Hello!
It was another amazing and incredible week here in Uganda. I
can’t believe I am approaching my final month. While it makes me really sad to
think about leaving, I am really excited for these next few weeks. Everyday, I
get better at being here than the day before. I learn new tips and tricks that
help me teach and effectively explain things. I now know how to make small talk
with people in Luganda, what questions to ask a kid based on his/her height,
and how to navigate Bulenga as well as some of the surrounding villages. I’ve
also learned some new and creative ways to help people. I can’t wait to see
what else I’ll learn as I approach this next month! I think I will be the most capable here on my very last day.
Here are some stories from the week! Usually I add photos at
the end but I decided to mix a few into the post this time! Enjoy :)
Monday morning, I was exhausted from the weekend but excited
to be greeted in the by my wonderful Primary 4 class at Faith! These
kids are GREAT. This group specializes in neat handwriting and accurately drawn
diagrams. Even something as insignificant as a dash is drawn using some kind of
straight edge. This week we practiced telling time using analog clocks. As you
can imagine, this took a lot of time, as they made sure a perfectly drawn clock
accompanied every example in their notebooks. This is the group with the widest
range in abilities. Fortunately, the ones who used to lag behind seem to have caught
up quite a bit! Here’s a class photo we
took earlier in the week!
My persistent Primary 4 students: Doreen, Lukia, Precious,
Lydia, Shaluah and Patrick, Edison, Ferdinand, Travis, Victor (left to right)
Teaching at Faith has been fun but busy! There are 5
classrooms- Nursery (has 3 age groups), Primary 1 & Primary 2 combined,
Primary 3, Primary 4, and Primary 6. There are 4 teachers at the school, but
it’s rare for them all to show up. On
Thursday, Teacher Betty and I were the only teachers for the day. The concept
of “substitute teachers” is foreign and teachers here don’t lose their jobs if
they don’t show up to school for a few days. Things come up and sometimes a
teacher can’t make it. The unfortunate result is that often times, students
will sit in a classroom without a teacher, sometimes for a few hours at a time.
On Thursday, I did my best to teach the 3 higher classes at the same time but I
still haven’t figured out how to be 3 places at once. Fortunately, the kids
were able to do work I wrote on the board while I was out of the room. Usually, when I return to the classroom, the kids are working quietly. If they finish early however, chaos can break out.
In addition to lacking teachers, the students at Faith are
lacking basic school supplies. Notebooks,
pencils, and pens are luxury items in Bulenga. Obviously, they are necessary for
school. but it can be difficult when families simply can’t afford them.
Before I came to Uganda, I was advised to be very careful
about when I give things away. I came with a suitcase full of clothes,
toothbrushes, shoes, and school supplies thanks to many generous friends,
neighbors, and family members. If I arrived at Faith and Good Hope with all
those goodies on my first day, the kids would expect me to come with things
for them everyday. The most valuable thing I have to give these kids is my
time. Once that runs out, I’ll leave them with the other goodies, all of which
I know will go far. Waiting to give out the donations also allows me to identify
which kids need them the most.
That being said, I have given a few things away to the group
at Faith! I’ve brought some pencil sharpeners to each class, because I got so
nervous seeing kids sharpen their pencils with razors! I’ve also brought
coloring materials on some days for special activities. The other day, I
watched my class of P.3 students share one pencil as they constructed lines and
shapes. It’s great that they are so good
at sharing, but 12 students sharing 1 pencil was pretty inefficient. That
night, I was reminded of 1 John 3:17 and thought about the giant bag of pencils just sitting in my suitcase. These kids needed the pencils NOW so the next morning,
I showed up with a pencil for everyone in my class. A #2 pencil is probably one
of the least exciting gifts in my opinion, but these kids were thrilled when I
handed each of them a pencil. They asked me if they could borrow my permanent
marker so they could each write their name on the pencil. They kept thanking me for my generosity and I
almost laughed. But it really gave me a perspective into how sacred school
supplies are for these kids. I can’t wait to see the faces of these kids when I
tell them my friends in America have donated many more pencils and other things
for them!
Promise, one of my beautiful Primary 3 students, with her
new pencil!
I’ve been spending my afternoons at Good Hope, which have
been lots of fun! While the school has difficulties of its own, school supplies
are much less scarce! Additionally, there are enough teachers for each class. The
school is organized and a number of parents are very involved in supporting the
school. Everyday there has looked a little different for me! Sometimes, I teach
a class or help a teacher mark papers. Other days I play games and sing songs
with the kids when they get out of class. I love hanging out with the kids and
getting to know them! While I know a smaller percentage of the Good Hope
students due to the large size, the kids there are so welcoming and eager to
learn! They ask me all types of questions from “Are vampires real?” to “are you
married?” to “in your country, do you have chickens?” They
are so curious and it’s fun to chat with them!
