CatmanDu: Uganda 2: Masooli School

Monday, April 4, 2011

The sun was shining and the day seemed perfect as we left the hotel after breakfast. We loaded up the van and readied ourselves for the journey. We had so many donations and gifts for the school that we had a second van with cargo following close behind.

We drove in our mini-van up the crowded streets of the capital city. Kampala's morning traffic snaked along the British imperial infrastructure of paved roads, driving on the left and roundabouts. It is also amazing to see English as the first language. Luganda and other African language dialects are spoken by the people as well, but all of the road and shop signs are exclusively in English.

After passing through the city, we eventually turned up a steep dirt road. We all wondered how any wheeled vehicle could make it up this hill in the rain. The road slowly wound up the hill until we could see a neighborhood of small tin roofed shacks.

As we turned the final corner, we saw an amazing site out in front if us. The whole school community was lining the road to the entrance, awaiting our arrival!

Hundreds of school children, dressed in pink school uniforms, lined the road and were dancing and clapping for our arrival! We were met as we exited the van by the school officials. The drums, singing and dancing grew louder. The kids danced on either side of us as they walked us to the campus.

It was incredible to march in this parade of drum beats, colorful skirts, big smiles and traditional dance moves. It was really amazing to be the guests of honor and be treated this way upon arrival. We could only smile, wave and take it all in. Swept away in a sea of pink, we had finally arrived.

The children beamed as they performed. We were all blown away by this reception.

We made our way into the courtyard and the opening welcome speeches. The opening speech made by the principal was moving. He reminded everyone how difficult it was to wait for our arrival. He also made the distinction between sympathy and empathy. He thanked us for coming and deciding to walk in the shoes of the children for a couple of days. It was the first of many misty eyed moments throughout the day. Cathy Leibman, the founder of SEENAH and the leader of our group, also made a moving speech. She then repeated the speech in local Lugandan. Her pronunciation was accurate enough so that her words were understood and the students got a chuckle out of hearing "Doctor Cathy" speak their local language.

I felt right at home amongst the hair style of choice at the Masooli School. For cleanliness and the ease of maintaining the hair, all of the children wear the short, shaved look that I do enjoy!

The empowerment of pink uniforms is a symbol worth noting. In a land and a continent where girls are often the children who are asked to sacrifice their education for the better of the family, we were happy to see that the ratio at the school appeared to be 50-50. The fact that a color we normally associate with girls was the school uniform served to highlight this point.

After the speeches, we were led on a tour of the campus. This building is the newer classrooms as the roof has been redone. Here, Cathy listens to the explanation of the renovations. Chalk boards, old wooden table-desks and no electricity are all part of the Masooli School.

Cathy and SEENAH attempt to really emphasize 'sustainability' in their efforts to help any project, especially the Masooli School. To that end, one of the first things she helped fund was a mud-brick maker so that the school could start building its own projects. Here Rosie and Brandon, Cathy's son, pose outside the homemade corn storage silo. By drying the corn here, it can last for up to 2 years!

Here is a water storage container built on campus. It collects the rain water from the rooftops of the buildings. The gutters run directly into the water tank and other than the vent in the picture, it is air tight to keep out the bugs. The water is then boiled before use. Since the other water options are walking to pumps or watering holes, this is a major advancement for the school. There are two tanks and plans for another next to the new health clinic. During vacation time when students are not on campus, excess water can be sold or used for irrigation. Below, you can see the old rusty water tank in the background and many of the sun dried, homemade mud-bricks.

The campus has no proper kitchen or eating facilities but they do offer hot lunch to those students who can afford it. The hot lunch is a huge pot of corn porridge which is being stirred by the chef above. The corn meal is from the corn dried in the homemade silo. The lunch is basically a cup of watered down corn meal. On rare occasions, some sugar is added to the mix. Many of the students simply do not eat for the entire day.

Rosie and Rose, the vice principal, pose for a photo together. Rose's energy and joy was contagious. Her laughter and smile were second only to her hugs. She made us amazing homemade jewelry as thank you gifts. She rolled different colored recycled paper into small beads around string and then painted them with clear paint to create beautiful necklaces.

Water is a precious commodity, particularly on campus. As a result, the jugs that are filled at watering holes or pumps are then rigged up to these wooden foot-pump 'sinks'. By carefully stepping on the stick in the rocks as a foot pedal, the rope attached to the stick lightly tips the jug forward to allow the user to take only the small, necessary amount to wash hands. This limits waste. Later in the day, we would take a water walk to see where and how the jugs got filled when the campus water tanks were not enough.

The school has about 300 students from K-grade 8. This is considered a "primary school".

