Can anything good come out of Rakai?

 

Today was a day of thanksgiving for all the good things God has done in using a very small place in a very large way.  The small place is the village of Kibaale in the Rakai District of Uganda.  Twenty years ago it was considered ‘the armpit of Uganda’, and was a place people avoided because it was undeveloped, arid, remote, and decimated by disease.  Whenever you mentioned to the ‘city folks’ in the Kampala education offices that you lived in Rakai, many eyebrows were raised, and sometimes people would wonder what you had done wrong that you were sent to Rakai!  It was most well known for ‘exporting’ HIV/AIDS and witchcraft.   Now, however, it is becoming known as the place where Christian education is flourishing.  Rakai is ‘exporting’ Christian education training and students full of hope and character.  The director of Kibaale Community Centre, Ochulu Peter, has a passionate heart and well developed skills for training other educators in the principles, values and practices of Christian education.  He learned and developed these skills in Kibaale Community Schools many years ago and has shared them with many teacher training colleges throughout Uganda (with the tutors’ training programmes organised by the Directorate for Ethics and Integrity).

When the Dean of Education form Uganda Christian University visited Kibaale Community Schools a couple of years ago to observe the way in which faith and learning integration was taking place, he felt these things needed to be shared at the university as well.  So…we invited Peter to join me in facilitating a workshop for the faculty deans and heads of departments  and today Peter had a chance to share his experiences.  He explained the dramatic change in his approach to teaching as he the Lord transformed him from a compartmentalised person (a ‘teacher’ and a ‘Christian’) into an integrated person (a Christian teacher).

Teachers of character and integrity are the change agents for society.  Peter is a great example of a faithful Christian teacher who has made a big difference… and his example encourages the instructors here at UCU to implement authentic Christian education at the higher levels of learning as well.