Three Gone, One Left

So Teecha Judy, Teecha Bob and Teecha Gaby have said their goodbyes -with pancakes and sodas for the children and a staff room gathering with pineapple and water melon plates ( a luxury on Uganda teachers' pay). No risk of loneliness for me over the next few days. There is usually nice company for a pot of African tea on my patio - new teacher for the project Agnes yesterday and Maria this afternoon. And excitingly I'm invited to attend Maria's best friend's wedding reception on Saturday. The beautiful red earth soon becomes ground into the feet, so I'm thinking of a pedicure for the occasion..
Now about our actual class. On our initial arrival, Judy was taken aback to find that eight of our children had been promoted, but without any sponsorship,to the regular school. The question of who was paying the fees was sorted out in her meetings with the new St Henry's School headmaster. New relationships have been established and old ones re-affirmed. The 6 new children have settled in really well - with the exception of BBC who sleeps out in the open with his mother and has been absent, apparently due to a lack of clothing. I hope to find him when I go back tomorrow to the Soweto slum with Maria and two academics from Trinity College Dublin who are researching the migration stories . In return for our help, they have agreed to seek answers to questions we presented to them that might help in the Literacy Project as it continues to evolve.
Two hands clapping together, you might say (the researchers' and the Literacy Project's). It's apparent that add-ons will be needed over the long term. Sadly, not all of the children will get sponsored or go on to secondary school. Fortunately, our Literacy Project directors are very innovative people!

Yes, I continue to love being in the classroom with these brave and spirited children. Hardly any of our lesson plans go as planned (It would help to speak Lugandan!), but the adaptations are always fun and the resulting giggles and laughter are precious. Stories - reading books to them and having them discover story-making through puppet and papier mask-making was a success, I think. Joining in physical education with our class joined up with others out in the red dusty field consists largely of dancing and singing, as well as some games, and is a great work out for me too!

There are currently 19 children in the class (hopefully still counting BBC) and one more that we'll bring back tomorrow. If you are wondering about a particular child, please ask about him or her on the blog.

Best to you all from Carole (called "Caro" here)