Week 66 (21 - 27 Oct 2007)

Photo: Young goat asleep outside our back door (I stepped over it to get the photo!)

Rev Allan Lacey preached at the morning service on Sunday (he and his wife Ann are our new friends from Kuluva). We took them to lunch at the White Castle as they hadn’t been. The staff remembered us from last week so were happy for us to charge our laptops while we ate! We had a pleasant day and it was good to get away from the school for a short time.

On Monday Andrea and I asked the three remaining classes for questions relating to Life Skills and HIV/AIDS. They were anonymous but we kept the class responses separate. Andrea spent the rest of the day typing them out and collating them. They make sobering reading. Many of the questions are those normally asked by teenagers e.g. relationships and friendships but who do they discuss them with if the teachers are hardly ever around and they only see their parents during the school breaks? We felt they needed their parents and that this is one of the problems of a boarding school. Other questions showed many misconceptions concerning HIV/AIDS – and revealed our ignorance in knowing how to help answer them. It rained heavily this evening. Our roof started leaking.

Tuesday was OK. I led the staff devotions and started a jig-saw – but not at the same time. The roof leaked again and the mark on the ceiling expanded.

On Wednesday my meeting with the Principal was postponed because he took an injured student to the hospital and was delayed there. The staff don’t really know how to treat injuries and it seemed that it was more important for the boy with the cut leg and “gaping” wound (according to Andrea) to go down to the dormitory – a difficult path if you are in full health – and put on his uniform rather than sit with his leg up while urgent transport was arranged for him. His school trousers ended up getting covered in blood. So what’s the priority?

We returned to Kuluva again on Thursday afternoon for a further meeting with Arumadri Joel to give him the students’ questions about life skills and HIV/AIDS. He was very impressed and it will help him plan the day. He will bring a team from the hospital and after the formal teaching and discussion they will stay for a while to give individual students an opportunity ask more personal questions. Joel sees this as an introductory exercise to begin to build bridges and relationships with the hospital rather than a session where the students will get all the answers, a view which we suspect is held by more than a few of the teachers.

On Friday we had the monthly Full Staff Meeting. After a typically frustrating and hot morning it was the last thing I wanted to attend. But, we were very encouraged. The Principal, Deputy and Director of Studies showed a surprisingly united front when some difficult issues were being discussed. Each in their own way used arguments and ideas that we have been discussing with them for some time. We hardly said a word. It was great to see them start to tackle some of the school issues. The staff were, understandably, a bit defensive especially concerning timekeeping and teaching all lessons. We will return to some of these issues during our training workshops in two weeks time.

The Ushindi Board Meeting (school Governors) met on Saturday morning at the primary school. It’s the first Governors meeting I have attended sitting outside under a mango tree! This was another productive meeting as far as we were concerned and seemed more relaxed than our first. There were only a few governors there but we discussed freely and openly and made some decisions which we felt were timely. As we have been busy recently the last few days have given us a boost in seeing that some of the things we have been doing are starting to move forward. However, the rain was even heavier in the evening and Andrea was dripped on! We sent an urgent text to our solar electrician. He promised that he would come on Monday without fail. We’ll see!

Week 65 (14 - 20 Oct 2007)

Photo: Preparing to collect rainwater outside our back door.

On Sunday we continued working at the White Castle. We had to leave our room by 10am but they were happy for us to work on the veranda of the dining room overlooking the swimming pool. We had a break for a couple of hours around lunchtime when Cathy Asiki and her four children stopped by for a visit. Sadly, the swimming pool was not yet open. There were no lifeguards. We wondered how they could afford more than one lifeguard and why they would want more than one. Perhaps they were going to train one of the existing staff. No other hotels we know of in Uganda had life guards. We were even more confused when the receptionist said they had order two and were waiting for them to be sent from Kampala. Then Cathy twigged. They meant the rings that float on the water! That also explains the notice “Please swim at your own risk.” And I thought I would swim at someone else’s risk! We left at around 4pm having completed a fair bit of what we had wanted to do.

Andrea started another week as Teacher on Duty on Monday which means I either get up at 6.30am and have breakfast made for me or sleep in and get it myself – I get up early! Does that make me sociable or lazy? The ‘O’-level exams started today but the breakfast was not ready early enough for them to eat before the first exam began. Four of our teachers are away for most of the next month doing exam invigilation in other schools. We have only 16 teachers and most of them are part time so it will make quite a difference to the teaching – again. We suggested that as Ushindi only needs two invigilators that only two should be allowed to go in future.

