Easter Break

All but four children left yesterday for their Easter break. Or as Mable says, "Me! I'm going to eat Easter" followed shortly by "when is my mom coming?". Mable and most of the rest left Monday afternoon/evening. Tuesday morning Colin, Shameem and Hamza were cheerfull. Hamza because he knows he is here until December and the other two eagerly anticipating their mothers arrival to take them home. Brothers Ausman and Sabula were in a funk waiting for their sister. There are three more; Harriet, Esther and Joel. They arrived at the begining of the term from a small village in East Uganda. Their "uncle" dropped them off without sufficient clothes nor a penny for school fees. Of course they also want to go somewhere for Easter but I think they are like Hamza, here until December. They owe school fees but I can't send them home to get them, it is to far and they don't know how to get there.

Colin: a stuborn boy who's mother wants me to beat him for his transgressions (not allowed here). He has no idea of what a trouble maker I was at his age. Slowly we are coming to a plane where he is learning and not trying to challenge authority.

Shameem: a cheerful, precoucious, smart second grader who is always smiling. Always part of what is going on.

Hamza: is inteligent, likes to run with his arms up like he is riding a motorcycle. Yesterday we worked on making a wooden chair copy of one from Northern Uganda. He is a eager and serious student. On our fishing trips he is one of those who has their hook in the water most of the time.

Ausman: Last term went to the police when the previous headmaster didn't feed them for three days. He is in 4th grade, should be with his brother in 3rd. His mother is handicaped and earns money selling charcoal. His father makes bricks of mud. It is his sister who comes with school fees and to take them home.

Sabula: like his brother really wants to challenge authority. And like his brother I hope to see them both graduate from St. Fausta's with above average grades. Since there is now electricity at the school I brought over a laptop with Linux learning games. For Sabula I think learning with educational video games will be part of the solution.

Mable: tiny and vocal. She is not afraid to express here desires/demands. Quick to jump out of her seat if there is something more interesting going on. Very well spoken in English. And her mother brings about seven other students with her to St. Fausta's.

Peace
John

Short stories

I have been asked to post some short vignettes about St Fausta's and the good folks here. 

As teachers come asking for jobs, and they do. I ask a standard question that none have answered correctly... yet. What is the definition of a hypotenuse? Acceptable answers include the long side of a right triangle, the side of a triangle opposite the right angle and my favourite: C squared, because A squared plus B squared equals C squared.

This exposes a more serious problem in that teachers in Uganda are both under educated and under paid. The plan is to address this problem with computers. I am not worried about teaching the children how to use the new technology, rather the teachers will present the most difficulty. Of course a stable source of electricity to power said computers would be nice.

Power check now: 156 volts.

Choir?

Eh! These kids can stab without even trying. Everyone in my family is musical with one significant exception. And now the students are asking the significant exception to organize a choir. Why can't they ask for something easy like a diesel motorcycle, a Beatles reunion tour or world peace?

Drums we can make... The St Fausta's Drum Choir? Look here for the latest!

Netball!

Need I say more?

What's this?

Teacher Catherine and her Primary One class. In this photo we see the future of St Fausta's and the future of Uganda.

And here we have Joseph and Jolly wearing current and vintage St Fausta's uniforms.

Both boys are Division I (close to straight A's) Jolly wants to be a pilot but for now is happy with a length of fishing line and hook. Tom and Huck.

More as bandwidth allows
Peace

Chicken anyone

Good food makes good minds. Chickens are a good way to to do a number of things in the garden as well as a good source of food for the children. to this end a hundred baby chicks, "broilers", were purchased and placed in a makeshift brooder in the Burser's home. Of course from chicks come chickens and they soon required fancier digs. Built by the secretary, Lovine, and Dr. Imelda the Principal, these are some pretty fancy digs. The roof is made of a layer of papyrus followed with a layer of plastic and another layer of papyrus. The floor is brick with a layer of plastic and wood chips/sawdust. And recycled planks for the walls.
This form of chicken raising is not a sustainable model but it is readily accepted by the people working on the chickens. As with all things ruled by momentum, slow incremental change is most effective.

