Schoolterm starts

Abato in action

On the 8^th of September it was finally the day we have been working towards. The third and most important school term of the year started at Abato school. We were curious, excited and couldn’t wait to finally meet the children. But as we had learned in previous experiences things in Uganda work a little differently than what we are used to. That begins with being on time. If some children would have been late, I think I would have understood that, but that most of the children and even some teachers being late is considered normal in Uganda seems off to me. Lots of children don’t even attend school at the first week. Why? I don’t know. I don’t get it. It’s just … weird. Fortunately Moses knows about the issue and I can honestly say that after he addressed the issue in a staff meeting we had, we witness some progress in terms of discipline and being on time when it comes to the staff.

Speaking of the staff: I haven’t had a chance to get in touch with all the teachers at Abato school yet, but I want to mention two of them that have really stood out to me. First there is Mr. Charles, who is a very thorough teacher even by German standards. He prepares lesson plans and has clear aims what the children should be able to do after his lesson. It seems like he is a very good teacher and that children tend to learn a lot from his lessons.
Second of all there is the new baby class teacher. She just started teaching at Abato school so one could say that she is as new as we are to the school. In just a few days, she has made some noticeable changes in baby class. Children seem to enjoy her lessons, learning new things and having fun while they are doing so. The way the teacher communicates with these little children is just loving, kind and warm hearted.

Abato has made some great progress with the school: Sanitation got a lot better, the water tank is a blessing for the kids, there are new doors for the classrooms and a lot of other changes that all affect the learning environment of these little kids. But I have to say that sometimes I think some kids aren’t able to notice these changes because of three strange looking young adults that have suddenly appeared at school. Every five minutes you hear some kid scream “Muzunguuuuuuuuu!”. Yes – we are there, and we are white. Anne, Christina and me are at school, helping the teachers, the janitor, the headmaster or the kids themselves with whatever comes up. From drawing posters to leveling land, from giving hugs to crying children to playing around with a lot of them. We are there and we seem to be the number one attraction for the kids. Some have been shy in the beginning, some have been outgoing from the first second but all of them seem to enjoy having us around. They notice the small details for example that our hair is different from theirs or they just laugh at funny sounding German songs. The love and admiration these kids have for us are incredible and it is just an awesome feeling to help them, play with them, teach them, work for them, or whatever involves them. These children deserve the best they can possibly get, and with the help of Abato foundation we will achieve the best for them. 

Julian