The Cranes Have Landed

Our 7,800 mile round trip is complete.

We made our farewells to Namilyango College in a final assembly on Friday afternoon, leaving behind gifts of 150 poetry and story books, and some sports equipment - aerobis and rugby balls. Callum and Ella did a great job of speaking on behalf of the students, and I shared a sonnet as part of our thankyous:

Beneath Ugandan Skies

Beneath Ugandan skies my skin gets burned

And sweats through reddened pores where it is bitten.

Strange dreams pervade my sleep at night unbidden

And crawl like cockroach stealthily concerned.

Beneath Ugandan skies my skin gets drenched,

Cascades unleashed by daily liquid sun;

Birds call and mock me in their foreign tongue

Assaulting ears, and, yet, my heart is wrenched.

Good friends, your words begin to sing,

Mouths of music serenade in speech.

You make our language do extraordinary things:

Dignity and eloquence beyond my reach.

Your thousand welcomes make me feel so blessed;

Beneath Ugandan skies I feel my best.

In return, we were presented with a Ugandan guitar, and treated to a night of entertainment Namilyango College style! Our students joined in with some of the dancing. We really hope that we can repay the hospitality we received when Madame Kirabo visits in January, and when we try for the first Ugandan student visits to the UK next May.

We touched down at Heathrow at around 6.40am on Sunday morning, having been on the go since 8am on Saturday. Lots of shopping in Kampala before a flying visit to Entebbe wildlife park completed our week's activities. There were some teary farewells to new friends at Entebbe airport. 

Now, weary, but happy to be reunited with friends and family - we are ready(ish) to resume life at the Weald on Monday!

Hands for Hope and Kasubi Tombs

On Thursday we visited 'Hands for Hope' where we treated to a detailed explanation of the different projects which the not-for-profit organisation have created to support the most vulnerable people in the  Namuwongo community, the largest slum in Kampala.

We visited both school sites and had the opportunity to work with some of the pupils, before moving off to take a walk through the community. It was an emotional experience for some students. And difficult for us to see how the pupils at Hands for Hope can be so full of smiles when you are confronted by the reality of their living conditions and family circumstances.

Afterwards, (and after buying them out of the handmade candles that the pupils had made in order to generate income!) we visited the Kasubi Tombs.

In the evening the students gave more presentations to their Namilyango counterparts.

Namilyango High School and a Swim!

After lessons on Wednesday morning, we visited  Namilyango High School, which has a partnership with Muntham House school. The headmaster had visited the Weald earlier this year so it was good to see Dissan again.  Our students acquitted themselves very well once more as they presented to the High School students about education in the UK and systems at the Weald School.

In the afternoon the Namilyango college boys demonstrated their award-winning robotics designs and the staff attended their first full staff meeting!

There has been little time for relaxation so far, and so we finished the day with a swim at the Colline Hotel pool just a few kilometres down the hill from the college. Some diving competitions and a swimming race...though the staff didn't come off particularly well in the race!

Jinja - Jewel of the Nile

We have settled in well.

On Monday evening, after an eye-opening walk around the Mukono market, the students gave the first of their presentation talks to 'Senior 1' students. In one hour, each Weald student managed to share ideas about their education and lifestyle at home with one hundred and ten Namilyango students, using the photographs they had prepared to help structure their speeches. An impressive feat!

Sports leadership at two more local primary schools, including St. Peter Claver Primary school, has been very successful, and the Weald students have really enjoyed interacting with the younger pupils - especially teaching them the 'Hokey Cokey'!

On Tuesday we also visited two further secondary schools: Seeta High School and the very prestigious St. Mary's Mount Catholic Girls College in Namagunga. At St. Mary's we were welcomed by an impressive student leadership team, and our students also gave presentations about the education system in the UK.

We stopped en route to Jinja for some street food - though Josh seemed singularly unimpressed by his fried banana snack!

In the afternoon afternoon we arrived at Jinja - the 'source of the Nile'. The students enjoyed a boat ride and then a scramble across rocks to stand right at the source. A monitor lizard, cormorants galore, and some pied kingfishers accompanied us on the trip...

Now it is Wednesday morning and the students are back in lessons. 

