Hello! It's me again. I have spent the last two and a half weeks in western Uganda, near the border with the Congo, in a beautiful region called the Crater Lakes region. I stayed in a banda (a hut with clay walls and a straw roof) on top of a hill above one of over 70 crater lakes found in the region. Forested hills stretch forever, hiding the lakes between their tops, and the Rwenzori Mountains, the highest mountains in Africa, tower over the landscape. I have never seen a place like this anywhere else.
I was the only guest staying in the community-run campsite becoming quick friends with the manager, his family, and the six local boys training there to be tourist guides, and the camp dog, Jex (what can I say, I love animals!). I also volunteered at a local community school.
In Madagascar, I thought I had seen just about the simplest school I could see. I was definitely wrong. That school had the benefit of being established and sponsored by a small Catholic mission. This school in the Crater Lakes region was established by the community so that children living in the areas between government school locations would have an opportunity to attend school. Therefore, the school has no governmental support in terms of training or funding. This was obvious the first time I saw it. The school consists of two buildings (similar in structure to my banda), totaling 5 classrooms (one for each of 5 grades). Approximately 170 children, ranging in age from 6-12, crammed inside these classrooms, either standing for the five hours of instruction, or sitting in the dirt on the floor. Each child had a few pieces of scratch paper to use as a notebook, most shared pens with their friends, and none had textbooks. My classroom was luxurious, having an old blackboard to use. It was very sad.
I taught the oldest group of kids math and science for five hours each day. The kids were terrific and immediately loved me (probably because I was the first white person to pay attention to them). My second day there, the kids presented me with 4 huge papayas, 2 mangoes, and 5 avocados as gifts. I was extremely touched and grateful, although carrying them all the way back to my banda was a bit challenging, especially considering that I had to walk over 4 miles roundtrip to and from school each day, including half a kilometer up a very steep hill. The teachers at the school bestowed on me a Ugandan name, "Amooti," which refers to the reverence and respect a king demands. I am honored by the respect, but I certainly don't want to be thought of as a king.
Teaching without any materials at all proved very challenging, but I managed and we all had a good time. To liven up the atmosphere and make it fun, I taught the children some games, which they continued to play even after school was dismissed each day. I am glad that I was able to provide the children with a friend, teach them some new things, and share in their love, but I also felt bad that I couldn't do more. Out of the 170 children at the school, nearly 80% are orphans, losing their parents to AIDS and other diseases. The community members have been wonderful and taken many of the orphans in, but it is still rather easy to find groups of 4 or 5 children sleeping under a tree together at night, and then spending the next day trying to find enough food to give them one more day. It is truly heartbreaking to see, and to even think about. Nobody should have to live like that, never feeling loved, never having another thought except about survival, and never experiencing a feeling of hope for the future.
Well, I don't want everyone to be depressed by this blog post, so I will switch topics. I have been eating the local food for the past five weeks (mostly matooke, a potato-type food, potatoes, maize, and beans), but like in Madagascar with my rice and beans diet, my stomach has decided to rebel. I found myself feeling sick just looking at another plate of matooke (normally part of breakfast, lunch, and dinner--it is very cheap because of the vast number of matooke plantations everywhere). Only the taste of fruit has been appealing to me. So lately, my diet has consisted almost entirely of fruit, with some avocados thrown in. I have never eaten so many bananas in my life (6-10 a day!). It is not exactly a balanced diet, but it is the best I can manage right now. When I get back to Kampala, I will definitely treat myself to a pizza!
I had an interesting encounter the other day. As I was walking down to the lake to fetch water for a shower, I rounded a corner and saw a huge snake winding down the path a few feet from me, going down into a hole. The thing was huge, like 8 feet long! As it turns out, it was a black cobra (a very, very, very deadly snake). Needless to say, my daily trips down to the lake for water have been a little more stressful lately!
My afternoons after school have been spent relaxing. I have been teaching the local boys how to swim (very, very funny--none of them had been in the water before, and they all think I am part fish by the way I swim multiple ways across the lake) and visiting the homes of some of the local community leaders. I have again been the first white person to visit two more villages here. In each village, I felt like the president, as everyone came out and wanted to shake my hand and do their best to impress me with their limited English. Some of the leaders have been telling me that the whole village has only been talking about how they actually touched and spoke with a mzungu, and they have also been arguing about who touched me for the longest and whom I said the most words too. It is quite a feeling walking into these villages, and I think I may go down in history here. Maybe I will be spoken about in legends or those types of things:) How cool would that be!
The school gave me a farewell ceremony yesterday, with the school committee, the parents/guardians, and the children all present. The children performed their traditional songs and dances for me, several people gave speeches thanking me for my service and for a hefty donation I made, and then presented me with several gifts, including a wonderful handwoven basket and even a rooster! I must say that I don't think I ever expected to receive a rooster as a gift at any time in my life. When I return, the parents and guardians told me that they will present me with a goat! Wow! Oh, by the way, I named my rooster Jimmy, and Jimmy is the largest bird around, and he seems to know it too, as he has become the community bully:) Well, that's the last two weeks in a nutshell. Now it's off to a Ugandan national park and then Rwanda. Life certainly is interesting!
