Things have been busy since school began. Our class sizes have grown and they are over 100 pupils each. The government says that we should allow in children since many schools have closed in the area. We are the only school in the area that doesn’t turn people away because they don’t have money. It is also difficult to decide how you would pick which children to send away. A large portion of the school are orphans so they don’t have money to go to other schools. When you hear the stories of these children you know that they need a place like our school where they feel safe and where the teachers consider the pupils as their own children.
HM David (principal of the secondary school), his wife had a baby on the 17th February. HM Rogers, Abby and I had gone to town to buy some things so we stopped to check on them. She had the baby about 30 minutes before we came and then she went home with us when we finished in town about 4 hours later. The people here are so strong! She walked back into her room after having the baby and then walked about ½ mile to the car when we left. I got to hold the son within an hour of the birth and then I also carried him out to the car. People kept saying things to me thinking that the baby was mine. Both headmasters are telling me that it is prophecy because they want me to stay here forever. Unfortunately, the baby died on the 28th March. It is difficult for the family and people here. Please keep this family in your prayers along with the community as we struggle with this death.
We had the Athletic Day on the 27th February. The children cheered on their houses and it was a wonderful day. Overall, we had very few problems and it helped us to see how we should do things for Open Day this year. Because of the talent we saw on the Athletic Day, HM Rogers asked me to take our children to Inter-School Athletic Competitions. The district failed us and we never were able to compete against other school.
During our Athletic Day, the secondary students said they wanted to challenge us to a competition. When I found out at 8 AM on that Friday that we were not going for the Inter-School Competition, I suggested that we have the competition with the secondary school that afternoon. We bought a goat as the prize for the winning school. The primary school stomped the secondary school as it was 92 pts (secondary) to 131 pts (primary). The competition was heated and we had some disagreements because the secondary students did not want to lose to primary. I bought rice and soda for our participants and we shared the goat with the teachers the next weekend. The children enjoyed as they each got about 10 pieces of meat instead of just one or none like they would at home.
We’ve had some different football competitions since that day. We’ve had boarders vs. day schoolers, primary vs. senior 1 & 2, and also primary teachers vs. secondary teachers. I was the only female who played in the teachers game. It’s good to see our children playing and I’m looking forward to encouraging other events in the future. Next term we will be having football and netball competitions.
Ash Wednesday was the 25th February and since a large number of our children are Catholic we took a break from classes for them to go to church. The teachers who go to the Protestant church also had a small service at the school. I attended and learned that they go to a different church than the Pentecostal church. I began going to the Protestant church the following Sunday. It is very refreshing to my soul and has been what I need. It is also forcing me to learn more Luganda as they do not translate the service. The teachers who I go with give me the basic overview of what is happening but they don’t translate everything.
I now have 8 children. I am paying for a P7 boy, Lubowa Fred, to be in the boarding section so I am considered his mom and HM Rogers is glad to have me as a parent. I also have “twin” girls who are in P6, Jascent & Racheal, so I am now being called Nalongo (the mother of twins). I also have another girl in P6, Robbinah, a girl in P5, Nakayima Rose, a boy in P2, Ddembe John, a boy in P1, Julius, and a boy in Baby class, Raymond. They all call me their mom and sometimes I give them things (food and supplies), along with other children at the school, but Lubowa is the only one whom I‘m paying school fees. I have many other children who are beginning to call me mom also. For many of these children in boarding they need someone whom they can look at as their mother and father and the teachers here often take that place. We spend 9 months of the year with these children and their parents only spend about 3 months with their children so we become more parents to them than their parents or guardians.
After end of February exams I helped with making the mock lists for P3-P6. It is much easier for me to put it into Excel and have it total and sort over 100 children per class with four to seven subjects than having the teachers do it by hand. We just finished end of term exams. I will be busy compiling the exams and helping where teachers need it. We have sent the children for Easter and the end of term is supposed to be next Friday, 17th April, so the teachers are busy making their mock lists and report cards. I currently help teachers mark their books and whatever else needs to be done when I’m not teaching.
Thank you so much to everyone who sent greetings or small gifts with my father and brother! I was excited to open the suitcases and see what was inside. I was saying it was Christmas for me but just one week late. I had a wonderful time with them and was glad to share with them my life here. I looking forward to having my mom and Andrew here, probably the beginning of August. Thank you for your prayers and love for the children. God’s blessing until I write again!