I have taught my first lesson to Senior 6 students preparing for their unseen poetry paper for literature, (with their A-level examination in two weeks time) and Mr Trotter is now teaching his first business studies class.

Our education continues!

The Warmest of Welcomes

We have arrived!

We received the warmest of welcomes (after what seemed like the longest of journeys...it was almost exactly 24 hours door to door).

We were met at the airport by two teachers who took us to the shores of Lake Victoria for some refreshments. There we had our first encounter with some African wildlife as the area is a haven for Maribou storks. They are large (much to Katie's consternation!) and majestic (much to the delight of everyone else).

There was a good deal of traffic on the way from Entebbe to Kampala, but it gave us an opportunity to soak up the sights on the way.

We were treated to a feast on arrival - all sorts of Ugandan specialities including yam, sweet potato and a fresh bean stew. Namilyango College is entirely self-sufficient and all the produce to feed the 1200 boys who board here is grown on site.  On Sunday, after a special leaver's Mass (Senior 6 are just about to take their national examinations) which lasted two hours, we took a tour of the grounds including all the growing areas and the paddock system to see how the cassava, cabbage, tomatoes and all the other fruit is grown. We also walked through the 'monkey zone'!

In the afternoon we visited St Tereza's primary school for girls where the students took part in their first sports leadership sessions. They were warmly received!

This morning the students joined the forms for 'prep' at 5.30am and, after introducing themselves at Morning Parade in front of the whole school they are now 'enjoying' their first Ugandan lessons. Their Ugandan education begins in earnest.

On Your Marks...

Bags are packed, anti-malarial tablets underway, nervous excitement in full swing. We are ready to depart for the 2015 Weald School trip to Uganda.

Personally I am most looking forward to meeting up with familiar faces and renewing friendships with the teachers and students who made us so welcome at Namilyango College last year. I'm not looking forward to the flight because I can remember how tired I was at the end of it. I also have my fingers crossed that we don't meet the same kind of traffic as we did last year on the way to the airport.

Josh is also looking forward to meeting new people, but in particular playing sports and games with the Ugandan students and finding out about the way their school days go in comparison to ours.

Many of the group are wondering about the food; all are embracing the idea of new experiences.

Charlotte says, 'I am excited about going to Uganda and seeing the cultural differences - how different Ugandan lives are compared to ours. I think that I will come back from this trip knowing that I am very lucky...'

But there are also some worries.  Mollie says, 'I am looking forward to actually understanding what it's like to live in that part of the world instead of simply seeing it on TV, However I am nervous about being able to deal with the conditions.' 

Let's hope that we are lucky with the conditions on our journey. I have my fingers crossed that we don't meet the same kind of traffic as we did last year on the way to the airport!

Here We Go!

The new term means that our trip to Uganda is soon to be come a reality. This year's Uganda gang have begun to meet weekly in order to make sure that we are fully prepared for our October adventure.

Our first meeting focused on the idea of cultural exchange. What can we do to make sure that will share ideas about life in the UK with our Ugandan friends? 

After a little discussion Weald Students have gone away this week to find images that represent their lives here, so that they have plenty to talk about with their Namilyango counterparts. It will be interesting to discover what images will epitomise the lives of these West Sussex teenagers!

We're also busy having vaccinations. Yellow fever certificates at the ready...

Preparations Begin

We were sad to learn that our friends at Namilyango College were unsuccessful in their visa applications this time round.  Fingers crossed that a visit will happen in the future. We are really hoping to establish a long term exchange programme.

Our own arrangements for a second student trip to Uganda have begun in earnest now, with nine successful applications from Year 10 students for an October 2015 departure.

As usual, my own preparations include lots of reading of African fiction and non-fiction. I am determined to read many of the books which are on the senior syllabus at our partner school, and am on the search for one of the main ones: The African Child by Camara Laye. It is proving quite difficult to track down!

Wrong part of the continent, but worth mentioning as it is just brilliant; I have just finished reading a book set in Zimbabwe and South Africa which I am considering for our KS3 curriculum here, Now is the Time for Running by Michael Williams. It is a profoundly moving story of a young boy whose home and family are devastated by political upheaval leaving him and his older brother with no choice but to try to make a life in a new land. It deals with homelessness, family, mental illness, death, refugees, xenophobia, loyalty and...football. I couldn't put it down.