London!!

After quite a few delays... plane wheel replacement in Uganda...being held over Biggin Hill for 40 mins... we have arrived in London!

Thank you for following and supporting us on our journey we have been blessed each day to see how many people have viewed the blog. 

We'd love to share more about the trip and how you can get involved in supporting the work of Christian Family Helpers so do keep watching this space.

Boarding!

Yay.We're finally off 

Thursday 9th April

Please continue to pray for the team as they fly home and adjust to life back in the UK.

Pray that they would be able to gather their thoughts and share effectively  their experience with those around them.

...or not!

Due to a flat tyre our plane has been delayed by 45 minutes whilst they change it.

All aboard!!

See y'all in a few hours.

Entebbe

Sat at Entebbe, have done some shopping and have drunk some coffee and we will be boarding in about 20 minutes

Packed!

After a great final service and time to say goodbye the team are now packing and in about half an hour we will be leaving to the airport 

Wednesday 8th April

Please pray for the team as they make their final preparations to return home and join with the school in a farewell service.

Night night

Tonight after dinner a small group of us went on a late night trip to Canaan.  We surprised all the younger children in the dorms with bedtime cuddly toys!  They were very very excited and probably did not go to sleep for a while after we left! Oops!

Shopping in Kampala

Today was a different kind of day because whilst the team spent their last full day in the school hanging out with friends Caroline and Chris went last minute shopping for resources for the school. After having spent 10 minutes trying to explain gauze dressings to the assistant in the pharmacy we headed to a couple of school publishing houses which were a major eye-opener in how the Ugandan education system works it appears on the surface that you can just buy exams.

At approximately 2:30 we left Eddie to go and exchange an item from the previous shopping trip and wandered over to the bookshop. We spent the first hour and a half looking for books and watching the primary school headteacher pick out books (by this point i had started getting bored of being in the same shop so read a book on animal facts - did you know a millipede is born with only 6 legs?) we decided we should start checking items through the checkout, about thirty minutes later we had paid and figured that we would soon be leaving the shop; it was not to be.

There is a system in this particular bookshop which allows the customer to ensure they are walking out with all the books they have paid for, this takes the form of receipts being counter-checked against the books in your bag, or in our case across the whole floor. (By this point I feel like i should have started reading harry potter rather than an animal book).

It turned out we still had a rather a large amount of money left but thought we really should start heading back for the presentation. What felt like a week later i decided to go and get a coke from a neighbouring shop (starting to think i should have re-read all of the harry potter series)

We were then, after another hour, ready to leave and went and waited on the side of the road for the car to pull up however it turned out that the driver had been clamped for 'wrong parking' so we sent him off with 20,000 ugandan shillings (about £5) to get the car unclamped and flagged down a bicycle and hired him to take our books to the car.

We then realised a traffic officer wasn't coming so left the car and driver, jumped in a taxi and headed down to the school for the presentation which had started two hours earlier at 3pm. When we arrived it became apparent that the team had been stalling the presentation of the resources until we arrived, as many of the resources had been bought with money raised by Caroline's school and many with money raised by Abigail and her school. So Caroline and Abigail presented the resources to the secondary school.

We then had the great privilege of presenting the primary school with their resources. A wonderful event with a lot of excited and grateful children.  

After which we were informed that the school was in debt and danger of having their water and electricity cut off - after a bit of maths it turned out that the amount of money we had left over was almost exactly the same amount that they owed - how awesome!

The day was rounded off with an amazing traditional meal with plenty of matooke, purple ice-cream and a wonderful display of traditional dancing from the ladies who work in the guest house. 

Tuesday 7th April

Please pray for the team as they spend their last day in the schools that it will be a time of blessing for the teachers, pupils and the team.

Lunch

Fish and chips - Nile style!

----UPDATE----

-Yum!

Party Bus to the Source of the Nile!

Today the team and some of the children from CFH are visiting the source of the nile.  It's great to spend time with some of those that people from Cornerstone sponsor on Jude and JJ's party bus!!!

En route we stopped off to see the tombs of the Kabakas.

On arrival at the Nile Caroline and Jess had to rescue a bat from inside the toilet so that the ladies could use it!

Monday 6th April

Please pray for the team that they have a restful day as they do some tourism and begin their preparations for returning to the UK.

Happy Easter!

Hello and happy Easter to our friends here in Uganda, at home in the UK, and in other parts of the world: Australia, France, Bermuda and Spain to name a few places this blog has been seen.

Today has been a wonderful day celebrating Easter first in the church where Trevor preached and the team were able to present a short dramatised telling of the road to Emmaus.

Followed by an afternoon in the school for the feast of the bull. 

