So the question..... how was Uganda. In one word..... amazing. I really think I left some of my heart there, it was just great. I had two main aspects really, my time in the school and then my free time at the weekends. It was all fantastic but when I am asked how was it I instantly think of the kids and school. The school we were in was a very poor school. St Noa's school first opened in 1969 and in 2017 they have 6 classrooms, nursery and P1 together and P7 in a room meant for the teachers. When we arrived the majority of the classrooms had no secure windows, just square holes in the walls. One of the classrooms does not have a proper floor and most of the doors were wooden. This was difficult to deal with, seeing this school so poor. I was both saddened and encouraged to hear of the plans the head teacher had for the final look of the school. Saddened to see that they had the land but not the desired buildings. There is not even proper toilet facilities. The toilets are holes in the ground. In this day and age people still don't have proper toilet facilities...... Why when we in the developed world are surrounded by money are there people so poor still in the world??? Surely there is something we can do to bridge the gap!! I was encouraged by the head teacher's plans because he has vision. And a man with vision is one that has not given up.
In the school I had the pleasure of helping to teach a subject close to my heart, religion. I also helped with maths. This 4 weeks reminded me that maths is not my strong point, I was generally able for the P4 and P5 content but most of the P6 and P7 content went right over my head. I was reminded in maths of how reliant I am on calculators and google for quick answers, for that is the age I grew up in. Even though some of the maths went over my head I loved being in the classroom, the kids were so welcoming. Every time I went into a classroom they had a lovely greeting. I was so lucky to get the opportunity to record one of the classes saying it one day. Teaching religion was great. Even though I was using a book there was space to expand on what the book said and get input from the kids.
At break time and lunchtime we generally tried to be around the kids. We played whatever they played, mostly netball, and we talked with them. It was clear that my netball skills need improvement, Mrs. Longworth wouldn't be impressed that I didn't maintain the skills she thought me in school!! I loved being around the kids. On our last day in the school, I was sitting at the side of the netball pitch, one of the girls came over and sat beside me. She saw my phone in my pocket and went to pull it out, she just wanted to listen to my music. I did not think she would like my music but she loved it. Within about 60 seconds of turning on my music, I had a crowd of kids sitting around listening to my music and loving it. They loved my air-guitar (I need improvement there too). We also supported the kids on sports day, the school had soccer teams and netball teams. We found this sports day a bit overwhelming as it was not just the kids from St Noa's but it was a district event with various schools from around the area. These kids were mesmerized by these 3 white people at sports day. We embraced the attention but after a while, it was getting hard to deal with. But I think after lunch it died down. Our girls had won the netball so our attention turned back to our school.
Leaving St Noa's was hard. It was made more difficult for us because the kids were sent home early so they left before us. Every day of school we had left before them. We got loads of hugs on our last day and took loads of photos. As it was a Friday we had school assembly in the morning. This was an opportunity to say our goodbyes. Seemed strange saying goodbye in the morning but not leaving until later. My goodbye was done in the form of a song I had written for the school. For some reason, I started with the wrong tune so I had to stop and restart. This restart posed a different problem, one of the teachers came up and joined me, he came in on the hallelujah but his hallelujah wasn't the right tune or tone. So I had to block out that and not let it throw me.During assembly, the kids sang a few songs. They finish with the marching song. That day when they were stopped as they sang the usual version, the teacher wanted the other. But I protested, I wanted the one they started and I got it. I also got to record it. I will never forget the kids of St Noa's, so warm, welcoming and friendly. I got on well with the staff of the school too, we had a right laugh with them, I don't think we'll ever forget that discussion we had about the Rooster, a conversation which stemmed from the yolk I ran off the compound one day as he was doing my head in with the constant cockadoodledo!!!
The culture in Uganda is very different to here in Ireland. The most noticeable difference was how elders were treated. At first, we thought it was a school culture but when we saw it on the compound where we were staying we realised it was a wider culture thing. In school, the kids knelt down when asking the teachers if they could go to the toilet or if they were giving them something.It was explained to us when we witnessed it on our compound and it made sense, it was a sign of respect. For me a weekly mass goer I really got to see that Irish time and Africa time are very different. If mass is to start on the hour you can expect is to start at least 30 minutes later, sometimes more. Also mass is very different. The music was lovely but the homily was a bit long. I put it down to the fact he spoke in English and then the local language. But even with that I was often lost as he said a bit in English, then said it in Lugandan and then he went back to English and went through the process again until the end of the homily. So this was confusing. Also, the applauding during the homily was off putting. This applauding was big ego on the part of the priest which I did not like. Then before the final blessing, there were parish announcements which just went on and on!!! Other cultural differences..... Animels run free. We saw chickens, goats, geese (not ducks), a few sheep and dogs just strolling around. Although the dogs aren't able for the heat, they were often just lying around. Ugandan's are very friendly. On at least two occasions when I went into a supermarket just to pick something up my friend was given a seat, how lovely. We also experienced this niceness at other times. Food was nice, they love their carbs..... But we were able to get chicken and pizza in restaurants.
