Project Uganda began in 2006 when Pauline Latham approached Woodlands School in Allestree, Derby and The Ecclesbourne School in Duffield, Derbyshire to see if they would like to become involved in taking aid out to a school in Uganda. The plan was to take two students from each school plus a teacher to show them how students and their parents value education as a way of getting themselves out of poverty. Both schools were enthusiastic.
Following that the selection process began with all pupils in both Year 10’s invited to prepare a presentation to give to the School Council at Woodlands and to their whole year group at Ecclesbourne. The presentations were voted on and the students selected. This was a wonderful lesson in democracy. Those voting were told to vote for the person who would best represent the school and be their ambassador, not necessarily their best friend. Those elected were James Rayner, Joe Biggs, Fran Walker and Amy Wicks. The teacher selected by non democratic means was Alan Brady who is the headteacher from Woodlands School
Once selected the parents became involved and the fund raising began! The group were given some grant aid from various trust funds to start them off but the task of raising around £10,000 was a daunting one. Bag packing was done at Asda, Morrisons and Somerfield supermarkets, with a car wash at the drive through MacDonald’s, a Hip-hop dance was organised, sponsored running by James, designer bags were made, ribbons were made with the Ugandan flag colours for students to buy, muffins were sold, non-uniform days organised and many more activities organised to raise money. It was all hard work but great fun giving the students plenty of time to ‘bond’ before their life changing trip to Uganda.
Many more lessons were learnt than expected. Students from each year group helped in the fund raising which brought together students from the two schools which have a traditional rivalry. This divide has now been broken down in the year groups involved with long standing friendships now established. It wasn’t unusual for 40 or more students to go into town to the cinema after all helping with the car washing or the bag packing. The heads of the two schools exchange ideas and have learnt from each other which may well not have happened before.
As well as the hard work of fund raising, the students, their parents, Jackie Roe, the enthusiastic Year 10 tutor at Ecclesbourne who didn’t go to Uganda but was always there to help and Sir Alan as he became known went to the Mayor Making ceremony when Pauline Latham became the Mayor of the City of Derby.
The students went with Pauline and Sir Alan to London to organise their visas at the Ugandan Embassy then went onto meet David Cameron for a short discussion about their trip followed by tea with Lord Sheikh, in the House of Lords, himself a Ugandan Asian who had been thrown out by Idi Amin in the 1960’s. The students went with Pauline onto Radio Derby to explain what they were doing and to appeal for old hand sewing machines to be donated. They were then serviced by Cllr Sean Marshall who has a business with sewing machines. He did this free for the project.
A businessman, Neville Baxter of RH Group from Nottingham who has a freight business flew all these plus some computers and other donated articles out to Entebbe without charge.
Once in Uganda the real life changing trip began.
Mirembe Secondary School was the real focus because the group had taken a lot of cash out to spend on things that the school wanted which would improve the educational chances of their students. Mirembe is a school which the local community built because they wanted all their children to have an education. It is situated in between other government funded schools which are too far for children to walk to. As it is the Mirembe students have to walk up to six miles each way a day, after doing their chores at home, to get to school. There is a Primary School next to it which is government funded.
On the first visit to Mirembe the group met the Headteacher, Kyobe Petersen, his two teacher colleagues, the PTA, the governors, the pupils from the primary school and the Mirembe pupils. The welcome received was quite overwhelming. Many of the adults had travelled through the bush to meet the group and waited, in the hot sun, for several hours until the minibus arrived. Everyone else was sitting in the heat but they had erected an awning for their ‘VIP’ visitors to sit under. In front of the awning was a huge banner welcoming Pauline as the Mayor of Derby and everyone with her.
The school had organised singing by the Primary School, speeches by their various dignitaries, poetry and most impressive a play written and performed by the Ugandan students. The subject was ‘Corruption in the NHS’, not ours but theirs. Of course, Pauline as the then Mayor of Derby had to respond to the speeches as did Sir Alan. Then a huge meal was served for about 400 people, which had been cooked on an open fire by some local women. The large stew contained chunks of meat which they probably didn’t usually eat because it is a poor community. Fried plantains, potatoes and a mealy type of dish accompanied the stew. It is difficult to imagine how anyone manages without any water on site to produce a meal for so many. This was the first meal that the group had eaten that was truly local. Some of the students managed to eat more than others but it was good to have a meal because it was the first since breakfast and the time was about 4pm.
