Eden Quayle

Eden Quayle in Uganda

Eden Quayle

Eden Quayle

Eden spent nine months, between October 2007 and August 2008, working in the schools which ACE supports, teaching classes and carrying out improvement projects.

This page contains the reports he sent back to us during his stay.

You can also read an article he wrote on his return home. It is called Cornish Flags Flying in Africa.

A slide show of his photographs is available on The Cornishman website. Click here.

This is his first report, sent on 6th November 2007.

Uganda, the 'Pearl of Africa', where the eastern savannah meets the West African jungle. Travelling from Kenya I saw how this is true as the landscape changed before my very own eyes. Kisoro District, where most of ACE's schools are based, lies in the southwest corner of Uganda near the Congolese border.

The first thing that struck me was the wonderful visually appealing scenery. The Virunga volcano peaks in the background standing like guardsmen each over 3400m high and steep-sided terraced hills with farmhouses on in the foreground punctuated by lakes.

I have visited eight schools during my first week here. All of them supported by ACE and I was astonished by what I saw. The first school I visited, Nyarusunzu, which is very near the Congolese border, had only two concrete classrooms for 340 students. 3 classrooms were simple mud and sticks structures covered by a tin roof. It reminded me of 17th century animal sheds.

This picture shows Eden with pupils in one of the old classrooms at Nyarusunzu.

We promised to build a 3 classroom block for the school in place of the mud and stick classrooms to the headmaster (who actually got onto his knees in thanks) and within one hour of leaving the school the first lorry load of bricks arrived at the school. It felt a bit like 'Challenge Anneka' but dreams really can come true when people support a charity like ACE through giving generous donations.

The picture shows piles of bricks which have just been delivered.

Another astonishing thing I have seen is the number of school children packed into one class. A first year class that I saw had over 200 students in. The classroom was dark as I entered due to the building only having windows on one side. As I walked in all I could I see at first were eyes in the darkness. There aren't enough classrooms or teachers to create smaller classes at this particular school. When the 200 students started singing and jumping the whole classroom began to rock, it was like the building was coming to life!

Mukibugu new classroom

This picture shows a crowded but happy class in a new classroom at Mukibugu school.

This is my first report for ACE and during my first week here I have already seen many things that I didn't think existed in the world of modern day education. Children sitting on top of each other due to not enough desks, a chronic lack of modern classrooms, having a single textbook for a class of 200 and many other things that are to long to list here. ACE is regarded as a godsend to many of the schools here due to the work it does. I hope that this continues and that it is supported further in the U.K. When people say you can't change the world, it isn't true. You can change the world for these children in Uganda and ACE has done just that for so many.

Eden Quayle near the Congo border in southwestern Uganda. - 5th Nov 2007

This is his second report, sent on 22nd November 2007.

Primary education is a large part of what makes up the Ugandan education system. With 50% of the 30 million or so population under 14 years old (the average age of the country is 15) it becomes even more important for Uganda to give its children a comprehensive and full primary education. However, the facts are that it isn't able to do this.

Education is divided up as follows:

Primary education	7 years
Secondary education	4 years
Advanced secondary education	2 years
University	? years

This seems on the surface to be an efficient and structured system, but there is a huge internal problem as shown below:

An average primary school in Uganda has 297 students, divided up as follows:

Primary 1 (P1)		100 students
P2		60 students
P3		40 students
P4		30 students
P5		25 students
P6		22 students
P7		20 students

Only 20% of those students who start Primary 1 actually finish their primary education.

Of those who actually start secondary education, only 17% complete the full 6 years, mostly due to the fact that secondary education is not free and very costly to most families.

Keeping the students in school is the number one problem. The main reason that students drop out of school is poverty. Parents have large families - 5 or more children - because they believe that this will make farming (the main industry in this area) easier for them as they get older. Having 16 hands working in a field is certainly better than just four.

Often the oldest is left to tend the youngest children and the middle children tend the animals. Goats and cows need to be herded around to find new grass throughout the day. Also, as the children become older, they start 'petty trade' - i.e. selling things at the market, starting transporting produce, or starting manual labour. I often see children as young as six, during school hours, working in the fields or helping their father transport bamboo canes to the fields on their heads for the beans they have just planted. When the need to provide food on the table everyday is a necessity to survive, education becomes secondary.

Now let's look at the teachers' situation. A primary school teachers' salary is 200,000 Ugandan shillings (£57) per month, which is £684 a year (the price of a motorbike here). Trying to support a family of seven (families of more than 7 children are the norm, especially for rural families) on this is a challenge to say the least. Most teachers have to walk to school and this often takes over an hour for many of them. They work from 8am to 5pm and many have to take work home with them. This is because marking the work of 100 pupils (often the size of a P1 class) takes a very long time. In summary, they are over worked and underpaid.

As I write this, a young girl of about eight years in a school uniform (a school jumper is a nice piece of warm clothing when it is a holiday and cold outside) is looking into my room and seeing what the 'white man's' room is like. Her eyes are wide, ooh she has just seen me, she is now looking uncomfortable and now she has gone. I am certainly a source of curiosity here…

The future for Ugandan primary education is not all bleak. The education department in this area has recently started a campaign to get students back into school. They are capturing between fifty to a hundred students a day and taking the names of the parents so that they can be reprimanded. Once word gets around that this is happening more students will go to school.

Attendance at the school I am teaching at shot up at the beginning due to the fact that I am teaching at the school. It dipped the next week and now has gone up once again. Working with the headmaster, and using a little money from ACE, we have managed to construct two volleyball courts, monkey bars designed by a young Cornish engineer, improved drainage (as many parts of the school flood when it rains), a new school wall (think of Hadrian's wall only smaller), and the beginnings of a netball court. Most of this took place within a day. It is amazing what you can accomplish with 400 students and 800 hands all working together.

