Something that I realised Ihaven't mentioned yet, is the fact that every day at school i am involved with leading a lunch hour praise and worship session with the preach, and with two other teachers help to lead bible studies and prayers
It's amazing that even in a church run school there are many kids that aren't born again and who come from non-Christian families, even muslim families, who are coming to God and worshipping and praying everyday. Many of them have given some really powerful testimonies and prayed for eachother about awful things like bereavements and abuse, and its has been a real privelege to help them.
Either me or one of the other two teachers share something from the bible every day and usually the kids themselves lead worship with drums and spontaneous singing which is the best! Its interesting that many of the kids who are come the ones who either work really hard in class, for example Mephi who is a son of David Baraza who is an elder at the church, or they are the ones who are really difficult and disruptive who suddenly disclose something about their home situation. Either way I love to see kids learning science one minute and then lost in worship the next. It has taught me a lot about having high expectations of kids, to see them really grow in God.
Keep praying for this school!
11 November 2008
The Rat
It’s not often that a small furry flea infested disease-spreading rodent can cause so much hilarity and pure fun – but this one did.
One day we were all sitting in the lounge eating dinner when William suddenly turns to me and says quite matter-of-factly “you ought to shut your bedroom door (which is just off of the lounge diner bit). I thought yea fair enough mosquitoes etc might get in. But he says “there’s a rat in here”. And O My Goodness I HATE rats! Especially if you’re in a country when its customary to take your shoes off at the door and you don’t wear socks with flipflops. I was glad I was sitting on my feet in the armchair! Eventually it transpoires that this thing has been around for three or four days (!) and that they are “sorting it”. I assumed that this meant they were gonna poison it, especially when Florence appeared with some and then promptly retreated to her room again after dinner.
So we are clearing up and I’m standing in the kitchen with Judah when Norah comes in with her heaviest black shoes and William follows closely behind with his. Seeing my apparent confusion, Judah kindly informs me that they are gonna kill it.
Well. I have never seen chaos erupt more instantly than it did just then, as simultaneously Pastor Azariah (from Ishongororo in the West who has been staying for a few days) and William yanked the sofa from the wall, Sam came running in with a football and threw it to the ground with all the strength he could muster, Norah remembered that she wasn’t wearing any shoes either and ran and screamed her way into the kitchen with us, and all available shoes and footballs started being pelted to the floor like a meteorite attack!
Me, still in me I-hate-anything-that-is-wild-and-brushes-past-my-feet mode suddenly realized that as Sam William and Azariah continued throwing the armchairs from one side of the room to the other, the rat was slowly but surely zigzagging its way towards me! This is when I joined Norah in the squealing and laughing and jumping around on any available furniture.
BANG! BANG! BANG! Shoes were still being hurled to the lino and I was sure that rat was determined to find a mzungo rat to nibble on before it died. At one point Norah and me ran back out into the kitchen to find Judah still calmly standing there arms crossed and leaning his Mr Cool shoulder against the wall as if nothing was happening…apart from now he was somehow perched on the lid of a little green bucket. Not nervous of the rat at all of course, just, well perching, not allowing his street cred to be compromised by the others who were still running around sliding furniture and lobbing things at anything that looked like it could be a rat. At one point poor Jaja (Emmanuel’s mum) tried to come in the back door, and as much as she’s a very alert and able 76 yr old, she took a while to be convinced by the many shouting voices that they couldn’t move the coffee table from in front of the door just at that very moment.
BANG! Just as that little thing thought it was gonna sneak into my room under the door that wasn’t quite blocked up with a table cloth, William’s aim got the better of it and it met a loud but immediate end with the help of a big heavy man’s shoe. It took a while for the squealing and giggling to subside from Norah and me, while Judah made sure not to descend from his safe spot on the bucket in too much of a hurry. But as soon as Sam put his hand into a carrier bag and proudly carried the thing out by its tail, the drama was all over.
Apart from the slightly wonky furniture, a teary-eyed couple of girls and a tired but male-ego satisfied few men, you might never know anything had happened. In fact Florence was plesently suprised when she heard about the whole thing the next day. Another experience for the books for me though!
One day we were all sitting in the lounge eating dinner when William suddenly turns to me and says quite matter-of-factly “you ought to shut your bedroom door (which is just off of the lounge diner bit). I thought yea fair enough mosquitoes etc might get in. But he says “there’s a rat in here”. And O My Goodness I HATE rats! Especially if you’re in a country when its customary to take your shoes off at the door and you don’t wear socks with flipflops. I was glad I was sitting on my feet in the armchair! Eventually it transpoires that this thing has been around for three or four days (!) and that they are “sorting it”. I assumed that this meant they were gonna poison it, especially when Florence appeared with some and then promptly retreated to her room again after dinner.
So we are clearing up and I’m standing in the kitchen with Judah when Norah comes in with her heaviest black shoes and William follows closely behind with his. Seeing my apparent confusion, Judah kindly informs me that they are gonna kill it.
Well. I have never seen chaos erupt more instantly than it did just then, as simultaneously Pastor Azariah (from Ishongororo in the West who has been staying for a few days) and William yanked the sofa from the wall, Sam came running in with a football and threw it to the ground with all the strength he could muster, Norah remembered that she wasn’t wearing any shoes either and ran and screamed her way into the kitchen with us, and all available shoes and footballs started being pelted to the floor like a meteorite attack!