Remember the 'before' photos? Also the chicken which was in the boot (A very good friday part 2) is in the middle of the plate and the bull to the right. 

As part of the festivities some of the students were selling their crafts, and there was a dance off which Peter won; not bad for a late entry :)

Finally, it was a great privilege to share in the birthday celebrations of one of the students that had been baptised on Friday. 

Sunday 5th April

Please pray for the team as they celebrate Easter in Uganda with a traditional celebratory Bull Feast.

Please pray for the team as they enjoy traditional Ugandan cuisine  and hospitality.  Pray for the boldness to try new things and that the new foods will not disagree with them in any way.

Basketball

Today was Muyenga high's sports day a fantastic event where the students had a whole day of playing football and basketball. 

Here is Jude and JJ's report on the sports day...

Sports day in Uganda - New Comers (UK team) vs. old comers (UG kids).

We had a fantastic time playing basketball with everyone today. A day I will never forget.

An egg-cellent afternoon

This afternoon I (Jess) was able to spend time helping the Kampala Evangelical Free Church sunday school with their Easter preparations.  We painted eggs, sang songs and made easter cards.  I also presented the children with a banner from our own sunday school, Foundationstones.

The children from Uganda were very excited to see the children from England especially Benjamin and Angus who are related to members of the Uganda Team.

We will be giving out the t-shirts that Foundationstones designed tomorrow.

Tomorrow's lunch

Today a number of us went to see tomorrow's lunch being slaughtered. Be aware cow photos follow.

 

A very good Friday pt. 2

Whilst the other groups were out buying supplies and celebrating at the baptism service Chris; Marion and Philippa went to Kakumiru to visit the original CFH satelite site.

It takes approximately three hours to drive to Kakumiru and after the first two hours the road somewhat dissapears and you are driving along a either dusty or muddy track, thankfully we had fearless hands at the wheel even when a lorry was coming headlong at us.

 

 To my eyes the buildings of the school looked in serious disrepair but Marion was rather excited and started pointing out all the improvements the moment the 'complex' was in sight. we were warmly welcomed and introduced to the teachers, who were preparing for their Easter festivities.  

We were then shown around the school - starting in the library which had a reasonably impressive number and selection of textbooks.  In the science labs the materials and chemicals were organised on fairly rickety shelves, which was odd compared to the set provided by the government which came in two lockable metal chests which were placed on the floor next to these shelves. 
 

The dormitory rooms were exactly what I expected after having seen the dormitories at Muyenga with forty girls sharing a room.  

By this point children had taken the hands of the team and we were marching through the huge school garden to go and see the water pipe, the casava plants were well on their way and their team had turned over the ground ready for the next crop.  After the short walk we were informed that the pipe from the spring had been raised a few feet from what it was so that water cans could now fit under the flow. 

It was clear to see that the recently posted headteacher was a very innovative lady who had done a lot to develop the school 

It was useful to have this experience; allowing us to put in context the major asset that Buwama is to the project as a site to develop into a vocational centre much closer to the main site in Kampala.

Just a note also to mention that the drive back allowed the local team members to shop for the easter feast, this meant we travelled back with a boot full of avocados, pineapples, bananas for matoke and four large, rather alive chickens - which made for an exciting journey back.   

  

 

Saturday 4th April

Please pray for a day of fun and lots of energy for the whole team!

A very Good Friday

Another amazing day for the team, Trevor and part of the team had a wonderful time supporting those getting baptised at Lake Victoria.  Joyce got some amazing photos by wading in part way!

Meanwhile Jess, Abigail and Caroline went with Sophina and Sarah their sponsored sisters/daughter and some of the staff from Muyenga to buy text books and science equipment for the school.  A new literature syllabus was introduced this year but staff at the school did not have the set texts they needed.  Now with the books we bought they will be able to teach the lessons they need to.

With the science equipment purchased they can do experiments they have never been able to before. We have loved building a relationship with the science technician from the school and it was wonderful to see his joy sat surrounded by boxes of equipment!

Another small but significant purchase today was metal beakers for the nurse.  Many children come to her during the day for medication and water but with only one cup cross contamination between students was a real issue.  The dozen metal beakers we purchased will have a huge impact on health in the school.

In the evening the team visited Victory Christian Centre the church of Pastor Joseph Serwadda and finished off with late night worship at Kampala Evangelical Church.

Friday's Plans

Good morning from a much cooler Kampala.

Today our team will be splitting three ways: one team heading to the KEFC baptisms at Lake Victoria to celebrate with some of the children we have met the commitment they are making today. 

The second team are going to town to visit suppliers so they may purchase textbooks, science supplies, pencil sharpeners, medical supplies and other supplies we have seen a need for, from money raised in the UK, this team will then join the first team at the baptisms.