Towards the end of the day I sat on top of the school water tank with the headmaster and took in the view. Mukibugu School did not have a playground when I first arrived but now there was a volleyball game in full swing, a football game was taking place (albeit on a slope), and the monkey bars had a large queue up to it (the first in Kisoro!). A group of local men and women had gathered to watch on the bank opposite the school.

'A good day for Mukibugu School' I said to the headmaster. 'Yes, a very good day.' he replied.

The school bell for the end of school had sounded 10 minutes ago but no one had left. We rode home and left the other teachers to finish the volleyball game they were having with the students.

A few bright moments for primary education in Uganda but the real solution is to eradicate poverty. The only problem… education is the key to getting out of poverty.

Eden also wrote this letter to Angela and the ACE trustees on 22nd November 2007.

Dear Angela -

Good Afternoon. It is a national holiday here due to the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting (CHOGM) taking place in Uganda this week.

A few things that have happened this week:

Mukibugu School

New Classrooms

The two new classrooms are now in full use and being enjoyed by P1 students. Apart from filling the classrooms with students we have worked hard to decorate the classrooms with wall charts, posters and anything else educational that we could find. They are looking very nice indeed!

Library

I have started creating a new library here. When we began there were boxes of books everywhere, with textbooks in two or three different cupboards, virtually unsorted. No one had any idea how many textbooks the school had.

There are now two large cupboards in the staff room containing all the books and they have been sorted out into years P1-P7.

Next week we will record exactly what books we have.

42 books were in a terrible state of disrepair. I have now started repairing them, but it is taking a long time.

Hopefully, when this is finished, we will know exactly how many books the school has and how many textbooks from each subject it desperately needs. There is very little textbook use here, due the simple fact there aren't enough for all the students. Each book costs about 13,000 shillings.

Playground

On Tuesday Augustine (the headmaster) and I rounded up the whole school and started to make a playground here.

Yes, I know that the school is on a slope! There are three pieces of flat ground that have been converted into courts. One had a pile of sand and a flag in it. Another had not been marked in anyway and the final area near the teacher's accommodation flooded every time it rained.

There is now one volleyball court in operation. Poles were constructed and a net was found at the school.
Number two volleyball court has been marked out after we took the flag pole and sand away from the area at the top of the school. It still needs poles and a net. Poles are easy to construct, and Augustine is going to find a second-hand net.
The 3rd area has a nice deep drainage ditch now and will be marked out soon. We are thinking about making a netball court here.

Monkey bars: I asked the local carpenter to make this to my design. It has been a huge hit with the students, especially with the boys! It is located next to the large water tank.

School wall: We took all the spare stones from the classroom construction and built a wall 2-3 feet high next to the road. Now the students can't run into the road when the ball goes out and have to use the school gate to enter/exit the school.

I have used some of the money you gave me to do the above.

My Thoughts

You should have seen the school at the end of Tuesday. It was beautiful to see. The whole school was a hive of activity and shouts were going up all over the school. Augustine and I sat on top of the school water tank to take in the view. I remember thinking 'this school didn't have a playground when I first arrived'. There was a volleyball game, a football game, boys climbing on the monkey bars, and rope walking going on. A crowd had gathered around the volleyball as the teachers and upper students were involved in a heated game.

With a few ideas, a little money and a motivated head teacher, it is amazing what can be achieved in a short space of time.

Next we are going to invite Francis (the district education officer) to come and have a look at the small out of the way school near Mgahinga Park. He may be a little surprised ..… Perhaps he will provide a little money for a few textbooks for the school or even better still he may have a few ideas for other schools in Kisoro!

Nyarusunzu School

Construction is zooming ahead!

Three weeks ago work started (Oct 30th) and now Paul is fitting the beams for the roof. According to him work could be finished before the end of term (Dec 6th), but certainly it will be finished for when David visits in mid-December.

You will need to talk to David about sending in the final 10 million shillings that Paul needs to finish the work.

When construction is completed there will be 9 classrooms at the school but there are only 6 teachers. The temporary ones will be left for the time being according to the head.

Proposal from Head: He would like to use one of the classrooms to be used as teacher's accommodation. He says all the teachers would sleep in the one room. The biggest problem at that school is the lack of teachers and the lack of teachers' accommodation. I inspected where the teachers sleep and found them using one bed to sleep two people. They are being charged 10,000 shillings each a month to sleep in a tiny room. I was a little shocked when I saw their accommodation. I need your thoughts on this…

Desks: there are 325 students but only 61 desks. That equates to 5.32 students per desk, which is not a good ratio.

Fuel costs: I used 13,000 shillings for fuel to get to Nyarusunzu and 3,000 shillings for a new spark plug for the motorbike to get it started. Is it possible for ACE to cover this?

Dec 6th - Mukibugu PTA meeting. If you would like to ask any questions to the parents of the students at Mukibugu this will be a very good opportunity. A good information-gathering occasion.

That is about it for now…

Eden in Kisoro Town

This is his third report, sent on 8th December 2007.

The term has just ended here in Uganda; I have been at Mukibugu Primary School for 5 weeks. I was going to write a report about what I have had achieved over those 5 weeks but instead I am going to write it from the perspective of the children and what they have gained by me being here over the last 5 weeks.

Experiences make up the journey that we call life and the children have had many new experiences lately.

