Blog

On Thursday 27 Jun the team passed their normal turn to Buheesi and the Secondary School and continued down the road to the Kisoomiro Technical Institute.  On the original prioritized list from the Buheesi leaders was a Vocational School.   During the planning phase of the trip the team requested a visit to a vocational school in Uganda.   Under Aloysius’ guidance the team visited the technical institute to gain an appreciation for what a school this this might look like in Buheesi.  The Kisoomiro Institute was founded by the government and continues to get government support.    This facility consisted of six buildings.  The first thing that greeted the team was a group of students working on creating bricks for building construction.  Dirt, sand, and water were the necessary ingredients.

There were other areas of instruction such as vehicle repair, electricity installation, computers, and agriculture.  The fields on the school grounds had an area for each student to grow produce.  This produce is critical to help feed the nearly 150 students that are staying in the dorm at the school.   Produce experts come to the fields at harvest time and “grade” the students on their farmer skills.

The team had an extended discussion with the institute’s principal and he provided a real education on the founding and operation of a vocational school or institute.  We can anticipate that he would be a great resource for Buheesi planning in the future.  Aloysius and the institute principal stand together.

 

 

Wednesday 26 Jun was a day focused on spending time in the Secondary School classes.  The team planned to talk with the teachers and the students.  Bill and Jenna will also meet with the students and family that they support financially.  However, the day started bright and early as we said goodbye to some fellow travelers, John and Stacy DeVries.  John and Stacy are bicycling for 50 days across Uganda to raise money to send 50 children to school.  They used our same hospitality house to spend a day recovering at the half way point of their adventure.  It was wonderful to share our stories and the rest of their journey can be tracked on their website  https://www.get-schooled.org/

When the team arrived at the Secondary School they split up with each member spending time with each class.  Like any other classroom around the world, there were students really engaged in the subjects and others that weren’t so engaged.  The team was impressed by the teachers’ energy and enthusiasm and willingness to get the students to work together.  One of the classes was a business class were the students were taught about how to balance a ledger sheet.  This was very practical instruction in the Ugandan world of small businesses.

A second class was a biology class where students were instructed on leaves and their structure.  The teacher walked through the school grounds picking up different types of leaves for the students to study.  The students were put into groups and asked to draw and label two types of leaves.  As they finished, the teacher went around to each group to provide feedback on their work.

There was a lunch break and the students lined up with their plates.  With the size of some of these boys, one hopes that the food doesn’t run out.

Following lunch there was an art session.  It was really fun to see the intensity and natural artistic ability of some of the students.

At the end of the day, the team met with the teachers to share their impressions of their time in the classrooms.   The teachers discussed some of the projects they were involved in and some of the needs of the school.  It is clear that more support is needed as the school moves forward to graduating its first class in the Spring of 2021.  More information on those needs will be shared with our supporters shortly after the team’s return to the US.  The team agreed that the time spent with the students in the classrooms was the highlight of the trip.

After visiting the proposed well site, the team arrived on the school grounds.   The students had lined up to welcome them with a red carpet experience.  The team took part in the first of two ribbon cuttings as they entered the school grounds.

Since this was Jenna’s and Bill’s second visit to Uganda, there were few surprises as to what would come next.  There was singing, dancing, speeches, a Catholic Mass, and a huge amount of food.

What a feast awaited them.  Aloysius gave a behind-the-scenes look at the cooks at work.  The methods used included a huge leaf steamer that was quite a sight.  The pot of beans was impressive.

The Secondary School added some events that looked a lot like what you would find at an American picnic.  There was a sack race and a water race where contestants had to use their mouths to transfer water from a bucket to soda bottles as quickly as possible.  There was also a “play” that addressed young people having to leave school and the danger of youth pregnancy.

The second ribbon cutting was for the multi-purpose building which was accompanied by the planting of an umbrella tree that students will use for shade.

The team was presented with a huge handcrafted basket that was beautiful.  How to get it back to the United States is a challenge left up to the team.

It is amazing how tiring sitting at a table for hours can be.  The team had a quick dinner at a local restaurant and made it an early night.

 

 

 

 

 

Tuesday dawned bright and cool in Fort Portal, Uganda.  The team seemed to have adjusted to the time zone change with everyone getting a reasonable number of hours of sleep.  After a hearty Ugandan breakfast, Aloysius arrived to bring the team to Buheesi.  The first stop was a proposed site for a third Well Spring of Blessings .  This is a reminder that the Well Spring of Blessings continues to be committed to supporting Buhessi in a variety of ways.  Future projects are still under consideration for the coming years.  In collaboration with the village leaders, it seems like it is time to commit to the building of the new well!

The site for the future well is in a different region of the village from the other two wells.  The team drove off the main dirt road onto a small path.  They parked the car and took off down a series of paths to get to the proposed well location.  They met many villagers along the way, including a man that was carrying his lunch on his head!

The alternative source of water was a seasonal stream that flowed from the Rwenzori Mountains.  The stream flows and dries up dependent on the amount of rainfall in the region.  When the stream is not present the villagers have a long distance to walk to collect water from other sources.  Even if the stream is present the water does not appear to be safe to drink.  At the site of this future well there were many villagers who had come bearing their large jugs to draw water from the nearby stream.  However, a dead snail in the water and our guide’s acknowledgement that frogs, snails and other wildlife regularly were found dead in the water, were an indication of the water’s poor quality.  There was also a stench in the air from the water.  It was difficult to imagine using this unreliable water source as a water source for our families.  Output from the nearby livestock did not help matters any.

The proposed site was nice an flat and the path to the site was flat as well.  This will ease the movement of drilling equipment to the worksite.

 

The nearby villagers quickly congregated when the team arrived and they were all very excited to hear about the promise of a future well close to their homes.  They wanted to know when it would be installed, and they were very grateful that we wanted to help improve the very basics of life.  As the team returned to their vehicle to continue on to the school there was a strong determination to bring the well on-line as quickly as possible.

 

The team, as tired as they were, had trouble sleeping through the night and were ready for Mass at 7am.  A beautiful small chapel was in a room just off the courtyard and to make things easier the Eucharistic Celebration was in English.  To add a bit of culture, the Tabernacle was a copy of a Ugandan food storage barn.  The grounds of the hospitality center were breathtaking.

The team met others for breakfast with a lively discussion on African politics and global warning.   A quick van packing and seat changes and the team was headed west to Fort Portal.

On the way out of Kampala we got a chance to stop at the Muslim Mosque overlooking the main part of the city.  It was there that one of Aisha met a worker at the temple with her same first name.  Who knew?   While the buildings and grounds were awesome it did cause us to go through the center of Kampala,  that was packed with large vehicles, motor bikes and pedestrians who often used the road in ways that defied all traffic laws!.  With the help of the local police we were able to thread our way through the traffic and were soon on our way again.

The team enjoyed the work the government had done on the road to Fort Portal.  The long drive was a wonderful opportunity for us to converse as a team and to bounce ideas off of Aloysius on “next-steps” for our work in Buhessi.  After a quick meal stop got to meet with some to the leaders in Uganda that were so instrumental in facilitating the Well Spring work in Uganda.  Their kind words of appreciation set the tone for a very positive meeting.   It was clear that their commitment to Buheesi is unwavering.  As we entered a quiet evening the District Chairman walked into the hotel and talked with the team about how the Secondary School fit into his vision.

Another busy day came to an end and the team looked forward to seeing the St Pope John Paul II Rwenzori Valley Secondary School the next morning.  What a celebration it will be!