Long Time

Sorry for being quiet for so long. I have been unable to get to the internet until now and I only have a short time. I just wanted to say hi and let everyone know that I'm still alive. Hopefully within the next day or two I will be able to write more about what has been happening this term.

Thank you everyone for your prayers and support of the school. We have just finished the term and have sent the children for Easter holiday. I pray that your Easter is wonderful as you take time to remember why God gave His son, Jesus, for us and why we can have joy each day when our world has so many sorrows. I pray for all of you often. God's blessing and keep checking for further updates.

Family & Beginning of Term

The teachers had to be back at the school on the 12th January so I traveled there the day before. It was so nice to be home and everyone was very welcoming. On the 12th we didn’t do any scheming (planning for the term) but just spent the day talking about our holidays. In addition, one of our P2 teachers, and our P4 & P5 science teacher decided not to come back this year. It puts some stress on the school to find new teachers. We cannot offer what other schools can because we don’t have the money or the housing. Currently, the average pay for a teacher at my school is about $110 when the government requires that they get at least $120. It is hard when a teacher comes to us saying they want to work for us but they want $150 and we have to tell them sorry don’t come work at our school. We have found two new teachers and one of them is actually a former teacher that has come back to teach.
I talked with HM Rogers on the 13th about my schedule this year. He informed me that I will not be teaching mathematics but I will be only teaching PE and computer. I will be teaching computer to P5 & P6 again. They will each get one day for computer for one hour and 50 minutes. It will be interesting again with 6 computers and P5 has about 100 pupils and P6 has 80 pupils. I’m not sure how I’ll divide the classes but it will have more time to work with them again.
For PE, I will be doing Baby (Preschool) & Top (Kindergarten) classes one day a week. I will also do P1 & P2 together and then & P3 individually for 30 minutes a day 5 days a week. Therefore, I have about 300 minutes of PE a week. It is difficult because with P1 & P2 together I have about 200 pupils at one time and then P3 has 115 in their class as of the second week of school, but we will probably be getting more as time goes.
This year I am also the Games & Sports teacher. I have Tr. Benon as my assistant but I am in charge of the department. This first term we will have an athletics (track & field) competition between the houses. Second term we will have football (soccer) for boys and I’m trying to see what I can do for the girls to compete in something. I’m not sure yet what will happen during third term. It will keep me busy as I am in charge of training all of the pupils in the events. I will be working with a different house each day beginning Monday as we are re-dividing the houses this year. The athletics competition will be on the 27th Feb. so I don’t have must time to train the houses in the events.
I was bored as the teachers have been scheming because I didn’t know how much time I would have teaching each subject for the first week. I asked Auntie Betty, the school treasurer, if she had anything for me to do and she had 9 books that needed to be lined so she could record pupils payments. HM Rogers tried buying a PE teaching manual in Masaka town so I had to wait until I came back to Kampala.
The PLE (Primary Leaving Examination) results came back on the 19th Jan. and we received 10 first grades and the rest of our pupils got second grades. The exams this year were more difficult this year so we are happy with the results that we received. There are many schools which did not receive a first grade and many pupils failed this year.
So graduations on the new president. I am so tired of hearing about Obama on the radio here. On the 20th that is all that anyone could talk about on the radio and it was on every channel. I’m praying for America as I am in Uganda for the next couple of years. Since Obama is partly black, people in Africa as VERY excited that he is president.
We had a little for the month of Dec. so many of our crops died. Since the middle of January we have had a lot of rain so hopefully the crops that were struggling will come back to life and we can replant. We pray that the rain continues as we need it to drink, wash (laundry), bath, and water our crops.
My Dad and Devin came on the 26th January. I was so excited to receive them! The pupils were laughing at me as I kept telling them how many days it would be until I saw my family. The GSM van had a mechanical issue so we were unable to use it except to go to the airport. Therefore, we took public transport everywhere we went. It was a great experience for them to see how we move about here. The first day, I took them to see Mama Grace who is a good friend of my mom.
On Tuesday, 28th, we went to the Kings’ tombs and the Ugandan Museum so they could get a history of Uganda and a better understanding of our country. It was also a good experience for me as I have never been to either of those places.
On Wednesday, 29th, we went to Jinja to see the Source of the Nile, and the waterfalls. The waterfalls are going to be destroyed to build a new hydro-dam so we are some of the last people to be able to see it. I have always gone with a group so I have never known the prices for any of these places. I can tell that I am becoming Ugandan because I was surprised by how much things cost, but for Dad and Devin it did not seem like much money. We took a boat out to the Source of the Nile and then got to see some of the different birds of the area and people fishing with lines in the area. We took boda bodas, motorcycles, from Jinja town to the waterfalls which was about 5 miles or about 20 minutes.
On Thursday, 30th, we private hired a van to take us to Masaka. We spent one week at the schools. They spent much of their time at the Secondary School. The secondary students were excited to actually have people come to visit them instead of only visiting the Primary School. Dad and Devin brought some Science supplies with them so they taught a class on circuits and another one on gears. On Saturday, I walked them into town to see the market and buy some things that we were going to eat. Dad got to preach on Sunday and the people were blessed. They also helped me teach some PE this last week. Today we are going to St. Mbuga Secondary School so they can see the difference between a village and city school. They fly back on Sunday night. I will be sad to see them go, but I know that they have a good understanding of the situation here and can do more for the school in America than here.
School began on the 27th January and we are one of the only schools that doesn’t turn away pupils. As of Monday, we had 768 pupils and I’m sure that we will continue to grow. Please continue to pray as our term gets under way. Our teachers need the strength to teach large classrooms for long hours. Our pupils need the focus to be able to be able to pay attention for longs days and remember the information for their exams. Pray for me as I continue to find my place at the school and how I can best help. I am feeling a little left out at times and trying to figure out how I can best be used. Thank you for your prayers! God’s blessing until I write again!