This is the first time they have had a 'white' teacher at their school and been able to interact with one over a period of time. One of the first lessons I taught was about where I come from. I had maps, pictures of home and postcards to illustrate this and thought that this would enable the students to relate to me and my world better. I had a big surprise when I put up the map of the world on the board. It was the first time they have ever seen the world and planet that we called Earth. Afterwards I found out that most of the children had not been to the next town, let alone another country. There was me telling them about Cornwall and lands far away. I could have told them I was from another planet and they would have believed me. Can anyone remember being told there was a whole world out there as a child full of wonderful places and people?

Mukibugu Primary School didn't have a playground when I first arrived. So, this was the first time the kids would experience what it is like to have facilities designed for them. First a volleyball court went up, then another one, after that monkey bars, a sand pit, then a netball court, four Tarzan swings, a traditional playground swing, and finally just as the term was finishing a balancing beam, all these items that make up our childhood for the cost of dinner in Britain.

The effect was amazing, the students used to sit around the grassy areas and lounge around, as there was nowhere to play. Games were made using balls made of rubbish, or sticks/stones from around the school. The boys did have a football but the only ones that seemed to play were the older boys. Now when break-time comes there is a roar and kids pour out of the classroom trying to get to the swing first or trying to grab the volleyball out of the teacher's hand it is a great sight to see.

The children have never seen monkey bars, a netball court, or swings before. You should have seen the commotion the first time they used the monkey bars. I thought a riot was about to start, kids pushing here and there trying to get on the bars first.

The school is now a hive of activity thanks to ACE and a few ideas from a young Cornish man.

Electricity is not supplied to the school or the surrounding area. This means that most children have not experienced what electricity can provide. Now imagine a book that lights up, then all of a sudden a picture of a Gorilla (my desktop background) pops up, next the screen goes dark, and the words

appear on the screen.

Before the film started I stated there are only two rules, 'be quiet during the film and sit down'. At the first moving pictures of Baguira the Leopard, those two rules swung like a chimpanzee out of the window. It reminded me of a film called Cinema Paradiso. In it a small Italian village just had the first screening of a film in the village church. The look on those villagers' faces as the black and white images flashed before them was the same as the ones in front of me in this small classroom in rural Uganda. Pure and simple amazement, all the kids were wide-eyed and open-mouthed.

They liked Baloo a lot, found it strange that the leopard did not eat the boy Mowgli and cheered as Sheer Khan was chased away by Mowgli and the vultures.

I now understood what the pioneers of film were trying to do when they made 'Cinema'. It was magical experience for all in that darkened classroom on Thursday.

Finally, Friday 7th December was the first time the kids experienced a 'Sports Day'.

I brought along two local British people and we taught the students the sack race, egg (potato) and spoon, the three-legged race and how to run a relay.

The kids didn't know quite what this was all about but once they realized that this was a competition between two halves of a school they got enthusiastic about it.

With the relay to go and only one point separating the two teams the atmosphere was incredible. The students kept running onto the racetrack as they were so excited, a rope was put in place to hold them back.

The two teams were neck and neck with the last person to go, the kids were cheering so loud that many villagers had come to watch. Blue or yellow who was going to win, I certainly didn't know, and as I held my breath the yellow boy from P6 class crossed the finishing line first.

The yellow team erupted into a spontaneous display of celebration, an African jumping dance started and the kids all started singing.

What have the kids experienced over this last five weeks?

I hope a few more smiles, a few more fits of laughter, some new experiences and some new memories. Isn't that what being a kid is all about…?

Please help support ACE and the work I am doing in Uganda this Christmas in providing better schools for these kids by giving a donation.

This is his fourth report, sent on 19th January 2008.

PTA meeting

Eden attending a colourful PTA meeting

It is January here in Uganda and the weather feels like summer in England. Daytime temperatures range around 20-23C and the norm for a day is long sunny spells with passing cloud. Totally different to the continuous deluge of rain that was October and November.

Since the first week of December schools have been on holiday but I have been lucky enough to be allowed to teach at Mukibugu Primary School during the month of January. The first question was what to teach… I came to the quick conclusion that it should be all the things that the pupils wouldn't normally be taught during term time. Also, it should be things that I could only teach as I was here for this time period only. I had a blank page in the front of me and the first thing that I wrote down was Art and Craft.

Art and Craft

My memory took me back to my days at Trythall Primary School. I could distinctly remember that every week I was making, painting and crafting things with my hands. I really enjoyed those lessons and I wanted the children here to enjoy those types of lessons as well. Unfortunately, due to financial constrictions, they can't teach Art or Craft. Using an Art and Craft book sent by ACE, which I found in a cupboard, I made a programme that included an Art and Craft lesson everyday.

The result has been children drawing their school, trees, and the surrounding countryside.

Here they are making collage with plant materials.

In craft, I have never seen kids so proud of making an origami bird or a 'twister' decoration.

The 'twisters' are now hanging from the ceiling of their once barren classroom.

As the wind blows gently through the classroom, the twisters turn and spin above the students' heads.

On another day we went on a field trip up the hill next to Mukibugu and did an Art lesson there.

Many of the kids had never been up to the top before!

The view was quite spectacular and having 75 kids climb up the hill caused quite a stir for the villagers below.

Japanese

I decided to teach the students some Japanese, as it is a language that I speak. I have been taken aback by how quickly the students are mastering the language. They know little about the country, and are 6,000 miles away, but they can now introduce themselves in Japanese and can say the Japanese for most classroom items. They even bow at the end of the class! The Ugandan teacher who helps me teach is struggling to keep up much to the amusement of the class.

English

The students' basic English is generally very good and they understand English well although they have trouble listening my British English. If a Ugandan speaks English they understand it immediately - there is certain way Africans speak English that isn't the same as we do in the UK.

