It’s great to be back in Kampala!

Not withstanding the fact that when I arrived in Entebbe my luggage courtesy of Kenyan Airlines was still in Amsterdam and it seemed to take forever to get my new UK mobile unlocked to take a Ugandan SIM card – it’s great to be back here!

I’m house-sitting for Dawn whom I met when I was here last time. She arrived in October last year to volunteer at Ray of Hope slum school, but decided to stay longer in Uganda. She now has a job for two years teaching music at an International school in Kampala starting at the end of August so she’s gone back to London to spend a month with her family and friends and lent me her house. It’s lovely! One of six in a compound with views of Lake Victoria from one side of the compound. It’s further out along the same road where I was staying before past the quarry. The fact that it hasn’t rained for months and the quarry itself makes everything very, VERY dusty.

I have to admit that Dawn has a cleaner so I don’t need to do my own washing and I seem to get lunch at school, so not much cooking required either! Every day we have my favourite – posho! and rice, matoke, a bit of cabbage and either two one inch cube pieces of beef, g-nut sauce or beans.

I am going to spend all my time here working at St Barnabas school where I only spent one morning last time. Labson the headmaster and I discussed converting half of the staff room into a library/reading room and on Tuesday we achieved the impossible! Some pupils and I cleared out the junk, they swept and mopped the floor while I went to Barclays to change Dollars into Ugandan shillings, then Teacher Doreen and I went shopping! I’d been to Nsambya with Matthew last time I was here to buy library furniture so knew where to go and how to bargain! The only thing was we had to go on a boda-boda (scarey!) but we came back in the pick-up with the bookcase, tables and bench. Once again Rog gave me money for library furniture – so a BIG thank you to him from all the teachers and children!

Well it’s now Friday – the week has flown!! I’ve got a ‘room-mate’ for a couple of weeks! My neighbour, Janet, who’s an engineer from USA has a friend staying and doesn’t have a spare bedroom. As they’re visiting various projects in different parts of Uganda I won’t be seeing much of her.

The reading programme is already well established! I’ve heard over 70 children read this week and in the main the older ones are very good readers; there are only about ten of those I’ve heard who need some individual help. But the younger ones still need a lot of teaching. The number of children who manage to squeeze into the library corner during break and lunchtimes has to be seen to be believed. ‘Madam I want book!’ is the usual plea!

A couple of times whole classes (50+) have been and chosen a book for a ‘reading lesson’ and I’ve gone and listened to some of them read. At other times I’ve had small groups from classes for about half an hour at a time. About twenty of the older ones have taken books home for the weekend, which has involved writing their names in an exercise book as the books aren’t catalogued like the ones I did for the library I set up last time. I’m going to see it next week, so hope all is well with it!

I’m keeping myself amused with a crossword book – very challenging – thanks Beccy and a book of code word puzzles. So here’s one for you! What links Kabalagala and taramasalata? Answer next time!

There’s a small Internet place about 5 mins walk from where I’m staying which is good for sending e-mails – I only hope it will cope with flash drives and blogs! Here’s hoping! If not you won’t be reading this – lets hope you are!! Until next time – take care and have fun.