Most of the children at the school are orphans or living with only one parent. Many explained that they lived with older siblings or more distant relatives. Some walk great distances to be at school.

When Cathy was picking the school she wanted SEENAH to help, she chose the Masooli School because it needed the most of all the schools she toured. She also grew immediately fond of the children.

The students smiled and performed throughout the day. They were amazed by the cameras and enjoyed the photos and videos. It was fun to show them the photos and let them use the cameras.

Rosie hanging out with some new friends.

I turned the LCD viewer around so the kids could see themselves while I took the photos.

The health center is being built on campus. The funding was made possible by a key member of our group, Marie. She personally came with us to build bricks for the center. This facility will improve health conditions and make the campus a hub for health care.

Jill enjoyed chatting with a counselor outside the construction of the health clinic.

To be a part of the building process made the experience very personal for our group.

Johanna bonded with Rosie and here they pose with a younger student.

Bella painted portraits with the Masooli children.

She was able to work with her new friend Gloria.

Many students, like this 14 year-old, worry they won't have the money for funding at "secondary school." Pocket change in our lifestyle can buy this generation an education. Hearing these stories has led SEENAH to exploring the idea of scholarships or funding for some of the students.

Jill and I reflecting on the scene "in the moment" while taking a break.

Rosie and Jill enjoyed playing many versions of paddy cake hand clapping games.

Honoring one of the many signs on campus, students took turns with the new jump ropes.

Brick making was hard work. First came mixing the dirt with a little bit of cement and water, two precious commodities. Then you had to use tremendous leverage to compact the mix into the brick mold. In this photo, Jack helps Alex pull the lever down. It was a difficult task that I could not quite master. But after it was compacted, you lifted the handle and voila, a perfect mud brick appeared.

Rosie and friends carry the dried bricks to the building group.

New bricks made by our group are drying.

Among the many gifts we brought were jump ropes.

Bella enjoyed playing with these gifts with her new friends.

The boys really loved the soccer balls we brought. They had been playing with homemade balls made from all sorts of recycled materials.

Hand holding and hugging between worlds,

as the group geared up for the after-lunch water-walk.

Lunch for the kids at the school (those who could afford it),

and our 5 star hotel boxed lunch, eaten off campus, in our van in the rain.

Juxtaposing these two things was again more food for thought. I should say it was tough to swallow. Pick your food metaphor; it was difficult. But we were hungry and enjoyed the food. We also shared the extras with the school faculty, many of whom live, work and eat in tough conditions on campus.

The rain stopped and we picked up water jugs, held hands and headed off to the three water sources the kids and community walk to daily. It was a symbolic, empathetic walk and most of the school journeyed with us- more kids than water cans.

To prepare for this walk, our family had spent our last day in Dubai keeping a "water log" journal. We wrote down each time we used water throughout the day. To be reminded of the ease of potable water before we walked in the shoes of these children was an important mini-lesson for our family. In turn, we marveled at how simple a thing in our world we took for granted. Now, walking for water that would need to be boiled before it was even potable, we were in awe. And the Masooli children's journey for water is not as drastic as many developing nations' citizens face. To read this in a book is alarming; to walk this daily chore is eye opening. But as they had shown us all day, the Masooli children's smiles, stories and determination carried us down the road. Johanna would not let go of Rosie's hand and often held mine very tightly, referring to me as "Papa Rosie" and teaching us Lugandan words.

Jill took Bella on the shortest walk, 10 minutes to the nearest well pump. The pump was close but the most crowded and the most work to get flowing. The kids explained that in the dry season, they would sometimes pump for 40 minutes to get a trickling flow. The road below was part of the 40 minute walk (each way) Rosie and I took to the most reliable water pump in the area.

The road led to the pump with a broken handle. The students quickly used a branch as a solution. And the water flow was excellent and the area not overcrowded. However, carrying the full cans back was an arduous task. Again, the kids' laughter and stories made the journey lighter. When we heard this journey had to be made several times a day by most families, we were overwhelmed.

While we were at the pump, and Bella and Jill were at the other, one group walked to the water hole to fill up their cans. This is again water that must be boiled before drinking.

Neighborhood kids hanging around their front yard posed for the camera too.

Two brothers posed behind the campus on the walk back to school.

Jill opened the new hula hoops which were an instant hit with the kids. So eager to play with any new toys brought by the visitors, the wrapper that the hula hoops came in became a commodity and a toy as well. Just holding the colorful cardboard was a gift for most of these children.

The children's portraits dried in a spare room with some extra corn. The kids were lucky enough to work with the portrait painter Stephen Bennett, whom Cathy invited to meet us in Uganda.