Early Childhood Teacher Training at Timothy Centre

Today we held our first official teacher training workshop at the Timothy Centre with about 20 early childhood teachers from the nearby community.  Some of these teachers had made a trip down to Kibaale last month to see the nursery, kindergarten and early primary classes in action there.  They were interested in seeing how we use learning centres there, and then requested some formal training to improve their teaching skills.  They also wanted to learn how to make learning materials from locally available materials…so I was able to share my growing collection of cardboard that I was saving for this occasion!

 

 

It was great to have Eva, the head of our Kibaale Community Nursery School come and assist … it is very rewarding when our own staff are able to now willing and able to share their skills with others.

Kibaale “Old Boys” and “Old Girls”

Here in Uganda the alumni of a school are referred to as “old boys” and “old girls” and we are proud to have several of our Kibaale Community Schools alumni working at the centre.  Today we took notice of how many staff members were former students, and realized that many of them are our “Star Employees”.  Being members of this community, and having been sponsored to complete their schooling when they were unable to help themselves, has made them grateful and committed workers.  Meet a few of them…

Rose (nursery teacher)

Mugabi (child sponsorship office worker)

 

 

Jessica (early primary teacher)

 

Peninah (kindergarten teacher)

 

Bernard (security guard)

 

Godfrey (upper primary teacher)

 

Florence and David (secondary teachers)

 

Moses (child sponsorship office worker and accounting assistant)

Farming God’s Way at the National Agricultural Fair in Jinja

The focus of the Jinja fair is agriculture. 
It attracts visitors from all over Uganda and parts of East Africa.



The fair offers farmers an opportunity to learn about new developments in agriculture,



new technologies…







new crop varieties…



and opportunities to make contact with other farmers across Uganda, sharing ideas to improve their skills.



For the second year in a row Farming God’s Way has been represented at the show.  This has given us an opportunity to demonstrate and explain a simple way of farming that equips farmers to be more productive (on average 5 times as much), and helps them find abundant life in Christ.



Chris Sperling, our national FGW coordinator (and fellow Canadian), did an incredible job in organizing the display, getting materials ready for the show, and mobilizing volunteers.



We were one of the few organizations at the show that demonstrated farming techniques.  Here’s Chris demonstrating various planting stations.





Apart from  the displays, Chris also planted a garden 6 weeks prior to the show which helped give a visual portrayal of FGW.  People were amazed at how quickly the maize and beans had come up.



Some great contacts were made with farmers from various parts of Uganda wanting to know how to farm more productively.  We hope to follow up on a lot of these contacts in months to come.

   

On one of the two days I was at the Fair, I was surprised to see familiar faces from Kibaale Community Secondary School in Rakai District drop by.  This is our sister project in Uganda under PAOS.



Plans are presently being made to introduce FGW to Kibaale and the surrounding area.

    

Technorati Tags: Farming God's Way,Jinja,Agricultural Fair

Uncle Jim’s Happy Place Bakery

The bakery at Kibaale Community Centre is a really popular place these days.

Some of our Canadian team members found it a great place to buy fresh “doughnuts” and other baked goods that our vocational students and secondary school home management students have produced. 

 

Preparing a batch of “Queen Cakes”

Making hot dog buns for the team’s Canada Day meal

The catering and home management teacher told me yesterday that she was very pleased with the students who have completed their courses with her.  The three vocational students who completed their two year course last year passed their government exams  well and received their government certificates.  Two of them are now working in hotels in the district.  The secondary students who study home management as one of their courses also all passed well and are very excited about what they have learned. 

This program was made possible by “Uncle Jim” and his family, friends of ours in Canada who visited Kibaale several years ago and generously donated funds to build the bakery and provide furnishings.  As the bakery’s name indicates, it really is a pretty “happy place”, both for students and customers!

Timothy Girls’ College: A great place to learn

We have enjoyed seeing the Timothy Girls’ College in action since we have been back in Uganda.  We were sorry to have missed the beginning of first term in February and the official opening in March, as we were in Canada at the time.  But we are beginning to get to know the students now as they live and study at the centre, and we were able to fellowship with them on Sunday at their chapel service.  They show great enthusiasm for God and for learning.


These girls have finished their “Ordinary Level” secondary school studies (some of them in our school in Kibaale) and are now starting their first year of “Advanced Level” studies, a two-year program before entering college or university.

They have hopes of making a difference in Uganda as Christian leaders with integrity, compassion and competence in their chosen careers.


It is also great to see some of our Kibaale graduates who are now on a break from university come and volunteer in various capacities at TGC.  Joseph is working towards his education degree and is doing some volunteer teaching and tutoring here for a few months.

 

The Canadian teachers on our Pacific Academy team visiting here this summer have been able to spend time in the classrooms as well, assisting both teachers and students.

Lizabee and Evacy (our Ugandan headmistress) have done a great job in laying the foundations for a school with much potential!

As Fresh as it Gets!

Yesterday we took advantage of a quieter Sunday afternoon to go to Lake Nabugabo, about 40 minutes from the Timothy Centre.

We enjoyed the lakeside scenery and ordered lunch on the veranda of one of the local ‘hotels’.  Karl and I decided to order orange juice with our lunch and the waiter waved vaguely off in the distance and said he could get some ‘over there’.  Once our friends got their soft drinks, he wandered off across the parking lot to some large trees and proceeded to climb one of them—an orange tree!

Way up to the top!!

Down he came with some freshly picked oranges and within a few minutes we had our freshly squeezed drink!