life in Kiwangala

I stated that I had Malaria. Let me explain what happened so you have a better picture. We went for HM David’s introduction in Eastern Uganda on the 23rd of August. I had stopped taking my Malaria medicine because we do not have mosquitoes in Kiwangala. The area in Eastern Uganda has a lot of bush so they have many mosquitoes. I got bite there and then got Malaria on the 28th of August. I have never been sick like that in my life and I do not wish it upon anyone. I was throwing up, having diarrhea, a major headache, no appetite, and I was very weak. HM Rogers took me to get my blood tested at a Catholic mission clinic which as we were almost there I realized that I had not taken any of needles and I started praying they had clean needles. They took my weight, 51.1 kg, then I saw the nurse within 5 minutes. I told the nurse my symptoms and then she sent me to get my blood tested. My blood results were ready within 5 minutes and then we went to get my tablets, my medicine. The whole thing cost me about 5,300 shillings (about $3.50). The tablets that they gave me were amazing because I felt so much better just after one dose. I am completely fine now and I thank God for the prayers of you there and people here.
The introduction was very interesting. It is a time for the groom’s friends and family to go to the bride’s family and show them that the groom will be able to take care of the bride. They wear traditional dress, a Gomesi, which Abby and I also wore. The people were very surprised to see us dressed in a Gomesi. It is also when the groom brings the dowry to the bride’s family. We also helped carry the dowry from the vehicles to the party. The gifts are carried on the head so that was different but it was an interesting experience. We came back to Kampala on the 6th of Sept. for the wedding of HM David. We were supposed to leave Kiwangala at 8 AM but the taxi was late so we did not leave until 10:30 AM. We got to Kampala about 1:50 PM and the wedding was supposed to start at 2 PM. The wedding did not start until 4:30 PM but it gave me time to see some of my friends here in Kampala. We were then supposed to leave Kampala around 6 PM but we did not leave until 8:30 PM so we got home around midnight. Ugandan time can be frustrating sometimes, but I am learning to accept the time we do things no matter how I feel about it or when I think that things should happen.
I put on a workshop for the teachers at the end of August to discuss the teaching materials that I had brought with me. They were excited about the materials and we had fun learning how to use the material. Since the term has started, I have seen many of the materials being used. The teachers are asking for more materials that will continue to help them. It is hard when you have a class of 42-120 pupils and no textbooks or hands-on material for them.
The beginning of the term was hard for me. We started school on the 9th of Sept., but if the pupils did not bring the requirements (2 rolls of toilet paper, and 2 brooms) then they were sent home until they brought the requirements. I had 70 pupils at the start of the day, but after the assembly where they were sent home to get the requirements, I had 21 pupils out of 96. My teaching schedule is as follows:
Ÿ Monday
Ÿ 9:50-10:30 AM - PE for P1 & P2 (about 200 pupils at once)
Ÿ 3:40-5:15 PM - Computer for P6 (42 pupils - half of them a week on the computers since I have 6 computers)
Ÿ Tuesday
Ÿ 9:10-10:30 AM - Math for P5 (96 pupils)
Ÿ Wednesday
Ÿ 8:30-9:50 AM - PE for Baby and Top classes (about 225 pupils at once)
Ÿ 9:50-10:30 AM - PE for P1 & P2 (about 200 pupils at once)
Ÿ 7:00-9:00 PM - Math Preps for P5 (about 15 pupils)
Ÿ Thursday
Ÿ 7:30-9:10 AM - Math for P5 (96 pupils)
Ÿ 11:40 AM-1:00 PM - Math for P6 (42 pupils)
Ÿ 3:40-5:15 PM - Computer for P5 (24 pupils a week)
Ÿ 5:15-5:30 PM - Math homework for P5
Ÿ Friday
Ÿ 3:40-5:15 PM - Counseling/Career Guidance
Ÿ Saturday
Ÿ 7:30 AM-2:00 PM - school (I teach one subject and each week the time changes when the subject is taught)
These pupils have no typing skills so I am working on just placing their fingers in the right place and using the correct fingers for typing. I have no typing program to help me so I will design a true curriculum next term, but for now I am just getting them exposed to the computer. In addition, my math pupils do not know their basic math facts. I have challenged the P5 pupils that I do preps with, that if they can beat me at addition and subtraction facts by the end of term I will buy them a soda. With P6 I have challenged them that if they can beat all of their classmates in multiplication facts at any time during the term, I will buy them a soda. I will also monitor preps on two Sundays during the term. I will also be on duty starting on Monday for one week which means serving lunch, making sure the cook has water and firewood for the school lunch, making sure the compound is clean, making sure the teachers get water, and dealing with any other issue that occurs that week.
