Thank you all for your support throughout this adventure! It’s hard to believe that I’ve been in Uganda almost six months!
Tomorrow (Thursday) morning, I leave Bigodi to start the long journey home. My friend Julia will drive us to Fort Portal where I have one last school presentation to make than we will travel the five hours to Kampala for some last minute shopping. Next is a taxi ride to Entebbe, where I will be spending Thursday night. Friday morning, I depart at 9am from Entebbe on British Air and fly to LONDON where I have a 20 hour layover.
Friday evening will be spent catching up with my friend Tiffany (who stayed with us for a couple of weeks her in Bigodi) than staying at a hotel at Heathrow. Saturday, I leave London at noon again on British Air and get to Philly about 2:30pm. After going though customs and a three hour layover, I leave Philly at 6:40pm on an US Air flight and arrive at RDU about 8pm.
Please keep me in your thoughts and prayers for a safe journey home!
Wednesday, July 22, 2009
Monday, July 13, 2009
Week of July 6th-13th
It is hard to believe that I will be leaving Uganda in 11 short days. What an amazing experience this has turned out to be. This week’s blog will be shorter than normal as things are very busy with last minute school visits, meetings, and reporting. It feels like there is not enough time to get everything done before I leave.
A country of extremes- While the farmers were all complaining that rainy season was less rainy than normal; it was certainly more than enough rain for me. Many days I couldn’t do computer work because it rained all day and therefore we wouldn’t have any solar power. We are now officially into dry season and a drought. To the point that when I woke up this morning I was told that we couldn’t wash clothes today because we didn’t have any water! It also feels like we are living Stienbeck’s great dust bowl of America. Without any rain the roads are so dusty that I have to keep my eyes closed when ridding on a boda-boda; I just hope the driver has his eyes open!
An international dinner table- Last week, I stayed at my favorite guest house in Fort Portal as I was working on reporting and data entry that needs to be done before I leave the country. There were fascinating guests from all over the world! We eat family style at dinner so I dinned with people from Ireland, England, Germany, Uganda, NYC, the Netherlands, and Massachusetts. Some were on vacation traveling to all the great parks that Uganda has to offer. Others were working on projects ranging from doctors with a boarders, community libraries, church schools, school improvement and eco tourism. I even met a family with three kids from America who had been here eight years!
Data entry even in Africa- Last week, I entered over 500 surveys from children and teachers into a spreadsheet. While the work is not very exciting to say the least, it was heart breaking to see the following comments from children:
"If you go into the national park the wild animals there can eat you"!
In answer to what are the biggest environmental problems in Kibale National Park many replied with: that’s where rebels hide and animals that kill people live there (elephants)!
In answer to what you like most about forest, most children replied getting firewood!
The teachers had more uplifting comments:
“I am very grateful with the methods used by Jamilyn Cole when presenting to us and how she involved all of us actively in learning situations.”
“I truly appreciate for the arrangement of this training for it has made a great change in my way of doing things. “
“The training was so nice. May God bless Jamilyn Cole.”
“Let this UNITE remain forever and ever.”
“I leanrt many methods of teaching the conservation of environmental education.”
Most helpful “The methods and teaching games. Confidence and decent dressing of the facilitator Ms Jamilyn (African style of dressing not trousers).”
A country of extremes- While the farmers were all complaining that rainy season was less rainy than normal; it was certainly more than enough rain for me. Many days I couldn’t do computer work because it rained all day and therefore we wouldn’t have any solar power. We are now officially into dry season and a drought. To the point that when I woke up this morning I was told that we couldn’t wash clothes today because we didn’t have any water! It also feels like we are living Stienbeck’s great dust bowl of America. Without any rain the roads are so dusty that I have to keep my eyes closed when ridding on a boda-boda; I just hope the driver has his eyes open!
An international dinner table- Last week, I stayed at my favorite guest house in Fort Portal as I was working on reporting and data entry that needs to be done before I leave the country. There were fascinating guests from all over the world! We eat family style at dinner so I dinned with people from Ireland, England, Germany, Uganda, NYC, the Netherlands, and Massachusetts. Some were on vacation traveling to all the great parks that Uganda has to offer. Others were working on projects ranging from doctors with a boarders, community libraries, church schools, school improvement and eco tourism. I even met a family with three kids from America who had been here eight years!
