A TYPICAL DAY
About 5:30AM I would wake up to the sound of roosters, and then the sun would begin to rise, followed by an amazing symphony of song birds. I would lie in bed and just marvel at the sound I was hearing.
Soon I would hear the voices of the teachers, who lived in rooms near me, and their children beginning their day. Sweeping the dust from the evening and washing down the walkways , cleaning the toilet and shower areas, preparing breakfast, and getting ready for the day ahead. Shoes were rarely worn in the rooms, and usually left outside the walkway, in the hopes of not tracking dirt and dust in. And yes, we shared the walkway with the chickens.
The buildings are powered by solar energy, and often the electricity was turned off. Keeping things charged was a bit of a challenge. I loved my solar powered charger – it was quite a life saver. I charged it in the maize field.
By 7:30 “pupils” had arrived at school, walking from their villages – some many miles away. I would hear the sounds of song – the Ugandan National Anthem and the School Anthem. Then into classes they went. Some “pupils” were late – parents requiring chores be done before leaving, long walk, etc.
By 8:00 my breakfast would appear on the table outside my room. Annette prepared scrambled eggs, fruit, tea and my favorite – popcorn.
After eating breakfast I would either take a walk up or down the road, coming upon children who could not afford to go to school – either because of money or the need for them to tend to crops, animals or younger siblings so the parents could work.
​
​
​
There are two rocks that were amazing to visit – one is called Em’s rock and is behind the clinic. The view is worth the rickety climb. The other rock required walking through a maize field and some good careful climbing up rocks.
One day a group of kids joined me as I walked up the road to the other rock. They of course ran like the wind, barefoot, as I plodded up very slowly. They were very patient with me, and constantly made sure I was OK, helping when I needed it.
​
​
​
​
​
​
The cattle herder we came upon would have nothing to do with us at first, but eventually joined in the fun. He is not a student at the school – as his job is taking care of his family herd of cattle.
Sometimes I would go into the classrooms and observe the teachers teaching lessons. I learned about cows, heifers, oxen, calves, the letter “M”, Health Hazards to the eyes. (sticks, sun, nails, sand), 99% of the posters in the classrooms are done by hand by the teachers.
At 10:20 I taught the Preschool class. They would come running onto the field, see me coming and greet me with hugs, offers to help with my “equipment” (speaker, MP3 player, ballet slippers, ) and juggling to be the two who could stand beside me when class began.
At 12:30 (after lunch), the preschool pupils would wash their dishes, would be dismissed, and head out for the walk home. My lunch was brought to my “table” and the preschoolers would shout “Bye Vicki” as they passed my room.
After my lunch I would take some time to figure out what I would do in the next 3 classes, get music ready – and sometimes take a nap. Not that I’m old or anything, but often that heat would take it out of me, and the afternoon classes were VERY hot.
3:00 Primary 1 and 2 would have class and then at 3:40 Primary 3, 4, 5 and 6 would have their class. Often after the children’s classes the teachers would have their class, and they were wonderful to work with.
The grades are somewhat comparable to our first through 6thgrade, although the children in the classes are placed by knowledge, not necessarily age. Some children begin school later than others, so for example, there might be a 9 year old in a class with the 7 year olds.
After classes the “pupils” go home and the children living at the school begin chores and playing. The sound of groundnuts being pounded into powder can be heard, fires are started, more sweeping of walkways and rooms (the wind constantly blows the dirt onto the walkway and into the rooms.). Some children take their baths, (using a bucket they soap and rinse themselves outside), help with chores and preparing dinner, some play – I brought cards which were a hit, they have a net for net ball, they LOVE “football”, shaking mangoes out of trees and eating them non-stop. One evening I could be seen washing my ballet slippers as they got VERY dirty wearing them outside. The children treasure their shoes and I often saw them drying in the sun along with the groundnuts or maize. When Emily came she brought them candy and introduced them to marshmallows. They loved them!! We even had a dance party one night – adults and children – such fun!
This was also a time that some of the children came and asked me questions – and it was a very sweet bit of time with them.
One of the biggest wonders was if people in America would let people with their color skin work or go to school there. Many have dreams of going to America to go to school and then return to their village to work in the clinic or be an engineer. Some of them asked me point blank if I thought they would be able to come to America. I was concerned about how to answer that question, so I spoke with Head Teacher Joseph. Some of these children come from families that are so poor they can barely afford the school fees. Some of the students will not be able to go past Primary 7 as the Secondary School is a boarding school, and the fees will be too much for some families. So the reality of them being able to come to America appear to be quite slim—so I didn’t want to give them false hope, but I also didn’t want to squash their dreams. My response to them was to keep working hard in school and when people from America come to visit their school talk to them, let them know their dreams. Joseph was OK with those responses.
They were very curious about my dog, Digit – having a pet is not the norm here. They wanted to know what I fed her – and many thought it strange she stayed in the house with us. (I did not let them know she sometimes sleeps on the bed). They thought it was very funny I had a tortoise.
Other questions were about our homes – the fact that some are very close to each other was new to them, and that some were built on top of each other (apartments, flats), seemed very strange.
Maps came out and we looked at how far America is from Uganda. They were perplexed by the fact that I didn’t grow food in my backyard – especially when I showed them pictures of the yard.
My dinner would arrive around 8:00pm and when I was done the children would take my plates, etc back to the kitchen. Then, off to
bed (with the protection of the mosquito net) to rest up for another day.