Me, still in me I-hate-anything-that-is-wild-and-brushes-past-my-feet mode suddenly realized that as Sam William and Azariah continued throwing the armchairs from one side of the room to the other, the rat was slowly but surely zigzagging its way towards me! This is when I joined Norah in the squealing and laughing and jumping around on any available furniture.
BANG! BANG! BANG! Shoes were still being hurled to the lino and I was sure that rat was determined to find a mzungo rat to nibble on before it died. At one point Norah and me ran back out into the kitchen to find Judah still calmly standing there arms crossed and leaning his Mr Cool shoulder against the wall as if nothing was happening…apart from now he was somehow perched on the lid of a little green bucket. Not nervous of the rat at all of course, just, well perching, not allowing his street cred to be compromised by the others who were still running around sliding furniture and lobbing things at anything that looked like it could be a rat. At one point poor Jaja (Emmanuel’s mum) tried to come in the back door, and as much as she’s a very alert and able 76 yr old, she took a while to be convinced by the many shouting voices that they couldn’t move the coffee table from in front of the door just at that very moment.
BANG! Just as that little thing thought it was gonna sneak into my room under the door that wasn’t quite blocked up with a table cloth, William’s aim got the better of it and it met a loud but immediate end with the help of a big heavy man’s shoe. It took a while for the squealing and giggling to subside from Norah and me, while Judah made sure not to descend from his safe spot on the bucket in too much of a hurry. But as soon as Sam put his hand into a carrier bag and proudly carried the thing out by its tail, the drama was all over.
Apart from the slightly wonky furniture, a teary-eyed couple of girls and a tired but male-ego satisfied few men, you might never know anything had happened. In fact Florence was plesently suprised when she heard about the whole thing the next day. Another experience for the books for me though!
06 November 2008
Bweyogerere Multipurpose Primary School
So you'll notice that I'm spending a bit more time on here now I don't have Mari to talk to! I thought I would write a bit more about what I am doing at the school day to day.
Every morning at 7.10am I start the day with taking a lesson in reading with P2 (aged between 7 and 10. This has been the most challenging but rewarding responsibility they have given me, because some of those kids really were bad at reading! They learnt mostly by reading a story from the board as a class, and then doing a few comprehension questions about it, but I noticed very quickly that there were a few strong and confident readers in the class who everyone else followed when they read aloud, and there were many who just copied the answers from their friends when they were writing, so in terms of actually understanding what they were saying we weren't getting very far. Of course its all in English which is at least their second if not third language if they have a different local language to l'ugandan, so I haven't had it easy with these kids! I have been trying to utlise the few reading books that Millie the bursa had kept in her office, and allocate one to each kids until they completed it, but with 27 kids and only me in the room its so hard to get to hear them all read. Lately i've been pairing them up higher with lower abilities so they can read to eachother, but there are still maybe 4 who either hate me, can't understand a word of English, or just simply have never learnt the basics of reading. So we have fun! But on the plus side, this is the class i've really got to know the best and have learnt their names properly. They know my rules and they (mostly) respect them when they might hope that another teacher won't notice if they run out to the toilet, they know I will make them sweep a room or stay in at break if they do that. Also they have learnt that I won't cane them, and i think that's started to work to my advantage because they want to be my friend rather than just hate me. Even those of really low abilities want me to help them one on one rather than just disturbing the class like they used to.
So as well as P2 every morning for an hour and a half, I have been taking P3 and P4 RE most days, as well as helping with revision lessons for P5 and P6. It's not been so easy to take lessons with the older ones, as much as I had wanted to, because their teachers are... well just there and more committed than the younger ones I think. They appreciated my help in their lessons but they haven't just signed over whole subjects to me like P2 3 and 4 have. I have enjoyed getting to know those kids though, and even have been going into the Nursery every now and then to sing silly songs or do drawing or something that doesn't involve much English skills!
PE is a whole other experience, because what they do is take the whole of nursery (about 50) plus all of P1 and p2 outside with the 5 teachers to play big circle games or sing silly action songs. It is hilarious trying to control about 80 kids while they're really hypo cos they got to go outside, and when any bat and ball equipment that the school has is nowhere near sufficient so it just sits in the cupboard most of the time. I have helped with these lessons once and it was a disaster, so most of the time I just sit and watch as a bit of crowd control!
P7 have just completed their end of primary exams and spent two days of them at another local school where there are better exam facilities. They sat Social Studies (geography and history), Maths, English and Science papers. Most of them are aged 12-14 but obviously there is a range because you have to pass end of year exams every year to go up to the next class, which of course not all of them do and they have to repeat. And actually not all of them start school aged 4, some of them can even be 7 before they come to nursery if their parents don't have the money. The results come out on 24th January, in time for the beginning of term in Feb. If they pass they can go to secondary school, if their parents have the money. If they don't they will have a pretty good grounding in English and other basic skills but will prob just go back to their villaged to dig or work with their parents for a few more years until they can get a job.
