Wow it is hard to believe how quickly the week is slipping away. I have not connected to the internet for almost a week. I have no idea what is going on in the news. It is nice being disconnected from work. If you asked me to explain my first couple of days I think I would say “I was a deer in the headlights”. I really did not know what to say with everything that I was seeing. The journey began in Kampala for a couple of days and then to Gulu for the rest of the week. I witnessed in Kampala a great worship service where the kids sang and danced. The kids in Kampala were very friendly and right away they would get very close to you. In Gulu the kids are very friendly but yet a lot more reserved when you first meet them. You can get so quickly attached to both the kids in Kampala and Gulu. At New Kabaale Busega I met three girls named Juliet, Sarah and Cissy. They wrote me some letters asking me things like: Did you love Uganda? Is it a nice country? Where I live do you really have more than two seasons? They also thanked me for coming to their school.
Day 2, At Wakiso Children’s School of Hope, I met three girls named Margaret, Leticia and Ritah. I found out that their dreams were to become Nurses and teachers. I also saw the new football field and was told how they planted all the grass by hand.
Day 3, At Laroo Primary School, I met Faith and Michael and learned that their dreams were to become a nurse and a minster. I also was able to observe in the classroom and watch and listen. The first class was a math class. There were 57 kids in the classroom and just one teacher. The teacher was teaching rounding off decimals and numbers. The kids were quiet and listened well to the teacher. A couple of students went up to the chalk board and tried to work the problems. The second class was a literacy class. This class had 132 kids in the classroom and only one teacher. The kids in general were quiet and when they did get loud the teacher would get them to immediately quiet down. The teacher would walk around and check to see if the students had completed the exercise correctly. Of course the teacher could not get around to all the students. The classroom was packed with kids. The next class that I attended was another math class which the teacher was not there so one of our staff (Jonathan) taught the class and did a great job.
Day 4, At Pageya Primary School, I met Samuel, Peter and Stella. They wanted to become a Doctor, policeman and a teacher. When roaming around, this was the first school that I had been at that I actually looked inside the restrooms….it was pretty disturbing site. I really don’t know what I would have done if I truly needed to go to the bathroom.
Regarding the kids that I have seen at these schools I have found them to be happy and caring for each other. They are really excited to see us and they are ever so thankful for our gifts of cleats, sports bras, and soccer balls (footballs). The teachers were excited to get the supplies that we brought them. And many of the teachers seem committed to teaching and helping the kids, even though they have very little supplies, no classroom books, and very large class size.
The staff here in Uganda is doing an outstanding job. Johnathan is well respected at all the schools and just does a tremendous job. Our soccer coaches in the North, Mercy and Walter are working hard with the kids teaching them soccer. Florence is the Education advocate for us and is working real hard with the Heads of the Schools.
I am very blessed to be serving with this team. All the team members Mike, Jen, Lee, Peggy, Hernan and Dotty are doing an outstanding job working with the kids, teachers and administrators of the various schools. Mike is tremendous leader and well organized, Jen being a principle understands so many of their issues. Lee is a joy for the kids and makes them all laugh. Peggy is recognized as a familiar face since she has been here so many times. Hernan is looked up too by the kids because he played soccer in college and Dotty is like a daughter to me and the kids just adore her. I am truly blessed to be a part of this team.
Goodnight from Uganda!
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