Tuesday was a quiet day. Until after the staff devotions when the school was asked if there was any way they could assist a pregnant lady get to the hospital – urgently. They saw the car on their way past and she was starting to struggle up “delivery hill” - many babies are born on the way up to the hospital and it looked like this would be another one! As I’m the only driver of the “school” vehicle I took the school secretary with me as she could speak Lugbara and has delivered five or more babies. We managed up the difficult road, stopped at the hospital gate while one of our passengers went for the key and arrived safely. The baby was born less than five minutes after she left the car! Close think or what?

Manassah arrived at 3pm on Wednesday to put our solar panels on the roof. It wouldn’t take long, he said. They left at 8.30pm without completing all the work. But the panels are up and operating so no more lugging them out every morning and in every afternoon. I’ll have to think of some other way of getting some exercise.

In preparation for the Life Skills day in November we arranged to meet Joel at Kuluva Hospital on Thursday afternoon. Little did we know that the time he suggested was also the meeting time for the Philly Luteya Initiative, a support group for those with HIV/AIDS. Of course we had to be introduced and give a brief message. We planned it as we were listening to the background of the project. Andrea spoke first, in Lugbara! This delighted the group of around 50 people but left me struggling a little. But it’s not what you say, it’s the fact that you have come which means so much to them. We spent a little time shaking hands with them as we left for our planned meeting. It’s one thing to hear about statistics and read the theory, but when you meet those who are in need themselves and listen to how they plan to educate and help others to live with HIV/AIDS it sort of gets to you. They are a wonderful group and we hope to be able to meet them again. Arumadri Joel is the Director of the initiative at Kuluva and is a very dynamic and eloquent, yet sensitive leader. He was very excited about the possibly of coming to the school as it’s part of the mission of the initiative to educate students at school. He gave us some homework too – we are to ask the students what they wanted to know about life skills which might help them to understand HIV/AIDS better.

It seems that we are getting busier each day – which is good but tiring as the temperatures are increasing again. We discovered at short notice that the Disciplinary Committee would be meeting at 2pm on Friday. Fortunately we have already though through most of the issues at some length. We were encouraged that some of the approaches we have been discussing with the Principal and Deputy were starting to be explored and they gave us an opportunity to explain a different approach to discipline in more detail. It is easier for outsiders to be more objective and see the underlying issues to some problems without being distracted by the immediate reactions. We felt it was a productive meeting, but there is a long way still to go.

As Andrea was still on duty and the only duty teacher on site on Saturday she was fairly busy giving students permission to leave the site to get medication, things for their exams and to get their heads shaved. I had a more restful day and caught up a little with lesson preparation and other reading.

Week 64 (7 - 13 Oct 2007)

Photo: Peter Thomas presenting a Bible to some of the Scripture Union students.

We had not been able to plan a different service for Sunday so used the “Come and Worship” books as usual, with the students taking their usual roles. Peter preached and ended with a song (“Paid on the Nail” by Adrian Snell) which was well received especially as the words are so powerful. After the students breakfast, we met with some of the Ushindi student members of the South Sudanese Youth Ministries (SSYM). Peter joined us in listening to them explain that this group was formed to provide support for Sudanese students living away from Sudan but also to try to provide support, encouragement and teaching for those still in Sudan. Peter and Andrea went to the Bible study after lunch; I was feeling in need of a rest and used the time to write some letters for Peter to take back with him. Peter then spoke at the SU Fellowship on demons and then answered questions from the students. Fortunately, Andrea recorded it and is typing up a transcript for those who missed it and for future reference. It was good to have someone who has more experience in these issues to give advice and instruction to the students. At the end of the fellowship, Peter presented a large print NIV Bible to the school to be used for the readings in the services.

At the airport on Monday morning we met Charles Asiki (Mayor of Arua) and David Sharland (a CMS missionary who works in Sudan). Then, just before the plane landed extra police and people who looked important arrived. A group of dignitaries from the Democratic Republic of Congo were arriving for Independence Day (Tues). A picture of their arrival was printed in the New Vision (national newspaper) later in the week. David Sharland would like to meet the Sudanese students (SSYM) at Ushindi. I also mentioned about feeling a little rough in the stomach at times. He suggested it might be worms! Being an agriculturalist, he told us that ground paw-paw seeds would be a good remedy and it would do no harm to take some periodically anyway as it’s easy to get worms here. We did some shopping and rushed back to school so that Andrea could teach S4 only to find that they had gone on a trip for Geography. Shame we didn’t know. Our solar electrician came at 1pm just as we were about to eat lunch. He found that the frame was too small for the panel and suggested several remedies, none of which would work. After an hour or so we persuaded him that the only solution was to get a new frame made as we were not happy with anything else. After we calmed down and had a sleep, Andrea cut my hair.