On Weds eve (last night)they had a party and it was really nice to be invited and be a part of their farewell do. They worked allll day buying food and cooking it over wood fires, and they were cleaning the church to make it look nice, all of their own accord, but under the strict leadership of David the head boy! That guy is a teacher in a pupils body, and is the sort of kid who can never accept being wrong or getting 99% at anything, he will always argue his corner until he comes out on top. They say he is the next president of Uganda and i think i agree! We ate and all the teachers got up one by one to thank the kids and offer them a few more last words of advice. Some of the kids got up to say thank you too which was lovely, and the evening finished with a bit of good old silly dancing with boys on one side of the room and girls on the other! They were really good hearted and excitable, and I felt like although I haven't taught these kids much I have got to know a few of them.
So the P7s have gone, officially, but they will be back at 9am on Monday morning and Judah and I will be giving a few hours a day of free computer lessons, because the school now has 2 computers (!). The rest of the kids have the whole of next week before they have a few days of end of year exams, but after that they will all be offered basic computer lessons while I am still here. I'm not sure how exactly it will work, I might end up taking them a few at a time down to the internet cafe here, but we will see! its all fun though, and I am really enjoying teaching. I am starting to seriously wonder about it as a career, but I know that in Uganda it will be totally different kettle of fish to the UK so we will have to decide later.
Tr Beki signing out!
Every morning at 7.10am I start the day with taking a lesson in reading with P2 (aged between 7 and 10. This has been the most challenging but rewarding responsibility they have given me, because some of those kids really were bad at reading! They learnt mostly by reading a story from the board as a class, and then doing a few comprehension questions about it, but I noticed very quickly that there were a few strong and confident readers in the class who everyone else followed when they read aloud, and there were many who just copied the answers from their friends when they were writing, so in terms of actually understanding what they were saying we weren't getting very far. Of course its all in English which is at least their second if not third language if they have a different local language to l'ugandan, so I haven't had it easy with these kids! I have been trying to utlise the few reading books that Millie the bursa had kept in her office, and allocate one to each kids until they completed it, but with 27 kids and only me in the room its so hard to get to hear them all read. Lately i've been pairing them up higher with lower abilities so they can read to eachother, but there are still maybe 4 who either hate me, can't understand a word of English, or just simply have never learnt the basics of reading. So we have fun! But on the plus side, this is the class i've really got to know the best and have learnt their names properly. They know my rules and they (mostly) respect them when they might hope that another teacher won't notice if they run out to the toilet, they know I will make them sweep a room or stay in at break if they do that. Also they have learnt that I won't cane them, and i think that's started to work to my advantage because they want to be my friend rather than just hate me. Even those of really low abilities want me to help them one on one rather than just disturbing the class like they used to.
So as well as P2 every morning for an hour and a half, I have been taking P3 and P4 RE most days, as well as helping with revision lessons for P5 and P6. It's not been so easy to take lessons with the older ones, as much as I had wanted to, because their teachers are... well just there and more committed than the younger ones I think. They appreciated my help in their lessons but they haven't just signed over whole subjects to me like P2 3 and 4 have. I have enjoyed getting to know those kids though, and even have been going into the Nursery every now and then to sing silly songs or do drawing or something that doesn't involve much English skills!
PE is a whole other experience, because what they do is take the whole of nursery (about 50) plus all of P1 and p2 outside with the 5 teachers to play big circle games or sing silly action songs. It is hilarious trying to control about 80 kids while they're really hypo cos they got to go outside, and when any bat and ball equipment that the school has is nowhere near sufficient so it just sits in the cupboard most of the time. I have helped with these lessons once and it was a disaster, so most of the time I just sit and watch as a bit of crowd control!
P7 have just completed their end of primary exams and spent two days of them at another local school where there are better exam facilities. They sat Social Studies (geography and history), Maths, English and Science papers. Most of them are aged 12-14 but obviously there is a range because you have to pass end of year exams every year to go up to the next class, which of course not all of them do and they have to repeat. And actually not all of them start school aged 4, some of them can even be 7 before they come to nursery if their parents don't have the money. The results come out on 24th January, in time for the beginning of term in Feb. If they pass they can go to secondary school, if their parents have the money. If they don't they will have a pretty good grounding in English and other basic skills but will prob just go back to their villaged to dig or work with their parents for a few more years until they can get a job.
On Weds eve (last night)they had a party and it was really nice to be invited and be a part of their farewell do. They worked allll day buying food and cooking it over wood fires, and they were cleaning the church to make it look nice, all of their own accord, but under the strict leadership of David the head boy! That guy is a teacher in a pupils body, and is the sort of kid who can never accept being wrong or getting 99% at anything, he will always argue his corner until he comes out on top. They say he is the next president of Uganda and i think i agree! We ate and all the teachers got up one by one to thank the kids and offer them a few more last words of advice. Some of the kids got up to say thank you too which was lovely, and the evening finished with a bit of good old silly dancing with boys on one side of the room and girls on the other! They were really good hearted and excitable, and I felt like although I haven't taught these kids much I have got to know a few of them.
So the P7s have gone, officially, but they will be back at 9am on Monday morning and Judah and I will be giving a few hours a day of free computer lessons, because the school now has 2 computers (!). The rest of the kids have the whole of next week before they have a few days of end of year exams, but after that they will all be offered basic computer lessons while I am still here. I'm not sure how exactly it will work, I might end up taking them a few at a time down to the internet cafe here, but we will see! its all fun though, and I am really enjoying teaching. I am starting to seriously wonder about it as a career, but I know that in Uganda it will be totally different kettle of fish to the UK so we will have to decide later.