Family & Beginning of Term

The teachers had to be back at the school on the 12th January so I traveled there the day before. It was so nice to be home and everyone was very welcoming. On the 12th we didn’t do any scheming (planning for the term) but just spent the day talking about our holidays. In addition, one of our P2 teachers, and our P4 & P5 science teacher decided not to come back this year. It puts some stress on the school to find new teachers. We cannot offer what other schools can because we don’t have the money or the housing. Currently, the average pay for a teacher at my school is about $110 when the government requires that they get at least $120. It is hard when a teacher comes to us saying they want to work for us but they want $150 and we have to tell them sorry don’t come work at our school. We have found two new teachers and one of them is actually a former teacher that has come back to teach.

I talked with HM Rogers on the 13th about my schedule this year. He informed me that I will not be teaching mathematics but I will be only teaching PE and computer. I will be teaching computer to P5 & P6 again. They will each get one day for computer for one hour and 50 minutes. It will be interesting again with 6 computers and P5 has about 100 pupils and P6 has 80 pupils. I’m not sure how I’ll divide the classes but it will have more time to work with them again.

For PE, I will be doing Baby (Preschool) & Top (Kindergarten) classes one day a week. I will also do P1 & P2 together and then & P3 individually for 30 minutes a day 5 days a week. Therefore, I have about 300 minutes of PE a week. It is difficult because with P1 & P2 together I have about 200 pupils at one time and then P3 has 115 in their class as of the second week of school, but we will probably be getting more as time goes.