Data entry even in Africa- Last week, I entered over 500 surveys from children and teachers into a spreadsheet. While the work is not very exciting to say the least, it was heart breaking to see the following comments from children:
"If you go into the national park the wild animals there can eat you"!
In answer to what are the biggest environmental problems in Kibale National Park many replied with: that’s where rebels hide and animals that kill people live there (elephants)!
In answer to what you like most about forest, most children replied getting firewood!
The teachers had more uplifting comments:
“I am very grateful with the methods used by Jamilyn Cole when presenting to us and how she involved all of us actively in learning situations.”
“I truly appreciate for the arrangement of this training for it has made a great change in my way of doing things. “
“The training was so nice. May God bless Jamilyn Cole.”
“Let this UNITE remain forever and ever.”
“I leanrt many methods of teaching the conservation of environmental education.”
Most helpful “The methods and teaching games. Confidence and decent dressing of the facilitator Ms Jamilyn (African style of dressing not trousers).”
Wednesday, July 8, 2009
Mark your calendars
In celebration of my recent trip to Uganda, join us for an evening of good food and friends!
Date: August 21st
Time: 7:00pm
Location: My house in Clayton NC
We will be feasting on traditional Ugandan food such as chapatti (yummy fry bread), matooke (steamed plantains), medozes (donuts), posha (similar to grits), ground nut sauce (peanut sauce), and other traditional foods. You won’t want to miss the slideshow of pictures from this picturesque country. Baskets and jewelry made by the women of Bigodi (the village where I lived for six months) will be for sale. My souvenirs will also be on display.
All donations & proceeds from items sold will be sent back to the help fund community projects in Bigodi, Uganda.
Date: August 21st
Time: 7:00pm
Location: My house in Clayton NC
We will be feasting on traditional Ugandan food such as chapatti (yummy fry bread), matooke (steamed plantains), medozes (donuts), posha (similar to grits), ground nut sauce (peanut sauce), and other traditional foods. You won’t want to miss the slideshow of pictures from this picturesque country. Baskets and jewelry made by the women of Bigodi (the village where I lived for six months) will be for sale. My souvenirs will also be on display.
All donations & proceeds from items sold will be sent back to the help fund community projects in Bigodi, Uganda.
Monday, July 6, 2009
The realties of living in Uganda
Week of June 29th-July 6th
For most of my time here, I’ve been able to escape the daily hardships of living in western rural Uganda. I live with the most prominent family in our village; we are the only family with a car and solar power. Unlike most of the other women my age I do not dig in a garden daily with a baby on my back. Even here in Uganda, I make monthly what most people make in two-three years. This week I experienced first hand the challenges of living in this area of the world.
An attack in the forest- A week ago today, one of the researchers I know was captured at gun point in Kibale National Park. After spending all night on the forest floor, he was able to escape in the morning and get back to the research station. At this point the assumption is that they were poachers. Years ago rebels used to hide out in the forest but it has been a long time since anyone has seen rebels in the park.
Conservation and survival- People who work in the field of conservation here and many places around the world are often at odds with people who are just trying to survive.
Everyone who lives in the communities surrounding the park use either firewood or charcoal to do all of their cooking. Which means everyday there is firewood to be gathered. Many people don’t think anything about crossing the park boundaries to get firewood. One of the organizations we work with is trying to encourage people to plant trees on their own property that they will than harvest for firewood but it hasn’t been embraced by the community yet. The same organization is also training people how to build stoves that will use less wood.
Locals here do not see the primates who live in the park as cute like many of us from the west do. Instead many here seem them as a nuisance as it’s the primates and other animals that raid people’s gardens here. I was in a meeting last week where one of the major items of discussion was what to do about the elephants that had crossed the park boundaries and were destroying gardens.
While people don’t eat much bush meat (primates) as they have in years passed, poaching still occurs in the forest. I was with a group of students recently and the ranger speaking to them knew whose parents were regular hunters in the park.
On the other hand many people in the surrounding committees know that the park and other local conservation sites provide jobs and that the tourists bring money into the local communities. So there is a constant struggle.
Accidents happen everywhere- Tiffany (our new housemate) was walking to the swamp with guide as she had done at least twice a day for the last two weeks when she was hit by a bicycle. The driver of the bike had lost complete control of the bike as it came careening over the hill at top speed. Tiffany was knocked backwards onto the gravel road. After applying basic first aid to her most visible wounds, I was able to convince Tinka that we needed to take her to the hospital in Fort Portal. I was very concerned because she was in a terrible amount of pain in her back and was asking the same questions over and over again.
