MAKYNDE....& THE MAYOR'S OFFICE

last summer, Judy Labow, Bob Feinstein and 4 other cohorts laid the foundation for the Namuwongo Literacy Project. Although they worked with the children of Namuwongo, they did spend part of their time working with children in P-4 at Makindye School. Makindye is approximately 20 minutes away, by car, from Namuwongo and may be equally impoverished. Judy and group initiated 2 projects at Makindye: an an African Alphabet book created entirely by the children; and, Stories of Our Lives, a photo book created by the children who were given cameras and asked to photograph family members and then write brief autobiographical stories. Their work was taken back to Montreal where it was turned in to 2, color-printed booklets. Today was my opportunity, together with Hannah Grey , a G.F.I.C. coordinator who volunteered in the program last summer, to distribute copies of both booklets to all the children who had created them. Please keep in mind that Makindye is a 'real' school where students who attend must pay school fees.
We were driven to the school by the local member of Parliament. We were greeted warmly by the head-master who escorted us to the P-5 class (last year's P-4 students). The greeting we received from the students was enthusiastic. They were all delighted to receive their personal copies of the books! We were then given a tour of all the class groups.
Once again, the pictures above tell the whole story.Hillcrest Academy in Laval it is not! Nonetheless, the children are eager learners!
Following our visit, the member of parliament sent back a new driver, informing Hannah and myself that we were invited back to Parliament to meet the Mayor of Kampala. The parliamentary compound was well appointed. In our meeting room were several officials who extended their greetings and thanked us for our efforts in their country. It was a quick visit, but made me feel 'special' and appreciated.
Monday marks my last 5 days in Uganda. It's hard to believe that 4 weeks have already passed!