What a morning! A 5am start, not to our activities but cleaning up the 5 million flies we all had in our room. Sally did give them a name and explained their biological nature, but all we know is that they die randomly and only follow light.
We headed out to Jinja town, for the morning and early afternoon. As we arrived the chants of ‘mizungu’ could not be avoided, translated it means ‘o white one’, but it is said in a friendly way, with no offence intended. The centre of Jinja is a place full of history and colour. To see the old buildings on the high street all marked with the date they were erected and the names of the owners, all Indian, reminds you of the history and turbulent times this country went through, something we could all relate to because of the film released a year ago; The Last King of Scotland.
The markets are full of absolute freshness, fresh meat, fresh fruit, fresh vegetables and the most refreshing people. Customer service is miles better than what we have in the UK, it is mainly down to the fact that if you sell you can feed your family and if you don’t you cannot, so competition is really heated.
Our bargaining skills were absolutely atrocious, it was virtually impossible to get them to budge on their price, Sally was quick to give in and would give them what they asked for, it resulted in Sally choosing her items and walking out of the shop, they assumed Sufian was her bodyguard and that he was not from England, so he managed to save us a lot of money. Shop keepers were willing to pay him to go away!!! That is how much he haggled with them.
All the students had lunch in the only pizza place in Jinja, it excited everyone a great deal seeing menus where they could recognise the items. We spent a few hours in the markets and then headed towards Lake Victoria and the source of the Nile, where we stopped for a few hours. A thousand snaps taken and a strange sort of attachment to the source of the Nile, watching the students wave at the Nile and actually say goodbye to it, was strange. We headed towards Bujjagaali falls, we wanted to be there for sun set. What a moment that was, a silence from all of us, jaws dropped and pure tranquillity surrounded us, the sound of water crushing down at the fall and the sight of the sun setting, a moment words will never do justice to. Wow, oh my God, were the only words echoed as we walked away.
We headed towards our campsite, just when we thought we had seen the most amazing view, things just got better. The sight was a traveller sight for foreigners, with tight security and a restaurant with a view, we stopped and just contemplated why Winston Churchill called Uganda the pearl of Africa, because it is as some would say ‘Heaven on Earth’.
We had a no set time to sleep, so we sat uWe had a no set time to sleep, so we sat up in the restaurant, gossiping and enjoying the views, the smell of fresh breeze as mosquitoes seem to drop dead after tasting the deet in which our skins were drenched in. All of the students enjoyed a really sociable evening and got a bit of a taste of a travellers hostel. The people there were from all over the world and spent the evening checking out which Country you were from how far you had travelled and where you were going next. Karen raised a noticeable cheer from an Irish contingent while Vicky showed off her amazing dancing skills for the whole of the people staying there and even got called an inspiration! The accommodation was interesting Sally, Erin and Melissa thought theirs was great, Sufian and all of the students were less impressed so the night was a restless one with people trying to get comfortable and stay safe from mosquitoes as there were lots around as we were much closer to water.
Wednesday, 29 July 2009
Day 4: Gardening with The Great Generation in Jinja, Uganda
Today we went to the Njeru parent school, it has absolutely nothing to do with parents, but that is what the name is. We had lesson plans prepared, the full works included; BLP, differentiation, lesson objectives, Marc Hulbert would be seriously impressed with the plan. The delivery was not quite as smooth, as the large classes and the lack of English made it rather difficult, but the students use of initiative on the spot was impressive, as they quickly adapted the plans to fit the profile of the class.
At break time the students all gathered around us in the playground, a very industrial site looking playground. The only way we could describe the feeling was like a movie premier, where the stars have over a hundred hands trying to shake their hands. After the handshakes, spirits were high, children began to sing and the most unexpected of things happened. Ben Kelby, suddenly ran through the crowd and went absolutely mad on the make shift dance floor, 10 minutes of extreme joy for all watching and some serious cardio training for Ben.
The children shared some very nice local songs, with diva like voices, all we could exchange with them was ‘head, shoulders, knees and toes’ and ‘old Mcdonald had a farm’, it was their hospitality and kindness that kept them from questioning how silly our songs were in comparison to theirs. The song we all learnt was called ‘young stars’ and goes something like this; ‘we are the young stars, we sing all over the mountains, we sing, we sing, we sing all over, we sing all over UGANDA’.