What I have noticed is that students' spoken English lacks confidence and because they translate from their native language many of the things they say are very direct/bordering on rude. It seems that 'please' and 'thank you' are words that they failed to learn during their English lessons.

Slowly, they are changing the way that they talk and thus their spoken English is improving as well.

Special Lesson

This lesson was created to teach the students all the things that they need to know outside of school.

Lessons like the Dangers of Early Marriage - many girls get married very young at 15-17.

Personal Hygiene - many of the children don't know the dangers of having an unclean body - dangers like ring-worm, fungal infections, septic wounds - all things I have seen on children here.

I taught a lesson on First Aid recently and I hope that they will use what they have learned one day. The 'Kiss of Life' drew several rounds of laughter from the class! They have never had any teaching about First Aid before.

Reading and Writing

The wonderful books that ACE sent to the school were not being used regularly so I decided to create a lesson where they had a book put in their hand and were made to read. The students requesting more time with the books by the second class surprised me.

Reading started inside the classroom.

However, when you have 70 kids crammed into a room, and they are all talking about the book they have just been given .....

..... there is no choice but to send them outside and spread them out.

After 2 weeks they were ready to take the books home to read and on Friday (18th) 75 students took 75 books home for the weekend. I am sure that the whole family will be reading/looking at that book this weekend.

I have asked the students to write a diary everyday. The first week they did this the diaries were poorly written, some were unreadable. What did I expect, they had never written a diary before!

This week I have read some fascinating stories about life at home. It has certainly given me a glimpse of their domestic lives. Entries telling of fetching water from the well, helping mum with cooking potatoes, getting involved in roadside accidents, and stories of thieves roaming villages at night looking to steal have made spellbinding reading.

Their English has improved significantly and I would say that there are certainly a few budding authors amongst the children!

Games

As Mukibugu Primary School now has two volleyball courts, a netball court, sports kit and balls (all supplied by ACE) a structured sports training has started during Games period. The boys enjoy their Karate lesson a lot, and the girls love volleyball.

Apart from the actual lessons the change in the students' attitude and behaviour has been significant. The students were constantly coming late to lessons last week, not doing their diaries and generally not being serious about the lessons. I guess this is normal behaviour for many of them if there isn't a stick being waved at them while being taught.

The two teachers helping me with the lessons said to me last week, 'What shall we do? Shall we beat them?' This is how indiscipline is normally solved in Uganda.

After many warnings last week I told them if they didn't get serious about these lessons I would cancel everything, they could go back to digging and the teachers and I would take a holiday. Well, that made them change and result has been punctual students, good diary entries and increasing student numbers.

There were 25 students on the first day and now there are seventy-five (90% of P5-P7 class students) and the numbers are still growing, former students have even come back! Remarkable considering attendance is voluntary and this is holiday time.

When the new school term starts in February the other teachers will probably ask 'Are these the same students?' especially if the whole school is waiting for them on the first day of term. Usually only half the school turns up on the first day!

Being allowed to teach seventy-five students freely with no restrictions has been one of the most rewarding things I have done in my life. It is wonderful to give birth to something and to watch it grow and flower…

Tea Break

These happy children are taking a break from Eden's lessons

During January Eden has also supervised the construction of a new playground at Nyakabaya school.

Click here to see it.

This is his fifth report, sent on 2nd February 2008.

So the January holidays have finished and the extra lessons have ended. As the noise of children excitedly leaving school and going home fades away I smile and think 'wow, what a four weeks.'

I had to postpone the start of the January holiday lessons from 3rd January to the 7th due to the crisis in Kenya effecting transport in Uganda. I was on an island in the middle of Lake Victoria for the New Year festivities and, when I planned to leave on New Year's Day, there was no fuel on the island for transport. In fact, there was no fuel on any of the islands in the area. On 2nd January, as most people on the island had to leave to go back to work, or catch flights home, the captain of the island boat took a chance and decided to pilot the boat back to the mainland. I managed to reach Kisoro on the morning of the 3rd but too late for the beginning of lessons and the decision had already been made in my absence to postpone lessons until the 7th.

On 7th I arrived at school at 8am but only 4 students had turned up and eventually 20 or so students came to school. On day two, 35 students came to classes. By week two, we had over 70 students. Our highest attendance was 75 students. This was an extremely good figure considering it was the holidays. It was higher than in term time, and a number of ex-pupils had come back to school.

Who would have thought that the students would learn Japanese so fast and with such interest? The teachers were so surprised at their ability and progress. During the last lesson, when I asked a boy called Sylvan (who scored highly in his Japanese test) to take over the lesson while I showed visitors around the school, he did so with confidence and skill. I laughed as I walked in to take over again and he was copying the way that I taught, even to tapping the floor with his foot, and asking 'What is this?' in Japanese.

Art and Craft lessons were great. I think the highlight was going on a school trip to the top of a local hill and drawing the surrounding countryside. One look at the craft hanging up in the classrooms or the art adorning the walls and you can see how far the kids had progressed from their first lesson to the last.

English, Maths and Science lessons were good as well. I am glad that students are now asking for things politely in English from the teachers, instead of demanding and saying 'Give me ball!' at game time.

Special Lessons about 'AIDS Awareness', 'Computers' or 'Dangers of Early Marriage' were successful I believe as the Ugandan teachers kept saying after lessons 'I have never had so many questions asked from pupils during a lesson.'

Reading lessons - the children were forced to have a book in their hand in the first lesson and told to read, but by the end of January they didn't want to give the books back.