Tr Beki signing out!
Bonny's mum - a death in Uganda
Now don't panic, nothing terrible has happened to anyone we know, but this was really moving for me.
On Tuesday at school one of the teachers told me at lunch time that one of the boys, Bonny, in P5 had lost his mum, which explains why he wasn't at school. He is only 13 and his mum was only 34, and she died of diabetes. I couldn't believe it and my heart really went out to this young man because I have got to know him quite well. he is a bit of a lad and thinks he is about 21 sometimes, but he is godly and really committed to coming to the lunchtime worship we have and is always the one to remember what we learny yesterday or offer to read the bible aloud. I couldn't imagine how he must be feeling, and i was just sharing those thoughts with the other teacher, when people started gathering around us. I didn't know what was going on, and then she started asking whether I was going to go to the house with them. I figured a few of the teachers would go around the corner to visit Bonny and maybe give a card or something. So I said I would go.
But people kept gathering, and I realised that someone was having a little collection. They said that it's customary to pay a "condolence fee" from the classmates, and of course his friends from other classes all chipped in. From about 50 odd kids they collected 2,000 shs, which is equivalent to about 4.00. What amazed me even more, was that as the teachers started walking down the road, all of these friends of Bonny's followed us! can you imagine a great stream of kids in the middle of the heat of the day, just walking walking walking, and it was just a bit further than I thought it would be. I was thinking what on earth is going on here, how are we all gonna fit in this poor guys house, and with a grieving family how awkward could this be!?
I needn't of worried. This is how they do things in Uganda. When we got the the house, which was about the size of my garden shed, we found that they had rigged up a tarpaulin outside the front and brought out a few chairs for people. We the teachers sat here and all the kids mingled around and tried to stay out of the sun. When a lady appeared out of the house they all dropped to their knees as a sign of respect and exchanged a greeting in complete unison. They lady turned out to be the mother of Bonny's mum, and was just sitting silently weeping for a long while. Nobody really spoke, but it was a funny feeling of solidarity and sympathy rather than hysterical greiving. It seemed as if it was just accepted that people die and its tough, but we know how you feel because we've been there. The teacher (Gladys) who knew Bonny best talked to his nan for a while, and after about 20mins Bonny appeared from a few doors down where he had been. He was quiet but looked pleased to see people, and I honestly couldn't tell if he had been crying or not. He greeted is friends with the same unison greeting which broke the silence a bit because they all had a little giggle about the formality of it when he was one of them. Gladys continued to speak to him a bit, and then we all prayed for him briefly and tried to say a few words about God still loving him and being with him, but it was nothing flowerly just simple.
I was really just watching the whole thing in awe. I couldn't believe how tough Bonny and his nan seemed, and even when his younger sisters and older brothers came out to greet us they didn't sho much anxiety, just quiet sadness. And the most important thing that struck me is that sense of "we're sorry, we know how you feel, and its rubbish isn't it". Nobody tried to dress anything up or down, they just simply came to sit with their friend for a little while and show their love for him. And seriously, the oldest of these kids must be only 14 and the youngest down to about 7, but they were just so natural about the whole ordeal. It made me wonder how many times they had done this, or been the one in that position themselves. One the way back Bonny walked with us a little way and hung back with a few of his friends. Those boys can be so silly and normal 12 and 13 year olds in class, but at that moment they seemed far and away more mature than me and just chatted with their mate about what had happened.
Bonny was back at school today, having buried his mum the following day, and now has his aunt staying at his house with them. I don't know where his dad is or if he is still alive, but the boy didn't seem much worse for wear today. In fact, if you hadn't known what had just happened, you could be forgiven for thinking it was just another normal school day for a school boy. I still can't get over the fact that a 34year old mum of 4 can die of diabetes and nobody question the fact that no medicine was available. Had she lived in England, Bonny would still have a mum.
On Tuesday at school one of the teachers told me at lunch time that one of the boys, Bonny, in P5 had lost his mum, which explains why he wasn't at school. He is only 13 and his mum was only 34, and she died of diabetes. I couldn't believe it and my heart really went out to this young man because I have got to know him quite well. he is a bit of a lad and thinks he is about 21 sometimes, but he is godly and really committed to coming to the lunchtime worship we have and is always the one to remember what we learny yesterday or offer to read the bible aloud. I couldn't imagine how he must be feeling, and i was just sharing those thoughts with the other teacher, when people started gathering around us. I didn't know what was going on, and then she started asking whether I was going to go to the house with them. I figured a few of the teachers would go around the corner to visit Bonny and maybe give a card or something. So I said I would go.
But people kept gathering, and I realised that someone was having a little collection. They said that it's customary to pay a "condolence fee" from the classmates, and of course his friends from other classes all chipped in. From about 50 odd kids they collected 2,000 shs, which is equivalent to about 4.00. What amazed me even more, was that as the teachers started walking down the road, all of these friends of Bonny's followed us! can you imagine a great stream of kids in the middle of the heat of the day, just walking walking walking, and it was just a bit further than I thought it would be. I was thinking what on earth is going on here, how are we all gonna fit in this poor guys house, and with a grieving family how awkward could this be!?