We had presentations prepared, with facts and figures about LSFC, new college project and Luton in general. They were excited by our new college project, it was at that moment when the head teacher told us that the school we were in was recently constructed, and I do believe he expected us to compliment the building but an awkward silence echoed in the room. The school newly constructed and the best in the local vicinity, would actually not qualify as suitable for animals by RSPCA standard. In our circle time, it was perhaps something we all spent considerable time discussing, how fortunate we are to have the NCP and how we take what we have for granted.
We were invited to deliver a sports day event at a different school, after a very long day in school and having met all 400 children and sang head shoulders knees and toes with every single one of them. On arrival to the sports ground we were in extreme shock, I was perhaps the most frightened, as they had a large field, perhaps the same size as 4 large football pitches, divided into a soft ball corner, baseball, football and volley ball. The football guys were training as we arrived, it was like watching a video of SAS army training, very regimental and fast paced, with tops off, they were perhaps the most muscular students we have ever seen, they did not look like boys, and they were grown men. Sufian was asked to play with them, after watching them train, he looked extremely frightened and opted to play soft ball with a team of 8 year old girl’s team, and he struggled with that as well. Louise, Nikima, Shaunie and Vicky did Luton SFC proud with their football skills.
This in general was a bad day for Sufian, he had to make a speech on behalf of Luton SFC, at St. Francis and both Schools, we as a team could not really give him much support because he repeated the same one for all three.
Our walk home, our sporting egos battered, we had the best surprise so far, which lifted our spirits. As we walked on the dirt track on the side of the road, an entourage oh army vehicles and blacked out 4x4’s headed towards us, crowds were running after the vehicles, waving and shouting hysterically. The vehicles came to a stop and the President of Uganda popped up from the sunroof, addressed the crowd with a short motivational message, which we did not understand. It was as he was about to drive off, he noticed us and called us towards him, we took a few nudges from his guards, who I think will be in serious trouble tonight after the President reacted with quite some anger, he offered us handshakes, Sufian and a handful of students greeted him and he asked us about where we came from, we did tell him that we are from Luton. As Sufian backed away, Sally approached the President to greet him; she obviously was a risk to national security and was stopped immediately by a very big and aggressive man.
It was quite some day, we have now all retired for the night, and we have 2 days off, with a camping trip planned for tomorrow night at the source of the Nile.
Oh gosh!!! Retirement was short lived, our rooms are swamped by flies, they are called lake flies, harmless but irritating to sleep with, if they flew off it would be OK, but they seem to fly around for 3 seconds and die, their bodies landing in all the places you would not want them to, on your tooth brush, stuck in your soap bars, your hair and even beards for some.
At break time the students all gathered around us in the playground, a very industrial site looking playground. The only way we could describe the feeling was like a movie premier, where the stars have over a hundred hands trying to shake their hands. After the handshakes, spirits were high, children began to sing and the most unexpected of things happened. Ben Kelby, suddenly ran through the crowd and went absolutely mad on the make shift dance floor, 10 minutes of extreme joy for all watching and some serious cardio training for Ben.
The children shared some very nice local songs, with diva like voices, all we could exchange with them was ‘head, shoulders, knees and toes’ and ‘old Mcdonald had a farm’, it was their hospitality and kindness that kept them from questioning how silly our songs were in comparison to theirs. The song we all learnt was called ‘young stars’ and goes something like this; ‘we are the young stars, we sing all over the mountains, we sing, we sing, we sing all over, we sing all over UGANDA’.
We had presentations prepared, with facts and figures about LSFC, new college project and Luton in general. They were excited by our new college project, it was at that moment when the head teacher told us that the school we were in was recently constructed, and I do believe he expected us to compliment the building but an awkward silence echoed in the room. The school newly constructed and the best in the local vicinity, would actually not qualify as suitable for animals by RSPCA standard. In our circle time, it was perhaps something we all spent considerable time discussing, how fortunate we are to have the NCP and how we take what we have for granted.
We were invited to deliver a sports day event at a different school, after a very long day in school and having met all 400 children and sang head shoulders knees and toes with every single one of them. On arrival to the sports ground we were in extreme shock, I was perhaps the most frightened, as they had a large field, perhaps the same size as 4 large football pitches, divided into a soft ball corner, baseball, football and volley ball. The football guys were training as we arrived, it was like watching a video of SAS army training, very regimental and fast paced, with tops off, they were perhaps the most muscular students we have ever seen, they did not look like boys, and they were grown men. Sufian was asked to play with them, after watching them train, he looked extremely frightened and opted to play soft ball with a team of 8 year old girl’s team, and he struggled with that as well. Louise, Nikima, Shaunie and Vicky did Luton SFC proud with their football skills.