Good Hope is preparing for a ceremony/fundraiser next month.
It’s a big event! A selected group of students perform a dance for the event in
the style of the Buganda. This dance includes some vigorous and isolated hip
movements, quick steps, low squats, neck jolts, and lots of jumps. It’s
extremely energetic! A dance instructor came on Tuesday to begin teaching the
routine. The teachers told me I should come and watch. I eagerly agreed- I was
so excited to get to see a traditional dance!
The instructor held a quick dance audition to select the top
dancers of the group. Once he had about 40 or so, he began to teach the
routine. This guy taught so quickly and whenever he didn’t like the way someone
was doing something, he simply dismissed the dancer. The group shrunk down to
about 20 by the end of the lesson! The instructor kept yelling at them because
they weren’t smiling, and I wanted to help out! I decided I should hop in and
join the group. I figured seeing an American try out their traditional dance
would make them all laugh. I was also quite curious about the dance- it looked
like fun!
I may have reconsidered that decision if I knew how I would
feel the next day!
As soon as I joined the group, all eyes were on me. Not just
the eyes of the dance instructor and the dancers, but the eyes of the other
250+ students and all the teachers. I think some kids from the houses around
even peeked into the school yard to see this entertainment! A few girls brought
me a sweater to tie around my waist (I’m not sure why they do this, but I think
it helps with the separation of the upper body and lower body movements) and a
stick to hold in front of me (something they do to help with balance). The
dance instructor started continuing with his directions and I tried to follow
along. Wow! It was not easy! I definitely was not a natural at the Buganda
dance style. BUT I did successfully bring smiles to many faces! Everyone was
laughing! I was glad my failure could be so entertaining. After my initial
rough start, a few students came by my side and helped me out. As the
instructor continued shouting directions, they held my hand and walked me
through the whole thing. It was so sweet!!
As the routine continued, the moves increased in difficulty.
Soon we were shaking our hips while walking and spinning and jumping. It was
impressive watching some of the young kids pick up these complex movements with
ease! It was clear I was getting tired. The students kept asking me, “Teacher
Hannah- are you tired? You can stop!” and I replied with, “yes, I’m tired, but
I’m not going to give up!” If I was tired from dancing along in the back
row, taking an occasional sip of water, I couldn’t imagine what it was like for
the group of kids in the front under the strict gaze of the dance instructor.
These kids were working so hard and I wanted to just spend a little bit of time
walking (dancing!) in their shoes!
To say I mastered the Buganda dance would be the
overstatement of the century. I did however pick up a few of the moves and
manage to follow along with the flow of the dance! As I walked away, the dance
instructor pointed to me and said, “see you next time!” I was shocked he didn’t
banish me far away from the group for putting his moves to shame! I definitely
look forward to the challenged the next lesson brings!
The next day, I could barely get out of bed! My neck hurt so
bad from the aggressive neck jolts throughout the dance. My quads were aching
and even my feet had a hard time functioning! While pain isn’t fun, it was definitely worth
it to get to dance with those kids. And
I hope the memory of me flapping around will bring smiles to their faces when
they perform!
Here are some of the wonderful students at Good Hope!
The wonderful Salma was very helpful, standing by my side to
make sure I picked up the moves correctly!
I hope you enjoyed these snippets from what was a wonderful
week! It’s time for bed over here but I hope as you’re reading this, you’re
enjoying your weekend! Make sure to try something new!
Love,
Hannah
The "Boys side" of the Primary 4 classroom at Faith
Wrapping a cylinder and some boxes to learn about surface area in Primary 6!
Faith is in a rural area. Many people work as farmers! This is the beautiful view out of one of the classroom windows! The walk is long but gorgeous
One student who lives close to the school showed me this- this is what his family uses for a mirror!! Definitely different than the full length mirrors we have in the U.S.
Hannah - I will always remember the Cake story that you wrote - thanks for taking something that's so common and ordinary and taken for granted in our lives and putting it into a new context for us. Thanks so much for your example of using your gifts and resourcefulness ad heart to make a difference in the classroom despite all the limits. And thanks for sharing your writing and I think about your stories every day (well most). I hope you share all your stories when you return to WPI - but for sure you've got to talk up the solar light 'appropriate technology' story as it's so in line with the WPI mission/traditions. I love you! Dad
ReplyDeleteHannah - I love reading your blog and sharing in your adventures.
ReplyDelete