Almost two hours after the accident occurred we arrived in Fort Portal where we had to go to three hospitals until we found one who could do x-rays that evening. By evening we had learned that she had a broken bone in her hand, a concussion, a compressed vertebrae, and had to have stitches in five places including on her head!
She was in the hospital for the next three days and two nights. I stayed with her the entire time to help navigate the language and cultural barriers. The hospital looked like something out of the 1900’s. There were about ten rooms all around a central courtyard that looked like it had been bombed at some point. Seriously, the courtyard was full of concrete rubble and a low hanging clothes line that patients had to navigate to get to the one bathroom or the surgery room. There were no electronic monitoring devices in the patients’ rooms. We had to supply our own sheets/blankets for the beds and there were no pillows. The care was so basic, about all they could do for her is clean her wounds, take x-rays, and give pain meds.
The sad thing is even with that basic care it’s more than most Ugandan’s receive. The boy (20 years old) who was driving the bike went to health clinic in Bigodi which is basically just a first aid clinic. Once his wounds were dressed he than went to another district (county)- to hid himself because he was afraid thatsince he hit a mazuga he would go to jail. Once I reassured his stepmom that he would not go to jail and that he needed medical treatment (he has a head injury), the next issue became payment. They didn’t have the money for treatment. Nothing breaks my heart more than someone not receiving medical care simply because they can’t pay for it. I offered to pay for his treatment but they have been unable to locate him.
Teenage pregnancy- A girl who is just 14 who attended one of the schools I work with gave birth last week. One of the many sad aspects of this situation, is she was at school on Monday no one knew she was pregnant and by Wednesday she had given birth. Many, many girls here get pregnant and or married very young. When I go to visit the secondary school there are so few girls in the classes because most have dropped out of school by than.
Field trips- On a happier note two of our schools went to Kibale National Park on field trips this week. Even though they all live within just miles of the park, none had ever been into the park legally. Many had crossed the park boundaries to get firewood or to hunt for their families. It is a little frustrating that some of the park staff put more emphasis on their foreign guest than the local youth who are the ones who directly impact the park. However, I am glad we able to take them on an official tour. This week we have kids going on their first visit to the botanical gardens in Fort Portal.
Classroom visits- We visited three schools last week, it was great to see all the hands on and conservation lessons that they are doing with the students. I even got to teach a class of 204 second graders- yes there were 104 all in one class! It is frustrating when we go to schools and teachers are absent. There is a very high rate of absenteeism among teachers and since there are no substitute teachers, when a teacher misses school that class is on it’s own for the day or another teacher will try to cover two classes. Neither works well.
No place like home-I’ll admit it after being here five and a half months; I am looking forward to going home. It’s the little things I’m looking forward to the most; hanging out with my pets, catching up with friends, enjoying good food, chilling on my back deck, and just enjoying being home.
For most of my time here, I’ve been able to escape the daily hardships of living in western rural Uganda. I live with the most prominent family in our village; we are the only family with a car and solar power. Unlike most of the other women my age I do not dig in a garden daily with a baby on my back. Even here in Uganda, I make monthly what most people make in two-three years. This week I experienced first hand the challenges of living in this area of the world.
An attack in the forest- A week ago today, one of the researchers I know was captured at gun point in Kibale National Park. After spending all night on the forest floor, he was able to escape in the morning and get back to the research station. At this point the assumption is that they were poachers. Years ago rebels used to hide out in the forest but it has been a long time since anyone has seen rebels in the park.
Conservation and survival- People who work in the field of conservation here and many places around the world are often at odds with people who are just trying to survive.
Everyone who lives in the communities surrounding the park use either firewood or charcoal to do all of their cooking. Which means everyday there is firewood to be gathered. Many people don’t think anything about crossing the park boundaries to get firewood. One of the organizations we work with is trying to encourage people to plant trees on their own property that they will than harvest for firewood but it hasn’t been embraced by the community yet. The same organization is also training people how to build stoves that will use less wood.
Locals here do not see the primates who live in the park as cute like many of us from the west do. Instead many here seem them as a nuisance as it’s the primates and other animals that raid people’s gardens here. I was in a meeting last week where one of the major items of discussion was what to do about the elephants that had crossed the park boundaries and were destroying gardens.
