There is always so much happening and at the end of the day, there is so little energy on my part to be able to write everything that I want to share. I am no longer waking up at 2am so there isn’t a chance for me to muse during the night. As it is, this is my second attempt at this post because my computer shut down after the first few paragraphs were typed. T.I.A. the kids say – This Is Africa.
We now have 47 mosquito nets and 14 more to come that were purchased with the money collected from the coin drive at Glenmore during the Vow of Silence. Colin asked to raise funds to buy nets, the Social Justice Club held a Vow of Silence saying “We vow to be silent because some children cannot speak up against malaria” and 50 students participated and raised $1500 for the Red Cross. This would purchase 165 nets that would cover 835 children (5 per net) for 5 years before needing to be retreated. The change drive raised $200 and I asked Colin if I could take that and buy nets in Uganda to take North. He agreed to use these funds this way and today that $200 bought 61 nets. These nets cost $3.27 each and we will deliver them personally. Way to go Colin and the rest of the Social Justice Club. It’s amazing what 9-12 year olds can accomplish.
This afternoon we had an amazing last day with the children and teachers at Childtime Preschool. Karine taught literacy on Tuesday, Rhonda did music on Wednesday and I taught art to the teachers today. When one of us was teaching, all the teachers came to the main room and the rest of us were left to teach the little ones. I am strong enough to say that entertaining 3 and 4 year olds (about 40 of them) for one hour is not my strongest suit! After my lesson today about doing art with preschoolers (and many thanks to the kindergarten teachers at Glenmore for giving me ideas to share), Fiona, the headmistress of the school, told me that they had never seen anything I had done. Even making finger prints with paint was new to them. We had many giggles while making animals out of playdough. It was a great exchange of ideas. Before we left, the children performed for us and even included a letter sound rhyme and dance with what Rhonda had taught yesterday. It was awesome to see that the ideas shared were so quickly implemented and used to suit the needs of the teachers and the children there. The children all gave us a picture that they had coloured and Fiona bought gifts for us all including a drum for Rhonda.
I have had three amazing mornings with the children at Nateete in P4 and P5. We have done Mathematics, Reading, Science and Writing. On Tuesday they wanted me to teach Science and the topic of choice initially was the foot bath. I managed to get the topic changed and we reviewed about the heart and circulatory system. They then asked to learn more about poultry keeping so I told them that I would be the student and they would tell me about poultry keeping. I explained to the teacher that this is a great way to review information for the students before a test because they will correct each other.
I spoke at length with Nicholas (P4) and Hassan (P5) about teaching at Nateete and the challenges that they face. They rely on the pastor to pay their wage and even at that, it cannot be more than $3 a day when the Ministry is flush with money. Hassan has been at Nateete for a few years and has a certificate in social work from a local college and Nicholas is a trained teacher who has a 3 year degree from Makarere University. I asked Nicholas why he stays with the children at Nateete with such a small wage and he told me that he attends the church and felt that the children are part of his family and must work to take care of them. He is hoping to move to the High School once Living Hope has completed building it.
The problem, he said, was that there is much money sent to Africa but very little reaches the people who need it. Most of it remains in the upper offices. I said that this was why Niteo invests time and people into Uganda, not money. We feel that it is important for us to come and spend time with the teachers and the students here because we know that just sending money does not work. He replied that this is the best way. Both he and Hassan were convinced that coming to Uganda and working with the teachers for the benefit of the children is the best way to affect change here. Money does not help, time does. It was a nice confirmation that what we feel is the best use of our resources is also what they feel is the best use of our resources. They didn’t ask for money or for materials, they asked for us to sit together and share our ideas, our knowledge, our strengths and our frustrations as teachers. For example, we all find that students have a very difficult time learning how to do long division. Rhonda told me a little rhyme to help the students learn the steps and I told them. They thought that was great and they were even more impressed when I said that I had also just learned it and would be trying it for the first time this coming year to see how it worked. Teaching Together!
I also had a great conversation with Robert today about the progress in the North. He has been before and I wanted to get his impressions about the progress there and what we might see. He said that the last of the camps have been dismantled but when I said enthusiastically that people were returning to their villages, he said that it was not always so. “They have become lazy. They have been fed, sheltered and clothed for so long by the NGOs that they don’t want to return to where they have to work hard to survive." Robert told us that the soil is bad in the North and the weather is poor so the crops are limited. “You cannot blame them for becoming lazy; it has been a very difficult time for them.”
“So what is the best investment that can be made in the North?” I asked. “How can these people be best served?”
“Education. There must be schools and teachers and places for the children learn. They must see that education is important. This is the only way to rebuild this area. Education is the most important.”
I won’t get on my soap box to end this post. These conversations and events all confirm to me that what Niteo does right. Be here. Invest time. Make connections. Start conversations. The human connection is, to me, the key.
How can I even think that I am not coming next year?
