With my teacher training responsibilities at Timothy Centre, I have not been able to make a visit down to our school in Kibaale for many, many weeks. Yesterday I needed to meet with a few of the staff members there so it was great to see the children back at school for this second term, full of energy and enthusiasm, and enjoying time with all their classmates again. It is a hard life for so many children here in Uganda… many of them have little creative stimulation at home and lots of chores to do even as very young children. At school they come alive as they are involved in challenging learning activities and have the chance to PLAY!
I found several of them eagerly digging palm fruits out of the centre of one of the trees on site, as these are tasty treats to supplement their rather plain diets.
The vocational students were also obviously very proud of the work they were doing, anxious to show off their skills. This program is a very valuable opportunity for the young people in the community who will soon be able to use their skills to support themselves with honest work. It is great to see the sense of dignity that they have in working with the hands.
We were happy to see that one of the restaurants we frequent in Masaka recently started supplying frozen meat products from a local pig farm. This is really helpful, as the selection and availability of good meat in town is limited. I thought I would purchase something to serve to the pastor and his family from the church we attend, as they are coming for supper this evening. Looking more closely at the package this morning, I noticed that the pork may not be what I bargained for!
Proofreading signs and labels is not a strong point here!
This week we were happy to have Ray and Pat Sutton with us from Classrooms for Africa. Ray was the director of our PAOS projects in Uganda since the beginning in 1993, and has recently retired in order to focus on another program, Classrooms for Africa, that he and Pat initiated a few years ago. Classrooms for Africa helps needy Christian schools in several African countries construct basic facilities for their students. Several of their projects are in Uganda, including some schools that we have worked with to provide teacher training. It is a great cooperative effort to see quality Christian schooling made available to many Ugandan children.
Ray and Pat (left) meeting the secondary school students at Eagle’s Wings Children’s Village. C4A is helping to build their first classroom block which they hope to move into later this year. Presently they study in a temporary wooden shelter.
New classroom block under construction
Touring the site
Another Christian secondary school in the area, which hopefully will become a feeder school for our advanced level high school (Timothy Girls’ High School) is busy constructing a dormitory for their students, also with help from C4A. We made a visit to the site to see their progress as well.
At present, the students sleep in one of the classrooms and in the administration office, so the dormitory will be a huge help!
It is always amazing to see what people here in Uganda are able to balance and carry on their heads. It makes the things you see in a circus act back home seem much less impressive. We have captured a few samples of incredible balancing acts with our camera, but we have seen so many more….including a lady the other day with a whole set of wooden furniture on her head!
A few weeks ago, I was contacted by an education professor at Makerere University who had come across some information about our teacher training course at Timothy Centre. She had recently come to realise that there is much more that Christian teachers can do to build the next generation in Uganda, a generation with integrity, love for God and a heart to serve others. She wanted to find out more about our program and invited me to speak to a group of teachers from the National Federation of Born Again Churches in Uganda. As the education secretary for this group, she regularly organises in-service training workshops for Christian school teachers and she wanted this group to learn more about the philosophy of Christian education….and some practical skills for teaching from a biblical perspective.
So, immediately after we said good-bye to the teachers enrolled in our training course at Timothy Centre at noon on Wednesday, Karl and I drove up to Kampala and I presented Thursday morning at this workshop held at Seroma Christian High School in Mukono. Teachers that attended represented 12 different schools. There is no doubt that Christian teachers in Uganda are hungry for training like this, and it is so encouraging to see them willing to move beyond seeing their work as simply a means to survive. They are committed to making a difference through their teaching, building a strong Uganda on biblical principles. As long as there are teachers like this, there is much hope for Uganda!
Last Wednesday we finished the second teacher training module (Philosophy of Christian Education) here at the Timothy Centre. Our field director, Ken Drisner, was the main teacher for this module which was very well received. Much of the time during this 10-day module was spent in group work, applying principles of Christian education to the design of a ‘model Christian school’. It was a lively time of group interaction and presentation of the group work to the rest of the class.
We were very pleased to have the Dean of Education from Uganda Christian University join us for 3 days of this module. He was observing the program, giving us feedback on the quality of the content and teaching/learning experiences. He was also able to share from the Word of God in one of the morning devotional times with the teachers.
We received a very favourable report on his time with us, and the door seems to be opening for further cooperation with UCU in the area of teacher training. Please pray with us that this might benefit the teachers who are taking the course at Timothy Centre.
It is good to see this class of in-service teachers building strong relationships amongst themselves, supporting and encouraging each other continue learning how to teach effectively as Christian teachers. They not only spent a lot of time learning together, but enjoyed times of relaxation and fellowship during this module.
All in all, it was a great time together and we are thankful for this great group of teachers. We look forward to meeting them again in August for the next module!
