Sunday, July 11- The Kampala Bombings

On Sunday, July 11, two places were bombed in Kampala, the capitol of Uganda. It was during the World Cup 2010 finals, Spain and the Netherlands. Several of us went to Kope Café in Gulu to watch the game. I stayed through the 90 minute regulation, but decided not to watch the overtime as it was pretty late already, and I had school the next day.
I woke up to Lindsey’s phone ringing the next morning. It was her mother calling, but I still did not know what had happened. Needless to say, I found out pretty quickly, but I did not have all of the information at that point.
Kampala is in the southern part of Uganda, and Gulu is about a six-hour ride north, so we were not in any immediate danger. There were many rumors coming out of Kampala: mzungus were the target, Ethiopians were the target, not all of the bombs went off, etc. It was later in the day that we found out about Nate, one of the IC roadies, who had arrived to Uganda early. He was at the rugby venue, watching with some friends, and he was killed in the explosion. I think that information is what the United States focused on, although I have not had the opportunity to really look at American news feeds.
I felt pretty secure in the fact that my family and friends did not know about it because our local news is pretty terrible, and let’s be honest, few people really are concerned about what occurs in African countries. However, when I called my parents around 2:00 pm Ugandan time (7:00 am EST), they were a little frantic. I assured them that I was safe and pretty far from Kampala. To be honest, I didn’t understand why my parents (as well as others’ family members) were worried. Upon reflection, I realize that it is because in their eyes, I was so close to the bombings. I was only 6 hours away as opposed to half a continent and an enormous ocean. And that is when the impact of the bombings hit me. Nate had come to Uganda because of his belief in Invisible Children and his connection to his Ugandan friends here. I am the same; our only difference is that he was watching the soccer match with friends in Kampala and I was watching it with friends in Gulu.
IC has taken measures to assure our safety while in country, as well as our safe departure coming up. They are working with the American Embassy, and I am certain that everything will be fine. However, it has reminded me of two things: 1) I am so fortunate to live in the US. I feel that terrorism can happen anywhere (as it has), but I also feel that for the most part, Americans have a high level of tolerance of others. If we don’t understand someone or something, we work until we do understand. And our first response is not violent. I am not sure I can say that about other countries, especially those that have such a violent past as in Africa. And 2) Life is short and can end at any minute. I am pledging to myself that I will work to appreciate every day, so at the end of my life, I can look back and smile at the amazing people I encountered and the unforgettable experiences.

Thursday, July 15- Visiting Sir Samuel Baker SS

I finally got the opportunity to return to Sir Samuel Baker SS, the school I taught at last summer with IC Teacher Exchange. Lindsey and I took bodas bodas out there, and it was so nice to just have a 15 minute boda ride as opposed to a 40 minute ride to Keyo SS.
I am amazed at the physical changes at SSB. The Belgian government has partnered with SSB and is building a ton of buildings there. They have renovated most of the building and built several new classroom blocks and dormitories. They have also added a fence around the front part and a brick wall around the back part, separating it from the bush. They have renovated the room where we watched the prefect handover ceremony last year. It has tile floor and wooden and glass doors and is now so beautiful. The students plan to use it for a dining hall and are waiting on the furniture to arrive. They have also built a new kitchen off of the dining hall. Renovations on the administrative offices and the assembly hall are currently happening, and then they will work on the staff room. The school is so beautiful, and it was so nice to be back.
While there, I spoke to a student and asked him about the dormitories. He looked at me and said, “Lisa?” I replied back yes, and he said that he had been in contact with me throughout the year. He turned out to be Ocan Joel, a student that I had email correspondence with throughout the year. Joel gave Lindsey and me a tour of the campus, and it was so great to see that he was doing well. He is on an IC Legacy Scholarship, and he should be sitting for his exams this year.
I also saw Grace, my partner teacher from last year. It was so great to see her, and she was so exited to see me. We had a great reunion. She is doing well, and her children are living closer to her, so she is able to see them often. She reported that her S4 students from last year tested very well, which is a great accomplishment. I also spoke with several other friends as well as the head teacher and the deputy head teacher.
It was a great visit, and I felt like I had come home. I had such a great summer at SSB, and it was so fun to return and see all of the great changes. Hopefully, they can continue to progress and improve the school and guide students to successful lives.