While people don’t eat much bush meat (primates) as they have in years passed, poaching still occurs in the forest. I was with a group of students recently and the ranger speaking to them knew whose parents were regular hunters in the park.
On the other hand many people in the surrounding committees know that the park and other local conservation sites provide jobs and that the tourists bring money into the local communities. So there is a constant struggle.
Accidents happen everywhere- Tiffany (our new housemate) was walking to the swamp with guide as she had done at least twice a day for the last two weeks when she was hit by a bicycle. The driver of the bike had lost complete control of the bike as it came careening over the hill at top speed. Tiffany was knocked backwards onto the gravel road. After applying basic first aid to her most visible wounds, I was able to convince Tinka that we needed to take her to the hospital in Fort Portal. I was very concerned because she was in a terrible amount of pain in her back and was asking the same questions over and over again.
Almost two hours after the accident occurred we arrived in Fort Portal where we had to go to three hospitals until we found one who could do x-rays that evening. By evening we had learned that she had a broken bone in her hand, a concussion, a compressed vertebrae, and had to have stitches in five places including on her head!
She was in the hospital for the next three days and two nights. I stayed with her the entire time to help navigate the language and cultural barriers. The hospital looked like something out of the 1900’s. There were about ten rooms all around a central courtyard that looked like it had been bombed at some point. Seriously, the courtyard was full of concrete rubble and a low hanging clothes line that patients had to navigate to get to the one bathroom or the surgery room. There were no electronic monitoring devices in the patients’ rooms. We had to supply our own sheets/blankets for the beds and there were no pillows. The care was so basic, about all they could do for her is clean her wounds, take x-rays, and give pain meds.
The sad thing is even with that basic care it’s more than most Ugandan’s receive. The boy (20 years old) who was driving the bike went to health clinic in Bigodi which is basically just a first aid clinic. Once his wounds were dressed he than went to another district (county)- to hid himself because he was afraid thatsince he hit a mazuga he would go to jail. Once I reassured his stepmom that he would not go to jail and that he needed medical treatment (he has a head injury), the next issue became payment. They didn’t have the money for treatment. Nothing breaks my heart more than someone not receiving medical care simply because they can’t pay for it. I offered to pay for his treatment but they have been unable to locate him.
Teenage pregnancy- A girl who is just 14 who attended one of the schools I work with gave birth last week. One of the many sad aspects of this situation, is she was at school on Monday no one knew she was pregnant and by Wednesday she had given birth. Many, many girls here get pregnant and or married very young. When I go to visit the secondary school there are so few girls in the classes because most have dropped out of school by than.
Field trips- On a happier note two of our schools went to Kibale National Park on field trips this week. Even though they all live within just miles of the park, none had ever been into the park legally. Many had crossed the park boundaries to get firewood or to hunt for their families. It is a little frustrating that some of the park staff put more emphasis on their foreign guest than the local youth who are the ones who directly impact the park. However, I am glad we able to take them on an official tour. This week we have kids going on their first visit to the botanical gardens in Fort Portal.
Classroom visits- We visited three schools last week, it was great to see all the hands on and conservation lessons that they are doing with the students. I even got to teach a class of 204 second graders- yes there were 104 all in one class! It is frustrating when we go to schools and teachers are absent. There is a very high rate of absenteeism among teachers and since there are no substitute teachers, when a teacher misses school that class is on it’s own for the day or another teacher will try to cover two classes. Neither works well.
No place like home-I’ll admit it after being here five and a half months; I am looking forward to going home. It’s the little things I’m looking forward to the most; hanging out with my pets, catching up with friends, enjoying good food, chilling on my back deck, and just enjoying being home.
Tuesday, June 30, 2009
Week of June 22nd-29th
1. 48 garden hoes, 90 flour sacks, and 10 watering cans- All this and more was purchased to get ready for my last big training which was held this past weekend. I trained 40 plus 5th-7th grade teachers this weekend! This was the second time that I had trained this particular group of teachers. We had a great time learning new activities that they could incorporate into their teaching. The highlights of the weekend included a tour of the Bigodi Wetland, a presentation by the Community Conservation Warden of Kibale National Park, and learning to make learning aids from local materials.
