Mercy's Village Primary School 2014

School Photo 2014

Staff 2014

Primary 1 Class

Primary 2 Class

Primary 3 Class

Primary 4 Class

Primary 5 Class

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Oh hey there!

Hello again my poor neglected blog. I've “been lost” as they would say in Acholi-land. What a year it has been! Sorry for the silence. I can’t believe it is already October. Since my last post (I really thought I had posted since then…), a lot has changed. In January, I left ECM and began as the Director of a small but growing private primary school. It has been an extremely challenging position, but I couldn't be much more excited about its potential.

 I am very thankful for my time at ECM. The children of Tegotatoo village will always have a special place in my heart. I learned and saw so much. I got to try out and problem solve teaching techniques in a village setting. I learned from the villagers, the teachers, my workmates, and especially from the children. My class for kids unable to afford or otherwise not in school was probably the hardest to leave. I was thrilled to discover that the church who had hosted our class decided to take it upon themselves to hire a local teacher to begin a preschool! This is huge as preschools in a village that size is uncommon and it shows progress in the struggle to promote an attitude of valuing education in the village culture. I loved my position working directly with students. I knew for some time that my work with ECM was not going to be my forever position. Slowly, I was taken in another direction.

Mercy’s Village Primary School is in the final term of its fourth year running (Ugandan schools run Feb. – Dec.). It has 175 students enrolled in its five classes (and growing). Here I have the opportunity to encourage and train teachers. With Uganda’s shockingly high drop-out rate and low literacy in primary school (deeply linked), there is a lot of room for improvement. This year we have begun several initiatives to promote literacy, including read aloud, a fantastic new phonics curriculum, independent reading time, and storytelling writing activities. It is a lot of fun dreaming but extremely challenging as I learn how to be an administrator. The school currently employs 17 local staff (1 operations manager, 1 head-teacher, 6 full time teachers, 1 part time teacher, 1 teachers’ aid, 1 nurse, 3 cooks, 2 guards, and 1 part time cleaner). This year I've helped the school hire; train; buy land; defend land rights; discipline staff; mediate; evaluate teachers and staff; meet with community members, government officials, and management groups; develop policy; write contracts; manage finances; organize and oversee programs; design and begin constructing a new building; and sort through countless problems that inevitably arise. Needless to say, it keeps me busy.

This year has been difficult for me in many ways. I am thankful that I was able to take a trip back to the US not long ago. It was a much needed break and time of refreshment. I was so blessed to see so many friends and family members during my time. Thank you all for your prayers and support.

My Kiddos - Some Photos

Visiting a family in the village. Lots of curious friends.

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Pece Bible Club

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Tegot Learning Club (Unschooled Kids)

<3

Find "d"

How low can you go? LIMBO! Break time fun.

Bubbles Anyone? These faces are priceless. I think I may have found a new photographic pastime. We had a really fun end of the year party.

       

   

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Primary Levels 1 & 2 (I don't have any photos of level 7 class)

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Saturday Club - Sponsored Kids

Literacy tutoring... These kids LOVE books!

Rice, African Sweet Potato, Beans, and Cabbage... A delicious Saturday Club lunch with the kids

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My friend Stephanie giving a presentation on the dangers and legalities of early marriage to the upper grades in Tegotatoo.

Street Kids we've been helping and getting to know

Tegot Learning - Club Class Winners!

Over the course of the term these kids have been competing. It has been very effective especially in promoting good attendance. The kids loved getting a little prize at the end of the term. Congrats to them!

A tie for best attendance!!!

Best Behaved!

Most Improved!

Young Scholar Award

Reaching

One Year in Uganda!!!! - A Year of Learning

One year in Uganda! God has confirmed His desire for me to be in Uganda and told me that this would be a year of learning. Not surprisingly, He was right! Living here, time is a teacher and teaches you even what you think you know. I have had a great year in a great position that allowed me quite a flexibility for learning through exploration.

Thankfully, I have not been the only learner! We have had well over 300 students come through our 6 classes. I have seen changes within the school – catching phonics lessons on the blackboard when I come. I had the opportunity to teach a training for teachers at another school. I have seen children make changes, face truths, and progress both behaviorally and academically.

Class by Class Summaries

Primary grades 1, 2, and 7 (P1, P2, P7)

My role with the school is strictly supplementary. This frees me from the Ugandan curriculum to teach phonics and keeps the current teachers teaching. My teaching methods are a bit different than the most common found in the local school. It has been a lot of fun bringing activities and educational games for the students. P1 and P2 have come a long way in their reading skills. I have also caught the teachers catching on. P7 teenagers are less impressed with my unusual teaching style – asking them to think beyond rote memorization. Still, they try to understand and are getting activities that stretch them in ways their endless string of mock exams don't.