This year I am also the Games & Sports teacher. I have Tr. Benon as my assistant but I am in charge of the department. This first term we will have an athletics (track & field) competition between the houses. Second term we will have football (soccer) for boys and I’m trying to see what I can do for the girls to compete in something. I’m not sure yet what will happen during third term. It will keep me busy as I am in charge of training all of the pupils in the events. I will be working with a different house each day beginning Monday as we are re-dividing the houses this year. The athletics competition will be on the 27th Feb. so I don’t have must time to train the houses in the events.

I was bored as the teachers have been scheming because I didn’t know how much time I would have teaching each subject for the first week. I asked Auntie Betty, the school treasurer, if she had anything for me to do and she had 9 books that needed to be lined so she could record pupils payments. HM Rogers tried buying a PE teaching manual in Masaka town so I had to wait until I came back to Kampala.

The PLE (Primary Leaving Examination) results came back on the 19th Jan. and we received 10 first grades and the rest of our pupils got second grades. The exams this year were more difficult this year so we are happy with the results that we received. There are many schools which did not receive a first grade and many pupils failed this year.

So graduations on the new president. I am so tired of hearing about Obama on the radio here. On the 20th that is all that anyone could talk about on the radio and it was on every channel. I’m praying for America as I am in Uganda for the next couple of years. Since Obama is partly black, people in Africa as VERY excited that he is president.

We had a little for the month of Dec. so many of our crops died. Since the middle of January we have had a lot of rain so hopefully the crops that were struggling will come back to life and we can replant. We pray that the rain continues as we need it to drink, wash (laundry), bath, and water our crops.

My Dad and Devin came on the 26th January. I was so excited to receive them! The pupils were laughing at me as I kept telling them how many days it would be until I saw my family. The GSM van had a mechanical issue so we were unable to use it except to go to the airport. Therefore, we took public transport everywhere we went. It was a great experience for them to see how we move about here. The first day, I took them to see Mama Grace who is a good friend of my mom.

On Tuesday, 28th, we went to the Kings’ tombs and the Ugandan Museum so they could get a history of Uganda and a better understanding of our country. It was also a good experience for me as I have never been to either of those places.

On Wednesday, 29th, we went to Jinja to see the Source of the Nile, and the waterfalls. The waterfalls are going to be destroyed to build a new hydro-dam so we are some of the last people to be able to see it. I have always gone with a group so I have never known the prices for any of these places. I can tell that I am becoming Ugandan because I was surprised by how much things cost, but for Dad and Devin it did not seem like much money. We took a boat out to the Source of the Nile and then got to see some of the different birds of the area and people fishing with lines in the area. We took boda bodas, motorcycles, from Jinja town to the waterfalls which was about 5 miles or about 20 minutes.

On Thursday, 30th, we private hired a van to take us to Masaka. We spent one week at the schools. They spent much of their time at the Secondary School. The secondary students were excited to actually have people come to visit them instead of only visiting the Primary School. Dad and Devin brought some Science supplies with them so they taught a class on circuits and another one on gears. On Saturday, I walked them into town to see the market and buy some things that we were going to eat. Dad got to preach on Sunday and the people were blessed. They also helped me teach some PE this last week. Today we are going to St. Mbuga Secondary School so they can see the difference between a village and city school. They fly back on Sunday night. I will be sad to see them go, but I know that they have a good understanding of the situation here and can do more for the school in America than here.
School began on the 27th January and we are one of the only schools that doesn’t turn away pupils. As of Monday, we had 768 pupils and I’m sure that we will continue to grow. Please continue to pray as our term gets under way. Our teachers need the strength to teach large classrooms for long hours. Our pupils need the focus to be able to be able to pay attention for longs days and remember the information for their exams. Pray for me as I continue to find my place at the school and how I can best help. I am feeling a little left out at times and trying to figure out how I can best be used. Thank you for your prayers! God’s blessing until I write again!

Holiday!

As this new year is beginning, I realize how amazing my life has been and how much I learned last year. It is hard to believe that 2008 ended a couple of days ago, but I know that 2009 will continue to be a year for me to learn and grow.

This holiday has been a relaxing time and a time of refreshing. I spent the first two or three days reading books. People here are surprised by how quickly I can read a book and that I would choose to read a book instead of watching a movie or going out with friends. I have watched a number of movies and spent some good time with friends also.

