Uganda Visit

What a week! I don't have the words to describe the week and do it justice - I think we all experienced a range of emotions from feeling humbled by the welcome the children and staff gave us, overwhelmed, excitied, the list goes on.

The trip started with a 2 day safari in the Queen Elizabeth National Park - we saw elephants, hippos, warthogs, buffalo, gazelles and lions. We paddled in a waterfall and walked through a banana plantation.

On Saturday we travelled to Ibana, the town we were staying in, and spent Sunday sorting our donations to go to our partner schools.

The week teaching in the MLD Kindergarten was amazing. Through a mix of observation and teaching, the teachers and I shared our practice. It was interesting to watch their teaching and observe the differences between our classrooms. I introduced the story sacks that I had taken over with me and worked with them and the children. During the first session, the children gradually moved closer and closer to me, until they were almost on top of me! I used the money which had been donated to buy toys for the children to play with. The diggers and cars were a hit along with balls, dolls, blocks and other teaching materials. The head also plans to install a swing. I really find it hard to express the experience in words, but I hope the photos tell the story!

As a thank you present to the school, the head was presented with a goat. Goats are prized possessions in Uganda and are a valuable source of income. The happiness of the children was infectious and their enthusiasm for learning was apparent, despite not having the resources that we have here.

I shall be sharing a short presentation on Thursday 15th June at 3pm in the hall.