All Economics are local

Here in Kitinda there is a large fish processing plant. (http://wikimapia.org/1050537/Tampa-Fisheries) On a normal day two or more container loads of Lake Victoria fish would make their way up to Kampala road on their way to foreign customers. Today at St. Fausta's we learned that they are having massive lay-offs as the foreign orders have dried up. Offices with eight people now have one. The trucks aren't rolling out.

This is great news for the fish and fish populations of Lake Victoria that have been threatened by over-fishing. For fishermen, plant workers and others who earn a living from the fish plant is very bad news. Over the next few weeks I'm going to be trying to evaluate haow this turn of events will affect the ability of parents to pay school fees.

Along the same vein; In other St. Fausta's new today I was informed that an organization who sponsors half the school fees for all my boarding students is not going to live up to their end of the deal. For us, the students, parents, teachers, faculty and staff this is a somewhat more perilious development. Still working on that one

Peace, John

Check back for more...

Bandwidth

Last weekend and this the boarding students went fishing. So far the score is rocks 8 hooks, fish unknown, students 0 fish. We are including lessons in our outings. Safety, biology, and fluid dynamics.  

They, the students, started building an oven. The design incorporates both the Cajun microwave and the Rocket stove.

Photos of both events will be uploaded as bandwidth allows.

 

Wow what happened

As I was coming back from Entebbe today I found a nice gentleman up the powerpole installing a new wire to the house! Electricity has returned to my house, now to get it to St. Fausta's

More soon

A little rain is a good thing

Students are arriving; we have enrolled about 44 students thus far. Of these 20 are boarding students. Unfortunately the Ugandan custom is to bring new students over the initial few weeks of a school year and to pay minimum tuition when dropping off the students. This leaves a gap where the school must fend for itself in terms of food, salaries, books and equipment.
There are still beds for another 20 students and space for 85 day students.
And the garden grows. Someone passed by today who had heard that we had extra cabbage and carrot seedlings for sale. We do, why not?
Construction is on pause while we wait for school fees to come in.
My landlord has issues with the Ugandan electric company so today my house was plunged into darkness. And life goes on.

Eventful days, check back soon.

The Garden Sprouts!!!

Big things for three weeks:

It has been just three weeks since the go-ahead was given to start physical work on the school and what a difference! The contractor showed up and his electricians went to work installing switches, outlets and “bulb holders” in every room. (no outlets in the dormitories) Outside they installed sockets for security lights. Then concrete guys followed installing doors and windows then finishing the walls and putting in smooth concrete floors over the red dirt. The gate that the founder had constructed has been moved back to its original position and is now supported by two concrete columns. Through all this Fausta has been cooking for the workers and the garden is sprouting with fresh vegetables. One man working tirelessly is digging the cistern/ grey water treatment pond/ fish pond, for a price. Teachers have been coming and helping when and wherever they can until… Last Sunday our first two students arrived for boarding school. Monday a few more came to join. And they tell me that more are coming. The community is supportive, often times stopping me on the road to offer thanks. And fifteen minutes ago water flowed from the newly installed water line.

Then there are the disappointments. The bank takes the ATM card, deducts money from the account and fails to deliver any cash. The next ATM down the line confirms the funds are missing and does not allow further transaction as the limit has been reached.
The former headmaster has leased another school, renaming it St. Fausta. He then goes into the villages and tells people that he is remodeling St. Fausta’s and the other campus is just a temporary arrangement. Parents who are coming expecting him and his school find a pleasant surprise.

What next? It is now time to look for sponsors. People who can help a child by paying their fees, A photovoltaic (solar electric) system as there is no way to run computers on the poor quality electricity that we have now. School and library books are needed. A fresh coat of paint for the outside of the buildings would be nice. In the kitchen we are making a rocket type stove/oven and looking for a gas refrigerator. And the bathroom facilities including showers and composting toilets must be finished. Can’t forget the treated mosquito nets!

The school has come a long way in the past few weeks, but there is much left to do. Soon it will serve as an example of sustainable infrastructure for a healthy learning atmosphere. And of course good grades from healthy students will be the proof.

More updates, keep in touch.

Lower Building

Kitchen electricity

Fixing window openings for windows

The crew rolls in