Tuesday was the equivalent to a Bank Holiday in the UK when people had a day off to celebrate 45 years of independence i.e. Uganda Independence Day. We had a quiet day at school, no lessons. The highlight was me cutting Andrea’s hair.

Not a lot happened on Wednesday but on Thursday we were geared up for either a meeting with the Principal, Deputy and Director of studies or the Discipline Committee. We have been trying to get the latter to meet since the start of term, and this is Week 4. The Principal was a little surprised when I reminded him in the morning. Neither meeting happened as the Deputy was out of school – at a preaching engagement although he had malaria too. Sometimes I wonder if the Discipline Committee will ever meet while we are around which is a pity as this would be a good forum to discuss our views on managing student behaviour. Andrea did the devotions as we have planned not to be around on Friday evening.

On Friday morning we taught our lessons, packed the car, went shopping and by lunchtime were in a room at a local hotel which has showers and electricity – and a good internet connection. We have planned a two night “retreat” to catch up with things we haven’t been able to do for a while and charge up all our electrical bits and pieces.

We worked all Saturday on our laptops – apart from meal breaks. The food is very good and although it is hot and the swimming pool is not ready for use yet it was a good opportunity to do some planning and internet surfing as well as e-mails. And of course the blog updates. The room is a bit small but it’s good to have almost unlimited running water and electricity.

Week 63 (30 Sep – 6 Oct 2007)

Photo: Our visit to Mary's home with Peter.


As I’ve got a bit behind with the blog again, I’ll be brief. Although I said that the sermon today would also be short as it was prepared at short notice. It wasn’t. But Dad always said it was harder to speak for 10 minutes than for 30 mins. I managed 35 mins but with more time would have been able to cut it down. (I’m sure Richard or Laura would say that I could have cut it down to about 30 seconds and then it would still be too long!) I was very very tired after that, having been so busy last week too. But a student came for a chat while the car had its first bathe of the term. We went next door to see the new baby – for a few minutes we thought – but were invited to lunch. This is difficult as there was no indication of when lunch would actually happen. We did say that I needed time to prepare for the Bible Study (put off due to the service preparation) and the study started at 2pm. It was very generous, but in my fragile state, the local food was more difficult to stomach than usual. We discovered that the prefects meeting had run over – it lasted more than three hours) and many of the students who come to the Bible study are prefects and they, understandably, couldn’t face another meeting straight after. Andrea was on duty and after we did eventually manage to start the study, there was a constant stream of interruptions. Most of which could have waited or been dealt with by one of the other teachers sitting outside the staffroom. Sometimes we feel that anytime we try to do something positive, the negative influences become more pronounced.

On Monday I tried a demonstration of electrolysis with my S3 class. It’s not easy for 40 students to see what’s happening in one small 250cm3 beaker. One of the chemicals not available and the lab assistant said he didn’t have any sodium chloride either. Andrea had some spare salt in the kitchen. I asked for wires and crocodile clips. One would expect them to be attached as the purpose of the clips is to make it easier to attach the wires to the electrodes. Not here. Fortunately, I partly suspected something like this and brought a screwdriver. And electrodes – carbon (pencil lead) and copper (electrical wire with the plastic insulation removed) – proved to be a bit troublesome too. It was hard work keeping the positive and negative leads apart too. I suspect this was the first time electrolysis had been demonstrated in the school. The lesson had started late too. The porridge (for the student’s breakfast) had not been cooked because the cooks could not find the key to the kitchen. Considering they students had been up from 6am or earlier, missed breakfast at 9am and it was now 10am, they were remarkably well behaved and philosophical. Then we heard that some don’t eat all day. After a brief break I took Brenda to Kuluva Hospital for a check up and went into town to collect the frames for the panels. One was ready. This means that one was not. Hm. I returned to Kuluva for Branda but as the doctor was on rounds we had to wait for a further hour. Meanwhile the rain started. And got heavier and I don’t like driving in the rain here or after it has rained. But there was no choice. On our way back we were stopped by someone asking if we had a jack. I couldn’t lie. So with reluctance we stopped in the rain and mud and lent the jack to the driver of a pick-up loaded with wood and on a slope. He had a puncture. I made it clear that we could only stop for a short time – the baby was waiting to be fed and the rain was getting heavier. Within seconds I realised that the driver hadn’t a clue. The wood had not been offloaded and due to the slope all the weight was over the back axle, and it was back wheel that needed to be replaced. The road was mud too – yes, the jack did sink into the ground. In the end, one of the local helpers almost wrestled the jack back from the driver so that we could continue on our way. Little progress had been made in 40 minutes. If it were not for the baby (and rain) I might have stayed. I was very relieved when we saw the school again without further adventures.

