Greetings from Uganda!!
It has been just over a month since Regina and I arrived in Uganda!
It’s amazing how fast the time has gone! We are both enjoying our time
here and have a lot to share with you all!
First, I will start with what exactly it is we are doing here!
While in Uganda, we are staying at Kasana Cathedral Parish in Luweero,
which is about an hour and a half north of Kampala, the capital city.
We are housed at the parish along with a resident seminarian, Br.
Christopher, and three priests, Fr. Joe (field supervisor), Fr.
Matthias, and Fr. Ambrose. We share meals together with them and have
enjoyed many conversations filled with laughter while in their
presence. We are very well taken care of here and always feel safe.
They are very protective of us and genuinely care about how we are
doing.
Our main responsibility while in Uganda is to teach at the parish-run
schools. We teach Music, Art, and PE at St. Jude Primary School
(elementary school); we also teach Bible and English at St. Cyprian
College (high school). At St. Jude we teach P1-P4 (equivalent to
Kindergarten-4th grade and at St. Cyprian we teach Senior 1
(equivalent to 8th-9th grade). We have a lot of fun with the kids and
enjoy spending time with them. I love walking into the classroom and
seeing the excitement on their faces. They are eager to learn and
eager to spend time with us “mzungus” (Luganda for “whites”—this has a
very positive connotation).
Here are some things we have learned about the schools in Uganda
through our conversations with some of the teachers and
administrators:
• St. Jude is considered a private school; however, it receives
a government grant. Most of the schools do. There are public schools
which are started by individuals or the government and then run
completely by the government.
• The government has a policy which provides 1 teacher for every
50 students. St. Jude has a nursery, which does not receive any
government funding; the government only funds schools beginning at P1.
So, the school itself pays for the staff it takes to watch and educate
those children.
• Typically children start P1 at the age of 6; however, some
parents make arguments for their children to start at age 4 or 5. This
usually happens because the parents work and cannot be with their
children until they reach the age of 6. So they either enroll them in
the nursery or hire a private tutor so they can start P1 early.
• Primary school is P1-P7; secondary school is Senior 1-Senior
6. They advance every year, like our schools. They do not have
attendance policies here. This is mainly due to a war that was fought
with the local government in the 1980’s that affected Luweero greatly.
They are still recovering from that, so they do not see it fair to
punish a child if they miss a lot of school.
• We asked about a teacher’s salary in comparison to other jobs.
He told us that teachers make the least amount of money. Last year
they went on strike and the government raised the salary 15%. The
current salary of teachers is 300,000 shillings/month; at the current
exchange rate that is about $125/month. The cost of living here is
high. I’ve actually been surprised that some things have been as
expensive as they are.
• The likely drop out age is after Primary School; Secondary
School is easily 15x the amount of Primary School. If they enroll in
Secondary School, it is likely they won’t make it past Senior 4
(equivalent to 10th or 11th grade in the states) due to higher fees.
• We have taken the opportunity to have a few meals at the
school. For breakfast they serve porridge and only the children who
pay for it eat it; the rest of the children go all day without an
empty stomach. For lunch they have what is called “posho” (not sure I
have it spelled right…) at the school with some of the teachers. It is
corn flour boiled in water until it is VERY thick and then beans are
poured over it. Here they mix beans with some greens (looked like
turnip greens) and pour it over. But not all schools have a garden
like St. Jude does. This is lunch for both the teachers and the
students at all schools nation wide, including the universities
(colleges). I can’t imagine some of the reactions undergraduate
students would have if they had to eat it every day. I actually
enjoyed it; the posho was missing some salt but it was a welcomed
difference from the traditional “matoke” (mashed and steamed bananas)
we usually get at every meal!
We’ve also learned a bit about the government. The government runs
EVERYTHING. Last week the budget was set for the 2013-2014 year. About
70% of their budget goes to defense (military). 13% is said to go to
the schools, but Charles told us that, in actuality, it will be more
like 2% that the schools receive.
On Sundays we have the opportunity to worship either at Kasana
Cathedral, where there is a 7 am English service and a 10 am Luganda
service, or we visit one of the thirteen missions of the Diocese with
one of the priests. So far we have visited four of the thirteen
missions. Regina and I both really enjoy going to the mission
churches. There is something special about them. I would compare them
to what we consider small membership churches (though these are pretty
small with probably no more than 60 people in attendance). Kasana
would be compared to a medium sized church. Between the two services I
would guess there to be between 500-600 people. These churches are
definitely something to be cherished.
