The day had come when it was time to go home, it was strange.... at the start of the week i was scared being in a whole new country far away from home but by the end of the 12 days Africa felt like home! It had gone so fast yet so much had been experienced, sitting back on the journey home allowed the whole week to flash by and i can honestly say it was an experience of a lifetime.... the best week by far I've ever experienced!!
Being back in coventry doesn't feel right, leaving all who we had met and gained relationships with behind in a far different country to the UK felt selfish, although looking back and thinking what we had achieved was pretty spectacular!
We did not only make an impact on hundreds of lives in Africa but i honestly believe we all come away from this learning a lot about ourselves and making an impact on our own lives, letting us see life in a whole new perspective!
However the trip wouldn't of occurred without the huge amounts of hard work behind the scenes so therefore we wish to thank all of those involved in making it happen.
Friday 29 July 2011
The Nile Experience
This was the chance to see a bit of africa from a new light, the nerves and excitement were all building up. Being away from the kids and the school itself was strange! This was going to be an added bonus to the whole once in a life time opportunity, 'white water rafting down the nile' just saying it seems amazing!
At first i was so scared but once jumping in and going down the first rapid the adrenaline build up! The views and wildlife itself was breathtaking too and at every opportunity we found ourself jumping in and swimming in the Nile!
The day flew by and by no time five hours had passed and it was over, going back to the accommodation allowed us to take the whole week into perspective, seeing the worst sides of the country being the slums and then the sight seeing tourist attractions completely opposite to what we had been experiencing throughout the week.
And to my shock i saw no crocs!!!!!
At first i was so scared but once jumping in and going down the first rapid the adrenaline build up! The views and wildlife itself was breathtaking too and at every opportunity we found ourself jumping in and swimming in the Nile!
The day flew by and by no time five hours had passed and it was over, going back to the accommodation allowed us to take the whole week into perspective, seeing the worst sides of the country being the slums and then the sight seeing tourist attractions completely opposite to what we had been experiencing throughout the week.
And to my shock i saw no crocs!!!!!
Wednesday 27 July 2011
The big finale
Throughout the week we had been working towards this big day, the kids were excited for a day they had been looking forward to for months... this was going to be a unique day for them that they had never experienced before, a day where five schools they hadn't met before would join together and compete.
It was an early start but hearing the screams coming from the coaches from the University field when the coaches were down the road showed how excited they were and the early start was made worth while! Each school coming running off their coaches with great big grins, when seeing Bright future arriving we walked over to welcome them as the came running towards us chanting and meeting us with cuddles, with about twenty children all around you hugging you made you realise just how much we had brought to them!
When explaining the way the event was going to occur, we mentioned the toilet facilities which were provided for them, being porter loos instead of the usual hole in the ground all of a sudden they all needed the toilet and huge queues were lined next to every toilet!!
Each school presented a song at the start of the competition and the atmosphere was huge, amazing and so overwhelming!
Kicking into the competition side of things it went better than expected, I was umpiring rounders and with the schools only of had four weeks before we came, to learn the basic of the sport with little equipment and then four days with other on up skilling further the competition showed off the skills these kids had! They wernt just concentrating on getting one person out on each hit but as many as possible passing the ball around a number of times stomping the posts making a numbers number of kids out! The catching and throwing was amazing with little attempts that didn't catch the ball, and the hitting of the ball at some points when a lot further than expected... this really showed up the quality of some rounders games I've watched in coventry!
The enthusiasm and concentration showed how much they were enjoying themselves and how willing they were to make the competition to a high standard. With first aid organised and available for the day any incidents we persuaded to go over to gain aid, at one point a girl was hit in the eye by the rounders ball full on from the hit she picked the ball up throw it on to get the opposing player out and continued holding her eye in pain i ran over telling her to go to first aid with me, she replied with 'I'm fine i want play rounders' while she held her eye in pain, she had to be forced to first aid, this really showed how much these kids loved playing sport and being involved.
