UK News - School Links

February 2009 Comments by the Teachers on the Return Visit to Uganda

After the visiting Ugandan teachers had gone home, Jane Bentley (headteacher of Llanfechain Primary School, Gareth Hughes (headteacher of Llansanffraid Primary School and Barbara Maycock (head of sixth form at Llanfyllin High School) couldn’t wait to pay their return visit. They didn’t have long to wait as off they went in February, again funded by the UK’s Global Schools Partnership Scheme. They had a fantastic time over there, as can be seen from their personal accounts below:-

Barbara: What a greeting in Entebbe airport! Moses, Peter (our host in Kamuli), Apollo and Esther (two of Miriam and Emanuel’s children) plus a few others. It was great to be back on my second visit to Uganda. We were whisked off to a nearby hotel and spent time catching up and getting a really good night’s sleep after the long flight. Next morning off to the British Council for a useful meeting with Emmanuel and the Ugandan organiser of the programme. She was pleased to have Welsh schools involved with the scheme.We then set off to Jinja to meet Andrew and Patrick who had driven to meet us with some of their school staff. We visited the Bujagali Falls and source of the Nile before leaving or Kamuli. Moses, Patrick and Andrew had organised a packed programme for us, visiting a wide variety of people andplaces – too many to mention here. Mymost valuable time was spent at BusogaHigh school, sitting in on different subject lessons and doing some team teachingin geography. I also gathered information about the computer resources to take back to Llanfyllin. Our hope is to get an internet connection into the school eventually and assist with ICT hardware and software. Communication between the schools could be much more effective and real if we had regular email contact. We were able to meet with local politicians and education administrators of Kamuli district. These should prove to be useful contacts for us in the future and also raise the profile of our 3 partner schools. It was a fruitful visit and we now hope to develop and strengthen the partnerships between the 6 schools over the next year and then apply for further funding to write common curriculum topics. We could be teaching about Uganda and Wales both here and in Africa which can only serve to enhance the knowledge of all studentsand increase their understanding of global citizenship.

Gareth: My visit to Uganda was a very special experience. The staff and pupils at the Reverend Nayenga Primary School were all very welcoming. As soon as I entered a classroom there was always a musical greeting of some sort. It became very clear, very quickly, that the children in Reverend Nayenga have very little in the way of resources, compared to our school. However, despite this, the staff and children are amongst the happiest and most It was wonderful to see that themoney raised in our community had been so well utlilised.Electricity now lights up the school and they have also refurbished a building which can be used as an additional classroom. Many thanks were sent from Uganda to the community of Llansanffraid.
During my visit we were able to establish the fact that our partnership is not simply about the sharing of gifts, but it’s about developing the learning experiences that we give to our children. We want to learn more about them, and they want to learn more about us. This return visit really has cemented the foundations of what I know will be a good school partnership for many years to come.

Jane: Amazing, amazing, amazing! Our welcome, wherever we went was so warm and at each and every visit, following the custom, we were fed - so beware and watch your waistline if you ever get to go out there yourself. Kamuli Boys Primary School is a great place and similar in many ways to our school. The way in which the youngest children are taught is almost identical with the emphasis being on practical work and taking inspiration from the outdoors. Things are a little different in the Junior classes where a lack of resources means there is more ‘chalk and talk’ but just as here the teachers engage the children with practical demonstrations where possible and their work in almost all subjects seems to be linked with football teams! My very first question (which I fluffed) was about Ryan Giggs! I now have a muchbetter idea of how our two schools can work on together and involve the children more. The staff in Kamuli and I have come up with a list of topics we can do together so we can exchange work and learn more about each other’s lives. It was a great way to cement our partnership and lifelong friendships have been made. Everyone involved, especially both sets of children, will feel the benefit with a greater understanding of life around the world and a tolerance and respect for difference as well as a recognition that wherever you go children are children.

January 2009 Following the highly successful visit of the Ugandan teachers in November 2008 (details in Events, Visits section) Barbara Maycock, Jane Bentley and Gareth Hughes will be making the return visit to Uganda during February half term, 2009.  They will be funded by the UK’s Department for International Development through the British Council, as were the Ugandan teachers.  The next links planned are between Newtown High School and Mukongoro High School, and other schools in this area have expressed an interest in forming links.  School links have a major role to play in enhancing the understanding of people, and especially children, of different countries, cultures and traditions.  Dolen Ffermio is very pleased to be part of this school exchange programme and believe that the relationships built up between the two communities will be of great benefit to everyone involved, both here and in Uganda.

December 2008 Following the visit by our Ugandan colleagues they were most appreciative of the warmth of their welcome and hospitality bestowed and made the following comments:-

Patrick Wakabi, the Headteacher of Kamuli Boys Primary School, linked with Llanfechain Primary School said: “I have found Jane Bentley and her staff supportive, co-operative and they work hard to fulfil the objectives of the school. The parents are also very supportive and take an interest in all school activities.”Patrick couldn’t get over the small class sizes. “In my school we have 60 or more pupils to each class, which makes it very hard to teach them all and there are primary school classes in Uganda which have 150 children. This is because primary school education is now free in Uganda so a lot more children attend but the government can’t afford to train any more teachers so the classes have just grown and grown.”

Andrew Ibembe, Headteacher of the Reverend Nayenga Primary School, linked with Llansanffraid Primary School:
Andrew praised “the unity between teachers, parents, pupils and the whole community. I felt part of the
school, not just a visitor and I shall be very sad to leave. The children took a great interest in Uganda and enjoyed learning Ugandan songs and dances.” He was most impressed with the facilities and resources In Andrew’s school there was just one light bulbpowered by a car battery. Not any more though! “I am very excited that Gareth Hughes and his staff organised an event after school one day and the wholecommunity came to it and raised over £1,000. So when I go back home, I can put electricity into my school and there will be enough left over to buy some school furniture. I would like to give my very sincere thanks to everyone for doing this for my school.”

Moses Kitimbo, senior teacher at Busoga High School, linked with Llanfyllin High School: “I have been very happy at the school and all the teachers have been very welcoming and easy to get on with. I have had
very good discussions with Mr Mincher, the headteacher, about issues of teaching. The pupils were eager to learn and they asked a lot of questions. I think some of them would like to come to Uganda and get involved.” Moses is also very keen to set up links between churches. One of the last things he said before they all left was: “The light that has shone for us in Wales we will take back to shine in Uganda.”

Emmanuel and Miriam Maraka, founders of the Kumi Orphan Project: “We have been overwhelmed by how everybody has received us and looked after us. We are very appreciative and we will not let you down. Visiting Wales has built up trust because people know more about what we are trying to achieve with poor and vulnerable orphans. Dolen Ffermio leaders and supporters are committed to help these children in need and we thank them all sincerely.”

May 2008 Lorna reported on the school links Barbara Maycock has been developing, culminating in her visit to Uganda at Easter.  The main approach will be through the curriculum and, despite the lack of resources and huge class sizes, Barbara was very impressed with the standards there.  For example, there are a mere 3 computers for 800 pupils at Busoga High School and Lorna was pleased to announce that we are sending out 15 reconditioned computers through the charity, Afrinspire. On her return, Barbara had only a short time to apply for funding from the Department for International Development (DFID) through the British Council and we were up against stiff opposition – but we got it, thanks to Barbara and enthusiastic support from all the schools involved. Barbara had applied for a grant from the UK government’s Global Schools Partnership to fund teacher exchange visits between Llanfyllin High, Llansanffraid Primary and Llanfechain Primary Schools and their counterparts in Uganda: Busoga High School, Kamuli Boys Boarding School and Rev. Nayenga Primary School.