It's the Final Countdown!

Hi everyone,

Sorry for there being no blog yesterday, the internet here is very unpredictable!

Yesterday, we had a very mixed day. We started the day at school and saw a very different side to discipline. Alicia and I were waiting for our class to arrive after their morning cleaning routine, when we looked around the corner to see a large group of children being systematically beaten with a stick. It was really disturbing and even more so when the children seemed to take it in their stride as if it was a routine event. The children in the UK should really count their blessings.

After a low start, we received our class and had a really great time. We took them to the field and played some team games. It was heart warming to hear the children laugh, cheer and see them smile so much. It was also amazing to see Agnes, the class teacher, joining in and laughing at the children's antics! Such a step forward.

Later in the afternoon, we visited a local orphanage. This was such a special experience. The children lived in cramped conditions and had no hope of leaving until they were 18, when they would no doubt live on the street or end up being exploited. However, the children had beautiful smiles, danced, sang and played with the balloons and bubbles we took. They were happy souls and we would bring them all home with us if we could.

Today exhaustion has set in. It was our last day at school and what a special day it has been. The children have enjoyed the activities and laughed a lot! When we were leaving, the children told us they had brought us some gifts. They presented us with tons of different fruits and veg; paw paws, mangos, corn, sugar cane and egg plants. These were true gift from the heart. These children have nothing and sacrificed their food to say thank you. We are truely touched by their kindness and generosity. What super stars they are. A young lady from our class called Florence was pleading with us stay and wrote us a beautiful letter. She said that when she grows up she wants to be a nurse, we hope her dreams come true, she deserves it.

Anyway, we are setting off on our long journeys home at 8am (UK time) tomorrow. We have had an amazing experience and will bring lots of happy memories, long lasting relationships and we are humbled by the wonderful people of Uganda.

We would like to thank everyone who has supported us in our Uganda adventure. Thank you to everyone who have donated money and items for our trip. You are truely wonderful people.

Love to all.

Over and out

Claire, Alicia, Claire, Catherine and Andy

The Shandalabanda Team.xxxxx

Wednesday 3rd August

Hi All,

Just a short and sweet one today as I've only just managed to post yesterdays!

We had another great day in school today. The headteacher has asked us to stay for a month (eh, no! I miss my Tomato Ketchup too much!).

We have spent the morning writing letter to the children at St Mary's, so hopefully we will have some pen pals up and running. The children were so excited to hear from the children in England and learn about their lives.

At lunch time I watched a pretend wedding, the younger children had found some flowers, made headbands and were holding a procession through the school grounds while they sang! It was great fun. I was the official wedding photographer (Ledz and Eilidh, I do a good rate!)

We are all exhausted today, so we are relaxing, having some food and getting an early night!

Speak soon

Love

The Gang!

Sorry for the delay

Sorry there was no blog last night, t'internet was down, as was the electricity and most other things around here! Anyway, here it is:
Tuesday 2nd August
Hi all,
I hope you are all well and enjoying the sunshine in England. We started the day with rain, yet again! However, never fear because the sun came out while we were teaching in the tin roofed classroom - think of a pressure cooker and that's how it feels!
Today we feel like we have made a break through in school. The children have joined in with the telling of the story (Talk for Writing) for all those teachers out there!), answered questions and even asked for help when they needed it. They are so used to 'chalk and talk' we feel that this is a real step forward. We continued writing the story of the Three Billy Goats Gruff and we did some great Clarice Cliff artwork. Even the oldest and most boisterous boy in the class knuckled down and enjoyed success.
This afternoon we did some serious shopping! We went to Jinja town and visited the local shops. We bought lots of things for school - Maddie, I have bought you a sweeping brush so you can clean the classroom - wait until you see it! Claire B and Catherine bought some traditional Ugandan dresses, just like the one on my display board at school. They looked fantastic!
On our way home, we were stopped in our tracks by a monkey running across our path. The wildlife here just gets better and better!
Speak to you all tomorrow.
Lots of Love
C&A, C&C and Andy of course.xxxxxxx

Back to School

Hi All,

I am pleased to say that today we are back at school. When we arrived at school, the classroom was rather disorganised. When I asked Agnes, the class teacher, what had happened, she said that the children had become quite disruptive during the strike. It took us a while to settle the children today, however it was no problem.

The children began to write their own version of The Three Billy Goats Gruff. This was quite a challenge for them as they are not used to open tasks and independent work. Most of the classes are generally taught as repetition and copying from the board, so our lessons are completely different. The children did well though. We also did some Clarice Cliff artwork, the children are creating their own plates.

We went to Park Villa for lunch (it's not as glamorous as it sounds) and tried some African food; Matoki, poshi, yams, Casva, potatoes and kali.

This evening we have been to a lovely restaurant and on the walk home, we saw a black and green venomous snake (don't tell my mum!). The snake was sat in the road and we nearly stepped on it. When we realised what it was, we didn't run... oh no, we stopped to take a photo!

We've had another great day and look forward to lots more adventures and laughs (we do laugh a lot!)

Love to all

Claire, Alicia and the team.xxxxx