final blog

October 12

And so we come to the end of our time in Kanungu! This much-anticipated adventure has more than fulfilled our expectations. We have learned a tremendous amount about this community, its strengths and its challenges, about the local people and their daily lives, and about local education and its potential to break the cycle of poverty. We have seen some beautiful sights and have had, for a time, the rare opportunity to experience life in a community so different from own. More than that, we have met some wonderful people and forged some true friendships. Probably our closest ties were with the 3 young people with whom we lived, who took great care of us and with whom we spent many hours discussing life!

The nature of our work here evolved gradually and, although we managed to achieve all of the specific things we set out to do, we feel, as we leave, that there is much that still needs to be done. We plan to continue working on some of these things from home and, Kanungu electricity and network permitting, will be able to do this in close contact with those we leave behind. Along with the sadness of saying goodbye, came an unexpected and very touching moment when, at a meeting, we were officially made ‘Goodwill Ambassadors’ for Great Lakes Regional College - an honour indeed, and clever, since it ensures our continued support!

We leave now for a little travel and thence to Rwanda to stay with Becca and Drew. We end these blogs with a rather whimsical portrayal of daily life in Kanungu.

We look forward to seeing you all soon.

Love and Peace,

Jessica and Paul

Sounds of Kanungu

The rooster in the early morning - crowing in tune three times, getting flatter on the fourth

The clang of the metal pipe telling the primary school boarders to get up and go to breakfast

The bleating of goats

The liquid notes of the robin-chat singing from the tree

The sound of metal pans from the kitchen

The lowing of the cattle with the big horns

The chatter of children as they walk to school in groups

The lonely caw of the pied crow

The sound of drums and singing from the primary school assembly - the rhythmic tunes of hymns and songs, sung in natural harmony, floating across the hills

The slap-slap of bare feet on the dirt road

The clatter of banana leaves in the wind

The sudden bang, as of a shot, as small motor bikes engage after freewheeling down the hill

The regular chock-chock of the hoe as the women dig the ground

The roar of the pick-up taxi as it speeds down the road with people, bags, bicycles and bananas, packed beyond capacity

The swish of the blade as the groundsman cuts the grass

The chorus of “How are you?” from children visible and invisible, as we walk down the road

The rumble of distant thunder warning us that another deluge is at hand

The squawk of the ibis which travels in pairs, each pair sounding as though it’s in the middle of a domestic squabble

The hammering of rain on the tin roof obliterating all hope of conversation

The click of the lock as the house is secured for the night

The nightly lullaby of the crickets

blog 7

October 7, 2009

Work continues well here and already we are nearly at the end of our 6 weeks. My French students can now greet French-speaking tourists, take a booking for a hotel room and understand an order in a restaurant! The Social Work students are learning theories and skills, as prescribed, but would rather be talking about community development work, which is what they all want to do. Paul’s work in developing a Science Department at the College continues and this pursuit took us both to Kampala last week, where he had a meeting at the Uganda National Council for Science and Technology to discuss possible funding and other opportunities.

Despite the crowds, the dirt, the noise and the impossible traffic-jams, it was interesting for us to spend a few days getting to know Kampala. Our guest house sat atop a hill with a panoramic view over the city. We were woken each morning by the muezzin from the nearest mosque, followed by the rooster from the garden, children's voices from the next-door orphanage and finally the sound of the cathedral bells . The route from this hill into the city centre led us through a very poor area constantly filled with market stalls, street sellers, beggars and crowds that were almost impossible to penetrate. An interesting aspect of business here is that, when a shop becomes successful, identical shops open up right next door so that you have not one shirt or computer shop on Kampala Road but about 50 in a row! When I was here 40 years ago, Kampala bore all the hallmarks of a spacious old colonial city but it is now a bustling centre with commercial enterprise, professional services and a first-rate university. It was an interesting visit but after a few days, we were ready to return to our rural 'home' in the hills!