Games - they enjoyed the structured training and different activities they did - long distance training by running up the road towards the National Park like a shoal of fish, skipping while singing African songs for the girls, and learning how to block punches in Karate, all received shouts and cheers from the kids and were the highlights for me.

Those were the ups but there were downs as well..... like almost cancelling all the lessons because the students turned up late everyday for the first week of lessons, and did not do their assigned diary writing. During some lessons I must have said 'Be Quiet!' fifteen to twenty times without the children responding. Some girls refused to participate in games. The teachers wanted to beat them but I had to stop the them doing so. Eventually they all took part in games. There were times when I was so happy with the students and other times I felt like screaming.

Rules were made and when rules were broken pupils were punished. I even had to send late pupils home on one occasion. By week three the pupils knew the rules and they obeyed them (well most of them anyway). I lost my voice during the last week because I was shouting with a very sore throat. The kids would not play 'Pictionary' without cheating - 10 times they cheated! - and half the class was sent out of the room.

As I said there were 'ups' and there were 'downs' but when the Secretary of Education for the District and the School Inspector arrived on Friday (the last day of the lessons) and toured the school all they could say was, 'This is very good… it is what I like to see… and we must use elements from this school in other schools in the district.' They were mightily impressed, and, as I stood and watched them go I turned to the Deputy Headmaster (who had helped me during the last four weeks) and said 'There will be more visitors to this school in the near future, as others will want to know what is happening at Mukibugu Primary School.'

We both knew the reason they were impressed. It was because we had worked extremely hard for four weeks and poured our hearts and souls into the school. We had also opened a few kid's eyes to a few new things…..

Dorosi (Year 5) gave this assessment of the January lessons -

'I liked these lessons a lot as they were different, they were centered on the students and had many activities.'

The ACE trustees are delighted that Eden has agreed to extend his period at the schools for a further 4 months.

Eden at Nyarusunzu

We held a meeting of the ACE trustees on 30th January at which we discussed Eden's achievements so far and his request that, if he extended his stay he would require some financial support. The trustees have been so impressed with what he has done that four of them have agreed to personally donate enough money to cover Eden's accommodation costs and basic living expenses for this period. Any small shortfall will be made up from ACE funds.

The trustees agreed to allow Eden to spend up to £200 per school on projects at the schools he has not yet assisted. They are asking him to spend approximately 2 weeks in each school, organising resources and teaching as he has done at Mukibugu. They hope that he will be able to set each school up as it should be, and then, at the end of the 4 months, return to Mukibugu to see what has happened there.

We were delighted to receive this response on 3rd February -

I have decided to stay.

There are so many people who want me to stay, both here and in England. So many schools, children and people would gain if I stay here and continue working for the charity. The only person who would have to sacrifice a little is me, and it is a sacrifice that I take willingly and gladly.

It has been a great 3 months, far beyond anything I could have possibly imagined. I hope that the following months will be as amazing and that I can bring a little more joy to these children's lives.

Please thank the committee members for all their support. I can feel their kind words and hopes for me and what I am doing here.

Let us hope that ACE goes on from strength to strength this year.

Eden

This is Eden's 6th Report, sent on 1st March 2008.

The End of my Time at Mukibugu

This week was the last week for me at Mukibugu Primary School. I have been at the school for 4 months (doesn't time fly!). It has been an amazing experience for me and I have learnt many things during my time there. When you come to the end of something you often recall the beginning and looking back I can see that ACE supporting these schools in Uganda and sending me here has made a difference to these children.

When I first arrived at Mukibugu many things I saw at the school surprised me. Things like the way the teachers taught, teachers writing on the blackboard and then drilling the students on what had been written. The students didn't seem to have much input into the lesson and a lot of the time simply repeated what the teacher said. It didn't seem like much thinking took place for the children. I then realized that if you have 100 students in a classroom then this 'rote' learning style worked best. I was used to classes of 20-30 students, the names of whom I knew and could ask direct questions to. I quickly learnt not to judge these people by our standards.

Caning: Yes, this does go on here (just like British schools in the Victorian days - a few of you may remember it taking place when you were at school). I was a little shocked to see it the first time, a boy being caned on the backside for being late. However, it seems to be the only way to control the students in many cases, and it is what the students know. You break the rules, you get a caning… simple. After a couple of times of seeing it, I could see that some of the students actually enjoyed the teacher - pupil disciplining. Some smiled and laughed as they tried to dodge the cane and scampered away once they received their punishment.

The lack of materials to teach also astounded me. Most lessons were taught with a stick of chalk and a blackboard. There simply wasn't any money for paper, textbooks, equipment or realia.

Many surprises but it was to be expected as I had been brought up in a modern western society.

So, what has happened during my time here?

Changes

When I first arrived the newly built two-block classroom was unused. After a few carefully placed words like 'Why isn't that new classroom being used?!' and 'If Angela knew the new classrooms weren't being used she would hit the roof!'. An afternoon later, two hundred students from P1 class moved in.

No Sports Facilities

As you have read in my previous reports Mukibugu now has two volleyball courts, swings, monkey bars, and several balancing beams. On Friday 29th February the netball court was finally finished and the first game of netball took place under the guidance of my friend Hannah from Hampshire who had come to visit the school for the day.

She said afterward, 'They don't understand the concept of rules very well.'

I said, 'Yes, they seem to have trouble with them.'

Library

ACE library books are where they belong, in the hands of the children…

Classrooms

All classrooms are now decorated with art, colourful charts, origami birds and attention-grabbing pictures. The kids like the classrooms being so colourful especially with art/craft that they have made themselves.