I was invited to Hezron’s, a friend of mine, parents house for Christmas in Namutamba. It is a village which grows tea so it is a nicer area than Kiwangala. His family was so welcoming when I arrived and they treated me as family the whole time I was there. It was nice to spend Christmas with a real family, instead of just a few people, although it was still hard to be away from my family for the first time.

Hezron and I traveled to his parents’ with a cousin so we did not have to pay the raised rate to take public transport. Hezron’s father is a head teacher for a primary school and a principal for a college so I was able to see both of these the first evening we were there. On Christmas day, we went to church and then had an amazing lunch with great food and fellowship. In the evening, Hezron and I walked around so I could see the village that he grew up in. I also got a call from my family and it was really good to be able to talk to them and wish them a Merry Christmas although it was morning for them and evening for me. On Boxing day (26^th), a few of the children were baptized first thing in the morning. We then had the pastors over for lunch since Hezron’s father is the head deacon of the church. Hezron and I traveled back to Kampala that evening.

On the evening of the 24^th, I struggled a lot missing my family and friends. This was due to Hezron’s family having family prayer at night before they go to bed. A few of them shared what God had done in their lives during the year and what they were thankful for. They also had me share and it was hard to get it out as I was trying hard not to cry. They have family prayer every night and it was good to see a family that was so focused on being together and having God at the center of their family.

I went to a BBQ on the 28^th. We arrived at 7 PM and left at 5 AM. It was put on by the young adult group at one of the churches here in Kampala. We had worship, watching movies, lots of food, and modeling. The modeling was entertaining because they got about 15 of us and the guys wear girls’ clothes and us girls had to wear guys’ clothes. I had my friend David’s shorts and shoes on and my friend Jonah’s shirt on. They called me Andrew and Jonah was my girlfriend and he went by Melissa. It was very entertaining. It was good to get out and have fun with some of my friends in a safe place.

My New Year’s Eve was spent in a quiet way as I went to dinner with a friend and was home by 9:00 PM. I was glad that I was not going to town because there was a lot of jam, which is unusual for their to be so much traffic so late. At midnight there was lots of yelling and fireworks. The city doesn’t put off fireworks but different places (like churches, hotels, restaurants) can put off fireworks like the ones cities in America set off on the 4^th of July. It was amazing to see fireworks coming from different parts of the city and they continued for about 15 minutes. Things were pretty calm until midnight and then the noise really began. I’m not sure what time the noise ended as I went to bed around 1 AM. I pray that that God will be with you and bless you in the year to come.

In Kampala

Aunt Susan, my cooking teacher, got married on the 13th of Dec. Her introduction was on the 12th. It was good to see what a true introduction is like since we were with the groom’s family last time and had a shortened introduction since we got there so late. Abby and I were in one of the groups that got to go out and welcome the visitors. We had to get into our Gomesi. The changing area with an open room with no windows to close and no door since the house was being built. We got changed out in the open with different people walking by so that was interesting. Different groups of women go out and kneel to welcome the groom’s family. The aunt of the bride then goes and finds the groom within the visitors and place a hat on him so everyone knows that he is the groom. Then the sister of the groom goes and finds the bride and gives her a basket of flowers so everyone knows that she is the bride. The groom’s family then needs to bring in the dowry and they explain what they brought for the bride’s family. After much talking and the cutting of the cake, the groom’s family is feed. We got there at 1 PM but the introduction did not begin until around 5 PM. We left around 10:30 PM and they were just beginning the dancing. They requested that I dance before we left so I danced a couple of dances and they were so excited to see it, but it’s really hard to dance in a Gomesi.
On Sat., the wedding was supposed to begin at midday but it did not begin until 3 PM. I’m glad because it gave me some time to spend with some of my friends who were in the wedding or who had come for the wedding. The reception was about a 30 min. drive from where the wedding occurred. Osborn had promised all of the children still at the school that they could go to the reception so we had 34 people in a van that is supposed to only carry 14 people. Most of us had a child on our lap, but it was good to see that they got to enjoy the day too since Aunt Susan was almost like a mother to many of these children. The reception was only in Luganda so Abby and I were lost most of the time. We got to the reception around 7 PM and left around 10 PM.
I was able to travel back to Kampala with Osborn when he left on Sunday. It has been nice being back in Kampala and spending time with many of my friends. I have also had some days just to relax. I have read 3 books already and I’m working on another one. It is good to sleep in and not have to worry about teaching some. It is a good way for me to recover and continue getting stronger from being sick. I get to begin my first full year in about three weeks.
One of my friends invited me to a Christmas Cantata that his church is putting on. It was very nice to go because it is helping me think that Christmas is only about 3 days away although I still am having a hard time believing that it is December. I am making program (plans) with some of my friends for the holiday season. They have been good about helping me feel at home, but it still is strange to be away from my family for the first time in my 27 yrs for Christmas.