I was the only guest staying in the community-run campsite becoming quick friends with the manager, his family, and the six local boys training there to be tourist guides, and the camp dog, Jex (what can I say, I love animals!). I also volunteered at a local community school.
In Madagascar, I thought I had seen just about the simplest school I could see. I was definitely wrong. That school had the benefit of being established and sponsored by a small Catholic mission. This school in the Crater Lakes region was established by the community so that children living in the areas between government school locations would have an opportunity to attend school. Therefore, the school has no governmental support in terms of training or funding. This was obvious the first time I saw it. The school consists of two buildings (similar in structure to my banda), totaling 5 classrooms (one for each of 5 grades). Approximately 170 children, ranging in age from 6-12, crammed inside these classrooms, either standing for the five hours of instruction, or sitting in the dirt on the floor. Each child had a few pieces of scratch paper to use as a notebook, most shared pens with their friends, and none had textbooks. My classroom was luxurious, having an old blackboard to use. It was very sad.
I taught the oldest group of kids math and science for five hours each day. The kids were terrific and immediately loved me (probably because I was the first white person to pay attention to them). My second day there, the kids presented me with 4 huge papayas, 2 mangoes, and 5 avocados as gifts. I was extremely touched and grateful, although carrying them all the way back to my banda was a bit challenging, especially considering that I had to walk over 4 miles roundtrip to and from school each day, including half a kilometer up a very steep hill. The teachers at the school bestowed on me a Ugandan name, "Amooti," which refers to the reverence and respect a king demands. I am honored by the respect, but I certainly don't want to be thought of as a king.
Teaching without any materials at all proved very challenging, but I managed and we all had a good time. To liven up the atmosphere and make it fun, I taught the children some games, which they continued to play even after school was dismissed each day. I am glad that I was able to provide the children with a friend, teach them some new things, and share in their love, but I also felt bad that I couldn't do more. Out of the 170 children at the school, nearly 80% are orphans, losing their parents to AIDS and other diseases. The community members have been wonderful and taken many of the orphans in, but it is still rather easy to find groups of 4 or 5 children sleeping under a tree together at night, and then spending the next day trying to find enough food to give them one more day. It is truly heartbreaking to see, and to even think about. Nobody should have to live like that, never feeling loved, never having another thought except about survival, and never experiencing a feeling of hope for the future.
Well, I don't want everyone to be depressed by this blog post, so I will switch topics. I have been eating the local food for the past five weeks (mostly matooke, a potato-type food, potatoes, maize, and beans), but like in Madagascar with my rice and beans diet, my stomach has decided to rebel. I found myself feeling sick just looking at another plate of matooke (normally part of breakfast, lunch, and dinner--it is very cheap because of the vast number of matooke plantations everywhere). Only the taste of fruit has been appealing to me. So lately, my diet has consisted almost entirely of fruit, with some avocados thrown in. I have never eaten so many bananas in my life (6-10 a day!). It is not exactly a balanced diet, but it is the best I can manage right now. When I get back to Kampala, I will definitely treat myself to a pizza!
I had an interesting encounter the other day. As I was walking down to the lake to fetch water for a shower, I rounded a corner and saw a huge snake winding down the path a few feet from me, going down into a hole. The thing was huge, like 8 feet long! As it turns out, it was a black cobra (a very, very, very deadly snake). Needless to say, my daily trips down to the lake for water have been a little more stressful lately!
My afternoons after school have been spent relaxing. I have been teaching the local boys how to swim (very, very funny--none of them had been in the water before, and they all think I am part fish by the way I swim multiple ways across the lake) and visiting the homes of some of the local community leaders. I have again been the first white person to visit two more villages here. In each village, I felt like the president, as everyone came out and wanted to shake my hand and do their best to impress me with their limited English. Some of the leaders have been telling me that the whole village has only been talking about how they actually touched and spoke with a mzungu, and they have also been arguing about who touched me for the longest and whom I said the most words too. It is quite a feeling walking into these villages, and I think I may go down in history here. Maybe I will be spoken about in legends or those types of things:) How cool would that be!
The school gave me a farewell ceremony yesterday, with the school committee, the parents/guardians, and the children all present. The children performed their traditional songs and dances for me, several people gave speeches thanking me for my service and for a hefty donation I made, and then presented me with several gifts, including a wonderful handwoven basket and even a rooster! I must say that I don't think I ever expected to receive a rooster as a gift at any time in my life. When I return, the parents and guardians told me that they will present me with a goat! Wow! Oh, by the way, I named my rooster Jimmy, and Jimmy is the largest bird around, and he seems to know it too, as he has become the community bully:) Well, that's the last two weeks in a nutshell. Now it's off to a Ugandan national park and then Rwanda. Life certainly is interesting!
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2 comments:
This stuff is amazing literature, man. I love reading it. However one question keeps itching the back of my mind...what are you doing out there? are you coming back to UM or are you out? talk soon.
Nate, you're not gonna eat Jimmy right? He is quite a gift, considering how hungry the people are. They way the ladies were looking at you in some of the photos, I expect there will be legends about your visit. Yeah, I want to know too; how did you end up there?
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