At the end of the morning the younger children's competition was over and the results were given with the winning team running around the field in joy as well as the other teams stood smiling and clapping thanking for the day they had experienced. This was now the time to say goodbye to the younger children i had worked with over the last four days, the children who felt like family after just so little time, the hugs and goodbyes were harder than we all could of imagined.
We picked ourselves back up and continued the day with the older children's competition, the whole day was amazing. At one point i looked up and looked around and saw hundreds of children playing sport, doing something they enjoyed so much, cheering and smiling and that was one of the best feelings i felt over the week, seeing what we had achieved for breath taking!
And then it was the goodbye to these children and to the teachers, handing over all the equipment and saying goodbye, the tears poured down although at the back of my mind i knew that although this was the hard goodbye, this wasn't the end, yet it was the start of the journey of sustaining this and giving these kids a better life to live, continuing the relationships and keeping them smiles on their faces!
It was an early start but hearing the screams coming from the coaches from the University field when the coaches were down the road showed how excited they were and the early start was made worth while! Each school coming running off their coaches with great big grins, when seeing Bright future arriving we walked over to welcome them as the came running towards us chanting and meeting us with cuddles, with about twenty children all around you hugging you made you realise just how much we had brought to them!
When explaining the way the event was going to occur, we mentioned the toilet facilities which were provided for them, being porter loos instead of the usual hole in the ground all of a sudden they all needed the toilet and huge queues were lined next to every toilet!!
Each school presented a song at the start of the competition and the atmosphere was huge, amazing and so overwhelming!
Kicking into the competition side of things it went better than expected, I was umpiring rounders and with the schools only of had four weeks before we came, to learn the basic of the sport with little equipment and then four days with other on up skilling further the competition showed off the skills these kids had! They wernt just concentrating on getting one person out on each hit but as many as possible passing the ball around a number of times stomping the posts making a numbers number of kids out! The catching and throwing was amazing with little attempts that didn't catch the ball, and the hitting of the ball at some points when a lot further than expected... this really showed up the quality of some rounders games I've watched in coventry!
The enthusiasm and concentration showed how much they were enjoying themselves and how willing they were to make the competition to a high standard. With first aid organised and available for the day any incidents we persuaded to go over to gain aid, at one point a girl was hit in the eye by the rounders ball full on from the hit she picked the ball up throw it on to get the opposing player out and continued holding her eye in pain i ran over telling her to go to first aid with me, she replied with 'I'm fine i want play rounders' while she held her eye in pain, she had to be forced to first aid, this really showed how much these kids loved playing sport and being involved.
At the end of the morning the younger children's competition was over and the results were given with the winning team running around the field in joy as well as the other teams stood smiling and clapping thanking for the day they had experienced. This was now the time to say goodbye to the younger children i had worked with over the last four days, the children who felt like family after just so little time, the hugs and goodbyes were harder than we all could of imagined.
We picked ourselves back up and continued the day with the older children's competition, the whole day was amazing. At one point i looked up and looked around and saw hundreds of children playing sport, doing something they enjoyed so much, cheering and smiling and that was one of the best feelings i felt over the week, seeing what we had achieved for breath taking!
And then it was the goodbye to these children and to the teachers, handing over all the equipment and saying goodbye, the tears poured down although at the back of my mind i knew that although this was the hard goodbye, this wasn't the end, yet it was the start of the journey of sustaining this and giving these kids a better life to live, continuing the relationships and keeping them smiles on their faces!
Friday 22 July 2011
Last day at Bright Future!
The last day within the school and what an emotional day it was, only spending a few days with the children and teachers within Bright Future we become like family.
This day consisted of upskilling the chidren's tennis, although some already seemed wimbledon ready after only a few weeks of practising themselves on the basics! The ralleys were on full display!
