5 little ducks went swimming one day . . .
on Sabrina and Geoff Slide in Kamwenge (Uganda), 22/Aug/2010 09:38, 34 days ago
We have had a very busy time since our last blog entry (don’t we always say that).Geoff’s maths workshop went really well and the teachers particularly enjoyed learning number rhymes and songs that they could use to teach the younger children mathematical concepts. As with all workshops, we wonder what impact they will have on pupil learning. We were thrilled a week later, when walking home one day, to hear some young children sitting outside their house and singing one of the songs we had taught at the workshop – ‘5 little ducks went swimming’ in case you’re interested! He also taught how to use number lines and followed it up with classroom visits.Heather, daughter of our good friends, Brian and Ellen, visited us for 3 weeks and helped in the special needs unit at the local school. She is able to use British sign language and communicated with the deaf children, even though Ugandan sign language is slightly different from the British version. The pupils took great delight in teaching her the differences. We showed her the work we have done in some of our other schools and she was able to appreciate the joys of travelling on murram roads!At the end of her stay we went on safari and saw, among other animals, 9 elephants drinking from the water, twin baby hippos, a huge crocodile and 12 lions (from a distance).A jigger is a sand flea that lives in the dust of classrooms without proper floors and is a problem for pupils who go to school in bare feet. Stop reading now if you are eating. It burrows into the toes or feet and then lays its eggs under the skin. These hatch out a few days later and cause much pain and itchiness. It is usually OK if you wear sandals, however Sabrina found one in the end of her toe. Fortunately we were on our way to Kampala and so were able to get a volunteer doctor friend to remove it, on Saturday morning on her balcony, with an admiring audience of children and adults looking on. Thanks Alison. Sabrina and toe are recovering nicely.On the way back from dropping Heather at the airport, we went to Masindi to visit Bollus, the headteacher who visited us in Bicknacre and who hosted Geoff when he first came to Uganda. We had a lovely time catching up on family news. His daughter, Bridget, a 15 year year old secondary student, came back to Kamwenge with us for a short visit. She was a delight, washing all her own clothes daily and telling us how she could kill, cut up and cook a goat for her family. So unlike a 15 year old girl in the UK! She was thrilled to be able to use our computer as she has very little opportunity to use one in her school. We were able to let her practise some of the things she had learnt theoretically at school.Bollus, his wife Margaret and their 2 new grandchildren, Joylin and Comred Rooney.