All the churches in the diocese have a catechist. There are currently
not enough priests for each mission to have its own priest, so
oftentimes they rely on the catechist to lead worship and to preach.
One of the concerns Fr. Joe has shared with us is the lack of
education these catechists receive. While we have not yet engaged in
the conversation as to why education is an issue (is it resources,
money, time, etc?) it is of concern to the priests. Regardless, all of
the ones we have met have been very welcoming and it is very apparent
that the Holy Spirit is at work in these settings.
That is pretty much our weekly routine. We only teach Monday-Thursday,
so we have Friday, Saturday, and Sunday off. Though Sundays are
usually full days with worship and other activities; some Friday and
Saturdays are busier than others. We have time for rest and
reflection—both are very much needed throughout the day and on the
weekends!! We have enjoyed many conversations with the priests, some
of the teachers, and other members of the community.
In addition to our work here, we have had the opportunity to do a
little bit of travel and hope to be able to do some more in the weeks
to come! We have been to Kampala, the capital city of Uganda, a few
times. It is big, busy, and dirty!! They have a few craft markets that
we enjoy browsing. We also attended Namugongo on June 3rd. This is a
celebration Mass remembering the 22 Catholic martyrs who died in 1886.
There were also 23 Anglican martyrs who died with them. It was a good
experience, with an estimated 2-3 million people there. Mass lasted 6
hours. Many people walked 100’s of kilometers to get to Namugongo,
risking their lives for this special occasion. We have also been on a
journey to the center of the earth!! That’s right, we have been to the
Equator! It was a fun, long, and exciting journey! We took public
transportation (“mini-bus” taxis), and that was a whole experience in
itself and a story for another day!!
Overall we have enjoyed our time in Uganda and feel extremely blessed
to be able to participate in such a wonderful, Spirit-led community.
This blog post is also on my personal blog at coalty.blogspot.com
Grace & Peace,
Corey
It has been just over a month since Regina and I arrived in Uganda!
It’s amazing how fast the time has gone! We are both enjoying our time
here and have a lot to share with you all!
First, I will start with what exactly it is we are doing here!
While in Uganda, we are staying at Kasana Cathedral Parish in Luweero,
which is about an hour and a half north of Kampala, the capital city.
We are housed at the parish along with a resident seminarian, Br.
Christopher, and three priests, Fr. Joe (field supervisor), Fr.
Matthias, and Fr. Ambrose. We share meals together with them and have
enjoyed many conversations filled with laughter while in their
presence. We are very well taken care of here and always feel safe.
They are very protective of us and genuinely care about how we are
doing.
Our main responsibility while in Uganda is to teach at the parish-run
schools. We teach Music, Art, and PE at St. Jude Primary School
(elementary school); we also teach Bible and English at St. Cyprian
College (high school). At St. Jude we teach P1-P4 (equivalent to
Kindergarten-4th grade and at St. Cyprian we teach Senior 1
(equivalent to 8th-9th grade). We have a lot of fun with the kids and
enjoy spending time with them. I love walking into the classroom and
seeing the excitement on their faces. They are eager to learn and
eager to spend time with us “mzungus” (Luganda for “whites”—this has a
very positive connotation).
Here are some things we have learned about the schools in Uganda
through our conversations with some of the teachers and
administrators:
• St. Jude is considered a private school; however, it receives
a government grant. Most of the schools do. There are public schools
which are started by individuals or the government and then run
completely by the government.
• The government has a policy which provides 1 teacher for every
50 students. St. Jude has a nursery, which does not receive any
government funding; the government only funds schools beginning at P1.
So, the school itself pays for the staff it takes to watch and educate
those children.
• Typically children start P1 at the age of 6; however, some
parents make arguments for their children to start at age 4 or 5. This
usually happens because the parents work and cannot be with their
children until they reach the age of 6. So they either enroll them in
the nursery or hire a private tutor so they can start P1 early.
