The Volunteer Beat

March 3, 2008 019, originally uploaded by amanda.milholland.

Courtney Campbell and Tori Fraser

We, the temporary volunteers, have been teaching at 6 different local schools every Tuesday, Wednesday and Friday. We have continued our Life Skills curriculum with Bbira Vocational School, Hajji Kiyemba Memorial Tailoring Institute and Kikaaya College, and this quarter started working with All Saints Primary School, Nicaragua Primary School and Goldrocks Kindergarten teaching English, Social studies and most importantly critical thinking. This addition of primary schools has been a difficult task as primary classes are much larger than secondary classes and there is a substantially larger language barrier. Regardless, we have found the experience rewarding, and are always encouraged when we see the students posing questions and thinking independently. [Students in Uganda are generally taught to repeat and memorize. Obedience is valued over critical thought. These values can damage a child’s ability to make smart decisions independent of direction. For this reason we encourage questioning and independent thought in all our teaching.

With our home visit program we have visited approximately 72 families this quarter. In each case we are attempting to visit an incredibly vulnerable family living on the margins of society. We talk to these families about their situation so we can see if there are ways that we here at KACCAD can help them. Generally these families consist of HIV positive parents, many of whom are widowed; or orphaned siblings being looked after by the eldest sibling.

One case which describes this perfectly is a family of 15 children, whose parents had passed away in 2001. The eldest sibling, Fred, is the lone income earner, while the second oldest, Chantelle, is the only one in school – and that is only because she has a sponsor. They all live together in a one room house, none of them has mattresses, and all seldom ate enough. Our visit brought them hope. It showed that someone cared and there was reason to carry on.

One woman who was an exception to this rule was a 70 year old woman we visited in Bulenga. She had lost her husband and all six of her children to AIDS, she herself was not positive, but was diabetic. She had no income, and the house she lived in was her neighbors. She paid no rent because of his good graces, and was also fed by him. She was so genuinely ecstatic to have us in her house, she would not let go of my [Courtney] hands our whole time we were there. And, when we gave her a food package, she looked about ready to cry. This incredibly old woman got down on her knees and held our hands and began to pray. She was thanking God for bringing us to her and for the food we had brought. The sheer joy she felt still resonates with me.