Before going to Mirembe Secondary School the group visited a school called Standard Jack’s Primary School where the pupils were crammed into what looked like small cattle sheds but were their classrooms. The classes were large with no books and just a blackboard for the teacher to use. The most impressive thing apart from the wonderful smiles from the children was the school uniform. All pupils in Uganda wear a uniform which is usually clean and very smart. How they keep so clean with so little water sometimes a mile away from home is difficult to imagine.
Apart from several visits to Mirembe Secondary School the group were taken to meet some Aids orphans and Aids widows, who were mostly HIV positive with little hope of survival because there is an acute lack of drugs. On the same day the trip also went to the ‘Landing site’ which was a settlement on the edge of Lake Victoria. The community were the poorest anyone had seen because the bosses who owned the fishing boats where most of the men in the village were employed paid them a pittance and they struggled to survive on the money. The students were particularly affected by the extreme poverty but Pauline and Sir Alan found it very moving as well.
Whilst in Uganda the group from Derbyshire visited Ngamba Island, a chimpanzee sanctuary, at feeding time proving an entertaining time. A journey by speed boat was the way to get to the island, which is in Lake Victoria. This proved very popular with James and Joe particularly.
Another day was spent going to Jinja where many of the displaced Ugandan Asians had lived before Idi Amin turned them out of Uganda. It is easy to see the difference in the style of building because there is a definite Indian influence. Lake Victoria is where the source of the Nile can be found not far from Jinja and it is where Mahatma Ghandi’s ashes were scattered after his death.
Everyone has there own special memories of Uganda but no-one could fail to be moved by the friendliness of the pupils and the gratitude of the local community for the help and support from the two schools. Most of the students and both Pauline and Sir Alan keep in contact with people they met over there.
It was a humbling experience and if they didn’t appreciate the lifestyle that is enjoyed here in Derby and generally in the OK, before going, it was appreciated whilst there and on reflection on the return to a comfortable existence here.
Everyone that went before is looking forward to returning to see those they met before. For those that are going for the first time there is a real sense of excitement and anticipation.
What a shame that all young people can’t have the same or similar experiences.
Following that the selection process began with all pupils in both Year 10’s invited to prepare a presentation to give to the School Council at Woodlands and to their whole year group at Ecclesbourne. The presentations were voted on and the students selected. This was a wonderful lesson in democracy. Those voting were told to vote for the person who would best represent the school and be their ambassador, not necessarily their best friend. Those elected were James Rayner, Joe Biggs, Fran Walker and Amy Wicks. The teacher selected by non democratic means was Alan Brady who is the headteacher from Woodlands School
Once selected the parents became involved and the fund raising began! The group were given some grant aid from various trust funds to start them off but the task of raising around £10,000 was a daunting one. Bag packing was done at Asda, Morrisons and Somerfield supermarkets, with a car wash at the drive through MacDonald’s, a Hip-hop dance was organised, sponsored running by James, designer bags were made, ribbons were made with the Ugandan flag colours for students to buy, muffins were sold, non-uniform days organised and many more activities organised to raise money. It was all hard work but great fun giving the students plenty of time to ‘bond’ before their life changing trip to Uganda.
Many more lessons were learnt than expected. Students from each year group helped in the fund raising which brought together students from the two schools which have a traditional rivalry. This divide has now been broken down in the year groups involved with long standing friendships now established. It wasn’t unusual for 40 or more students to go into town to the cinema after all helping with the car washing or the bag packing. The heads of the two schools exchange ideas and have learnt from each other which may well not have happened before.
As well as the hard work of fund raising, the students, their parents, Jackie Roe, the enthusiastic Year 10 tutor at Ecclesbourne who didn’t go to Uganda but was always there to help and Sir Alan as he became known went to the Mayor Making ceremony when Pauline Latham became the Mayor of the City of Derby.
