For breakfast this morning we head back over to Josephine's house. Only a few of us knew why - it was Ashley's birthday and we had a surprise for her.
Josephine used to be a baker and she had prepared a gigantic birthday cake for Ashley. Which, of course, we had a slice of for breakfast.
I love Josephine's expression here. I think she was even more excited than Ashley!
Next on the agenda was the Nyakatare Primary School. We would be giving them a lesson on U.S. culture and geography, with a focus on Oregon of course.
We met with the headmaster, who then gathered the other teachers for our meeting.
Nyakatare is the oldest school in the Kanungu District and has the highest enrollment.
The stats:
There are 800 pupils and 18 staff.
No staff quarters, which is problematic as many travel very far.
A Few of Their Programs:
P.I.A.S.C.Y., Sports, Scouting, Gardening, Music, Young Talk
Challenges:
Parents are poor, unable to equip students
Lack sufficient textbooks
Buildings need renovation
Lack furniture
Water issues
Children also travel long distances (note: most don't own shoes)
Staff poorly paid - issues with payment
After our Q&A session with the staff we head over to one of the classrooms.
We were originally just going to speak in front of one class. However, we were soon informed that this would show preferential treatment to those students. So, the class would continue to grow...
(Photo by Dr. Richard White)
We started by drawing a map of the United States on their chalkboard. Actually, Bradford did this for us.
(Photo by Dr. Richard White)
We went down the line and each of us drew our state on the map and briefly spoke about it.
The students had many questions.
(Photo by Dr. Richard White)
Soon it was my turn and I drew Iowa...
Speaking briefly about our similarities, maize and pork.
Ironically, my 'Iowa' turns out looking like a pig... so I draw a tail on it.
After we each talk about our home state, or countries in Abdi's case, we go in-depth with Oregon.
We had previously decided which topics to cover and who would do them.
Ashley = transportation
Jessica = exports
Hanni = tourism
Me = industry
Abdi = Kenya
Bradford = volcanoes/mountains
(Photo by Dr. Richard White)
Any nervousness we may have had soon faded and we ended up having a great time with the students. It was informative, even for us, and quite hilarious.
The students thanked us by singing a couple of songs. One of which was "If You're Happy and You Know It." I guess some children's songs are constant regardless of country!
We returned the favor by singing them a song. Can you guess which one?
Yes, for the 4th time, we would serenade a group with "The Star-Spangled Banner."
(Photo by Hanni)
While we had been inside giving our lesson, the remainder of the school had gathered outside and were peering in the windows.
Needless to say, we were mobbed by school children as we left. All very excited to meet us.
(Photo by Dr. Richard White)
Our itinerary was originally full for the remainder of the day, with several other school stops. However, we were desperate for some time off.
After all, there was still the paper to contend with.
We were still struggling with direction and, at this point, there were only 4 days left for us to finish/start it. Our stress levels were rising the closer we got to our departure date.
We expressed our concerns and after this morning school stop our schedule was wiped clean. Hooray!
We drove into town for the first time to look around and us ladies went shopping for some fabric.
(Photo by Dr. Richard White)
While in town, Ellen took us to a shop with a nifty machine that knit sweaters without electricity.
The owner was nice enough to give a brief demonstration.
This small shop also sold uniforms for the primary school we had just visited. Hanni came up with a great idea of buying one, out of pocket, and donating it to the school. Jessica and I thought that this was a wonderful idea and we each purchased one as well.
We met back up with everyone and let them know that we needed to make a brief stop back at Nyakatare to deliver our surprise.
Hanni, Jessica, and I jump out of the van to find the headmaster. Now we had to figure out which 3 kids would receive the sweaters.
We decide on the following criteria:
It must be a very poor/needy student whose family cannot afford a uniform
Yet, the student must get very good grades & be involved in the school.
The teacher picks out 3 students, one of which is at home for lunch, that fit our description. The shirts of the students she selected were either too small or full of holes.
The students were very excited to receive their new sweaters. We wished we could have helped more.
After our quick school stop we drive over to Josephine's for a refreshment and to figure out how to best prioritize our day.
Richard takes the opportunity to upload some photos to his netbook.
After a tasty glass of mango juice, we head back over to the Joy Guesthouse. We decided to take a few personal hours off and then we (students) would reconvene in the afternoon to have a meeting.
Jessica sneaks in a photo-op along the way - he was transporting matoke.
Many of us were hanging outside the guesthouse when groups of children started congregating outside the gate and peering in at us. The group grew steadily larger, until we finally broke down and invited them inside.
Bradford had his frisbee out, so we decided to teach them how to play.
This girl was a natural, really good!
Soon the children had to leave and so we headed to the porch to cool down.
We then each split off and enjoyed some down time.
We reconvened later for our group meeting which turned into a much needed discussion. We all aired our concerns and decided to scrap our original nightly meeting objectives and start in a new direction. We laid out a structure for our group paper, creating specific categories and assigned them based on interest. I would select governance for my topic.
This group writing experience proved to be very difficult for all involved. It's hard enough writing an individual paper that synthesizes this much information, let alone trying to coordinate 6 people to do so.
Finally, it's time for dinner. Afterwards we feel much better, even though we have not begun to write our paper, we at least have the basic structure finalized. We can each begin to concentrate on our specific areas and mentally prepare for our upcoming assignment. Our next hurdle will be finding the time to actually write it.
We unwind for a bit before heading to bed.
Abdi had never seen a feminine product before -- remember the Makerere Sanitary Napkins?
I love Bradford's expression here: "What are you doin' man?"
This photo is far too hilarious to withhold, sorry for the embarrassment boys. (Sort of)
Hanni reading in bed
This is our last night in Kanungu, tomorrow we head to Mbarara and the U.N. Millennium Development Village. We will miss Kanungu, much like Fort Portal.
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