I love taking teachers on a tour of the Biogdi Wetland, most have never been on a tour because they think there is nothing special there. However, after the tour they are always amazed at the variety of primates, plants, birds, and tree species. It is our hope of course that they will pass on this knowledge and respect for the local environment to their students.
This week the teachers from Green Circle (a school in Fort Portal that is trained in Montessori methods) taught us how to make posters and charts for classrooms out of empty flour sacks! Using a flour sack and a few magic markers the classrooms at Green Circle are covered with diagrams of the digestive system, water cycle, geographical features, and many others. Our teachers had a great time making their own flour sack charts for their classrooms!
2. Elephant ball- I always intersperse games into my trainings to keep things fun and lively. All of the games can also be done with students so it’s great for teachers to experience them. Speed ball, one of favorite name games is always a hit with the teachers. Last week we all learned a new game that the teachers loved. Jamaal, the Canadian who was staying with us for a few days taught us how to play elephant ball. Everyone stands in a large circle with their feet wide apart and their shoes touching their neighbors. Players than bend over and make a trunk with their arms. The object is to keep the ball inside the circle by using your “trunk”, if the ball goes though your legs than you are out. The teachers had such a great time playing this game; I can’t wait to see students playing it!
3. Repeat customers- I’ve enjoyed getting to know all the teachers though these trainings. Many teachers have had such a good time that they have come to 4 out of 5 of the trainings (they only ‘had’ to come to 2). Somebody even told me that they didn’t expect the trainings to be so much fun!
4. Thank you- In addition to receiving lots of great packages for me while I’ve been here many of you have sent things for the teachers and students that I work with. The teachers were so very grateful for the volleyballs (netball is very popular for girls here), playground balls, sanitary pads, girls underwear, children’s books and educational games that you sent. They wanted to make sure that I told all my American friends and family thank you!!
5. Free range chickens – At Tinka’s we have five goats, two dogs, and lots of chickens. The chickens are literally free range roaming around finding food wherever they can. I know it’s good for them and produces yummy meat however; I don’t like it when they graze off my dinner plate!
6. An elephant break-in- Our housemate, Tiffany went on safari to Queen Elizabeth this weekend and an elephant broke into to their vehicle. She evidently used her trunk to get into the car and get the snacks!
I love taking teachers on a tour of the Biogdi Wetland, most have never been on a tour because they think there is nothing special there. However, after the tour they are always amazed at the variety of primates, plants, birds, and tree species. It is our hope of course that they will pass on this knowledge and respect for the local environment to their students.
This week the teachers from Green Circle (a school in Fort Portal that is trained in Montessori methods) taught us how to make posters and charts for classrooms out of empty flour sacks! Using a flour sack and a few magic markers the classrooms at Green Circle are covered with diagrams of the digestive system, water cycle, geographical features, and many others. Our teachers had a great time making their own flour sack charts for their classrooms!
2. Elephant ball- I always intersperse games into my trainings to keep things fun and lively. All of the games can also be done with students so it’s great for teachers to experience them. Speed ball, one of favorite name games is always a hit with the teachers. Last week we all learned a new game that the teachers loved. Jamaal, the Canadian who was staying with us for a few days taught us how to play elephant ball. Everyone stands in a large circle with their feet wide apart and their shoes touching their neighbors. Players than bend over and make a trunk with their arms. The object is to keep the ball inside the circle by using your “trunk”, if the ball goes though your legs than you are out. The teachers had such a great time playing this game; I can’t wait to see students playing it!
3. Repeat customers- I’ve enjoyed getting to know all the teachers though these trainings. Many teachers have had such a good time that they have come to 4 out of 5 of the trainings (they only ‘had’ to come to 2). Somebody even told me that they didn’t expect the trainings to be so much fun!
4. Thank you- In addition to receiving lots of great packages for me while I’ve been here many of you have sent things for the teachers and students that I work with. The teachers were so very grateful for the volleyballs (netball is very popular for girls here), playground balls, sanitary pads, girls underwear, children’s books and educational games that you sent. They wanted to make sure that I told all my American friends and family thank you!!
5. Free range chickens – At Tinka’s we have five goats, two dogs, and lots of chickens. The chickens are literally free range roaming around finding food wherever they can. I know it’s good for them and produces yummy meat however; I don’t like it when they graze off my dinner plate!