I needn't of worried. This is how they do things in Uganda. When we got the the house, which was about the size of my garden shed, we found that they had rigged up a tarpaulin outside the front and brought out a few chairs for people. We the teachers sat here and all the kids mingled around and tried to stay out of the sun. When a lady appeared out of the house they all dropped to their knees as a sign of respect and exchanged a greeting in complete unison. They lady turned out to be the mother of Bonny's mum, and was just sitting silently weeping for a long while. Nobody really spoke, but it was a funny feeling of solidarity and sympathy rather than hysterical greiving. It seemed as if it was just accepted that people die and its tough, but we know how you feel because we've been there. The teacher (Gladys) who knew Bonny best talked to his nan for a while, and after about 20mins Bonny appeared from a few doors down where he had been. He was quiet but looked pleased to see people, and I honestly couldn't tell if he had been crying or not. He greeted is friends with the same unison greeting which broke the silence a bit because they all had a little giggle about the formality of it when he was one of them. Gladys continued to speak to him a bit, and then we all prayed for him briefly and tried to say a few words about God still loving him and being with him, but it was nothing flowerly just simple.
I was really just watching the whole thing in awe. I couldn't believe how tough Bonny and his nan seemed, and even when his younger sisters and older brothers came out to greet us they didn't sho much anxiety, just quiet sadness. And the most important thing that struck me is that sense of "we're sorry, we know how you feel, and its rubbish isn't it". Nobody tried to dress anything up or down, they just simply came to sit with their friend for a little while and show their love for him. And seriously, the oldest of these kids must be only 14 and the youngest down to about 7, but they were just so natural about the whole ordeal. It made me wonder how many times they had done this, or been the one in that position themselves. One the way back Bonny walked with us a little way and hung back with a few of his friends. Those boys can be so silly and normal 12 and 13 year olds in class, but at that moment they seemed far and away more mature than me and just chatted with their mate about what had happened.
Bonny was back at school today, having buried his mum the following day, and now has his aunt staying at his house with them. I don't know where his dad is or if he is still alive, but the boy didn't seem much worse for wear today. In fact, if you hadn't known what had just happened, you could be forgiven for thinking it was just another normal school day for a school boy. I still can't get over the fact that a 34year old mum of 4 can die of diabetes and nobody question the fact that no medicine was available. Had she lived in England, Bonny would still have a mum.
Coming and going
well last week was a jolly eventful week I can tell you!
After we returned from Bugiri, a couple of young teachers from London came to stay with Emmanuel and Florence thru a charity called Impact Charities in the UK. They had come to run some teacher training sessions at the school and they were going to spend their days observing and making suggestions and helping the teachers where they could. I think it's fair to say that Mari and I were a little apprehensive about what these new people would be like and how they would deal with the teachers and kids, but honestly Bronnie and Sarah are two of the nicest people you will ever meet! They stayed for 5 days and ran 4 two-hour training sessions for the teachers on things like lesson planning, classroom management and literacy teaching. The school was literally changed overnight and they helped in such a humble way. Its difficult sometimes to make suggestions without being overpowering and still allowing for cultural differences, but these girls really bonded with the teachers and some of the kids. They made suggestions about discipline and activities for starters and finishers in the lessons, and even the teachers were having a great time testing out new ideas in the seminars! At the end of the four days I had learnt so much about teaching, and I know they didn't come for my benefit but as one of the 'staff' who completed the course (and even got a certificate!) I know that my classes are better off. They were so right about the fact that if you make it fun then you enjoy it more, the kids enjoy it more and actually they dont learn any less! They biggest thing I have learnt is to focus attention and rewarding kids who are really trying and being quiet rather than constantly struggling with the disruptive ones. The good thing about being a Mzungu is that most of them want to be your friend, so you have a lot of power over them if you say that 'you have been stubborn and made me sad. I dont like it when people fight in my class :(' haha. So we were shattered and Sarah and me actually were quite ill by Friday so I had to take the day off school to sleep, but it was definately effective and a wonderful example of the whole 'give a man a fish and he will eat for a day, teach a man to fish and he will eat for a lifetime' scenario.
So it was really good to have some more girls in the house to chat to and hang out with, as well as Willy and Sam. Judah also came back halfway through last week because he has finished his O levels (GCSEs - their school year runs from Feb to Nov) so there were a bit of a gang of us at times! Judah is Emmanuel's 2nd son and now 18 and quite a young man, in fact in many ways he's becoming a mini-me of Pastor Emmanuel and i noticed a lot of things he said and did exactly like him! He's got a vision to do his A levels in the UK but obviously costs and visas are a little if not massively difficult, so please pray for him. He's the kind of guy who just says things and believes for them though, and somehow it will happen.
Of course the other massive event of last week was that Mama Mari had to leave us, and I am sure that that had a lot to do with the fact that I felt a bit dodge on Friday cos I was sick the day that Dad Paul and Helen left aswell. It was emotional to say goodbye for all of us and she must only have been half a mile down the road when people were sitting talking about how they missed her what a lot of good she had done. It's certainly weird being the only one left here from Sheppey but strangely ok because I am so well looked after and feeling very settled. I'm only sorry that all of you can't come over here and we could all live here together!