Only in Uganda (or Africa, probably)...

Only in Uganda (or Africa)…
does a 4 year old babysit a 1 year old.
• Can you take a shower and still not be clean.
• Can you ride on top of a mutatu (large passenger van) going 50 kph over bumpy roads and be okay.
• Can you get a sharp cheddar cheese sandwich for breakfast.
• Can you walk into a fancy hotel, pay $2.50 for two cups of coffee and feel ripped off.
• Can you be sitting at a bar, drinking a beer, have a family of warthogs run past you, and not think twice of it.
• Can you go to the “restroom”, see an actual toilet, and wonder what you are supposed to do with it.
• While in a motorized vehicle, do you only honk your horn at people crossing the street and not brake for them.
• Can you dye your hair rustic blond and get a spray tan by riding inside a mutatu.
• Can a van that normally holds 6 passengers, carry 14.
• Do they leave the cars running at all times, even for longs breaks.
• Can you get carpet burn on your butt and knees while riding in the back of a mutatu because you are bracing yourself for impact at all times.
• Can you get excited about less than 5 minutes of paved road.
• Can you see the most beautiful views that you have ever seen in your life.
• Can you live with 30 people and two bathrooms and still be friends.
• Is peanut butter considered “gold” and for crunchy peanut butter, you would sacrifice your first born.
• Does the pedestrian NOT have the right of way.
• Does a boda boda driver spend $0.25 on gas and think that it will be enough for a 40-minute boda boda ride.
• Does Wikipedia the main source for questions at Quiz Night.
• Is OJ Simpson a baseball player.

Murchison Falls National Park Safari

We left Saturday immediately after the conference to take (quite possibly) the most miserable mutatu ride ever to Murchison Falls National Park. Calling it a road would be like calling a double bacon cheeseburger healthy.
The safari was amazing. We did both the land safari and the river safari on Sunday. Even though I did this trip last year while here, it never ceases to amaze me how beautiful it is to see these animals in their habitat. I have decided that my favorite animal is the giraffe; they are so graceful. Francis, our guide, said that giraffes are so peaceful and easy going. They don’t fight; they are just calm. We also saw oribbe, heart of beasts, kobs (the Ugandan animal); these are all DLTs (deer like things); they are pretty cool to watch as well. The elephants were awesome; we saw several babies, which is so great to know that the population is rebuilding. One the river safari, we saw hippos, tons of hippos. I really wanted to see the crocodiles as we did not see very many last year. Ask and you shall receive… as we got closer to Murchison Falls, Anthony, our river guide, took us closer to the shore. We saw a couple of crocodiles laying low in the water. All of a sudden, from a shade tree near the shore of the Nile, crocodiles started emerging. There must have been 15 crocodiles that emerged, and let me tell you, they are scary looking. It was incredible. As we left the viewing of Murchison Falls, we saw a herd of about 15 elephants on the shore. Anthony drove the boat closer for us to take pictures; the elephants heard us, and immediately rounded up to protect the babies. They form these circles, put the babies in the middle and stand guard. It was so great to watch and so beautiful.
I know that in times of great stress when I am back in the States, I simply need to think of the beauty of Murchison Falls and know that everything will be okay. This beauty confirms my belief that God (or whatever you choose to call it) does exist, and that He is so loving. Beauty like that is not just evolutionary chance. There is a higher power at work on this planet.

IC Teacher Exchange Teaching and Learning Conference

On Friday and Saturday morning, we participated in the 4th Annual Invisible Children Teaching and Learning Conference. The theme of the conference was KOBS (Knowledge of Behaviour and Self), a curriculum developed by Invisible Children to work on the emotional wellbeing of secondary students. It is currently taught in the 11 partner schools to S1 and S2 students.
It was a full day of information. Stevan Radoja, the creator of the curriculum, gave a presentation on the evolution of the curriculum. He gave some sobering statistics, and it reminded me that even though the war has moved out of Ugandan borders in the last couple of years, the effects are still very real. He showed us some saddening statistics about the effects of what people had witnessed. It is connected to PTSD, which is what we think of with soldiers in war like situations. However here, we are talking about children. Children who have witnessed events that most of us can’t even fathom. These same children are still expected to attend school, concentrate in school, and be successful in school. Can you imagine seeing a family member killed and then attend school to study math? These are the effects of war that will take much longer to heal, but in fact, it is the most important aspect of rebuilding a war torn country. However it is often overlooked. Organizations come in, rebuild the physical aspects and then leave, and the country is not healed. This KOBS curriculum is one step closer to meeting the needs of the future generations. The Ugandan teachers who are administering the curriculum like it very much. It opens dialogue in a very safe way, and it builds relationships among the students as well as between the teacher and the student. We modeled a couple of lessons; they are student driven, active and engaging. Most importantly, they are personal and reach the student in a way that the Ugandan academic curriculum can’t.
All in all, the conference was successful, and it was a great time to share with our Ugandan colleagues. The Keyo teachers are so wonderful, and we all have a good time together. We come from very different worlds, but at the end of the day, we are not so different. Experiences like this make me realize that hate is simply a lack of understanding.