6. An elephant break-in- Our housemate, Tiffany went on safari to Queen Elizabeth this weekend and an elephant broke into to their vehicle. She evidently used her trunk to get into the car and get the snacks!
Monday, June 22, 2009
Week of June 15th-22nd
1. 45 teachers and me- This past weekend, I spent two days training 45 p1-p4 (1st-4th grade) teachers from nine area schools on how to integrate conservation education into their classroom teaching. It was the second time that I had trained this particular group of teachers and we had a fantastic time learning new activities that they could incorporate into their classes. I am always amazed at the turnout we have for these trainings as many teachers come from over an hour away. None of the teachers have cars so they either walk/bike very far distances to get here or have to hire a boda boda to carry them over bumpy poorly maintained “roads”.
One of UNITE’s goals and my personal mission’s is to teach teachers hands on ways of teaching. We want to help move teachers away from chalk and talk to more interactive ways of teaching. Even without text books or classroom resources there are many things you can do to make a lesson interactive and engaging for students. The teachers learned many new methods over the course of the weekend that they can use when teaching conservation education and other subjects.
In addition to learning new methods of teaching, we invited the Community Conservation Warden from Kibale National Park to come and talk to the teachers about the park’s school conservation programs. Saturday afternoon, we took all the teachers on a guided tour of the Bigodi Wetland Sanctuary. Only one of the teachers had even been on a tour there. They had no idea what types of primates or birds live in this area. If the teachers don’t know about their local environment than how can we expect them to teach is to their students! It was great to see their reactions to seeing baboons up close and learning about the different types of birds and trees.
2. What can you make from a handful of beans and rice? - Since schools here do not have money for teaching materials most of the classroom walls are bare. However, there are many teaching aids that can be made from locally found materials. I invited the staff from a Montessori trained school in town to come a lead a workshop during our training on making learning materials. The teachers loved it and they all got to make a learning aid to take back to their schools. I can’t wait till I can post pictures so you can see the creativity of these teachers.
Using different types of beans, rice, plywood, and glue made from cassava flour: they were able to make a diagram of the human eye so students could clearly see the pupil, iris, and other parts of the eye. A chart of the different types of soil was created from just a piece of plywood, beans for the lettering and borders, cassava flour glue, and soil. Many teachers chose to make a fish so their students could learn the different parts of the fish; it was made from just paper, beans, and cassava flour glue. My group used banana fibers (from the trunk of a banana tree) to make a large sheet of paper on which we than painted a colorful map of Uganda!
I wish I had time to more of these workshops as there are so many things that can be made for the classrooms with just a little time and creativity! Unfortunately, my time is starting to run out – I leave Bigodi one month from tomorrow. I do have one more training next week for the p5-p7 teachers that I am looking forward to.
3. I will miss…- There are many things that I will miss when I head back to the states in just about a month. I will miss kids running down their driveways to say “Mazuga, mazuga how are you?” as they see me jogging past. I will miss running into my friends in the local bar. I will miss healthy natural food prepared by someone else. I will miss working with this amazing group of teachers. I will miss seeing the beautiful Renzori Mountains from the porch of my little house. I will miss the fact that since there is “no hurry in Africa” in five months, I haven’t been late to a single function. I will miss my little village of Bigodi where it seems like almost everyone knows me. I will miss feeling like I am making at least a small difference in the world. And of course I will miss Leon.
4. New housemate- Last week we got a new housemate. Tiffany is from the UK and will be staying with us till mid July. She is an undergrad studying biology/conservation and is volunteering at KAFRED for the month. For the last five days, a University student from Canada has been staying with us as well. Jamaal is on a three month field placement in Uganda studying community development. They are both great fun and it has been a real treat for me to have English speaking company! Both even attended my training over the weekend and seem to really enjoy it.
One of UNITE’s goals and my personal mission’s is to teach teachers hands on ways of teaching. We want to help move teachers away from chalk and talk to more interactive ways of teaching. Even without text books or classroom resources there are many things you can do to make a lesson interactive and engaging for students. The teachers learned many new methods over the course of the weekend that they can use when teaching conservation education and other subjects.
In addition to learning new methods of teaching, we invited the Community Conservation Warden from Kibale National Park to come and talk to the teachers about the park’s school conservation programs. Saturday afternoon, we took all the teachers on a guided tour of the Bigodi Wetland Sanctuary. Only one of the teachers had even been on a tour there. They had no idea what types of primates or birds live in this area. If the teachers don’t know about their local environment than how can we expect them to teach is to their students! It was great to see their reactions to seeing baboons up close and learning about the different types of birds and trees.