The last coming and going of last week was that on Friday afternoon Norah, Pr Emmanuel's youngest, came home from school aswell. She is 17 and both her and Judah have been doing their exams (because Judah was sick and had to retake a year at one point). She is equally becoming quite a young lady although not really a copy of Florence, she's still a bit of a teenager. A great carload of us went to collect her (by the way its a boarding school, but not far away, maybe only 30mins drive) including and met her straight out of her last exam which brought back some memories for me! Bronnie and Sarah left on Friday night so the girly presence in the house was depleted but still strong because now I have Norah to chat to. I have put some pics up on facebook, and the latest album can be found at http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=44739&l=acfdf&id=503957996
Lots of love, Beki x
After we returned from Bugiri, a couple of young teachers from London came to stay with Emmanuel and Florence thru a charity called Impact Charities in the UK. They had come to run some teacher training sessions at the school and they were going to spend their days observing and making suggestions and helping the teachers where they could. I think it's fair to say that Mari and I were a little apprehensive about what these new people would be like and how they would deal with the teachers and kids, but honestly Bronnie and Sarah are two of the nicest people you will ever meet! They stayed for 5 days and ran 4 two-hour training sessions for the teachers on things like lesson planning, classroom management and literacy teaching. The school was literally changed overnight and they helped in such a humble way. Its difficult sometimes to make suggestions without being overpowering and still allowing for cultural differences, but these girls really bonded with the teachers and some of the kids. They made suggestions about discipline and activities for starters and finishers in the lessons, and even the teachers were having a great time testing out new ideas in the seminars! At the end of the four days I had learnt so much about teaching, and I know they didn't come for my benefit but as one of the 'staff' who completed the course (and even got a certificate!) I know that my classes are better off. They were so right about the fact that if you make it fun then you enjoy it more, the kids enjoy it more and actually they dont learn any less! They biggest thing I have learnt is to focus attention and rewarding kids who are really trying and being quiet rather than constantly struggling with the disruptive ones. The good thing about being a Mzungu is that most of them want to be your friend, so you have a lot of power over them if you say that 'you have been stubborn and made me sad. I dont like it when people fight in my class :(' haha. So we were shattered and Sarah and me actually were quite ill by Friday so I had to take the day off school to sleep, but it was definately effective and a wonderful example of the whole 'give a man a fish and he will eat for a day, teach a man to fish and he will eat for a lifetime' scenario.
So it was really good to have some more girls in the house to chat to and hang out with, as well as Willy and Sam. Judah also came back halfway through last week because he has finished his O levels (GCSEs - their school year runs from Feb to Nov) so there were a bit of a gang of us at times! Judah is Emmanuel's 2nd son and now 18 and quite a young man, in fact in many ways he's becoming a mini-me of Pastor Emmanuel and i noticed a lot of things he said and did exactly like him! He's got a vision to do his A levels in the UK but obviously costs and visas are a little if not massively difficult, so please pray for him. He's the kind of guy who just says things and believes for them though, and somehow it will happen.
Of course the other massive event of last week was that Mama Mari had to leave us, and I am sure that that had a lot to do with the fact that I felt a bit dodge on Friday cos I was sick the day that Dad Paul and Helen left aswell. It was emotional to say goodbye for all of us and she must only have been half a mile down the road when people were sitting talking about how they missed her what a lot of good she had done. It's certainly weird being the only one left here from Sheppey but strangely ok because I am so well looked after and feeling very settled. I'm only sorry that all of you can't come over here and we could all live here together!
The last coming and going of last week was that on Friday afternoon Norah, Pr Emmanuel's youngest, came home from school aswell. She is 17 and both her and Judah have been doing their exams (because Judah was sick and had to retake a year at one point). She is equally becoming quite a young lady although not really a copy of Florence, she's still a bit of a teenager. A great carload of us went to collect her (by the way its a boarding school, but not far away, maybe only 30mins drive) including and met her straight out of her last exam which brought back some memories for me! Bronnie and Sarah left on Friday night so the girly presence in the house was depleted but still strong because now I have Norah to chat to. I have put some pics up on facebook, and the latest album can be found at http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=44739&l=acfdf&id=503957996
Lots of love, Beki x
05 November 2008
Travelling Blogger Mari
Hi Folks, this is being written in retrospi..... retrospet..... retro (oh heck, don't use words you can't spell) well... looking backwards then.
Beki has told you a bit about our weekend at the village of Bugiri. We met Pastor Joshua briefly at the Pastor's Meal during the Team visit early in September. Joshua is in his 30's and has only been married since January this year - he said he delayed in marrying because he was busy with the Lord's work. His wife, Eunice, was kept busy in the kitchen area helping to prepare meals, not only for us, but also visiting Pastors and the lunch provided for the children when we ministrered to them on the Saturday. Every now and then we would see her hurrying past, fetching and carrying pots or food. They made a lovely couple and were deeply committed to each other.