This in general was a bad day for Sufian, he had to make a speech on behalf of Luton SFC, at St. Francis and both Schools, we as a team could not really give him much support because he repeated the same one for all three.
Our walk home, our sporting egos battered, we had the best surprise so far, which lifted our spirits. As we walked on the dirt track on the side of the road, an entourage oh army vehicles and blacked out 4x4’s headed towards us, crowds were running after the vehicles, waving and shouting hysterically. The vehicles came to a stop and the President of Uganda popped up from the sunroof, addressed the crowd with a short motivational message, which we did not understand. It was as he was about to drive off, he noticed us and called us towards him, we took a few nudges from his guards, who I think will be in serious trouble tonight after the President reacted with quite some anger, he offered us handshakes, Sufian and a handful of students greeted him and he asked us about where we came from, we did tell him that we are from Luton. As Sufian backed away, Sally approached the President to greet him; she obviously was a risk to national security and was stopped immediately by a very big and aggressive man.
It was quite some day, we have now all retired for the night, and we have 2 days off, with a camping trip planned for tomorrow night at the source of the Nile.
Oh gosh!!! Retirement was short lived, our rooms are swamped by flies, they are called lake flies, harmless but irritating to sleep with, if they flew off it would be OK, but they seem to fly around for 3 seconds and die, their bodies landing in all the places you would not want them to, on your tooth brush, stuck in your soap bars, your hair and even beards for some.
Sunday, 26 July 2009
Day 3: Gardening with The Great Generation in Jinja, Uganda
We have been given responsibility to lead the Shadow Idol Club, this takes places every Saturday at St. Francis health care centre. We came to the centre at 9am for a prompt start, but as we have been told many times, we really need to get used to ‘Ugandan time’ because 9am does not necessarily mean 9am, as today’s start was delayed to 10am. As we waited we practiced a range of different games, which we thought we may be able to do with the kids at the Saturday’s shadow idol club, ‘stuck in the mud’, ‘duck duck goose’ and ‘tag’. The students realised that the games we all seem to know are actually quite difficult to explain to anyone who does not understand our language and pass time activities.
This plan to play games took a severe blow when we sat in our session with John, as he explained that the youth club has a minimum attendance of 120 students and as much as 300. The students gasped in shock and realised that they need to be seriously creative and imaginative in dealing with the club.
We visited Omoana centre, which is a respite care provision for children with Aids and HIV. We met the most cute children in the world, the personalities, the vibrancy in the atmosphere was ecstatic. The children were excited in meeting us and playing with us. Ceaser, possesses as much confident as President Obama, difference being Caeser is 3 years old, trust me, he is something special. We all split into little teams with the children, Karen was with the youngest child at the centre aged 2; Mariam, she did not go near anyone else but could not seem to let go of Karen. We also met Sir Jim, we are all sure we have not really understood what his real name but it sounds so much like ‘Sir Jim’, so he has officially been knighted by us, he actually is quite a ‘sir’ type of kid, so serious, but really caring of all the other children.This plan to play games took a severe blow when we sat in our session with John, as he explained that the youth club has a minimum attendance of 120 students and as much as 300. The students gasped in shock and realised that they need to be seriously creative and imaginative in dealing with the club.
Wow, roast potatoes for dinner, the most amazing roast potatoes, incredible, absolutely delicious, we spent over an hour just talking about how great they were. We had to add this onto our blog; as they have the world’s best roast potatoes.
Saturday, 25 July 2009
Day 2: Gardening with The Great Generation in Jinja, Uganda
An 8am start, we all met up for breakfast. Toast, eggs, sausages, cornflakes and fruit were on the menu, along with some very nice Ugandan coffee, tea and juice. After a short briefing from the Great Generation team, we made our way to St. Francis Health Care Centre, in the 4x4 ambulance they had sent to pick us up, 12 of us squeezed into a 7 seater vehicle for the 5minute drive to the centre. We had our tour around the centre, met the only doctor they have in this area, Dr Emma, and he is a male, this seems to be a popular male name in Uganda.
We went to the children’s centre; it is actually very nice; we were impressed by the standards of the facilities and support provisions available to the community. The children centre provides 24hour support for young children who have HIV/AIDS. The centre was built in December through the aid of funds donated by a Swedish gentleman. They have regular foreign schools/colleges and students visit them and do voluntary work. The centre was painted by a Swiss student recently and she has really given it a nice nursery feeling, with animals and scenery on the walls.