One other memory of my trip that I will never forget is the kids in the school on the corner. Near the compound where we were staying there was a school. The kids would often be in school in the evenings as we passed. Every time we passed the kids would shout 'Mazungo' and wave. There was one day we were passing and they were crossing back to school, we got a load of hi fives that day. And there were other small kids around who loved seeing us walk down the street.
During my 4 weeks in Uganda had some bumps, it wasn't all positive. These were bumps on top of the shock of the culture I had come into. I wasn't even a week in Uganda when I got the news that my uncle had passed away. It was 12.30 at night in Uganda when I got the call. My 2 fellow volunteers were of great support. Thankfully it was 10.30 in Ireland when I got the news, this meant I knew there was 1 person at home that I could turn to for support. I also faced memory triggers during my trip which wasn't easy. And then on our last day in school I got the news a friend was moving, that broke my heart. Thank God I was messaged personally about this as it appeared on Facebook later that day and if I had found out on Facebook I would have been inconsolable, my rock was leaving me. As I was in school when I got the news I had to try stay professional so I grabbed my coat (it was raining) and I went over to the shelter outside the church. I knew I was fighting emotion so I needed space to feel as this was emotion I could not hold in. A few minutes after going over to the church one of the students appeared on her way back from her house. She stayed with me as it was really raining at this stage. She had no jumper so I hugged her to try keep her warm. I got her to put her arms under my coat in the hope of it keeping her that bit warmer. When the rain started to ease I gave her my jacket and sent her back to school. I asked her if she wanted to go or stay, she said yes to both. So in the end I just sent her back. I stayed put in the hope that the rain would fully stop. A few minutes after she went back to the school a group of kids came running towards me, with her in the middle of it. When she was first with me staying dry she obviously seen I was upset and when she went back over to the school she told her classmates that teacher Melissa was sad and they came over to support me. I wanted to be alone but this gesture from the kids was so lovely and comforting. I don't think I got to thank the student who initiated it.
I was blessed to have a good team around me. There was only 3 volunteers and unfortunately one of them had to go home due to health issues. But I got on like a house on fire with Lauren, she didn't come out with us on the 17th, we collected her on the 21st from the airport and she was with us until August 13th, I left Uganda on August 14th. We just clicked instantly, I suppose we had to as we had a couple of on the ground difficulties we had to support each other through. We got on so well that we even had a song. Neither of us remember how that particular song became our song as there are many songs on my Spotify playlist but alas "Can't Live if Living is Without You" is our song and every time i hear it I am brought back to Uganda. After our last day in school we weren't in great form and were suppose to go out. I put on the song, we want it in our usual mad way and bang we were in great spirits to go out! The power of music. My singing of that song while in Uganda was not accurate evidence of my ability to sing well but I promise I am a good singer.
During our time in Uganda we had time to explore, we visited the shrine of the Ugandan Martyrs, the equator, Kampala and went on a safari. However, the best personal thing we did had to be the African music night on our last Friday. Something I wasn't in the form for having got bad news earlier but something I am glad I went to. It was 3 hours of non stop drumming, making music and African dancing. Of course the MC gave the performers a bit of a break every now and again by talking to us and been funny, Ugandans pronounce hat, heart, hut and hurt the very same..... at the end of his lesson, aided by a native English speaker, they pronounced them right. Lauren and I made pure fouls of ourselves that night but we loved it. There was one set where people from the audience joined the dancers. At first we thought it was pure organised but then as a kid hesitated to join we thought it wasn't pre organised, we took the plunge and joined in. Then at the end of the set we realised the other people who had joined were related to the MC. So, we felt embarrassed but we loved it and the dancers embraced our presence.
Another thing I will never forget about Uganda is the use of the phrase, 'are you sure. We heard this a lot from one of the teachers. When we told him something he responded with, 'are you sure'. The tone of the phrase was what got me. Then on the Saturday after I got home I made a Ugandan religious brother, in response to something I told himhe said, 'are you sure!' This made me smile as I was brought right back to Uganda. Obviously being from Uganda he had the accent and he carried the tone.
We witnessed different levels of poverty from flash houses to slums. It was difficult to see people so poor. I know of a song composed last year called 'music changes the world'. As someone who has witnessed serious poverty I have to ask..... does music really change the world? If it had that power we should be using it to combat the crisis of poverty, of people not even having clean water to drink! I do hope to go back out to the school. St Noa's need so much to bring that school in line with Government funded schools. If you would like to donate towards the school give me a shout. I will probably set up an account for the next time I go over. All donations will be going directly to the school. If you know someone famous where cash flow is not a problem please send them my way. Together we can get St Noa's to where the head teacher sees it!
Melissa
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