The third team will be traveling to Kakumiru to see the CFH's original satelite school, so they may see a part of the history of the project. This school is now still owned by CFH but it is government run and funded so that the team in Kampala can focus on the development of Buwama (the site our team visited yesterday).

Friday 3rd April

Please pray for the team  as they attend the school baptism service and the school prepares for its sports day.

Buwama!

Today the team visited the 68 acre site at Buwama.  The site is currently being used to grow crops but the plan is for it to eventually have a primary and secondary school as well as a vocational studies centre.

It was a wonderful opportunity to catch the vision of what is going on and their hopes for the future.  We also enjoyed getting up close to the Jungle, even if we did get a little bit soggy and muddy!

We also got to see the water pump which Cornerstone helped to finance which is enabling the growing of crops on the site.

We finished off the afternoon with a visit to the Equator!

School Reports

English Literature

So having discovered on Monday that I am not actually an English teacher but really a Literature teacher things fell into place and I began to realise why they had 80 minute lessons on the passive and active voice! Negotiation and discussion completed I managed to persuade the lovely Claire, the Head of English that although I could probably put something together on complete and incomplete sentences for Year 8 and on Comprehension for the A Level class perhaps the two Year 9 lessons on passive and active could be devoted to my prepared lesson on creative writing. One sleepless night, torrential rain and a 5 o'clock wake up call later I was standing nervously waiting to start my first lesson. Amazingly the time flew by, it's incredible how once you start, teacher mode kicks in and it all becomes second nature. Classes of between 40 and 50 was an incredible challenge, especially when you know no names. Initially the classes were quite unresponsive and unwilling to answer questions although quite willing to chat to each other! However, once we set a few boundaries and they had got used to my sense of humour they opened up and hopefully came out of the lesson having learnt something! My creative writing lesson went particularly well and the pictures I took out of Uganda fascinated the students who produced some fab descriptions of their country for me to bring home and put up on display for my Bromley students to see.

Caroline

 

 

Seeds of partnership...

I was very fortunate to have a few moments with the teacher before class, which meant I could show her the storypacks I had prepared and ask her which she thought would best suit the class - a great opportunity for a seed of partnership, which is what this trip is all about. Her face lit up when I told her we would be leaving our storypacks as gifts for the school; primary classroom resources generally amount to little more than chalk, paper and pencils. The session also ended on a good partnership note, when I handed the storybook to the teacher and she practised what had been introduced that morning, by leading her class around the room with 'We're going on a Lion Hunt.'

Gemma

 

 

 

Maths Class

Today I had the opportunity to teach 3 classes at Muyenga high school. It was an experience that will live with me for many years to come. The experience in a class of 54 pupils is something I will not forget. The pupils were attentive and responsive to the content of what we were learning. I taught equivalent to year 8, 9 and 10. I introduced some puzzles which they did not associate with Maths.
I also had time to chat with the maths teachers as we shared our experiences of teaching in our different education systems. I was surprised at the similarities to the life of a teacher and we encouraged each other with the fact we are responsible for educating the next generation of ......... (Fill in the gap yourself), thus our roles though not celebrated by many, are appreciated by most of our students. Thanks for your continued prayer and support.

Edward

 

 

"Why" : Geology and Giant Frogs

 

It was a privilege to have the opportunity to teach in the High School yesterday.  My style of teaching was a challenge for my students.  I wanted them to put their hands up and I asked awkward questions like "why?"  This is difficult when you have been taught to repeat facts from memory but you have never thought about "why".  I borrowed rocks from the guesthouse garden for the geology lesson and the S2 class have written me some amazing leaflets about their own countries: apparently there are human sized frogs in Sudan...(?)

Philippa

 

 

 A Nursery Tale

 

I had a wonderful day in the nursery again.  Teaching the children "I hear thunder" (relevant as it was raining A LOT!) telling "Handa's Surprise" story and then introducing some messy crafts.  The children had never used glue like this before or been free to do just what they liked with the resources - feathers, animal print paper, straws etc. - The finished crafts looked amazing.  Lot's of fun!

Angie

 

 

Jeannie was quite at home playing with the lego!

Professor Wibblysocks on tour

I had great fun today returning to my days of teaching primary school science clubs.  I began the day with two year 5 classes on digestion.  The children really enjoyed creating an interactive model of the digestive system, looking at the coloured pictures of organs and our big quiz at the end of the lesson.
I also taught a year 6 lesson on the circulatory system which went down really well.
My favourite moment was at the end of a class when one of the children spontaneously stood up to say thank you and announce how interesting he had found the class.

Jess