The students went with Pauline and Sir Alan to London to organise their visas at the Ugandan Embassy then went onto meet David Cameron for a short discussion about their trip followed by tea with Lord Sheikh, in the House of Lords, himself a Ugandan Asian who had been thrown out by Idi Amin in the 1960’s. The students went with Pauline onto Radio Derby to explain what they were doing and to appeal for old hand sewing machines to be donated. They were then serviced by Cllr Sean Marshall who has a business with sewing machines. He did this free for the project.
A businessman, Neville Baxter of RH Group from Nottingham who has a freight business flew all these plus some computers and other donated articles out to Entebbe without charge.
Once in Uganda the real life changing trip began.
Mirembe Secondary School was the real focus because the group had taken a lot of cash out to spend on things that the school wanted which would improve the educational chances of their students. Mirembe is a school which the local community built because they wanted all their children to have an education. It is situated in between other government funded schools which are too far for children to walk to. As it is the Mirembe students have to walk up to six miles each way a day, after doing their chores at home, to get to school. There is a Primary School next to it which is government funded.
On the first visit to Mirembe the group met the Headteacher, Kyobe Petersen, his two teacher colleagues, the PTA, the governors, the pupils from the primary school and the Mirembe pupils. The welcome received was quite overwhelming. Many of the adults had travelled through the bush to meet the group and waited, in the hot sun, for several hours until the minibus arrived. Everyone else was sitting in the heat but they had erected an awning for their ‘VIP’ visitors to sit under. In front of the awning was a huge banner welcoming Pauline as the Mayor of Derby and everyone with her.
The school had organised singing by the Primary School, speeches by their various dignitaries, poetry and most impressive a play written and performed by the Ugandan students. The subject was ‘Corruption in the NHS’, not ours but theirs. Of course, Pauline as the then Mayor of Derby had to respond to the speeches as did Sir Alan. Then a huge meal was served for about 400 people, which had been cooked on an open fire by some local women. The large stew contained chunks of meat which they probably didn’t usually eat because it is a poor community. Fried plantains, potatoes and a mealy type of dish accompanied the stew. It is difficult to imagine how anyone manages without any water on site to produce a meal for so many. This was the first meal that the group had eaten that was truly local. Some of the students managed to eat more than others but it was good to have a meal because it was the first since breakfast and the time was about 4pm.
Before going to Mirembe Secondary School the group visited a school called Standard Jack’s Primary School where the pupils were crammed into what looked like small cattle sheds but were their classrooms. The classes were large with no books and just a blackboard for the teacher to use. The most impressive thing apart from the wonderful smiles from the children was the school uniform. All pupils in Uganda wear a uniform which is usually clean and very smart. How they keep so clean with so little water sometimes a mile away from home is difficult to imagine.
Apart from several visits to Mirembe Secondary School the group were taken to meet some Aids orphans and Aids widows, who were mostly HIV positive with little hope of survival because there is an acute lack of drugs. On the same day the trip also went to the ‘Landing site’ which was a settlement on the edge of Lake Victoria. The community were the poorest anyone had seen because the bosses who owned the fishing boats where most of the men in the village were employed paid them a pittance and they struggled to survive on the money. The students were particularly affected by the extreme poverty but Pauline and Sir Alan found it very moving as well.
Whilst in Uganda the group from Derbyshire visited Ngamba Island, a chimpanzee sanctuary, at feeding time proving an entertaining time. A journey by speed boat was the way to get to the island, which is in Lake Victoria. This proved very popular with James and Joe particularly.
Another day was spent going to Jinja where many of the displaced Ugandan Asians had lived before Idi Amin turned them out of Uganda. It is easy to see the difference in the style of building because there is a definite Indian influence. Lake Victoria is where the source of the Nile can be found not far from Jinja and it is where Mahatma Ghandi’s ashes were scattered after his death.
Everyone has there own special memories of Uganda but no-one could fail to be moved by the friendliness of the pupils and the gratitude of the local community for the help and support from the two schools. Most of the students and both Pauline and Sir Alan keep in contact with people they met over there.
It was a humbling experience and if they didn’t appreciate the lifestyle that is enjoyed here in Derby and generally in the OK, before going, it was appreciated whilst there and on reflection on the return to a comfortable existence here.
Everyone that went before is looking forward to returning to see those they met before. For those that are going for the first time there is a real sense of excitement and anticipation.
What a shame that all young people can’t have the same or similar experiences.
Posts