Our tour was led by Claudia, a US student from Connecticut on a peace core project. She has been here for over a year now and will complete a 27month placement before she returns home. Her dedication and commitment was very inspiring for us all. Her in depth knowledge of the culture and the projects helped us understand the role and function of this centre in the community. She is teaching us a few basic words in Lugandan the language spoken by the locals in Uganda.
John a senior member of the St. Francis team gave us a detailed insight into HIV/Aids, the biological theory and facts, as well as a detailed insight into the problems within the community and the different projects they have launched to tackle the issue in a holistic manner.
Lunch was a very traditional meal, filled with local delicacies such as Matooke and Maize. We were certainly well catered for; there was enough food to feed a small army. It was a shame to have to leave such mouth-watering food behind. The watermelon did not go to waste, though perhaps some people managed to get it everywhere bar their mouths.
We paid a surprise visit to the school in which we will be delivering lessons, just to have a look around and familiarise ourselves. This visit left us all in total shock and bewilderment; the school building was tattered and not for storage let alone teaching and learning, but this was not what we were taken back by, it was the signage in the school grounds. The school has invested in some signposts, which were dug into the ground around the front courtyard, but it was hard to comprehend some of the ills the local community was faced with, some signs; ‘Do not take gifts for sex’ ‘defilement is bad’ ‘beware of sugar daddies’ these were just three of about 14 quite unusual signs. John our guide did say that the signs were a way of educating the primary school students, helping them understand that abuse should not be tolerated.
As we arrived back to our accommodation we were faced with a dilemma, as Victoria managed to break the handle from inside the bathroom and consequently locking herself inside. It took over an hour to get her out, we did manage to eventually, but spirits were high, as Victoria led the singing from inside the bathroom and the choir of 10 outside sang along with her.
We went to the children’s centre; it is actually very nice; we were impressed by the standards of the facilities and support provisions available to the community. The children centre provides 24hour support for young children who have HIV/AIDS. The centre was built in December through the aid of funds donated by a Swedish gentleman. They have regular foreign schools/colleges and students visit them and do voluntary work. The centre was painted by a Swiss student recently and she has really given it a nice nursery feeling, with animals and scenery on the walls.
Our tour was led by Claudia, a US student from Connecticut on a peace core project. She has been here for over a year now and will complete a 27month placement before she returns home. Her dedication and commitment was very inspiring for us all. Her in depth knowledge of the culture and the projects helped us understand the role and function of this centre in the community. She is teaching us a few basic words in Lugandan the language spoken by the locals in Uganda.
John a senior member of the St. Francis team gave us a detailed insight into HIV/Aids, the biological theory and facts, as well as a detailed insight into the problems within the community and the different projects they have launched to tackle the issue in a holistic manner.
Lunch was a very traditional meal, filled with local delicacies such as Matooke and Maize. We were certainly well catered for; there was enough food to feed a small army. It was a shame to have to leave such mouth-watering food behind. The watermelon did not go to waste, though perhaps some people managed to get it everywhere bar their mouths.
We paid a surprise visit to the school in which we will be delivering lessons, just to have a look around and familiarise ourselves. This visit left us all in total shock and bewilderment; the school building was tattered and not for storage let alone teaching and learning, but this was not what we were taken back by, it was the signage in the school grounds. The school has invested in some signposts, which were dug into the ground around the front courtyard, but it was hard to comprehend some of the ills the local community was faced with, some signs; ‘Do not take gifts for sex’ ‘defilement is bad’ ‘beware of sugar daddies’ these were just three of about 14 quite unusual signs. John our guide did say that the signs were a way of educating the primary school students, helping them understand that abuse should not be tolerated.
Friday, 24 July 2009
Day 1: Gardening with The Great Generation in Jinja, Uganda
We were scheduled to meet between 4.30-5.00pm, but the excitement was too much for the volunteers, who were all ready and waiting outside terminal 3 at 3pm. It was a rollercoaster of emotions, as the excitement quickly turned into tears as the students waved goodbye and embarked upon their first step of a very long and arduous journey.