Tr. Abby, Tr. Dickson, Aunt Betty, and myself are on the House Committee. The school is divided into four houses, Apostles, Kings, Judges, and Prophets and the other teachers are in charge of the houses. We check for punctuality (pupils getting to school on time), sanitation (their area of the compound and their toilets are clean), smartness (the pupils are clean and so is their uniform), English (the pupils are speaking English at school instead of Luganda), discipline (that they are well behaved in class and during their break and lunch), gardening (their section of the garden is being worked), and academics (we take the top 10 from each class on exams, and how they do on the weekly quiz/debate). It is a lot of work but it motivating the pupils and others teachers to make our school the best.
On Wednesday every week, we have time for sports. So far we have had football (soccer) matches between the different houses. It is great to watch the pupils be children for a period of time. They have so much fun and the other pupils and teachers get into cheering on their house. On Friday every week, we have a quiz/debate. We switch between spelling and quizzes on subject material. They are competing in their houses and there are 5 pupils who are the main contestants, but the rest of the house can answer if the main contestant does not know the answer. They pupils get so excited about it and unless you want to go deaf for a short time each week, you try to stay out of the classrooms when the final scores are totaled and pupils find out which house won.
At the end of the term (28th of Nov.) we are going to have a Sports Day. There are going to be lots of different activities. I am excited to see the pupils having fun. Since I am on the House Committee I will need to make sure that I am knowing which house takes which place so we can have a winner at the end of the day. We are giving out awards to the houses for the different positions that they achieve. I am looking forward to that day since I enjoy events like that.
I was given an assignment to interview some pupils and get their life stories. It is an emotional assignment and within the first two pupils my heart was completely broken. The first pupil that HM Rogers and I interviewed told us that his father and his twin brother have died from AIDS. His mother is about to die from AIDS and he is also infected with AIDS. He said something that will stick with me forever. He said, “I am alone in this world.” A boy of 11 yrs should not have to face such heartache. Our second pupil, a P4 girl, broke down crying before I even asked a question. She is so heartbroken because both of her parents are dead. My heart broke for her and I wanted to hold her and cry with her. I gave her a hug at the end of the interview and now when she sees me she smiles because she knows that someone loves her and is concerned about her. There is also a family of six where the oldest is 18 yrs old now, but their parents died when he was about 10 yrs old so he became the father of the family and was responsible for making sure his siblings were feed and clothed. These stories are so normal here where pupils do not have parents or they do now know their parents. These pupils experience so much heartache and pain but with most of them you would never know because they cling to God and have built a family out of their friends at school. I was thinking of how much I complained about my parents growing up and how much children in America complain about their parents. If American children could experience the life of a Uganda child for one day, I do not think they would complain again. These stories will stick with me for the rest of my life. Doing the stories, I want to hear every child’s story and the story of every teacher. They pull at my heart but I feel so much more connected to the people here as I listen to their stories.
On another note, my brother (Devin) and my father are coming to visit me at the end of January. I am very excited about and I look forward to showing them what life is like here.
At the end of Sept., a few people from Kampala came out to put up the fire extinguishers for the school. They gave only about an hour before people came to inspect the school. They then gathered the secondary students and some of the primary boarders to show them how to use the fire extinguishers. Of course they did it not long before break time so as the pupils were released for break, they came down to the field to see what was going on. It was hard to keep control of the pupils. Here keeping control of a group is very hard. They crowd instead of making a line and they grab at things so it is hard if you want things to be controlled because they don’t know how to do that here.
I went to immigration on Monday to extend my pass. It was very easy and I know God is with it. I went into an office and told the man what I wanted. He directed me to another man who was finishing with someone so I waited about 2 minutes. I went and explained to that man what I wanted and he pulled my file. There was a note saying I had been approved for a 12-month extension. He told me to take it to the cashier for an assessment. It took about 10 minutes for the people in front of me to finish and for me to get my assessment. I then went to the bank and paid for my pass. I then waited for 2-hours for my receipt. I took my receipt back to immigration. They told me to come back on today. I went and had to wait for a couple of minutes while they finished the signing of my form but my pass expires on Sept. 10, 2009!!! I'm so excited about that.