On of the church elders and his wife Jennifer, opened their home to us. We were given their bedroom, and still have no idea where they slept. Our room had been prepared by Sister Rush - a real 'servant'. She had been brought up as a Catholic and within days of her marriage had accepted Jesus and was "Born Again". Unfortunately, her husband deserted her because she would not give up her new faith. She decided that she would dedicate her life to serving God and His people. If you can imagine a combination of Martha and Mary from the Bible, you would have some idea of the makings of Sister Rush. Our beds were made, mosquito nets in place, hot water and towel for washing, and a hot cup of tea shortly after we arrived. She served all our meals, laying them out on a large wooden table which was also in our room. She slep on a mattress at the foot of our beds, which brough to mind Ruth in the Bible who slept at the feet of her master - Boaz.
As Beki has explained, we were kept BUSY!!! But, the people were so grateful and joyous to have us there, that it made our efforts seem so worthwhile. On Saturday evening, as we sat around the oil lamp and one by one the believers told us their personal story of salvation, we were drawn into their lives. Darkness surrounded us, stars seemed near enough to touch, we could barely see each other, but as that single lamp burned, it brought to mind the light of Jesus shining in the darkness and their testimonies brough light into our lives. It is one of those special memories that will warm my heart when I am sitting in my rocking chair and can only travel in my mind.
They were so reluctant to let us go and we were to reluctant to leave, that saying 'goodbye' was very painful. We pray, as they do, that Community Church will return to their village - as one visiting Pastor said "I feel that I have only had half the meal".
The remainder of that last week, I spent trying to tie-up loose ends. I visited the orphans as many times as I could to complete their individual "profiles" to distributie to their sponsors. This has proved to be a mamouth task (please be patient). Firstly, it is difficult to get information when the children have come from different villages and towns and there are few relatives to approach. Of course, like all kids they have their own little personalities and I tried to get to know them and their ways. Speaking with the boys was the easiest - they settled on their bunks, listened carefully as I spoke to each one, sometimes encouraging the shy ones, or adding comments - they took it all very seriously. The girls, well, they were a different 'kettle of fish'. I started repairing their uniforms, partly because some badly needed repairing and also it gave me the opportunity to chat to them. They kept up a constant string of questions..... Sister Mari.... what is so and so like? Sister Mari...... do you have any children? What is his name? Why have you only got one child? Sister Mari...... is it cold in UK? Sister Mari.... why is your skin so soft? On and On and accompanied by one or other of them touching my skin or hair. They also watched closely as I tried to thread a needle in near darkness, unpicked white stitching on bottle green material and replaced it, scratched around for numberless buttons etc. In between times they pushed and shoved to be the ones sitting closest to me, or had little scirmishes about who's dress should be repaired next..... But it helped me to understand them better, the attention seekers, who badly need to be shown love, the helpful ones, the naughty ones - you can travel the world over, but kids are much of a muchness wherever they come from and whatever their colour. It was a privilege to be with "your" kids.
I left a small donation with Florence who will try to get a tailor to take all their uniforms over the Christmas holiday and get them repaired.
I visited Elder James and his wife (Ruth) at the orphanage at Lugazi. There are many needs there, which I hope to highlight on the Ugandan evening.
As Pastor Emi was ill, he arranged for me to go with his son Judah to visit the 'slum' - hereafter called the "shanty town". You may remember that we had a collection just before last Christmas to raise money to provide Christmas meals there. It was one of the most challenging things I did. They reckon over 800 people live in this small area. Most of the houses are only 10ft x 8ft and there are at least 5 people living in each (i.e. adults and kids). There is only about 18 inches between the houses, and maze-like passages leading you from one part to another. The houses are made of a mixture of mud, corrugated iron, wood, tarpaulin etc. I only saw one fresh water pipe, where many people were waiting to fill their jeri-cans. Some of the men were quite confrontational to me, asking who I was, and why I was there (being white didn't help). However, once I had introduced myself, and talked for a while they calmed down. Pastor Edward who has a church and school nearby helped me to visit the area (most of the kids who attend his school come from this area). The biggest problem is that they have NO TOILETS at all on the site. There has recently been a cholera outbreak and the kids are often sick with different diseases, not helped by the fact that there is an enormous rubbish tip nearby. The people I did manage to speak to remembered the Christmas meal, and thanked us for it. I hope to keep in contact with Pastor Edward and his wife.
Think thats it for me now.... thanks for reading this, I hope you have found it interesting. Mari
Beki has told you a bit about our weekend at the village of Bugiri. We met Pastor Joshua briefly at the Pastor's Meal during the Team visit early in September. Joshua is in his 30's and has only been married since January this year - he said he delayed in marrying because he was busy with the Lord's work. His wife, Eunice, was kept busy in the kitchen area helping to prepare meals, not only for us, but also visiting Pastors and the lunch provided for the children when we ministrered to them on the Saturday. Every now and then we would see her hurrying past, fetching and carrying pots or food. They made a lovely couple and were deeply committed to each other.
On of the church elders and his wife Jennifer, opened their home to us. We were given their bedroom, and still have no idea where they slept. Our room had been prepared by Sister Rush - a real 'servant'. She had been brought up as a Catholic and within days of her marriage had accepted Jesus and was "Born Again". Unfortunately, her husband deserted her because she would not give up her new faith. She decided that she would dedicate her life to serving God and His people. If you can imagine a combination of Martha and Mary from the Bible, you would have some idea of the makings of Sister Rush. Our beds were made, mosquito nets in place, hot water and towel for washing, and a hot cup of tea shortly after we arrived. She served all our meals, laying them out on a large wooden table which was also in our room. She slep on a mattress at the foot of our beds, which brough to mind Ruth in the Bible who slept at the feet of her master - Boaz.