• Primary school is P1-P7; secondary school is Senior 1-Senior
6. They advance every year, like our schools. They do not have
attendance policies here. This is mainly due to a war that was fought
with the local government in the 1980’s that affected Luweero greatly.
They are still recovering from that, so they do not see it fair to
punish a child if they miss a lot of school.
• We asked about a teacher’s salary in comparison to other jobs.
He told us that teachers make the least amount of money. Last year
they went on strike and the government raised the salary 15%. The
current salary of teachers is 300,000 shillings/month; at the current
exchange rate that is about $125/month. The cost of living here is
high. I’ve actually been surprised that some things have been as
expensive as they are.
• The likely drop out age is after Primary School; Secondary
School is easily 15x the amount of Primary School. If they enroll in
Secondary School, it is likely they won’t make it past Senior 4
(equivalent to 10th or 11th grade in the states) due to higher fees.
• We have taken the opportunity to have a few meals at the
school. For breakfast they serve porridge and only the children who
pay for it eat it; the rest of the children go all day without an
empty stomach. For lunch they have what is called “posho” (not sure I
have it spelled right…) at the school with some of the teachers. It is
corn flour boiled in water until it is VERY thick and then beans are
poured over it. Here they mix beans with some greens (looked like
turnip greens) and pour it over. But not all schools have a garden
like St. Jude does. This is lunch for both the teachers and the
students at all schools nation wide, including the universities
(colleges). I can’t imagine some of the reactions undergraduate
students would have if they had to eat it every day. I actually
enjoyed it; the posho was missing some salt but it was a welcomed
difference from the traditional “matoke” (mashed and steamed bananas)
we usually get at every meal!
We’ve also learned a bit about the government. The government runs
EVERYTHING. Last week the budget was set for the 2013-2014 year. About
70% of their budget goes to defense (military). 13% is said to go to
the schools, but Charles told us that, in actuality, it will be more
like 2% that the schools receive.
On Sundays we have the opportunity to worship either at Kasana
Cathedral, where there is a 7 am English service and a 10 am Luganda
service, or we visit one of the thirteen missions of the Diocese with
one of the priests. So far we have visited four of the thirteen
missions. Regina and I both really enjoy going to the mission
churches. There is something special about them. I would compare them
to what we consider small membership churches (though these are pretty
small with probably no more than 60 people in attendance). Kasana
would be compared to a medium sized church. Between the two services I
would guess there to be between 500-600 people. These churches are
definitely something to be cherished.
All the churches in the diocese have a catechist. There are currently
not enough priests for each mission to have its own priest, so
oftentimes they rely on the catechist to lead worship and to preach.
One of the concerns Fr. Joe has shared with us is the lack of
education these catechists receive. While we have not yet engaged in
the conversation as to why education is an issue (is it resources,
money, time, etc?) it is of concern to the priests. Regardless, all of
the ones we have met have been very welcoming and it is very apparent
that the Holy Spirit is at work in these settings.
That is pretty much our weekly routine. We only teach Monday-Thursday,
so we have Friday, Saturday, and Sunday off. Though Sundays are
usually full days with worship and other activities; some Friday and
Saturdays are busier than others. We have time for rest and
reflection—both are very much needed throughout the day and on the
weekends!! We have enjoyed many conversations with the priests, some
of the teachers, and other members of the community.
In addition to our work here, we have had the opportunity to do a
little bit of travel and hope to be able to do some more in the weeks
to come! We have been to Kampala, the capital city of Uganda, a few
times. It is big, busy, and dirty!! They have a few craft markets that
we enjoy browsing. We also attended Namugongo on June 3rd. This is a
celebration Mass remembering the 22 Catholic martyrs who died in 1886.
There were also 23 Anglican martyrs who died with them. It was a good
experience, with an estimated 2-3 million people there. Mass lasted 6
hours. Many people walked 100’s of kilometers to get to Namugongo,
risking their lives for this special occasion. We have also been on a
journey to the center of the earth!! That’s right, we have been to the
Equator! It was a fun, long, and exciting journey! We took public
transportation (“mini-bus” taxis), and that was a whole experience in
itself and a story for another day!!
Overall we have enjoyed our time in Uganda and feel extremely blessed
to be able to participate in such a wonderful, Spirit-led community.
This blog post is also on my personal blog at coalty.blogspot.com
Grace & Peace,
Corey
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