Well, that is a brief overview of what has happened here over the last couple of months. I will try and write again sometime next month. I will not be back in Kampala until Christmas time (I don’t think) so I will not have much access to a computer once I go back to Kiwangala. I pray things are well for all of you. God’s blessing!

Life in Masaka

I only have a couple of mintues but I wanted to let you know that I am still alive. I will write more when I am in Kampala in a couple of weeks, but I'm doing well and I have many stories to tell. Oh, I have now had malaria which is not something that I would like to have again but God was with me and I'm back to normal now. I love you all and I'm looking forward to writing you more. God's blessing!

Teachers

I wanted to include a picture of most of the primary teachers and some of the secondary teachers that we took while the team was here in June. This is the team that I work with and I will try to take more individual pictures and give information about the teachers. God's blessing!

On Holiday

So I am back in Kampala on holiday. We started holiday on Friday and I got here on Sunday evening around 9 PM. I will be in Kampala until Sunday. I had quite an experience getting to Kampala from Kiwangala (the town where I now live). We took a small car (like a Toyota Corolla) and we put 6 of us in the back and 4 in front. I was the only female in the car. Myself and one other guy were sitting on the laps of others in the back. That is the way they travel here to help make more money. My fare was less on the taxi because we sat so many (I think).

These last few weeks have been very good at the school. We gave out the report cards on Friday. It was very interesting because some of the students came late and they were sent home without their report cards and told to come back next Friday. It was a hard day for me since that is not how we handle the situation in America, but I am learning how things are done here.

The past two weeks we have only had P6 and P7 students at the school so it has been very slow and boring. The nice thing is that the P6 teachers have been requesting that I teach some so I taught mathematics for two days and watched how the English teacher taught so I have a better understanding of the teaching methods used here.

I will be putting on a workshop on the 21st and 22nd of August for the teachers on some of the teaching aids that I brought. I am looking forward to starting next term on the 8th of Sept. and getting back into teaching. The nice thing is that P5-P7 students are starting holiday studies today. We will be teaching from 8 AM to 1 PM Monday through Friday and the students will have the afternoons and weekends free from studies. I am taking a break this week in Kampala to see some of my friends and rest before I go back and work until I need to come in October or end of September to renew my visa.

The cooking has been good and a learning experience for me. We are using a gas burner mainly. It takes a long time to cook food and it is different food than we have in the states. I really enjoy all of the food and I am learning a lot.

The other day we bought a chicken (enkoko) for sh. 7,000 which is about $4.50 for the whole chicken. One of the secondary students bought it for us because it was still alive. One of the P7 students was going to slaughter it and I wanted to watch because I have never seen it. The students told me what he was doing and why as he did it. When it came to pucking the chicken, I asked if I could help so they taught me how to pluck the chicken. I took snaps (pictures) so enjoy them. The student then gutted it and had me wash out the inside of the chicken. Two of the students then cut it into pieces for us. It was very interesting to watch and they are telling me that next time I could do it by myself, but I am not sure that I could handle that yet.

Last Saturday, Aunt Betty took me into Masaka town to buy material to make a Gomesi (the tradition dress for females) because we are going to an introduction on the 23rd of August. It is a party where the bridegroom is going to meet the bride's family and pay the dowry. I am excited to see what the Gomesi looks like because we took it to a lady to make in Kiwangala last Monday. It will be ready today but I will not see it until I go back to Kiwangala.

