blog 5

September 23, 2009

The rainy season has well and truly hit Kanungu! Having mentioned last week that an hour’s rain in the afternoon was no great inconvenience, we soon learned that that was just a precursor to the real season. We now have daily storms, sometimes two or three in a day, that consist of strong winds and driving rain which pounds on the metal roofs and obliterates all view of the surrounding mountains. One day the thundering seemed particularly loud and we realised that pea-sized hail was falling, shredding the banana leaves and making everyone fear for their newly-planted crops. We lose electricity with regularity and to us, this seem an inconvenience. For the people here, to be without electricity is normal and the presence of power is something to be thankful for!

We have had a fascinating week visiting all four primary schools and the secondary school, which are all run by CHIFCOD. We started at the newest, smallest and most remote school, set in a steeply mountainous area. There is no water supply at the school, so the cooks have to carry water for the 139 students from a source quite a way away. There is nowhere flat for children to play and some of the them sit in a classroom which is still being built. Nevertheless, they gave us a great welcome and seemed as eager to learn in lesson-time as they were eager to play in play-time!

Universal primary education is available in Uganda but government schools are often severely over-crowded and are reputed to promote all pupils, whether they pass their exams or not. CHIFCOD schools are private and inevitably it is very difficult for families to afford the fees. Fees vary for primary day students from approximately $10 to $26 per term, and are a little over $40 for primary and secondary boarders. Even this amount is too much for most families to pay and there are two main reasons for this : one is that most people in this area are subsistence farmers, so although they have a little land and some food, they have little to no cash to spend. The other reason is that families tend to be very big - 8 or 10 children is not uncommon - so choosing just one or two children to go to the private school, when the government ones are free, is very difficult for parents. The schools run on fees and donations, so when families can not pay the fees, the schools have trouble paying their teachers. It is sad for children to have to withdraw from school when they can no longer pay the fees, for instance when the parents’ crops fail, when the children become orphaned or when they are needed to work on the land. CHIFCOD is trying to create local opportunities whereby families and students can raise money for their own fees, for instance through growing crops and raising pigs and rabbits. In the meantime, one of their major sources of support comes through sponsorship of individual children by donors in England and America. Hint: more sponsors are needed!

A very striking aspect of school-children here is the strong discipline. They do not talk in class, they listen and, having no books of their own, they learn mostly by rote and repetition. At the last school I visited, right in Kanungu, the children were taking exams. Since over-crowding is a problem - 3 or 4 children to a desk and bench built for 2 - half of the school were sent to work outside while the exam-takers spread out in the classrooms. Sitting quietly outside, revising for their exams, sat over 100 children aged 6 to 14 and, with only minimal teacher presence, no-one was running around and there was a just a quiet murmuring of voices. It’s not that these children are in any way repressed - I can assure you that when break comes, they are as exuberant and playful as any other children!

The secondary school is very new, having been established in 2008, and will add one class every year until it goes all the way up to ‘A’ level. It is a beautiful school in a pretty location and is very well run. It is supported to a large extent by Highgate School in London and it seems to be establishing itself quickly as a good school. All the students are boarders and work extremely hard, rising at 5.30, studying before breakfast, having classes till 4.30, then playing games, eating supper and studying agin till lights out at 10. Two of the primary schools also have boarders, starting as young as 6 years old.

We don’t exactly know the current numbers but approximately half of the population of Uganda is under 25, and the average life-expectancy is under 50, lower than it was before the AIDS crisis. This, coupled with a national shortage of jobs, means that there is still great poverty here. One becomes aware of the large numbers of children just walking down the road - they seem to be everywhere, walking home from school in their uniforms, greeting us with a “How are you?” followed by the inevitable giggles! Or they’re tending goats or cows or carrying water or firewood to their homes, their loads frequently perched on their heads. Some of these are children who do not go to school, others are school-children who must do their family work before and after school.

There is a firm belief among many people here that education is the only way to break the cycle of poverty. We are very impressed by the efforts of this community and this organization to further this cause and to provide quality education at all levels. In another log, we will talk about the college but suffice it to say that the dream of CHIFCOD is to provide, one day, continuous educational opportunities for people from nursery class to the degree level.

Love and peace,

Jessica and Paul