Last thoughts from Uganda

This post was written by Jamie Attard, a United Planet volunteer on a Long-term Quest in Uganda.

Hello once again,

The rematch took place on July 27th, unexpectedly, but eagerly anticipated by all.  It was the final week of term and the morning break had provided the opportunity for the students and teachers to collude.  Before I knew it, teams had been formed, students organized, and another soccer match was scheduled in front of the orphanage on a beautiful and clear day.

My team in the last game was narrowly victorious, 10-9, and although I had different team members this time I was confident of yet another victory.  How quickly that balloon of confidence was deflated!  Two of my teammates, whom I called Bob the Builder and Tim the Tool Man, decided a wall was the best measure of defense and occupied themselves at the start of the match to constructing a wall of mud with the aid of a plastic bottle of water.  The two girls in my team whom I dubbed Houdini and Copperfield did wonderfully to provide the illusion of intending to kick the ball but rarely ever touching it.  My other team mates (all under ten years of age) could certainly kick the ball, but their sense of navigation seemed distorted, appearing more keen on sending the ball careening into the ditches filled with polluted water and mud rather than scoring a goal.

It wasn’t all bad though, I had another teacher in support and I also had the best player on the field, Quacky, who happened to also be a duck.  Although Quacky had a tendency to want to rummage in a large rubbish pile in one corner of the yard, he occasionally would grace us all with his presence in the middle of the field, quacking loudly and fluttering his wings, always allowing my team to regain the advantage of play.

So what was the final score?  Well, the game started well and after a 3-1 start I decided it was best to be the goalkeeper and allow my other teammates to score.  Whether due to my poor keeping (in an effort to avoid a ball covered in grime and filthy mud) or poor attacking (for reasons explained above) the score soon became 3-7 and in order to prevent a humiliating loss I decided to rotate myself out of goal keeping to help the offense.  We caught up quickly and soon the score was 9-9, once again the game had come to a nail biting finish!

Tension mounted, students on the sidelines were enveloped by a frenzy of noise, all players were shouting instructions simultaneously…but there would be no winner this time.  The bell had sounded, lunch was over, it was time to go back to class.

I couldn’t have thought of a more fitting end for that game, or a better account of my experience here in Uganda.  An experience where I feel I have made headway (scored goals) and encountered frustrations (conceded goals), with the understanding that I have at least helped to shape the game, and possibly created the environment necessary for that winning goal to be finally scored (delivering permanent and significant change).

It is my last week on the project here, and I am now making preparations to head back to the US.  When I think about what I have accomplished, it is easy to get lost in the details and fail to see the bigger picture, that elusive lasting change, just as one gets lost in the pixels of a TV once too close to the screen.  But at the least I am taking away a better understanding of this continent, of the entire blue and green globe and of humanity, all which may help me one day to make that large scale difference I seem to be looking for.

At the Institute we have finally launched our website (www.ialuganda.ac.ug).  I have contacted about 70 organizations in the hope that one may donate some books or computers, despite a counter intuitive ban on the importation of used computers currently in Uganda.   The institute management software I programmed is being populated with all the school financial and academic data and has been holding up well.  The student yearbook has been published and is finally on sale.

I helped develop the first annual report, strategic plan and marketing plan (including the first detailed competitor analysis) for the Institute, now all published.  I published the first academic program (90 pages in all!), introduced new courses, recruited new staff members (with the aid of a formal interview process and aptitude test), and changed the fee structure to introduce more transparency and consistency.

Over a number of months and staff meetings there is now a wider acceptance of accountability towards the students, and for every one of our subjects offered the lecturers are in the process of developing course outlines (a number have already been completed!)  People do things here now that for many would seem obvious, like taking minutes of meetings, seeking feedback, sharing their opinions, setting goals and trying to exert efforts beyond their responsibilities.  All being said, there are still many areas for improvement, but at least there is more responsibility, direction and positivity now.

I only teach half a day each week at the orphanage, and I don’t feel I have had as much of an impact there with regards to affecting change.  Pieces of foam from an old couch are still used to clean the blackboards, there are giant craters in the floors, pieces of wood flake off constantly from the ceiling and walls, tables continue to break down and be piled in a heap, smoke from people burning rubbish outside regularly wafts into the classrooms, there are never enough pencils, or paper, or erasers, time has dissolved any remnants of the staples and glue that used to hold the text books together…

Teachers though certainly know I don’t approve of caning or hitting students, and at least while I am around that doesn’t happen.  I sometimes honestly wish I could find an eraser and clear from the minds of these children some of the bad approaches and techniques they have learnt.  But these children have no other options, so some education is better than none at all, and you have to remind yourself that they really have done so well to get so far.

At 7 in the morning I sometimes run into some of my students, selling maize piled in a pot on top of their heads to help support their families, which always ends in me buying maize that I never feel like eating.  On a personal front I have learnt once more how much I hate the sound and feel of chalk on a blackboard.

I wanted to thank everyone for all their donations, which totaled close to $900 after deducting the wire transfer and exchange rate fees.  I am directing $250 and adding $250 of my own money to go to the orphanage towards books and stationery.  The remaining $650 I am providing to the Institute to support the acquisition of more books and computers.  I am also contributing another $250 to the Institute but this money I am directing towards supporting certain business initiatives I have been helping to start.

Like a wild west outlaw I have been constantly shooting ideas of ways to make money here, so I hope some of the ideas will help people to make an easier living.  My ideas won’t create another Google or Microsoft, but by involving teachers and students at this Institute in new business ventures I am hoping to create new employment opportunities and focus on the practical application of business skills in real life.

Well, this is where I must end, for me one more chapter is complete, though I am yet to figure out how I will write my next one.  There is always as much of a need for financial support as for human capital here, if you have an interest to help more.  Thanks for walking along with me on this journey.  Its time for me to step out of the tropical jungle of Uganda, and onto the fast treadmill of life back in the United States.