Abby and I were talking to Musuba (Pastor) Kato the other evening and we were very amazed at this man of God. He is the pastor of the church next to the school and he lives at the school to watch over us and the students. His name (Kato) means that he is the second born of twins. His mother died when he was very young so he was unable to attend school so he is going to school now to learn English. He told us he is 30 years old and he became the pastor of the church in 1994 so he was 16 years old when he became the pastor of the church. I am blown away by this man every time that he preaches so talks about God. He is a true blessing in my life and a man I know will do everything he can to make sure that Abby and I are well taken care of. A couple of weeks ago in church, he asked the congregation to bring us food. We have been over blessed with people bringing us food so we have been turning around and blessing the teachers with our extra food.

This is all I can say right now, but I will write again this week with other things that had happened and post some snaps. I pray that everything is well with all of you and I thank God everyday for the blessing that all of you have been to me. God's blessing on you today and in the days to come!

IN MASAKA!!!

Well, we made it to Masaka finally a week ago Friday! The students did exams starting the Tuesday after we got here so we were only able to watch one day of teaching. I am teaching in the P5 classroom doing Math and maybe some other subjects. I have 96 students in my class! We did exams all last week and we have been marking them. I corrected the math exams by myself and it was a lot of work. It is amazing to see what these students are studying at such a young age. It gives me a good idea what to teach and what needs to be retaught before the end of the school year in the beginning of December. I am also on the academic committee so we get to check the exams for each level and subject. It is hard work and there are only 5 of us to check all of them and approve or give them back to the teacher to revise again.
Many of the students have left for holiday because we ran out of food to feed them although the holiday does not begin until the 8th of August. It is more quiet around the school now that many of the students have left for holiday. P7 and P6 students do not get a holiday and P5 will get only one week because there is so much material to get done before the end of the year. I will be going to Kampala for a week so I will write more when I can use free Internet instead of paying for it. I pray that things are well with all of you and thank you for your prayers! God bless each of you!!!

Going to immgration tomorrow!!!

Tomorrow we are going to immigration. They currently have our passports and our paperwork. We are praying that we do not have to pay the $900,000 shilling (about $600 in the US). Hopefully we will be able to go to Masaka on Thursday. Oh, if you want to send me letters, they said it would be better if you sent it to our office in Kampala and they would get it to me so the address is PO Box 4428, Kampala, Uganda.

We had a conference this week (Thursday to Sunday) with a speaker from the states. It was really good and God is working in my life because I experienced things that I never had in the states. I know that God is working because I would have walked out in the states, but I felt a peace in my spirit about what was happening.

On Thursday, we walked into town to buy some things that we will need in Masaka. We bought our food and supplies and then walked to buy a dresser. We could not get the dresser that day so we ordered one that they had ready in 3 days for us. We were going to get a boda boda (a motorcycle) to take home, but none of them passed us so we ended up walking home with all of our stuff. I think we ended up walked about 10 miles that day. We were really tired when we got home, but it also felt really good to walk.

On Sunday, we came back to St. Mbuga to watch basketball. The school is divided into 4 different houses and they have different events. They finished soccer last week and basketball and netball on Sunday. It was fun to watch and I ended up staying later to hang out with the students and play soccer and basketball. I had 4 escorts on the way home so I felt really protected and they bought me some really good food.

The food here is awesome and so filling. It is nice to have food that has not been processed at all. I currently have not gotten sick so I thank all of you for praying for me health and protection. I pray that things are well with all of you!!! God's blessing to each of you!

Still in Kampala

We get to go back to immigration again today. I realized that we have been there about 7 times in the last week. We are starting to feel like it is a new home. We went yesterday and got signed off in one department but when we went to the NGO office they said that we have to do some things again. We had to go back to the US Embassy and we have to go there today too. Hopefully we can get everything worked out so we can go with the group that is heading out there on Monday. It is supposed to cost us 900,000 shilling to get everything processed which is about $560 in the US. I'll let you know what is going later how everything goes. Please keep us in prayer while dealing with immigration and the US Embassy.