2. What can you make from a handful of beans and rice? - Since schools here do not have money for teaching materials most of the classroom walls are bare. However, there are many teaching aids that can be made from locally found materials. I invited the staff from a Montessori trained school in town to come a lead a workshop during our training on making learning materials. The teachers loved it and they all got to make a learning aid to take back to their schools. I can’t wait till I can post pictures so you can see the creativity of these teachers.
Using different types of beans, rice, plywood, and glue made from cassava flour: they were able to make a diagram of the human eye so students could clearly see the pupil, iris, and other parts of the eye. A chart of the different types of soil was created from just a piece of plywood, beans for the lettering and borders, cassava flour glue, and soil. Many teachers chose to make a fish so their students could learn the different parts of the fish; it was made from just paper, beans, and cassava flour glue. My group used banana fibers (from the trunk of a banana tree) to make a large sheet of paper on which we than painted a colorful map of Uganda!
I wish I had time to more of these workshops as there are so many things that can be made for the classrooms with just a little time and creativity! Unfortunately, my time is starting to run out – I leave Bigodi one month from tomorrow. I do have one more training next week for the p5-p7 teachers that I am looking forward to.
3. I will miss…- There are many things that I will miss when I head back to the states in just about a month. I will miss kids running down their driveways to say “Mazuga, mazuga how are you?” as they see me jogging past. I will miss running into my friends in the local bar. I will miss healthy natural food prepared by someone else. I will miss working with this amazing group of teachers. I will miss seeing the beautiful Renzori Mountains from the porch of my little house. I will miss the fact that since there is “no hurry in Africa” in five months, I haven’t been late to a single function. I will miss my little village of Bigodi where it seems like almost everyone knows me. I will miss feeling like I am making at least a small difference in the world. And of course I will miss Leon.
4. New housemate- Last week we got a new housemate. Tiffany is from the UK and will be staying with us till mid July. She is an undergrad studying biology/conservation and is volunteering at KAFRED for the month. For the last five days, a University student from Canada has been staying with us as well. Jamaal is on a three month field placement in Uganda studying community development. They are both great fun and it has been a real treat for me to have English speaking company! Both even attended my training over the weekend and seem to really enjoy it.
Friday, June 19, 2009
Marriages, burials, and chickens-My 19th week in Uganda
I’m a little late posting this due to lack of computer availability and a good internet connection this week. This is for the week of June 6th-14th.
1. Good to be back- After traveling throughout much of Uganda on Safari, it was great to be back in Bigodi and in my normal routine last week. I will miss my little African village when I head back to the states in late July!
2. Attending an introduction- Last week I got to attend the introduction of our neighbor’s cousin. An introduction here is sort of like an engagement party, it’s where the bride’s family accepts the bride price or dowry from the husband to be and the two families are officially introduced. The actual marriage will occur at a church ceremony a month or so later. In this case as with many marriages here the couple had actually lived together for the last seven years and had two children together! The official wedding and introduction are often put off for many years due to the expense of these celebrations.
There were well over two hundred in attendance at this introduction. It was a very formal affair with the men in suits and the women in their best traditional dresses.
3. Losing one of the oldest members of the village-Last week the oldest woman in Bigodi passed away. While everyone knew she had three generations of grandchildren no one knew exactly when she was born. Tinka did know what king she was born under so he was able to look that up on the internet and at least narrow it down to a decade. The decision of the village elders was that she was 113!!! She even cooked for Tinka’s Grandfathers wedding so many years ago!
4. Month long birthday celebration- I’ve always loved birthdays and while this year’s birthday was a little anti climatic, I’ve continued to get packages and cards for the last five weeks! This week two birthday packages arrived, one from my sister and one from my old high school friends. My sister obviously knows me well because not only did she include books, balls for the kids (she is a PE teacher after all), but there was also chocolate for me!! The package from my friends was gigantic and must have cost a fortune to send. They included lots of books, assorted magazines including Bass fishing, volleyballs for the kids (netball is very popular here), and lots of snacks for me! I am very blessed to have such a supportive group of friends and family.