Sponsored Kids Class

What a blessing to be able to follow these kids outside of school. I've gotten to know them better and more specifically help them in their reading. The school has an amazingly low literacy rate and (I believe correspondingly) high drop out rate. Some children repeat a level several times before being demoted. In school, there is only so much you can do with a class of 160 students. With these 34 kids, individualized instruction becomes possible. It is so rewarding to watch their love for reading and books!!!

Pece Bible Class

This has been a great class. Every week kids from around my neighborhood gather for a Bible lesson. It has been a good opportunity to share Christ's love and teach Biblical principles. It has also served as a weekly time set apart to connect with the children and families in my neighborhood. Children of various ages come each week and walk away with a biscuit and at least having heard the lesson.

Tegot Learning Club (unschooled kids)

This is the class I have grown closest to. It meets more often and has a more manageable class size. It is a mixture of school aged kids who don't have the school fees to go to school and children too young to start school but interested in learning. I even have a baby that has been coming with her sister enough to be able to sing along as well as some of the bigger kids. The class has been slow going with so many young or delayed kids and kids that come and go. They are learning though and often surprise me!

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With time spent in place I have grown in my understanding of the issues facing Uganda especially in education. I've grown personally and worked though many things that tend to face people living cross-culturally. I have learned things that work and things that don't work in classrooms here and gained experience in the Ugandan classroom. This year I have come to understand cultural differences at new levels. I am learning to trust again as I break out of a season of guarded uncertainty to find meaningful local friendships. I have settled deeper into this new “home”, its quirks, and currents of life. I have learned that Love can look like a lot of different things and that in order to give it well, I need to take time for health. I have learned to relax more and get frustrated less. I have learned to some degree the importance of just sitting and allowing community in various places – to let people in and occasionally let go of the planned to do list of the day. I have regrounded parts of me that have always been there but needed to be recontextualized. Leaning much but have a lot to learn still!

Eh, so it's been a while...

Hello! Hello!
     I am still alive and kicking in Gulu, Uganda! I realize it has been a while since I last posted. Mostly business as usual... whatever that is.
     We had a break between second and third terms. I spent a portion of time in Western Uganda; first, for a weekend hike adventure in the beautiful mountains before claiming her prize free stay for two at a lovely lodge, then, for a few days encouraging and being encouraged while visiting a pastor and his family who I had met months before at a conference. I then returned to Kampala and stayed at a friend's house while picking up some supplies and working on getting an Ugandan license.
     Third term, between teacher strikes, two public holidays, and a string of sickness including a bout with malaria, we got off to a very slow start. We still have a few weeks left and I am trying catch up and finish well. I am also meeting with my colleague to teach a bit of educational psychology that might help with working with the kids.
     I got my Ugandan license and have added motorcycle driving to it! Motorcycles (besides walking) is the most common form of transportation in this region. Uganda is known for it's motorcycles and motorcycle taxis. I knew that I would likely eventually get one and put money aside for it before I left the US. I wanted to wait a year before I purchased, however, because I wanted to have to do without and learn from not having transportation. Last week, a friend of mine helped me find and purchase a used motorbike. A new adventure has begun! It will greatly help to have freedom of movement, save on transport, and add safety to evenings when a trusted driver cannot be found.
     Unfortunately this time of year is full of saying goodbye. Many westerners come here for various amounts of time. Over the course of the year or so you can become very close to friends you make. Unfortunately, with so few staying truly long term, this means you have to say goodbye to your closest friends and hope to make new ones before too much time passes. There are some trends in the comings and goings of people and as Christmas and the new year approaches, a natural end comes for many people's terms of service.
        I got a roommate! After a few failed attempts at finding a roommate, a new friend, Hannah, has joined the pups and I in our little Pece house. She is a lovely person and I am thrilled to be able to share space and time with her. She even loves (and will talk to) my puppies almost as much as I do! :)  
     Gulu just so happened to be in the exact location to see a very rare and extraordinary hybrid total solar eclipse. Truly amazing! I will have to post photos soon.
     I cannot believe how quickly this year and especially the last couple months have gone. I hope you are doing well. You lose a sense of US seasons when you live in an ever hot place. I miss fall foliage and hope you enjoyed it for me.

Lubanga miti gum!!! - God Bless YOU!!!