Have a lovely evening. – Erika :)
We now have 47 mosquito nets and 14 more to come that were purchased with the money collected from the coin drive at Glenmore during the Vow of Silence. Colin asked to raise funds to buy nets, the Social Justice Club held a Vow of Silence saying “We vow to be silent because some children cannot speak up against malaria” and 50 students participated and raised $1500 for the Red Cross. This would purchase 165 nets that would cover 835 children (5 per net) for 5 years before needing to be retreated. The change drive raised $200 and I asked Colin if I could take that and buy nets in Uganda to take North. He agreed to use these funds this way and today that $200 bought 61 nets. These nets cost $3.27 each and we will deliver them personally. Way to go Colin and the rest of the Social Justice Club. It’s amazing what 9-12 year olds can accomplish.
This afternoon we had an amazing last day with the children and teachers at Childtime Preschool. Karine taught literacy on Tuesday, Rhonda did music on Wednesday and I taught art to the teachers today. When one of us was teaching, all the teachers came to the main room and the rest of us were left to teach the little ones. I am strong enough to say that entertaining 3 and 4 year olds (about 40 of them) for one hour is not my strongest suit! After my lesson today about doing art with preschoolers (and many thanks to the kindergarten teachers at Glenmore for giving me ideas to share), Fiona, the headmistress of the school, told me that they had never seen anything I had done. Even making finger prints with paint was new to them. We had many giggles while making animals out of playdough. It was a great exchange of ideas. Before we left, the children performed for us and even included a letter sound rhyme and dance with what Rhonda had taught yesterday. It was awesome to see that the ideas shared were so quickly implemented and used to suit the needs of the teachers and the children there. The children all gave us a picture that they had coloured and Fiona bought gifts for us all including a drum for Rhonda.
I have had three amazing mornings with the children at Nateete in P4 and P5. We have done Mathematics, Reading, Science and Writing. On Tuesday they wanted me to teach Science and the topic of choice initially was the foot bath. I managed to get the topic changed and we reviewed about the heart and circulatory system. They then asked to learn more about poultry keeping so I told them that I would be the student and they would tell me about poultry keeping. I explained to the teacher that this is a great way to review information for the students before a test because they will correct each other.
I spoke at length with Nicholas (P4) and Hassan (P5) about teaching at Nateete and the challenges that they face. They rely on the pastor to pay their wage and even at that, it cannot be more than $3 a day when the Ministry is flush with money. Hassan has been at Nateete for a few years and has a certificate in social work from a local college and Nicholas is a trained teacher who has a 3 year degree from Makarere University. I asked Nicholas why he stays with the children at Nateete with such a small wage and he told me that he attends the church and felt that the children are part of his family and must work to take care of them. He is hoping to move to the High School once Living Hope has completed building it.
The problem, he said, was that there is much money sent to Africa but very little reaches the people who need it. Most of it remains in the upper offices. I said that this was why Niteo invests time and people into Uganda, not money. We feel that it is important for us to come and spend time with the teachers and the students here because we know that just sending money does not work. He replied that this is the best way. Both he and Hassan were convinced that coming to Uganda and working with the teachers for the benefit of the children is the best way to affect change here. Money does not help, time does. It was a nice confirmation that what we feel is the best use of our resources is also what they feel is the best use of our resources. They didn’t ask for money or for materials, they asked for us to sit together and share our ideas, our knowledge, our strengths and our frustrations as teachers. For example, we all find that students have a very difficult time learning how to do long division. Rhonda told me a little rhyme to help the students learn the steps and I told them. They thought that was great and they were even more impressed when I said that I had also just learned it and would be trying it for the first time this coming year to see how it worked. Teaching Together!
I also had a great conversation with Robert today about the progress in the North. He has been before and I wanted to get his impressions about the progress there and what we might see. He said that the last of the camps have been dismantled but when I said enthusiastically that people were returning to their villages, he said that it was not always so. “They have become lazy. They have been fed, sheltered and clothed for so long by the NGOs that they don’t want to return to where they have to work hard to survive." Robert told us that the soil is bad in the North and the weather is poor so the crops are limited. “You cannot blame them for becoming lazy; it has been a very difficult time for them.”
“So what is the best investment that can be made in the North?” I asked. “How can these people be best served?”
“Education. There must be schools and teachers and places for the children learn. They must see that education is important. This is the only way to rebuild this area. Education is the most important.”
I won’t get on my soap box to end this post. These conversations and events all confirm to me that what Niteo does right. Be here. Invest time. Make connections. Start conversations. The human connection is, to me, the key.
How can I even think that I am not coming next year?
Have a lovely evening. – Erika :)
2 comments:
On prend tellement tout pour acqui ici: peinture à doigts!!! Que ce moment a dû être magique, un autre moment magique pour toi!!!! Et tu penses déjà à l'année prochaine: Tu me fais rire, mais comme tu le mentionnes c'est la seule façon de t'assurer qu'ils reçoivent ce dont ils ont besoin: Bravo mon amie!!!!xxx
yup - you're in pretty deep my friend - I'm very curious about that long division rhyme...hope that works here in Canada!
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