Once again we got filled up by 'Betty's specials'. This included her first ever home made pizza, chicken pie, large amounts of fruit, samosas and 'crisips'. We then went on to the fairwell assemberly, with some students making a speech for us and bearing gifts for us... The thought that had gone into each one of our gifts was incredible- this soon turned into a very emotional time, with every one of us sharing at least a tear or two. The singing was underway and the hugs and hand shakes were rife. ROLL ON THE FESTIVAL! Kids were advised an early night and so we set off and headed back to the Cassia Lodge, preparations for the evening at the British High Commisioner's house were underway before setting off.
Arrival at his house soon followed by the greetings of the Comissioner's family and representatives of twin schools. This set the template for a very relaxed and sophisticated evening. James was beaten by Joe at FIFA after we'd eaten all of his food and took over his childrens game room. This wrapped up another eventful day in Uganda.
This day consisted of upskilling the chidren's tennis, although some already seemed wimbledon ready after only a few weeks of practising themselves on the basics! The ralleys were on full display!
Once again we got filled up by 'Betty's specials'. This included her first ever home made pizza, chicken pie, large amounts of fruit, samosas and 'crisips'. We then went on to the fairwell assemberly, with some students making a speech for us and bearing gifts for us... The thought that had gone into each one of our gifts was incredible- this soon turned into a very emotional time, with every one of us sharing at least a tear or two. The singing was underway and the hugs and hand shakes were rife. ROLL ON THE FESTIVAL! Kids were advised an early night and so we set off and headed back to the Cassia Lodge, preparations for the evening at the British High Commisioner's house were underway before setting off.
Arrival at his house soon followed by the greetings of the Comissioner's family and representatives of twin schools. This set the template for a very relaxed and sophisticated evening. James was beaten by Joe at FIFA after we'd eaten all of his food and took over his childrens game room. This wrapped up another eventful day in Uganda.
The MOOve
Another day began, today was the day of the hotel change- from dolphin suites to cassia lodge. teachers were starting to become considerably irritable as waking up early seemed a tough task ahead of a very busy schedule.Equipment and luggage was loaded onto minibusses and the 'halfway landmark' had been reached. cramped up in the minibus, we were hoping for a fairly stress free drive after yesterday's drama (yes, we got pulled over by the police). Soon after, we had arrived at the bright future school, greeted by sunshine, kids, sports equipment.. and Betty.
Betty was somewhat of a 'feeder'. We could never eat enough, we would be lucky to be able to stand on our own two feet after she had finished catering for the four of us(although she had really catered for about ten!)
Out we went and the 15 minute walk to the playing field was underway and football and endball had soon commenced. Once again the factor 50 was slapped on and for the third day running, the talent was shining through, in between the water breaks of course! The water breaks meant running down to the well used for the builders in preparation for a hard day of brick making and collecting as much as they could possibly bring back up the hill again.
Soon greeted by the african cattle. Striding casually along our football and endball pitches before being ushered along by our brave Sudanese students. These cows meant business. This completed the bulk of the third day in the schools and the walk back to the school was looming.
Betty was somewhat of a 'feeder'. We could never eat enough, we would be lucky to be able to stand on our own two feet after she had finished catering for the four of us(although she had really catered for about ten!)
Out we went and the 15 minute walk to the playing field was underway and football and endball had soon commenced. Once again the factor 50 was slapped on and for the third day running, the talent was shining through, in between the water breaks of course! The water breaks meant running down to the well used for the builders in preparation for a hard day of brick making and collecting as much as they could possibly bring back up the hill again.
Soon greeted by the african cattle. Striding casually along our football and endball pitches before being ushered along by our brave Sudanese students. These cows meant business. This completed the bulk of the third day in the schools and the walk back to the school was looming.
Tuesday 19 July 2011
Today was another day in the schools and this time was teaching rounders. When we got into the school we were welcomed with a surprise... After handing over four laptops yesterday they had already tidied out a room and transformed it into their perspective of an I.t room, with one table, a few chairs, and the four laptops all set up to be used... Was a great feeling seeing them already be used and the smiles that a few laptops brought!