Friday, July 2, 2010- Shadowing an IC mentor

I had a great day today. I have mentioned before that as part of the IC Legacy Scholarship, each student is partnered with a mentor, who builds a relationship with the student, his/her parents, and his/her school. This allows the students greater success because they receive support from all of those areas; I think it also works to build greater community. Today I got the opportunity to shadow a mentor named Oyella Betty.
Betty is forty years old and has 3 children, two boys who are in S1 and S2 and a girl who is in P1. She is not married, but the father of her children is currently working as a builder in Sudan. She has not seen him in two years. She is the eldest child of 7 and helps her other siblings, and she is amazing. Before she became a mentor for Invisible Children, she was a political education and geography teacher at Sir Samuel Baker.
I met her at 9:00 am at the Invisible Children office. While there, I met several other mentors. Each mentor has a caseload of about 24-25 students; ideally the mentor is assigned to a school instead of a student. So if a student transfers to another school, he/she then is assigned a new mentor. Everyone is really nice, and one of them, Richard, was one of the roadies who visited the United States and was based in the Colorado area. He and I had a conversation about how beautiful that area was and what a great time he had. Betty then suggested that I change into trousers as we would be travelling into the bush. I quickly made the change and returned to the office. Betty gave me a helmet, which is a nice change from riding on a motorcycle without one at high speeds, and we were off.
Our first stop was the gas station to get petrol and some snacks. While there, an older woman on crutches walked into the store. As she passed me, I greeted her in Luo. She stopped to speak to me and to correct me in the greeting that I used. Now let me tell you something about Luo. To greet someone, there are about 10 different sayings you can use, and while most can be used at any time of the day, some depend on whether it is morning or evening. Well, when greeting her, I used the correct saying, but she wanted me to use another one, so she gave me a language lesson. She was a former teacher, so to me, it proves the saying, “once a teacher, always a teacher.”
Once we got the petrol, we headed to our first stop, the Ugandan prison in Gulu. We were there to visit the father of one of the scholarship students. Betty had spent about a week trying to track down the girl’s family and she finally heard that he was in the prison over a land dispute. We arrived at the prison and walked over to a group of benches under a mango tree. There were several others waiting along with a guard taking the visitors’ names down. Betty told me to sit on the bench, and she went to go speak with the guard. As I sat down, I could feel about 10 sets of eyes on me, and I knew what they were thinking: “What is this white woman doing here and who is she visiting?” Once Betty checked in the with guard, she said that she was going to try to find out what the charges were but that I should remain there since “I might scare the people.” So I continued to sit, and Betty returned about 10 minutes later. She said that we were in the wrong area since we were on the female side. We walked down to the newer section of the prison, which houses the male inmates. Betty knocked on the steel door, and we were let inside. This section had a concrete floor and would be big enough to drive a truck through. They closed the steel doors behind us and told us to sit on the bench against the wall. There was a chalk line surrounding the benches. On the opposite side of the steel doors were gates that led through to an open courtyard where some of the inmates were. The inmates were playing soccer, volleyball, running, or just hanging out. The guard rapped on the metal gates, and an inmate came over. He asked the inmate to find the man we were looking for, and shortly thereafter, the man came back. They let him into the “visitation area”, and he came over to us. While we sat on the bench, he kneeled on the other side of the chalk line. And that was how our discussion began. Betty and the man spoke mostly in Luo; but the gist of the conversation was this. Years ago, the man and his family were granted a piece of land by the owner to live on. However in recent years, as the owner’s family has grown, he wanted the land back from this man, who, by the way, is a primary school teacher. And the man has refused. Betty said that it did not sound very fair, and I asked her if it was a “he said, he said” situation to which she replied yes. She and the father feel confident that it will be resolved at the next court date in a week, but I wonder. After he left, Betty told the guards that I had a couple of questions about the prison, which was a little awkward. I asked why the guards do not carry weapons inside the prison; they responded that if a prisoner overtakes a guard, there is no weapon for the prisoner to get. I also asked if the prisoners are separated by the severity of the crime, and the answer is no. So the teacher who is in a land dispute is in the same area as those who have committed violent crimes. The guard asked if it was the same as the prisons in the U.S., and I replied that I had never seen a prison in the U.S except on television. They all seem shocked at that comment. I tried to ask one more question, but I think they became uncomfortable and told us we would have to go through the public relations office. And that was our cue to leave. Betty thanked them graciously, and we headed to our next stop.