New Lessons

Art/craft lessons, Japanese lessons, computer lessons, library book reading lessons, karate lessons, structured PE lessons, and even a lessons on politeness (they don't have a word for 'please' in Rufumbira language, it is difficult for them to ask for things politely). New lessons that the kids found interesting and eye-opening. They still can't quite understand my laptop computer but they love it when I show them pictures and video of them, I guess it is just a 'magical box' to many of them!

So, what has this all meant for the kids at Mukibugu?

For them I believe they have had their eyes opened to many new things, they have had new experiences, and most of all they have had some new memories.

I have laughed when they have done PE holding a ball between their legs in a relay race and jumped like demented fish to go faster, they have laughed as I tried to sing their songs and got the words completely wrong, I have smiled as I saw a pupil create an origami bird and look so proud, they have smiled as I showed a picture of the Cornish coast and the sea, all memories that have been created because ACE and I are here.

As I toured the school on my last day, I saw a game of Netball with 100 students watching it being played, colourful craft hanging from the ceiling swaying in the wind in many classrooms, children with library books, 550 students in school (last year there were only 400), boys and girls waiting impatiently to ride on the swing, an organised school office, and children chasing balls here and there yelling as they did so.

I realised my work was done, the goal of creating a fun, and interesting place of learning was complete. The future now lay in the hands of the pupils and the teachers.

Teachers and pupils have changed in my time here, many don't even know it has happened but I have seen the change, and it has been wonderful to watch. Pupils taking more responsibility and growing up, teachers trying new things in class, pupils talking new languages to me, teachers laughing as they do PE outside, pupils not wanting to leave school at lunch-time, but the real change at the heart of it all is this…

Teachers, pupils and parents alike are HAPPIER in their hearts.

Because they know that Mukibugu is going places…

The future is in their hands now; I have a feeling that Mukibugu is going to get better and better in the years to come.

Mukibugu Farewell

Farewell from Mukibugu

Next stop is Nyakabaya Primary School where I start on Monday 3rd March for two weeks. I will make one or two suggestions to the teachers there…

A Day in Rwanda

I set off early, as I knew that I would only have the day in Rwanda. As I stepped out into the turquoise blue canopy of the outdoors I was excited and a little apprehensive. I was going to a new country, a country that was the other side of Mount Muhabura, what sights would it hold and would I be able to get back into Uganda again with a three-month visa?

I hired a Boda boda motorcycle driver to take me to the border and with my friend Augustine's help I managed to get the Ugandan fare for the journey (a difficulty for those with white skin). The road was dusty and bumpy, but I didn't mind as today I was going to Rwanda.

On getting off the bike at the border a horde of vulture type creatures descended on me, they were the local money changing guys. 'Rwanda francs, Rwanda francs!' they repeated at me.

I took note of their exchange rate and moved on to the visa office. A grumpy looking man with stubble greeted me and asked me many questions. When he found out I was a volunteer, he shook his head and said 'Why don't you have a work visa? You must go to Kampala and get one.' My heart sank; this was exactly what I didn't want. All I wanted was another 3 months tourist visa and this guy was telling me that I had to go to Kampala and fill out forms, which meant red tape and difficulties. I knew that what he was saying was a whole load of hassle. I had to go through him to get my 3-month visa when I returned to Uganda, the situation looked bleak.

My heart a little lower I proceeded on into Rwanda. I looked for transport to my next destination, the town of Ruhengeri 25 km away. An empty mini-bus was parked next to the border office. In my experience a mini-bus doesn't move unless it is full of passengers in Africa. I calculated it would be 1-2 hours before it would fill up, I decided to walk to the local trading centre. I didn't know how far it would be but it couldn't be more than a thirty-minute walk. Under the shining sun I started walking.

The Rwandan road in front of me surprised me; it had a tarmac surface, and road markings, it stretched like a grey runway into the distance. So it was true what people had told me about Rwanda, it was more developed than Uganda. Kisoro had a potholed, mud and stones job for what could loosely be described as a road.

Some children and a young mother joined me on my walk. In my broken Rufumbira language I found out that she was also going to the trading centre and that she lived around here. In her colourful clothing she looked like any other peasant I had seen in Kisoro. She smiled widely and had a friendly demeanour, and I was glad of the company in the warm sun.

Just before reaching the trading centre after walking thirty minutes or so (I didn't take a start time) my companions bade me farewell and walked along a footpath adjacent to the tarmac road to their destinations.

Most people in the trading centre were sat around on the street; it is just like places in Kisoro I thought to myself. After inquiring, I found out that no public transport was moving until midday and for that reason people were sat around, they were waiting for transport to move. I looked at my watch it was just after 11am, realising there was nothing to do I sat down with everyone else.

At 11.40am people were getting impatient it seemed, passengers were getting into mini-buses, I decided to join them. After one false start (we were stopped by traffic police and told to wait) we were moving, it was 11.45am. Of all the mini-vans I could I have picked I selected the local football supporters bus. So as soon as we were moving the whole bus was rocking to the sound of football songs. As we slowed down for traffic, the football flag placed on the front of the bus fluttered in front of the windscreen, I should have been more vigilant. I had to smile though; there was certainly an atmosphere on the bus.

Forty minutes later we reached Ruhengeri my destination. I got off the bus and started walking around the town. I was surprised at how pretty Rwanda had looked from the bus window. Trees everywhere (more than in Kisoro and Uganda), flowers by the roadside and neat ordered fields. This first impression carried on as I walked through town. I kept thinking Rwanda is more organised than Uganda. Little rubbish on the streets and plastic bags were banned to aid conservation of the environment.