Bus travel is an interesting experience here, as in many other African countries, I suspect. Paul and I travelled back from Kampala on a bus and the experience started when we went to buy a ticket the day before. The bus station was a seething mob of people and, in the absence of a ticket office, touts descended on us, trying to get us to buy tickets on their bus line. We were looking for one particular company which has a better reputation but were assured that they were now engaged in moving refugees around (a blatant lie but creative!). We arrived the next morning at 6 for a 6.30 departure, as directed. The bus was covered in dust inside and out and certainly looked as though it wouldn’t have passed any kind of inspection. For an hour, the touts continued their work, trying to get people to travel on their bus and finally, at 7, we pulled out of the bus station ... but only to park again at the curbside, where more tickets were sold. Eventually, at 7.30, when our patience was beginning to fail us, we were off .. but only as far as the fuel pump where we filled up for a further 15 minutes. It’s true to say that once they roll, these buses fly along at break-neck speeds, stopping only periodically, usually in the middle of nowhere, to let a passenger off or, on one occasion, to let both men and women off to relieve themselves - no prudery here! The whole event was an interesting experience but one we don’t necessarily need to repeat too often!

Our relaxation for the week entailed a trip to Lake Bunyonyi in the extreme southwest corner of the country. As we bumped along on the pass which goes over the mountains we found ourselves in the middle of the cloud with rain lashing the windows of the car. I did wonder, just for a moment, whet we were doing but our steady driver ferried us safely to our destination, where the sun was shining. The Lake is very large and irregularly-shaped with over 20 islands. It is surrounded by hills, striped with terracing, and mountains beyond. The island, where we stayed, is not cultivated and is a wonderful place for bird-watching and just enjoying the views - the dawn chorus was like a concet! Small dugout canoes made from eucalyptus trees ply to and fro, carrying people from one island to another, propelled by one or two people silently paddling with a spear-shaped paddle. A highlight on the Sunday morning was to hear and then see a larger dugout filled with children who sang and drummed their way to church across the water.

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Love and peace,

Jessica and Paul

blog 6

October 3, 2009

In the last blog we said that we would say more about the college here - Great Lakes Regional College. It was established in 2004 and its mission is to teach subjects that are of use to the local community, such as Education, Social Work, Agri-Business, Tourism and Business. There are currently 360 full-time students, some of whom are studying for a certificate, some for a Diploma and some for a degree. Their dream is to become a full university but for that they will need to offer more courses and will need their lecturers to have higher qualifications. Almost all of the full-time students live on campus in extremely crowded conditions, sometimes 2 to a bed or a mattress on the floor between the bunks, with nowhere to store their clothes. There is an acute shortage of classrooms, resulting in most classes taking place under the trees in the grounds, which gets difficult in the rainy season! As much as we might all have complained about our university food, these students are given posho (cornmeal) and beans every meal of every day! Inevitably some students drop out every year but it is almost always because of the family’s inability to pay the fees. This, in turn, affects the college’s ability to pay their teachers. The College is in a beautiful setting, it has a pretty campus and the students and faculty are dedicated to learning and teaching, despite the many difficulties.

As we talk to college students, they reveal the reality of lives limited by extreme poverty. Many of them are supposed to make money to support their families but if they do so, they will not be able to pursue an education and without that, they will revert to working on the land, just as their parents have before them, and the cycle will be repeated into the next generation. What is so different here is the absolute responsibility which certain family members take for others. The oldest boy or the child with the most education, is expected to support the family, whether that includes 8 younger siblings, sick parents, disabled grandparents or all of the above. One young man we know has a dream of going to university to get a science degree. The only way he can do this is to have financial support but, even if that happens, his family will expect him to spend that money on supporting them. He talks of avoiding going home because he doesn’t have enough money to buy soap for his mother or to pay his young siblings’ school fees. Despite this, here is a very bright and enthusiastic young man with a big dream and, with help, enough determination to make it a reality. One of my missions, when I return home, will be to try to develop ways in which the most needy of these students can get financial support.

Along with the sad stories, however, there are moments of real hope. One of the highlights of this trip, has been my return to the girls’ school where I taught after I left high school!! It was wonderful to go back and amazing to see the changes that have taken place in the 41 intervening years! The student body of 300 has grown to 1,500 girls, who are doing very well academically and excelling in extra-curricular activities. They even come from families who, mostly, can afford to pay the fees! It was very encouraging to see how the school has developed and it helped us to feel a bit more optimistic about the future of the CHIFCOD schools. As for me personally, I was welcomed effusively, people shaking my hand and saying “Welcome home!” I remembered everything about it and felt the same affection for the place and the people as I had felt all those years ago!

Love and Peace,

Jessica and Paul