Our plane took off from Heathrow at around 9pm and we flew over parts of Europe and Africa. The map of the journey to Dubai was difficult to come to terms with, as no one could understand why we had to travel around half the world before getting to our destination. From Dubai to Ethiopia and then to Uganda, we even flew past Uganda on-route to Dubai. The volunteers quickly realised that in order to survive the marathon journey, they would have to be innovative in entertaining themselves as the Emirates in flight entertainment with over 500movies, was clearly not enough. So they began to sing and even dance; the cabin crew found it extremely amusing.
Once we got to Entebbe, we were all shattered and could not wait to get off the aeroplane. The moment of joy and relief, feeling the Ugandan summer breeze as we came down the steps of the aeroplane was indescribable. This feeling was quickly extinguished, as we had an hour’s wait in queues trying to fill in numerous forms, Uganda has clearly taken a strict approach to the containment of Swine flu.
We were all excited by the idea of getting into a minibus, thinking we will be at our place of residence in a few minutes. The few minutes quickly turned to hours and we watched the sun set. As we arrived to our hostel over three hours later the journey had taken its toll on all of us and no one was in any state for a picture. But the gasps, smiles and glowing eyes when they saw the accommodation was a pleasing moment for all. Our pre-project talk about the fact that we should leave expectations at home had clearly worked and the students, for some strange reason, were not expecting anything more than mud huts with holes in the ground for toilets. The smiles on their faces as they entered the hostel grounds were as if we had come to spend a night in Buckingham palace. Everyone was extremely excited and pleased with the accommodation. Dinner was delicious, we ate outside on the lawn and the Hotel manager Robert is clearly a perfectionist, we were served with great splendour.
After dinner the tiring faces and the smell of 24hours of travelling meant that no one was in the mood to hang around, everyone retired before 9pm. Wrestles with mosquito nets ensued.
Friday, 10 July 2009
Thirteen Students have reached Uganda to Volunteer
The Great Generation has had the privilege of working with a group of thirteen highly-motivated and enthusiastic International Baccalaureate students at the Luton Vith form college, and their teachers for the last nine months.
It was hard work fundraising! The students got their fellow pupils, family and friends involved: from music concerts to car washing, from cake sales to talent shows and bucket collections; not to mention approaching sponsors such as Luton Airport and the Parry Woodcock fund.
It was touch-and-go but the students reached their target in the end and have flown out to Uganda on Saturday for two weeks along with two members of staff and a Great Generation project leader. They will be working with St Francis Healthcare Initiative which runs a holistic HIV/AIDS outreach programme, as well as supporting many rural grandmothers living with HIV/AIDS and who look after their orphan grandchildren.
The volunteers' project will involve planting a garden for a newly established orphans respite home as well as painting the rooms in the home to make it a more bright and cheerful place for the children to stay. Volunteers will also look at ways to support local people into livelihood opportunities through microfinance.
The work doesn't stop there! When the students return, they will be making presentations to schools and organisations about their work, and continuing to support the community by promoting a the supply chain which wil advertise items that can be purchased by donors, sourced in Uganda and that will go directly to the community.
It was hard work fundraising! The students got their fellow pupils, family and friends involved: from music concerts to car washing, from cake sales to talent shows and bucket collections; not to mention approaching sponsors such as Luton Airport and the Parry Woodcock fund.
It was touch-and-go but the students reached their target in the end and have flown out to Uganda on Saturday for two weeks along with two members of staff and a Great Generation project leader. They will be working with St Francis Healthcare Initiative which runs a holistic HIV/AIDS outreach programme, as well as supporting many rural grandmothers living with HIV/AIDS and who look after their orphan grandchildren.
The volunteers' project will involve planting a garden for a newly established orphans respite home as well as painting the rooms in the home to make it a more bright and cheerful place for the children to stay. Volunteers will also look at ways to support local people into livelihood opportunities through microfinance.
The work doesn't stop there! When the students return, they will be making presentations to schools and organisations about their work, and continuing to support the community by promoting a the supply chain which wil advertise items that can be purchased by donors, sourced in Uganda and that will go directly to the community.
Friday, 3 July 2009
The Great Generation goes Corporate
A Win-Win Solution: Empowering communities, empowering staff and helping to sustain the ethos that runs through you and your work force.The Great Generation works with a range of corporate partners in unlocking global business potential, and in the process, alleviating the problems that communities across the world confront. What The Great Generation offers is a highly though-through strategic approach to volunteering which enables long-term development to be a possibility.
Read more in our recent newsletter on how The Great Generation works with its Corporate Partners.
www.thegreatgeneration.org/newsletter
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