5. Twelve secondary teachers and me- Last weekend, I trained 12 teachers for the local Secondary school. I hadn’t worked with them yet so it was a joy to get to know them. Since they teach at the secondary level they were all fluent in English, which made the training at lot easier on me. We had a great time learning conservation activities that they could incorporate into their teaching. There were two surprising things for me: one was that while the schools mission is “We conserve to develop” they were actually doing very little in the way of conservation education. The second was none of the teachers at the school had ever been on a tour of the Bigodi Wetland which is less than a mile from the school! None of the teachers had any idea of how many birds’ species live in the swamp or could name the different types of primates. We took a guided tour of the wetland and by the end of the weekend; all knew that there are 200 different types of birds and eight species of monkeys living in the wetland!
6. 26 pounds gone- One of the great side effects of living and working in Uganda has been losing weight by sampling eating natural foods and walking a lot. So far I have lost 26 pounds!!!
7. I’ve heard about chickens coming home to roost but this is nuts- I had two incidents involving chickens last week. While napping, I felt something jump up on my bed at first I thought it was Leon but no it was a chicken. Tinka thought maybe she was looking for a place to lay her eggs! Later in the week, I was getting my “juice bucket” from outside as it was drying upside down; when I picked it up I heard a loud squeak and there was a small chicken. Evidently, she had been missing and trapped under my bucket for two days as I was out of town!
1. Good to be back- After traveling throughout much of Uganda on Safari, it was great to be back in Bigodi and in my normal routine last week. I will miss my little African village when I head back to the states in late July!
2. Attending an introduction- Last week I got to attend the introduction of our neighbor’s cousin. An introduction here is sort of like an engagement party, it’s where the bride’s family accepts the bride price or dowry from the husband to be and the two families are officially introduced. The actual marriage will occur at a church ceremony a month or so later. In this case as with many marriages here the couple had actually lived together for the last seven years and had two children together! The official wedding and introduction are often put off for many years due to the expense of these celebrations.
There were well over two hundred in attendance at this introduction. It was a very formal affair with the men in suits and the women in their best traditional dresses.
3. Losing one of the oldest members of the village-Last week the oldest woman in Bigodi passed away. While everyone knew she had three generations of grandchildren no one knew exactly when she was born. Tinka did know what king she was born under so he was able to look that up on the internet and at least narrow it down to a decade. The decision of the village elders was that she was 113!!! She even cooked for Tinka’s Grandfathers wedding so many years ago!
4. Month long birthday celebration- I’ve always loved birthdays and while this year’s birthday was a little anti climatic, I’ve continued to get packages and cards for the last five weeks! This week two birthday packages arrived, one from my sister and one from my old high school friends. My sister obviously knows me well because not only did she include books, balls for the kids (she is a PE teacher after all), but there was also chocolate for me!! The package from my friends was gigantic and must have cost a fortune to send. They included lots of books, assorted magazines including Bass fishing, volleyballs for the kids (netball is very popular here), and lots of snacks for me! I am very blessed to have such a supportive group of friends and family.
5. Twelve secondary teachers and me- Last weekend, I trained 12 teachers for the local Secondary school. I hadn’t worked with them yet so it was a joy to get to know them. Since they teach at the secondary level they were all fluent in English, which made the training at lot easier on me. We had a great time learning conservation activities that they could incorporate into their teaching. There were two surprising things for me: one was that while the schools mission is “We conserve to develop” they were actually doing very little in the way of conservation education. The second was none of the teachers at the school had ever been on a tour of the Bigodi Wetland which is less than a mile from the school! None of the teachers had any idea of how many birds’ species live in the swamp or could name the different types of primates. We took a guided tour of the wetland and by the end of the weekend; all knew that there are 200 different types of birds and eight species of monkeys living in the wetland!
6. 26 pounds gone- One of the great side effects of living and working in Uganda has been losing weight by sampling eating natural foods and walking a lot. So far I have lost 26 pounds!!!
7. I’ve heard about chickens coming home to roost but this is nuts- I had two incidents involving chickens last week. While napping, I felt something jump up on my bed at first I thought it was Leon but no it was a chicken. Tinka thought maybe she was looking for a place to lay her eggs! Later in the week, I was getting my “juice bucket” from outside as it was drying upside down; when I picked it up I heard a loud squeak and there was a small chicken. Evidently, she had been missing and trapped under my bucket for two days as I was out of town!
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