As Beki has explained, we were kept BUSY!!! But, the people were so grateful and joyous to have us there, that it made our efforts seem so worthwhile. On Saturday evening, as we sat around the oil lamp and one by one the believers told us their personal story of salvation, we were drawn into their lives. Darkness surrounded us, stars seemed near enough to touch, we could barely see each other, but as that single lamp burned, it brought to mind the light of Jesus shining in the darkness and their testimonies brough light into our lives. It is one of those special memories that will warm my heart when I am sitting in my rocking chair and can only travel in my mind.
They were so reluctant to let us go and we were to reluctant to leave, that saying 'goodbye' was very painful. We pray, as they do, that Community Church will return to their village - as one visiting Pastor said "I feel that I have only had half the meal".
The remainder of that last week, I spent trying to tie-up loose ends. I visited the orphans as many times as I could to complete their individual "profiles" to distributie to their sponsors. This has proved to be a mamouth task (please be patient). Firstly, it is difficult to get information when the children have come from different villages and towns and there are few relatives to approach. Of course, like all kids they have their own little personalities and I tried to get to know them and their ways. Speaking with the boys was the easiest - they settled on their bunks, listened carefully as I spoke to each one, sometimes encouraging the shy ones, or adding comments - they took it all very seriously. The girls, well, they were a different 'kettle of fish'. I started repairing their uniforms, partly because some badly needed repairing and also it gave me the opportunity to chat to them. They kept up a constant string of questions..... Sister Mari.... what is so and so like? Sister Mari...... do you have any children? What is his name? Why have you only got one child? Sister Mari...... is it cold in UK? Sister Mari.... why is your skin so soft? On and On and accompanied by one or other of them touching my skin or hair. They also watched closely as I tried to thread a needle in near darkness, unpicked white stitching on bottle green material and replaced it, scratched around for numberless buttons etc. In between times they pushed and shoved to be the ones sitting closest to me, or had little scirmishes about who's dress should be repaired next..... But it helped me to understand them better, the attention seekers, who badly need to be shown love, the helpful ones, the naughty ones - you can travel the world over, but kids are much of a muchness wherever they come from and whatever their colour. It was a privilege to be with "your" kids.
I left a small donation with Florence who will try to get a tailor to take all their uniforms over the Christmas holiday and get them repaired.
I visited Elder James and his wife (Ruth) at the orphanage at Lugazi. There are many needs there, which I hope to highlight on the Ugandan evening.
As Pastor Emi was ill, he arranged for me to go with his son Judah to visit the 'slum' - hereafter called the "shanty town". You may remember that we had a collection just before last Christmas to raise money to provide Christmas meals there. It was one of the most challenging things I did. They reckon over 800 people live in this small area. Most of the houses are only 10ft x 8ft and there are at least 5 people living in each (i.e. adults and kids). There is only about 18 inches between the houses, and maze-like passages leading you from one part to another. The houses are made of a mixture of mud, corrugated iron, wood, tarpaulin etc. I only saw one fresh water pipe, where many people were waiting to fill their jeri-cans. Some of the men were quite confrontational to me, asking who I was, and why I was there (being white didn't help). However, once I had introduced myself, and talked for a while they calmed down. Pastor Edward who has a church and school nearby helped me to visit the area (most of the kids who attend his school come from this area). The biggest problem is that they have NO TOILETS at all on the site. There has recently been a cholera outbreak and the kids are often sick with different diseases, not helped by the fact that there is an enormous rubbish tip nearby. The people I did manage to speak to remembered the Christmas meal, and thanked us for it. I hope to keep in contact with Pastor Edward and his wife.
Think thats it for me now.... thanks for reading this, I hope you have found it interesting. Mari
01 November 2008
Bugiri
Fri 24th Oct - Sun 26th Oct (yes I know it was ages ago!) we got on a taxi bus and travelled about 4 hours west of Bweyogerere with two ladies from Emmanuel's church to Bugiri. After a slightly squished transport experience, we landed on a road and walked about 20 minutes out into the bush to a compound of huts which were among various compounds of huts. These two ladies (Rebecca and Mrs Grace, both wives of elders) promptly left us and travelled with Baby Becky (about 1yr) a little further to another church where they were going to do marriage seminars. Mari and I were left in the care of Pr Joshua and his Elder George for 3 wonderful days. At first of course we didn't know where we were or who anybody was, but we very quickly felt right at home and were trying to figure out whether it would be easier to fit most people we had met into our suitcases to take home or build a mud hut for ourselves and stay there!
There was a general church meeting on the Friday night, a kids day on the Saturday, another church meeting Saturday early evening, and another church meeting Sunday. The thing I remember most is spending Saturday evening sitting with about 20 people around a paraffin lamp outside sharing testimonies and stories about God together. You can't describe those kind of experiences to people.
TBC... with details...
There was a general church meeting on the Friday night, a kids day on the Saturday, another church meeting Saturday early evening, and another church meeting Sunday. The thing I remember most is spending Saturday evening sitting with about 20 people around a paraffin lamp outside sharing testimonies and stories about God together. You can't describe those kind of experiences to people.
TBC... with details...
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