We headed out of town to visit the parents of another scholarship recipient named Nancy. Both of Nancy’s parents are HIV positive. Fortunately for Nancy, she is negative. Their home is off of the road to Layibi down a dirt path in the bush. There are two huts and one two-room house. It was this house that we were invited into after removing our shoes. Betty, the father and I sat on furniture; the mother and a friend sat on the floor even though there were plenty of chairs. The father does not look healthy at all; Betty mentioned that not only is he HIV positive, but he is also diabetic and has epileptic seizures. The mother looks very healthy. Again, most of the conversation was in Luo, and every once in a while, all of them would look at me and smile. Not sure what they were saying, but I am going to assume it was friendly. They were very welcoming and offered me some food gifts as is the custom here, but Betty quickly intervened and said it would not be good for my stomach. It was really great to visit a typical home and meet those outside of my circle here. Again, the warmth and hospitality is unparalleled; this family has so little and were still willing to give what they had.
On our way to the final stop of Koro SS to visit Nancy, we stopped at St. Joseph’s Layibi, one of the IC schools that we are teaching in. Catherine, Patrick, and Allison were there, and they gave us a tour of the grounds. The school is four times the size of Keyo; it is a male boarding school that houses 1300 boys. Betty’s two older boys are there, and so I got to meet them and she was able to check up on them. They were so cute, but I think are typical boys as they replied to her questions in monosyllables. I have had the opportunity to see several schools this trip, and it is so great to be able to compare and see the differences.
Our last stop was Koro SS, which is out in the middle of nowhere. It was created after the IDP camp was built in that area. It is very small. We met with the head teacher who then took me to the Staff Room to introduce me around and offered the opportunity for us to ask questions of each other. The teachers had many questions for me about education in America; they ranged from teacher motivation, to daily schedule, to student behavior and discipline, and teacher schedule. They were shocked when I mentioned that American teachers teach all day with the exception of a planning period. Ugandan teachers have long breaks during the day and may have some days that they do not teach at all. Betty said, “you must get exhausted doing all of that teaching.” I responded that American teaching is more student driven. Very rarely does the teacher stand up and lecture all day every day. It was an interesting conversation to have with them. We then met with Justin and Nancy, two of IC Legacy scholarship recipients. Betty asked them how they were doing in school and out of school. I think they were a little shy because I was there, but they were so polite and liked knowing someone cared about them. We talked about favorite foods; Justin’s favorite food is okra, and he hates eggplant. Nancy likes beans and hates mushrooms. Both of them needed to improve their grades, and so Betty offered some strategies to help them do that. The first strategy was to talk to the teacher, which in America would be easy, but I do not think it is so easy in Uganda. The teacher- student relationship here is much more formal; they do not foster the same relationship that we do in the States. I feel the teachers fear that if they are not seen as an authoritative figure, they will not be effective. However I think it is possible to still maintain control and foster a better relationship. That is one of the aspects that the American teachers work on with our partner teachers here.
We headed back to town and stopped at a gas station to grab snacks. While there, a woman selling children’s clothing came over to our table and proceeded to try to sell children’s clothing to Betty. Betty chose an outfit for her 6 year old daughter. The original price was 15,000 shillings; at the end of the haggling, Betty paid 9,000 shillings, or about $4.50 for the skirt, top and belt. I should probably mention that this outfit was a brand new outfit from Gymboree with the tags still on. Only in Africa…
All in all it was a fantastic day. I learned so much about the culture here and I continue to be impressed with the friendliness that is exhibited. The Ugandans truly care about each other and want to make their lives better. I am reminded of the Phoenix rising out of the ashes.

