuition for a term (3 months) is sh. 30,000 (about $15.00) for day school. A few of the pupils will be given scholarships to go, but still there are many that will be unable to attend.
We still have two teams of visitors coming in August. Abby and I will each be receiving family. We are eagerly awaiting their visits. This term has been extremely busy so please pray for our pupils to remember what they have learned and for the teachers to get all of the material to the pupils before the exams. God’s blessing to each of you until I write again.
The second team came on the 2nd July and stayed until the 6th July. They work for GSM international education so they sat in some of the classes to see the teaching and met with the teachers. They spent a lot of time interacting with different people at the school and encouraged them to continue the work.
Both of these teams brought many supplies for the school. We appreciate them for what they are doing and the things that they brought to make our school better.
On the 6th and 7th July we had 35 people from Solar Africa. They put two solar panels on our school. One on the primary side for P5-P7 and one on the main hall of secondary. We used them for the first time on Tuesday night. The ones for primary gave enough light that the pupils could easily study preps (7-9 PM) and winter (5-6 AM) and still have a security light on all night. The one on the main hall lights the hall but none of the classrooms. Still it is extremely helpful to use the solar lights instead of hydro lights as the transformer for the area blew on the 27th June and still has not been fixed. We have been using the generator since that time for preps and have not been having winter due to the cost of the fuel. The teachers are saying that the lights for solar are so much brighter than the hydro lights. We cannot thank the people enough for their love for our school. They have told everyone that they are coming back next year to provide us more panels and lights. We are waiting for them and praying for them as they have greatly given to our school. Words cannot express our love and thanks to these wonderful people.
On the 3rd July we had the visitation day for day school and then on the 5th July for the boarders. It is always good to see the parents and show to them how their children are doing in class.
We will have our final competitions for football and netball on the 10th July. The teams have been learning and growing in their skills during the league play. The Solar Africa people also helped us as they gave a set of uniforms to the primary and a set to the secondary for their football (soccer) teams. In addition, they gave us a good football and volley ball.
Then on the 17th July we will have a tour (field trip) to Jinja. We are still setting the program of the places we will visit, and I’ve been informed that the day may be changed due to availability of the places. We encourage every child to go but the tour costs sh. 22,000 (about $11.00) which is difficult for many families as the cost of tuition for a term (3 months) is sh. 30,000 (about $15.00) for day school. A few of the pupils will be given scholarships to go, but still there are many that will be unable to attend.
We still have two teams of visitors coming in August. Abby and I will each be receiving family. We are eagerly awaiting their visits. This term has been extremely busy so please pray for our pupils to remember what they have learned and for the teachers to get all of the material to the pupils before the exams. God’s blessing to each of you until I write again.
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