Days 5-6

Day 5 (Mon)

The children have a holiday for 2 days because children in P7 (Year 6) have exams to see whether they will move up to high school.  Also children in the last year of Bexhill High School are taking their O’ level exams.  Moving to the next class is dependent upon exam results and finance.  Unfortunately if sponsors from England do not continue to sponsor it is difficult for them to continue their education.

The boarders and obviously children from Evelyn’s Home haven’t gone home for a 2 day holiday. They don’t have breakfast but they are given a kind of porridge made from maize at mid-morning.

As children are on holiday for a couple of days I helped sort books in the library that have come from England in a container.

The teachers do have homes of their own but they only go home during long holiday periods. The Ugandan government tell teachers where they will be working and they can be moved at any time. Many teachers do not see their husbands until holiday time.

I was speaking with Jovia, a teacher in P3 (children aged between 8 and 10 years) she told me she felt very fortunate to work at Tower Primary as they did have electricity most of the time plus Kamutuuza has a taxi service to the next town of Masaka making it easier for them to travel to their homes. The Ugandan government usually provide a site for a school and teachers but do not pay for any resources. The land that Tower Primary School is built on belongs to the Church of Uganda. The charity ‘Just Care’ has provided the funds (via donations) for most of the buildings on site. They have also funded and sent resources via containers. The KNAPS scheme (Kamutuuza Not Able to Pay for Schooling) provides sponsorship to enable poor children to have an education. Church Drive Primary School supports 3 children through this scheme.

How amazing is this! The first child I spoke to out of 600 children on the site was one of Church Drive’s sponsor children – Kisaakye Rita.

Kisaakye Rita’s family circumstances have changed. Her family no longer live in the village so she was unable to come to school. However she and her sister Alice have been accepted to live in Evelyn’s home so they can both complete their education.

This is Justine, a teacher from Tower Primary School. Justine and I have written to each other so it was lovely to meet her. I’m looking forward to teaching with her. She teaches children aged 5 to 8 years. At the moment she has been covering a maternity leave and has been teaching in Nursery.

 

 

Day 6

Unpacked all the clothes we brought for the children. Allen (a lady) who is the secretary for the school took some clothes for the poor and needy children in her village. Joshua (our taxi and friend) took us to Nabagobo. On the journey I saw mud huts with straw roofs. Lake Nabagobo is a holiday resort. It cost us 1000 shillings to get in (25p). I saw fishing boats on the lake and the locals selling fish. It was a hot day with blue sky, palm trees and grass domed shelters. Joshua insisted on pushing me on the swing! The highlight of the day was seeing monkeys in their natural habitat.

 



















 

We also visited the cathedral at Kako. They started building it in 1974 and took roughly 30 years to complete! Canon Fred, who preaches at the church came to say ‘hello’ and asked me to sign the visitor’s book.

Canon Fred with Alan McGraa

 

In the evening I sat with the teachers of Tower Primary School who were weaving banana leaves and palm leaves to make hand bags and purses. They told me they sell them and any money they receive goes in a teacher’s fund. If any teachers need a loan they take it from the fund and return the money they borrowed with 5% interest. I was invited later on to Evelyn’s home to say ‘goodnight’ to the children. Up early for school tomorrow!!