Thursday, July 1, 2010- Visiting Sacred Heart and the Student Government Campaigns at Keyo

Since I do not teach on Thursdays, I decided to go visit Lydia (my Reciprocal Teacher Exchange partner in January) at Sacred Heart SS. I had seen her on Wednesday, and she said that she had class at 7:40 am and then again at noon. I told her I would come out for the noon class.
Her noon class is S4 students and is only 11 students. At Sacred Heart, an all girls’ boarding school, home economics is compulsory for S1 and S2 students, but it is an elective for S3 and S4 students. Her S3 class has 60 students, so she had a hard time trying to do practicals with that many students. Fortunately for me, I was visiting the S4 class. During a previous class, she had given instructions to the students on how to make flaky pastry; for the class that I visited, the students were actually learning how to make the flaky pastry. For two hours, I watched these girls measure, cut butter and fat, roll it into the flour, juice a lemon, and then roll it out. It took them such a long time, and all I kept thinking was in America, all I have to do is go to the grocery store to get flaky pastry. Once they had rolled out and prepared the flaky pastry, they added either cooked ground meat or sausage and folded the pastry over the meat (kind of like pigs in a blanket for the sausage). I was there for 2 hours, and by the time I left to go to Keyo, the recipe was still not ready. The oven they used is a metal square box. They place the heated charcoal into the bottom of the oven and close it to heat the oven. I asked Lydia how she knew when it was the correct baking temperature, and she said that it was years of practice. There is no temperature gauge on the stove, so it is anybody’s guess as to what the actual cooking temperature was. For me it was a frustrating experience because of the amount of time it took to make small pastries. However to Ugandans, it is jus the way it is. I did notice the pride that the girls took in their preparation; when I cook, it is a means to an end. I have never considered being proud of the dishes that I cook. As always, there is a lesson for me to learn about slowing down and acknowledging life around me. These girls, as well as Lydia who is teaching them, appreciate these seemingly insignificant aspects of life, but now I wonder if these insignificant aspects are truly the gems of a life.
Yesterday, during our Keyo round table with Catherine, we discussed the attitude toward time and compared the American attitude with the Ugandan attitude. For Americans (and especially me), keeping time is so important. My students know that “if you are on time, your are late” and that I expect punctuality. However in Ugandan, keeping time is an afterthought. An event that should start at 11:00 am is more than likely not going to start until 12:15 pm; it’s just the way it is. However I think the attitude behind it is fascinating, and it is something that I appreciate. I find when in my day to day life, I am constantly concerned about events that have not happened yet, and therefore I very rarely live truly in the moment. I am so intent on “keeping time.” Here in Uganda, the lifestyle is more about events and people. So if something does not start on time, it is because of a relationship that needed attention or an event that needed to occur first. It makes me see that my attitude of time is forcing me to miss out on what I preach to be important about life. My time should be dictated by events and relationships, not the other way around. Events and relationships shouldn’t be dictated by time.
To continue on the keeping time thread, the Keyo prefect campaign speeches were to start at 2 pm, but I knew they would not start then. I left Sacred Heart at 2 pm (without getting anything to eat because it took so long) forth 30-minute boda ride to Keyo. When I arrived at Keyo, Lindsey and Amanda told me that the speeches were not to start until 3:40 because the teachers did not want the students to miss class.
The speeches were held outside underneath a couple of trees. The students running for office sat to one side, the teachers sat behind the open space where the speeches would be given, and the rest of the student body (those who attended) sat in front of the open space. What time do you think the speeches began??? - 4:00 pm. The offices were announced and then each candidate was given 5 minutes to speak and then 1 additional minute to answer questions. The campaigning was hysterical. The student would be introduced, and they would walk to the open space, most often accompanied by one student holding an umbrella over their head. Some candidates had 3-4 students. Evidently this was to demonstrate power; in actuality it looked funny. One female candidate had three other girls escort her in. One was carrying the umbrella, and the other two carried a rosary and a postcard picture of the Virgin Mary. During her speech, one of her followers took a 1,000 ugx bill and wiped her brown with it. Can you picture this?!?! It was hilarious. There were two candidates running for Prefect for Entertainment; one gave his speech in a rap, and the other did a break dancing routine. One of the candidates for the Prefect for Sports came running into the open space like a sprinter, and one of his followers had a piece of rebar and was pretending to throw it like a javelin. And their campaign promises… they were exactly like a typical politician. Some promised total access to the 18 computers, one stated that it elected, he would make the library big enough to fit every student. Another promised to bring another school truck to the school. After the campaign, we spoke with Calistas, the head teacher. He said that he did not attend the campaign speeches because he wanted to allow the candidates the freedom to speak what they wanted. However he said that once those are elected into office, he lets them know how it is going to be. They are free to campaign openly, but once in office, they have to understand the regulations that make the school effective. So true…
After the speeches, Lindsey, Amanda and I took the school truck home. It is actually a large lorry with roll bars on the back. We stood in the back of the truck with other teachers and students. The ride took 45 minutes, and we laughed the entire way. I am sure we were a spectacle to the people on the road with us. Only in Africa…