I met a boy of thirteen along the way called Ebola who spoke English. I was surprised as French is the language they use here. He seemed like a nice boy so I allowed him to accompany me. We went towards a church in the distance. On reaching it, it was a huge church that looked new or was it just very clean, I was not sure.

Below it was a concrete amphitheatre leading down to a grassy area with a neat footpath snaking it's way around it. Beyond that was a smart stage with potted plants decorating it. I was impressed by all of this as we walked down to the grassy area. We then walked towards a basketball game (the first I had seen in Africa) and passed through the gates leading to it. There was a proper outdoor court with a girl's school game taking place on it and a crowd looking on. The school that I had just entered had very good sports facilities. I looked at the gymnastics equipment and volleyball courts; it was unlike anything I had seen in Kisoro town. The home team was demolishing the opposition as one basket followed another much to the glee of the home supporters.

We headed back into town and went into a supermarket. As soon as walked in I exclaimed 'Baguettes!'. There in front of me were some freshly baked baguettes. A relic of the Belgium colonial days, but I was glad for it and quickly bought one as I couldn't get baguettes in Uganda. I left the supermarket excited as I had bought a baguette, Rwandan coffee from the shores of Lake Kivu and a wheel of cheese (something that is difficult to get in Uganda).

We stopped for lunch and I treated my young friend to some hot food. He told me about his family, and as I listened I found it a sad story. He was the second born in the family, but didn't have any brothers and sisters alive. He lived with his elderly grandmother of 61 years. He was at secondary school, I asked him how did he could afford to go (school is expensive here if you are a farmer) and he said a neighbour paid for his schooling. I asked about his parents, were they alive, did they live away from his grandmother because of work? He looked uncomfortable, and a bit upset and then quietly said his mother died during the Rwandan genocide, his father had gone missing during the fighting, and his brothers and sisters had also been killed in the genocide. His only remaining family was his elderly grandmother. A long silence followed and I hesitantly said 'I am sorry to hear that.'

It seemed that no one was untouched here during the Rwandan genocide; approximately 500,000 people died (no one can be sure) in the 1990's and millions were displaced. We all saw it on the BBC news, week after week during 1994-1995. A short sharp African history lesson had just been played out in front of me.

After touring the town further it was time to go back to the border. At the bus park I said goodbye to my 13-year-old friend and gave him my address. I said to him 'If anything happens to your grandmother, contact me.' I knew that his grandmother's death would mean he would be an orphan, without a home and without any support for the future. In effect his future would be bleak.

I headed to the border; I now had the mission of getting a three-month visa from a grumpy looking immigration officer with stubble.

I walked towards his office and saw him slouched in a chair under the afternoon sun. He was dozing and as he heard my footsteps woke up and pointed at a door in the distance. I had to register with the police as I entered Uganda, I had signed out at the same office when I left the country.

Now the easiest and African thing to do with a grumpy and stubbly immigration officer is offer the bribe and walk out of the office with your three-month visa. That's the last resort in my books and something I didn't want to do (and is at the root of corruption), so I talked to him about what A.C.E. was doing to help Ugandan schools.

After that fell on deaf ears, I told him how the Resident District Commissioner (a big man in Kisoro) had said that he wanted to fully support A.C.E. and my efforts. He just said that was not his concern, and this was an immigration office. I realised then that this man was not under Kisoro District jurisdiction and that meant I had no leverage. I also realised apart from being grumpy and stubbly, he was also drunk. It looked like a trip to Kampala was on the cards, and with it big problems.

He then said, 'I will give you two months to sort matters out.' After telling him that others had got three-month visas from him and it would cause problems if I only got a two-month visa, he started writing the visa out in my passport.

Several minutes of silence passed by as he wrote out the visa. I thought, I should have just given him the bribe; it is going to cost fives times more money and mess up my schedule for the coming months.

He looked up and murmured 'I have given you three months. Next time, come with a letter from the Ministry of Education.'

I walked out of his office into the afternoon sun and wanted to jump in the air and say 'YES!'

As I travelled back to Kisoro in the golden afternoon sun I thought, 'What a great day…'

A day that showed me the soul of Africa.

This is Eden's 7th Report, written on 15th March 2008.

Library, Sports and Painting at Nyakabaya

The last two weeks, phew…it has been quite two weeks. I had been given the assignment by A.C.E. of improving Nyakabaya Primary School in the short time of two weeks. A lot can happen in two weeks, then again very little can happen, all depending on what you want to do with fourteen days.

'Where are your books?' I asked.

'In the storeroom.' Donatta, the head-teacher, answered.

I ventured in and saw a 5-stand bookshelf full of books. I was impressed; it is a rare thing to see a relatively organized bookshelf full of textbooks in one place in Kisoro District.

'Where are the other books?' I inquired.

She frowned, 'What books?'

'The books sent by A.C.E. a few years ago.' I said.

'Maybe in the teachers' accommodation' she replied.

I opened the door of a small room in the teachers, accommodation and saw what looked like a rubbish heap. On closer inspection of the rubbish heap there were papers, ACE books, Ugandan textbooks, cardboard boxes, teaching materials and random items like a desk and a school sign.

'If you organise some pupils to take everything out, and put it in front of the office storeroom, we will sort it out there.' I said.

After building a set of shelves, sifting through all the papers, books and boxes, and 72 hours later the work was complete.

'At a guess you have about a thousand books.' I stated.

'Really?' Donatta answered.

With that the library was complete.

'I want a netball court.' Donatta the headmistress requested.

'Yes, and if one is built who will teach netball?' I replied.

'I will and… Florence.'

'You can play netball?' I was a little surprised as Donatta was pushing fifty years of age and I could not quite picture her in a skimpy Netball outfit.