We collected Peter Thomas (the minister of our church in Brentwood) from the airstrip on Tuesday morning. It was great to see him. We had lunch with John Ondoma (Chair of Ushindi Board) before a very interesting meeting with Bishop Joel. It’s the first time we’ve had a formal meeting with him talk about our work and hear how he saw our role here. He had been in office for about a year and has been travelling around the diocese trying to build bridges and sort out his priorities too. He is a good man, very observant and has a vision for the church here but is under no illusions of the problems which need to be addressed. Later that evening during a conversation with one of the Ushindi teachers Andrea discovered that there is a definite difference, and disagreement, with the way we handle students. We have not been seen to punish them harshly. This is not news to us but is the most explicit expression so far as there are few if any opportunities to air differences of opinion, even if they were to be expressed.

Wednesday was a quieter day and we spent much time talking things over with Peter. We took him on a tour around the school and spent much of the evening discussing and drawing on his experiences with demons and other evil influences.

On Thursday Peter joined us for some lessons, sitting in with S3 electrolysis and S4 Maths revision. He took part in the S2 lesson on hard water by describing when a water pipe to his house was blocked and why. In the afternoon I met with the Principal, Deputy and Director of Studies. I have been trying to get these meetings to happen since February. This is the third one. We feel that this is an opportunity to challenge some of the ideas with those who influence the other teachers. The Principal is in agreement with our views and recognised that he needs assistance in putting them into practice. I’m not convinced that the others agree, partly because they say nothing. I tried to emphasise the importance of lessons. They agreed that it is important for students to attend lessons. But I was focussing on getting teachers to attend and teach lessons. This was not so well received and even though I gave opportunities for questions or disagreement there was none, possibly because the Principal was there and it is not good to disagree openly with those in authority. I think that there may be a silent disagreement and misunderstanding of what we believe is important in an effective school. This is hardly surprising as we come from such different experiences and backgrounds. The challenge is to find non-threatening ways to explore the differences.

We taught our lessons on Friday morning before setting off for lunch at Mary’s home. We went via her cassava field – at least as far as I could get along the path which was very overgrown. We also gave Brenda a lift to the hospital. It was a wonderful meal and a privilege for them to share their home with us for a few hours. We had another look at Tom’s wheelchair. His Dad, Isaac, had done a good job with the foam we provided and had re-covered the seat and back. The frame is starting to corrode and the straps need to be replaced – but we’re working on this. Mary does some sewing to earn more money but the machine was not working. Our local travelling engineer (Peter) had a look and made some adjustments so that the machine is working again. Mary and Isaac were both so pleased that it is working and without expensive repairs. We returned to school just in time for the assembly and formal introduction of Pastor Peter to the staff and students. He presented some First Aid books to the Health Prefects. These are much needed – especially with the pictures. Peter later spoke at the evening devotions for students. Now we know what we need to aim to do! He was brief, simple and direct. We find that hard to do in a maximum of 10 minutes!

On Saturday morning I felt a bit rough so we delayed our planned visit to town and eventually cancelled our coffee meeting with Cathy Asiki and family. Pity. However, after a rest, my stomach seemed to stop objecting to the prospect of another drive and we made the journey to Kuluva to see Ann and Allan. We really wanted to see the new car they had driven from Kampala yesterday. They had arrived in the evening and just as it got dark some of the local clergy arrived to bless the car! While we were showing Peter the view of Ushindi School from their balcony and working out ways of getting electricity from them to us (it flows downhill, by the way) a local craftsman came to show us his wares. We bought a couple of small pieces after the usual discussions.

Well, I did try to be brief. It was an eventful week.

Week 62 (22 – 29 Sep 2007)

Picture: James and our newest neighbour: Agabo Nissi Joel. But don't worry, Andrea had a cuddle too!

Sunday was the first church service of the term and we volunteered to organise it. In the last year it was the first Sunday service we have attended in Arua which did not use the “Come and Worship” booklets. This is a Church of Uganda liturgy specially designed for use in schools but all the local churches use it too. Apparently it is based on the Anglican 1662 service book. When we suggested doing something different both the staff and students were very worried but as the Patron (John, the Deputy Principal) seemed to be happy, they let us go ahead. I led the service and based it on the format of the service book but used different words e.g. a creed from Titus and we sang the Lord’s Prayer (led by John). John led the other singing too and Andrea gave a brief message. It seemed to go well and finished slightly earlier than the normal services. The disadvantage is that it is more difficult for the students to participate e.g. reading together. In the afternoon I took a trip to Kuluva Hospital to collect Brenda and her new born baby, Nissi and a car load of stuff.