Tuesday, June 29- Crazy Day at Keyo SS

Today was a very interesting day at school. I was not excited to go since yesterday (Monday) was a very frustrating day. The lesson that Harriet and I had planned did not go the way that I expected, and I just began questioning what I was doing here in Uganda and what possible change could I make (yesterday I thought no change was possible). So I left the house at 7:45 am to make my class at 8:20 am (did I mention that I ride a boda boda for 40 minutes to get to school?).
The class did not start until 8:45 am (hello, African time), and mostly it was Harriet lecturing on how to express purpose using “in case, in fear of, etc.”, you know, sayings that we never use in normal conversation, and yet somehow still tested on the Ugandan national exams. As I was listening, a chicken walked into the classroom looking for grubs. It was hysterical to me, although no one else even paid attention. When both classes finished, we headed back to the Staff House, and I finished reading Same Kind of Different As Me, by Ron Hall and Denver Morris. It is an amazing book and such an amazing testament to faith. My favorite quote from it is, “Every man should have the courage to stand up and face the enemy, because every person that looks like an enemy on the outside ain’t necessarily one on the inside. We all have more in common than we think.”
We were supposed to watch the KOBS class, (Knowledge of Behavior and Self), which has been implemented in the 11 Invisible Children schools. However the teacher did not show up. Instead Katherine Sasser, who is a fellow IC teacher and is teaching at St. Joseph’s Layibi, came to Keyo because she is interested in creating a female empowerment group for students, but Layibi is an all boys’ school. We spoke with Calistas, the head teacher, who loved and supported the idea. At lunch, we met with the female teachers, who became excited as well. We plan to implement the first class next Tuesday. I am so excited about this and the opportunity to enrich these students’ lives. I think the girls need it, especially after what they been through connected to the war.
After lunch, Harriet invited me to use the computer lab to play games. There are only 18 computers at the school, and when you consider that the average class size is 60-70 students, then you can see how ineffective a computer lab of 18 computers is. So mostly the faculty use the lab, and most often they use it for entertainment. For about 30 minutes, I played Spider Solitaire, which was pretty fun. Harriet then invited me to a meeting for students on Health and Reproductive Issues. It was led by two people from Windle Trust. The students first completed a survey about self-confidence and health. Then they began to ask the students to respond to statements saying True or False. Most of the statements were about HIV. After this, the students received handouts about “what is normal” for males or females. I have to say, I found these sheets a little embarrassing, and I am an adult. I can’t imagine what these teenagers think of the “fact sheet.” It was an interesting meeting, but it was cut short because we then left to go to the VSLA meeting.
After the VSLA meeting, Amanda and I were waiting to take the school truck back to town when Calistas called us over. He told us we could ride back to Lacor with some of the community members who help with co-curricular activities. So Amanda and I hopped into a car with two nuns and a father. I figured we were the safest we were ever going to be on the roads of Gulu, especially since the radio was tuned to hymns. There were a couple of close calls with big trucks, but we made it safely to Lacor and picked up boda bodas for the rest of the journey into town.
All in all it was one of those days that made coming to Uganda worth it.