'At the Teachers College I used to play a lot.' she proudly said.

'Alright, if it is built I want to see a game of netball on it with you and Florence playing.'

'Yes, we will play' she replied.

Pupils preparing and levelling the ground for the new netball court.

True to her word, when the netball court was finished, she and Florence (another teacher) were prancing around the court teaching the girls to play. They didn't do too badly either, although I think the netball tired out Donatta but she hid the fact well.

'The girls enjoy the game!' she exclaimed.

All I could do was smile.

'So this is P1 class?' I asked.

'Yes.' Donatta answered.

'Mmm.' I said. I was thinking two things -my god the walls are filthy and if we had some paint, perhaps light green or blue (the same as the school uniform) we could paint the classroom and make it look like new.

'If I bought some paint and some brushes, could you organize some pupils to help me paint it?' I said.

'Yes… but do you know how to paint?' An unsure look on her face formed as she said this.

'I have done it before.' I responded.

Well, I had painted my room when I was eighteen, and several large doors in my time.

'Please organise ten pupils to help me tomorrow…'

'Tomorrow afternoon?' she interrupted.

'Yes, that will be fine.'

'Up and down, up and down, nice and slow. This is the way to paint.' So now I was teaching African children how to paint a wall. I seem to have many roles here in Africa -teacher, school committee member, playground designer, drainage engineer, African correspondent for ACE - interior decorator is just another one to add to the list.

This team start painting and I will supervise.' I said. The five boys took up their paintbrushes and rollers excitedly and started painting.

'Slowly! Slowly!' I shouted. Paint was flying everywhere, most of it on the floor.

'Good, good, that is the way to do it.' They were now brushing slowly and smoothly.

'Can you supervise this group Smith?' I asked the teacher helping me.

'Yes…' he said hesitantly.

'Stop! Stop! What are you doing?' I shouted. The other team of five boys had started by themselves and now there was paint all over the wall, above the line demarcated for painting. They were painting on the white washed walls that I had said not to paint, as they were relatively clean.

'Quick, clean it!' I barked at Smith. I ran out to fetch the paraffin. The damage was luckily reversed and painting resumed.

An hour and a half later we were finished. The boys had paint all over their hands and specks of paint were on their bare backs. A crowd was pushing at the classroom doorway, eager to see the new classroom.

'No-one comes in.' I ordered. I knew that if the kids came in then the first thing they would do would be to touch the new paint, ruining what we had done.

The paint took a day and a half to dry. The P1 class children were very excited about their new sky blue classroom, as was the teacher. I was amazed at the difference a coat of paint made to the classroom.

'It is like a new classroom!' Donatta exclaimed.

I was already thinking, what other schools could I do the same at?

There were a few other things we did at the school but that is another story. You will just have to see for yourself if you ever visit Nyakabaya Primary School in Kisoro.

I am always amazed at what a little bit of money, some support from local teachers and eager children can do at schools in Uganda.

Next project is to build a school bus out of bamboo poles… well that would be something...!

This is Eden's 8th Report received on 29th March 2008.

The Green Open Fields of Gitenderi

I have just finished my two weeks at Gitenderi Primary School. Spending only two weeks at each school means that I have to work quickly and be focused on what the school needs.

After my first day assessing Gitenderi School I had two words in my head: 'Sports' and 'Library'.

Sports

There are green open fields surrounding Gitenderi Primary School, making the school look like an island in a sea of green. Many other schools in the district aren't so lucky with their land allocation. Two solitary goal posts made of metal stood in the main field like two lost old men. From what I could see there wasn't a marked pitch and on further investigation I found there wasn't a single functioning ball in the whole school. I also found two volleyball poles standing in an area, no marked court and again no ball. So, for 1,024 pupils, there was little in the way of sports facilities or equipment.

The pupils acted like a field of cows at break time as they wandered here and there aimlessly. Some had invented their own games; others were using toys made by them, for example vines as a substitute for skipping rope.

'This school has big open fields, two young sports teachers and lots of pupils. This school is made for sports'. I thought.

Courtesy of David Epidu, sports equipment arrived from Kampala for Gitenderi, the football pitch and volleyball court were marked out, and the first games were played two days later. Kenneth and Gideon, the sports teachers, were eager to do sports at Gitenderi but had lacked the equipment. They were very happy when the equipment arrived and enthusiastically supervised the first volleyball game of the new school year.

'What's are these?' I asked.

'Netball poles' the headmaster answered.

'Why aren't they outside being used?'

'We have no ball and no court' the headmaster hastily replied.

'We will build a court and I will get a ball. Who can teach netball?' I said.

'Juliet is the sports mistress. I think she can teach it'

'Excellent!'

At that, I walked out of the dark and dirty storeroom. A day or two later the netball court was complete.

'Athletics track!'

'A what?' Gideon the sports master stuttered.

'We could build an athletics track here, around the outside of the football field. Look, there is just enough space but we may have to make the football field a little narrower. It is very large anyway…'

It was 100m long and 80m wide, a full size football pitch.

'You know that this school could be the best school at sports in this whole area' I added.

Gideon just looked at me blankly. I couldn't blame him, the school didn't have a single ball and there was me telling him that the school could be excellent at sports.

After a great deal hard work, and a lot of trial and error, in the last hour of my last day at Gitenderi a large cheer was heard as the first athletics race started.

Half a dozen bare-chested boys ran round the outside curve of the athletics track and into history.

I couldn't believe my own eyes, nor could the rest of the school, but on an incomplete (the curved track on the far-side wasn't finished) athletics track children were competing to the cheers of all. A large crowd had gathered around the start line, children were eager to run on the new track.

The