Experiences: St Paul KAASO

Kate Hammond, from Australia, volunteered during June and July 2006 at St Paul KAASO.

I’m finding it hard to believe that my 4 weeks here is nearly over. I will be very sad to leave all the kids and the friends I’ve made at KAASO it has been such an awesome experience.

Life here is really simple and basic, but the people are so friendly and welcoming. When I first arrived I was really unsure how I’d be able to help here as I have no background in teaching and everyone seemed to know what they were doing. I soon found my niche though when I picked up the crayons I’d bought and drew a picture of the letter ‘R’ and a picture of a rabbit to replace one of the lost alphabet cards in the Nursery classroom! I’ve since been inundated with requests to draw educational posters for the classrooms. Until my arrival they’d been paying USD 0.30 to an artist in the near by town to draw black and white posters, it costs even more for colour. This is very expensive when you have more immediate concerns like food and water. To get a porter to bring a 10L jerry can of water from the well 1.5km away costs around USD 0.50 so you can see where the priorities lie. It’s great to see the classrooms starting to look colourful and fun and I’m pleased I can do something useful.

The kids at the school are amazing. I really enjoy their company and their questions and they’ve been really great helping me to learn the local language Luganda. The older kids just want to know about Australia and show off about what they know. They young kids just want my attention. I’ve spent a lot of time after school hours kicking around the football or throwing the netball, reading stories, drawing pictures, and helping with revision. These kids are so intelligent, its amazing how much they know and how good their English is when you look at how little they have to learn with.

Not only have I been working at the school, but I’ve been invited to many festivals and occasions. Its been amazing to witness the local events and gatherings. One of the highlights was a Graduation Party for a close friend of Dominic’s (the Director). This man had graduated with a Diploma in Primary Education. As not many have the opportunity to complete secondary school let alone tertiary study it is such a big deal here. The party hosted at least 400 people and involved a full catholic mass, numerous speeches from people in high places in the community, a big feast, a DJ and dancing! I couldn’t believe what a big event it was. As the only ‘Muzungu’ (or white person) within in the area I certainly attracted a lot of attention, but in a very warm and friendly way. I was even invited up to dance with the graduates! I didn’t do to badly for my first attempt at the calypso!!

I’ve also really enjoyed travelling around the local area. On one trip I visited a remote fishing village on Lake Victoria with Alex, one of the teachers from the school. We travelled through some really small villages and through the jungle on the motor bike before we reached the lake and the little village. It was amazing to see other villages and how people live. It was the first time Alex had visited the lake too, so it was so great to be able to share it with him. On another trip I visited Kasensero Landing Site (a large fishing town on Lake Victoria) and the Tanzanian border on excursion with the P7 students. Many of them had never seen the lake before let alone get their feet wet! We hadn’t been there that long, when the shoes and socks were off and they were paddling about! It was so great to see. We also managed to negotiate a visit to the Fish factory not far from the village which I think was a real highlight for the students.

Another highlight was the Education Week festival where all the schools in the local area compete in singing, bible and poetry reading and traditional dance. So much effort went into the rehearsals and the preparing of costumes and to see them perform was fantastic! All the schools did so well and many of them suffer from such a lack of resources yet they were there singing and dancing their hearts out, you could see they really enjoyed it. KAASO really stood out though and as the results were read, with everyone nervously waiting it was announced that KAASO was the winner. The reaction is almost indescribable! There was cheering, singing and dancing, it was amazing, emotions were entirely let loose! The kids danced around me and hugged me they were so, so happy. Once we arrived back at the school the celebration continued with the drums beating and everyone dancing and cheering it was fantastic!

So much has happened since my arrival, it’s amazing to reflect on it all. The time has really flown by. Four weeks ago I arrived as a stranger from Australia but having shared all these experiences and many more I’ve developed a real bond with the staff and students at KAASO and I know we’ll be parting as good friends.

Kate.