On Monday we had arranged for an “electrician” to come to give us some advice and an estimate for putting the new solar panel on the roof. He was to come at 3pm but didn’t arrive.

We arranged for the solar electrician to come at 3pm on Tuesday – he didn’t come but phoned to say the heavy rain would make it difficult.

He did arrive on Wednesday afternoon to measure the solar panels so that frames could be made and did an estimate of the other lights and wires that would be needed. Unfortunately, while testing the circuits and current etc he managed to blow a “capacitor” (or other component) in our new controller. The controller monitors how much power goes in and out of the battery and hopefully gives some warning when things are not right. Now it doesn’t. My nerves were a little frayed when he proceeded to open the unit and cut out the offending piece. However, Manasseh does play the guitar very well. He tried on mine!

On Thursday morning my lesson was interrupted by a worried father. After 10 days John is feeling the strain! His wife Brenda was not well and needed to go to the hospital and was not well enough to go on the back of the bike. It was a slow 3 hour trip, partly because I left them at the hospital to go into town to get more fuel. We have had several unexpected trips and it was getting lower than I would have liked. Our solar electricians past us on the way and by the time I got back all the wires had disappeared into the roof space. Every now and again Manasseh stopped, looked thoughtful and spoke into the air as if he was praying. What’s more, he usually got a reply from above that we could hear too. The reply was of course in tongues, but at least Manasseh had the gift of interpretation as both he and Jesse his assistant speak Lugbara and English. At 2pm they said they were nearly finished, apart from the switch that was wired for Americans rather than Brits, but they had a few other problems as they tested the system and eventually left at 5pm. We spend a few minutes enjoying playing with the switches and for the first time since we arrived a year ago, were actually looking forward to darkness so that we could enjoy the light! It was very odd to use a switch rather than a torch or match. (Just in case you’re confused, we use the matches to light candles, not the torches.) I almost needed my sunglasses for the bedroom light. It seems silly to get excited about lights and switches but after a year it’s a big thing. We will have to wait until Saturday for the frame to mount the solar panels on the roof – no more lugging them in and out of the house each day!

On Friday we collected Phyl Penner, an AIM member from Canada, from Arua. She had spent three weeks in Congo where the roads are much worse than here and more comparable with those in Sudan. Phil was spending the day with us while waiting for the flight to Entebbe tomorrow. At the end of month Staff meeting Andrea did a brief overview of the plans for the Life Skills Day we are planning for the students in November. She got the teachers to do one of the tasks - making a tower from newspaper and sellotape in 5 minutes. We were split into two groups with the male and female teachers separate. It would take too long to record all that we noticed but it’s clear that they’re not used to this kind of thing – yet! The same exercise will be done with the students but one of the staff was a bit concerned “How will the students take notes on this exercise?” It took a while to explain that the experience was more important and that as it would not be examined, the notes were not necessary. I don’t think they were convinced. This afternoon (5.30pm Uganda time) Dad’s ashes were interred at the crematorium in Winchester. It went well apart from the heavy rain just as the short service began.

We took Phyl Penner to the airport on Saturday morning although it was really the chance to have a second breakfast of tea and samosas. I was ‘forced’ to have orange Fanta. Life is hard sometimes. On our way to the air strip our ‘electrician’ phoned to say that the frame for the solar panel would not be ready until Monday. Poo. (Laura’s expression, not mine.) So we did our shopping a bit more leisurely than planned. I even explored some new shops, found out the price of bicycles with gears – they seem to sell more without gears which is fine for around Arua which is flat. Ushindi doesn’t know what flat is. It was getting hot again so we stopped to buy some plants, like you do. Or I should say, I stopped, Andrea bought. But she did let me choose one small one! Odd to see UK indoor plants ready for planting outside here. I was just having a rest when the student in charge of the services knocked to say that the chaplain who was to take the service tomorrow had not been informed and could I “share something”. So much for trying to plan in advance. My immediate thoughts were not ones I would be happy to share anywhere let alone in a service. I have asked for forgiveness and reluctantly agreed to try to prepare something even though a cold swim would be much more agreeable – and necessary if my brain is to work at all. The excitement of having new lights, including one in the “bathroom” has been dulled somewhat.