We handed out a few frisbies and skipping ropes and immediately the kids were over whelmed! It's a shock at the size of the grins small gifts bring!
We headed once again down to the field another 15 minutes walking... Which is what they so all the time they want area to play sport! We set of the drills and immediately saw how well there basic technique of throwing and catching was! Getting into games showed the understanding of the sport already and seeing the kids have so much fun is amazing! Although I still dont understand how they run over sand and stoned land bare foot without no expression of pain... Like their used to it! After getting into the game we noticed cattle start walking over the field And as we played games the kids fielding would ever stand right next to the herd of cattle ready to catch the ball not with a scare ofthe thought of them charging!
I had a teacher asking me if I could teach them Alevel maths, lap off I went and had a wonderful conversation learning aloft about the way of life and teaching here, was a real shock!
We handed out a few frisbies and skipping ropes and immediately the kids were over whelmed! It's a shock at the size of the grins small gifts bring!
We headed once again down to the field another 15 minutes walking... Which is what they so all the time they want area to play sport! We set of the drills and immediately saw how well there basic technique of throwing and catching was! Getting into games showed the understanding of the sport already and seeing the kids have so much fun is amazing! Although I still dont understand how they run over sand and stoned land bare foot without no expression of pain... Like their used to it! After getting into the game we noticed cattle start walking over the field And as we played games the kids fielding would ever stand right next to the herd of cattle ready to catch the ball not with a scare ofthe thought of them charging!
I had a teacher asking me if I could teach them Alevel maths, lap off I went and had a wonderful conversation learning aloft about the way of life and teaching here, was a real shock!
In at the deep end!
Yesterday, we made our way to bright future school- Kampala.. We were assigned to tag rugby. We were lucky as we were pleasantly surprised at the skill level of the children and this way we felt as if we had been given a head start! All that the kids needed was a lesson on basic skills and rules of tag rugby.
As we were greeted by Christine(the head teacher), we were soon told that we would be teaching 72 children.. Ouch! We soon set out for the playing field the school had rented, 'apparently' it was just down the road. After a 15 minute walk we finally arrived, we were once again greeted, this time by cow dung- this was normal.. The question was immediately asked what we were going to do about this, and Phillip(tag rugby coach) simply replied "what can we do about it" this was time to 'man up'! As the lesson progressed, so did the increase of heat, factor 50 was slapped on and so were the caps, we meant business.
We were amazed by the skill level, the side steps were starting to feature and the pace was injection(this meant tries)! The natural ability was shining through, the talent in this country is outstanding and I'd love to see how they would develop into playing more familiar sports!
We also went over some tennis as this was meant to be their weaker sport, by what I saw it was far from being weak! The way in which all the kids listened and found every drill exciting as the last and even through re heat kept up the same levels of effort!
By Joe and Tish
The day was starting to wind down, and the huffs and puffs were kicking in! And so it was time for drinks and another walk back through the slum style estate
As we were greeted by Christine(the head teacher), we were soon told that we would be teaching 72 children.. Ouch! We soon set out for the playing field the school had rented, 'apparently' it was just down the road. After a 15 minute walk we finally arrived, we were once again greeted, this time by cow dung- this was normal.. The question was immediately asked what we were going to do about this, and Phillip(tag rugby coach) simply replied "what can we do about it" this was time to 'man up'! As the lesson progressed, so did the increase of heat, factor 50 was slapped on and so were the caps, we meant business.
We were amazed by the skill level, the side steps were starting to feature and the pace was injection(this meant tries)! The natural ability was shining through, the talent in this country is outstanding and I'd love to see how they would develop into playing more familiar sports!
We also went over some tennis as this was meant to be their weaker sport, by what I saw it was far from being weak! The way in which all the kids listened and found every drill exciting as the last and even through re heat kept up the same levels of effort!
By Joe and Tish
The day was starting to wind down, and the huffs and puffs were kicking in! And so it was time for drinks and another walk back through the slum style estate
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