Term is over!

We began exams on Thursday, 20th Nov., but they were the minor subjects like Religious Education and Agriculture. We continued with one exam a day the following week and I got to monitor on Mon., P5 Social Studies; Tues., P6 English; Wed., P4 Mathematics; Thurs., P1 Luganda. On Thursday only Nursery-P2 took their exams because the middle and upper primary pupils were preparing for Open Day. P3-P6 finished their exams with Science on Mon., 1st Dec.
Open Day was a great success! The pupils had a lot of fun and many of the parents came to watch their children. We began the day with a couple of football matches which of course began almost 1 ½ hours after they were supposed to. After the matches, the rain decide to come. I looked over and one of our tents had lost four of its legs so it was going to blow away. I called Abby and we went running over to try and hold it down until we could get the legs back on. We then started pushing the rain off the sides when it would build up. I was soaked from head to foot and my nice new shirt was dirty and it was only about 12:30 PM. The rain let up in time for us to serve lunch to the visitors. The pupils’ lunch was not ready so we did athletics to fill the time. Since I am the secretary I had to be there to record all of the scores. We had some of the secondary teachers as the judges, which was really good since the teachers were intense about their house winning. After the American visitors had eaten, we had the Top graduation which was really cute seeing children about 5 yrs old with graduation gowns on. We finally feed the pupils around 3:30 PM. We ended the day with songs and dances which were really interesting and also had an outside judge as we did not know how to judge it. The Apostles ended up winning and they were so excited since they were not sure they would win. Everyone was excited with the day and was happy to have such a great day. To the left is the Apostles' teachers and a few of their pupils with their cake and goat.
That evening I did not feel well, which is to be expected when I did not have time to eat or drink throughout the day. I drank a lot of water that night and ate a little but was so tired I went to bed soon after. The next day I was so out of it that I slept all day with only waking up to use the toilet and drink water. The visitors left and told me to take care of myself. I began to feel better one day and the next I would feel really bad again. Finally on Wed., 3rd Dec. they took me to Masaka town to go to the clinic. I was admitted and placed on 3 drips with extreme malaria and a bacteria infection too. I was given tablets (medicine) and sent home on Thursday. I am recovered now and I thank all of you for your prayers for me.
Since I was sick all the last week, I missed compiling the marks and deciding who would go to the new class and who we would hold back. I found out that 63 of my 94 pupils were promoted. I am curious to who those pupils are but I will find out in time. I asked certain pupils, who came to my room to see me, how they did and all of them passed which makes me feel good.
Currently there are only about 10 children at the school, but these are children who have no place to go. They are very helpful and did a good job taking care of me while I was sick. I am figuring out what I will take with me to Kampala early next week for a month of holiday. I am looking forward to spending some time in Kampala and going to Kenya over holiday. It is hard for me to think that it is December as it is the same weather today as when I came here almost six months ago. I guess that is part of life on the equator but it is different than what I grew up so I have to keep remembering that it’s December. I pray that things are well with all of you! God’s blessing and hopefully I will be able to write me often over the holiday, not that much will probably happen.