Junior School Deputy Head Mrs Glithro visited The Abbey's linked schools in Uganda during July 2011. Here she conveys some of her impressions of the country, of the differences in daily life between the UK and Uganda, and of the three schools with which The Abbey is connected:
Musings on my Visit to our Link Schools in Uganda, July 2011
Like many schools, The Abbey School is seeking to promote internationalism. One way that we have done this is to establish links with a girls’ senior school and two mixed primaries in Kabale District, Uganda. This summer, with three other colleagues, I had the privilege of visiting the schools to strengthen the links with the primary schools.
Kabale District is in the extreme south-west of Uganda, close to the Rwandan border. Indeed, many Rwandan children are sent to Uganda to be educated because the education is considered superior. The area is very beautiful and, with an altitude of 3000-6000 feet, the climate is much cooler than most of the rest of the country. When I visited, BBC weather recorded both day and night temperatures that were identical to those in Reading. Every scrap of the extremely fertile land is cultivated. In July, they were harvesting sorghum and thousands of cabbages! Some aspects of the countryside look very much like south-east England, with green fields, similar trees and grazing (imported) Friesian cows. Simply turn around though, and you will see banana plantations and freely roaming long-horned anakole cattle!
Muyebe Primary School, a state school, is one of the oldest primaries in the district, and very close to our secondary school partner. Thanks to the recent introduction of Universal Primary Education, all children are entitled to seven years' free education. However, while education is free, parents are required to provide uniform and stationery for their children, which can be very hard for the poorest families. We took money raised by the Junior School to provide for these children.
Victorious Preparatory School, a day and boarding school, was established in 2004 by a wealthy local benefactor, who wanted to show that country children could achieve high standards. The first cohort to move on to secondary school has achieved splendid results under the leadership of the Head, the wonderfully named Sunday John Bosco. There are many different mother tongues in Uganda but English is the country’s official language and is used for all teaching at Victorious. Lessons are largely didactic with copious amounts of copying. However, despite few text books and a great deal of rote learning, standards are generally high. The Primary 7 Maths paper would be quite challenging for our girls! We shared a lesson for 8 year olds about sanitation, the hazards of stagnant water and the vaccination programme for infants. Impressive vocabulary in a second language for Year 4 children!
The children’s singing in both schools was totally amazing, harmonising seems effortless. Their clapping and drumming were rhythmic and exciting. At both schools, we were royally entertained by traditional dancing which involved astonishing jumping. It was delightful to watch even the tiniest children joining in. Muyebe also boasted a marching band and every week the thousand-plus pupils spend an hour in the parade ground, with band practice doubling as PE!
Uganda is a young nation, gaining independence in 1962, and the Ugandans we met were very proud of their country. David Besige, the head at Muyebe was shocked to learn that we did not even have a flag pole at our school and that we did not sing our national anthem on a regular basis. In Uganda, that happens daily and I find hearing it sung now incredibly moving. The beautiful crested crane on their flag has one foot raised, symbolising the fact that they are a developing country moving forward.
Times are changing. While most homes still do not have water or mains electricity, many adults have a mobile phone. One day we were travelling on Lake Bunyoni to an island, when we noticed a dug-out canoe frantically paddling towards us. We asked David if he was anything to do with us and he replied, ‘Yes, he is bringing me more airtime!’
Drinking water for the district comes from a spring source on high ground and a water supply with a number of taps was established in 1986 with help from the UN. The Abbey has raised thousands of pounds to facilitate much needed repairs and while there, we walked up to the water source to see the results of our fundraising. I was humbled when one of the water engineers asked me, ‘Tell me, is it true that in England you use drinking water to flush your toilets?’
Life is quite hazardous. Life expectancy is only 53 – the teachers were astonished to learn that there were lots of octogenarians in England. AIDs is fairly prevalent and serious infections take their toll. The roads are also very dangerous; pedestrians, bikes and motorbikes transporting entire families and huge amounts of goods, cars, vans and laden trucks all share the carriageways. Ugandans always pray before a journey, sharing their faith – and hoping for a safe arrival.
The Abbey School chaplain led our party and gave a moving sermon to the secondary school girls, telling them, ‘You are on a journey, and it’s a journey that we have already made. I would like to say to you, don’t blindly follow the same path that we have taken because our journey has resulted in us losing some of the things that you already have. Don’t lose them on the way!’
Their strong Christian faith and their close community are certainly two areas where we can learn from these happy people. The trip was an amazing experience and I hope to be able to return in the future. In the summer of 2012, a party of 22 Sixth Form Abbey girls are going out to work in the primary schools and to help with various projects – I know it will be for them, like me, an experience that they will remember forever.