Because I've fallen into a routine here, I don't have many new adventures to report. Instead, I think I'll take this opportunity to elaborate on day to day life at Extreme College Namayumba, the secondary school where I teach. As you might gather from its name, the school is located in a village called Namayumba, about an hour and a half from the capital city, Kampala. That we're an hour and a half away means that the area is much more rural, greener, quieter, and more peaceful than towns closer to the city. Everyone knows their neighbors, there is one lone street lined with shops that we call "town," and cows, goats, and pigs often roam with no apparent owners. As mzungus (white people), we've essentially become the village celebrities, and we say "hi, I am fine, see you" to nearly every child we pass. Houses are mostly made of wood or homemade bricks, and tin roofs. I've learned that in Uganda, instead of buying a house, most families build their own - and then pass it on to future generations. This photo nicely captures a typical day in the life of Namayumbans:
A woman is washing clothes toward the back, that older boy has (maybe) just brought some water from the well in that yellow jerry can, the girl is in her school uniform and is probably returning from school, and the younger children are wearing little to no clothing and have creatively turned various available objects into toys.
The school itself lies at the bottom of a hill, and in between others, in a miniature valley of sorts filled with corn stalks, mango and papaya trees, and orange flowers. It's a new school - just in its second full year, and the kids themselves helped in a big way to build it (and continue to help build the additions). During their holidays and after school they make bricks, stack them, and help smooth the cement. If you think about it, it's pretty amazing that these kids can say they actually helped create their school, with their own hands, in a very real way. They're grateful for the opportunity to get an education (many can't afford the time or fees, and secondary school is especially out of reach), and they've worked really hard to get it.
Like many schools in Uganda, Extreme College is a boarding and day school. Most students sleep at the school, in two rooms (boys and girls) lined with triple bunk-beds - two people to a mattress. Each student has a small trunk - about 1 by 3 feet -for clothes and books. By books I mean notebooks - the school can hardly afford text books for the teachers - and by notebooks I mean stacks of lined paper bound together with newspaper-covered cardboard. [It's funny now to look back on my time at summer camp, where parents struggled to fit their daughters' three duffle-bags-worth of belongings into stacks of pink plastic drawers. Sixteen t-shirts was a must, hair blow-dryers and straighteners, and soffe shorts of every color. Don't forget a couple white shirts in case we tie dye and hot pink leggings in case we dress up. Oh, and a shoe rack! Kids here don't even wear shoes when they play soccer.]
Class sizes are small compared to most other schools, at least according to my understanding. There are no more than about 25 to a classroom, whereas from what I hear, classes in other schools can reach about 150 plus. (I think this is mainly because the school is new, and enrollment is not very high yet). The classrooms are bare cement rooms that consist of long benches and old chalkboards made of some material that does not quite allow for effective erasing.
(Note the blue-tarp divider - there are two classes in this room. Also note the buzz-cuts. Nearly all school kids in Uganda, even the girls, must keep their hair buzzed - something about unity and no distractions and privileged kids standing out if they can afford to do their hair nicely.)
Because paper and books are scarce, printing is expensive, and computers are out of the question, teaching primarily involves standing at the front of the classroom, lecturing, and copying exercises onto the not-so-clear board. I've tried to get the kids up and moving a bit, but coming up with interactive activities that involve zero materials has been a bit of a challenge. I feel like the lack of resources contributes to the style of learning here - there's a lot of focus on rote memorization, on copying definitions word for word, on regurgitating straight facts with little analysis. It's strange for me, after sitting through education classes in the U.S. that emphasize creativity, individualism, expressiveness, and after spending so many years before that in school creating dioramas, book-covers, and colorful poster board presentations. It's a difference in culture and philosophy, yes, but also one, I believe, that partly comes from a fundamental difference in resources. How can children create dioramas with colored paper if they don't even have white paper - if the school itself can't even afford white paper? What about scissors, tape, a shoe box? If kids don't have shoes, how could they be expected to find shoe boxes? Creativity is important - I really believe that it is, for kids of all backgrounds/cultures - but it also costs money. It's also--like pens, notebooks, textbooks--a privilege, though a less tangible one.
The students learn from about eight until 4:30, with random breaks when teachers decide not to show up, or when someone forgets to ring the bell. (As someone summed up for me nicely, in America we have watches, and in Uganda they have time.) They then play soccer, wash clothes, clean the floors, the bathrooms, help build, and do other sorts of chores. Here's the girls team playing a super exciting soccer game against a nearby school (we won!):
At night, they eat and then pray. They’re Seventh Day Adventists, and their prayer services are really beautiful. I can’t help but think of the services we used to have at camp – here they have that same sense of spirit, excitement, and connectedness. After prayers is studying, and then finally, sleep.
Segawa, the headmaster of this school and the primary school connected with it, has really helped to make all this available to these kids. From what I understand, many of them have lost one or both parents, and lots are very poor or have no real family to go home to. Segawa has found many of them himself - on the streets or working in other villages, and has somehow found a way to bring them an education. He's done really great work, and it's nice to be able to participate in it. Mel, the volunteer who brought me here, set up the Uganda Education Project, and has helped raise lots of money to help out: http://www.ugandaeducationproject.org/. See the website for the projects we've all been working on while here.
That's all for now. Weird that I'll be home in about ten days - I'll be sad to leave the kids here, but I'm excited to see everyone. As every kid in our village shouts to us as we pass - SEE YOU!
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