Books, books and more books!

When I came to Uganda this time I brought an extra bag full of books for the reading sessions I was intending to do at the slum school and some story books for the reading club. The school where my sister works in Leeds donated the reading scheme books and the others were what friends had given me. In addition I have four big boxes of books at home waiting to be shipped out! I have been waiting two years now, although BA pilots have offered, no-one seems to have got round to the finer details. These books are for ‘the library’!

The library will be a community resource and not attached to a particular school. Just because the people in the slum are refugees from troubled areas of Uganda and surrounding countries, doesn’t mean to say they’re uneducated. If you had to flee in danger of your life with your children, would you really stop to pack books? Even though I love my books, I certainly wouldn’t. The thought that parents and children could enjoy the books together appealed to me.

After discussions with Joe, the project leader at the Nursery, we decided to buy a container, put in windows and a door, electricity and equip it with shelves etc and put it where the parents would be able to use it and any children who needed somewhere to do their homework. If the librarian could also support them in this and in the future, with a few computers teach the parents the basics of word processing ……………… the dream of a community resource is slowly taking form!

The container we bought last week in the rain was delivered on Monday afternoon, so when I arrived on Tuesday morning, there it was, but in the wrong place! Not an easy job to move it I thought and get it on the wheel rims, but lo and behold, by Wednesday morning it was in position! Evidently the movers had to be paid extra, the gates of the Nursery had to be removed I order to swing it round the corner ……… but it is now ready for Nathan to clean and begin to paint and the door and windows may be fitted over the weekend! Great!

Mamma Betty has been in touch and has offered to cook me lunch and supper! This is a bit difficult as I usually eat with my colleagues at lunch-time and don’t always want two meals in a day. However she wants to cook for me at her home, so I went to see where it is. It’s actually nearer to where I’m staying than anywhere else I go to in Namuwongo, so I can collect supper in a plastic container from her on my way home and eat it with my glass of wine. For my first meal I ordered rice and g-nut sauce – I’d forgotten how good it tasted! (G-nut is ground nut, what we call peanuts!) Tonight I’ve had deep fried tilapia (local fish) and sweet potatoes – delicious!

Reading has gone really well his week. Between us, Melissa, Juliette and I have heard over 100 primary children read and have managed to sort them into different levels; some children can read reasonably well, but some still don’t really know their letter sounds and have problems remembering words – so it will be a challenge. We have made lots of resources and will try to get the use of a blackboard next week. The children are very enthusiastic and even those who aren’t in afternoon school come back after lunch and wait a couple of hours until the lessons are nearly over and then sneak in and sit avidly reading!!

Unfortunately some of the Nursery children have been ill this week with malaria. They are still brought to Nursery as their parents have to work, so we lay them on inflated mattresses and let them sleep. They are very lethargic and have no appetite.

Some of the others have been really naughty – maybe it’s the atmosphere – very thundery at the moment with short, heavy downpours. Or it may just be that as some are now 5years old, they are ready for ‘big school’ in January (the new school years starts in January in the southern hemisphere).

Newspapers are delivered to the guest house each morning about 7.00am, so I usually have time to read at least one of them before I leave for the Nursery at about 7.30am. They have limited international news except for football of course, but are a source of great amusement. One job advert recently required, among other things, for the applicant ‘to be saved and a member of a church’. I’m not sure how the former could be satisfied unless God could send an e-mail confirming that a place had been reserved in heaven!

Remember new thoughts are good for you and a sense of humour helps!