School Life

For six weeks I taught at Nabugalo Primary School  in the Budaka district of Eastern Uganda. The school was four buildings.

- The office
- Two buildings with 4 class rooms each
- The primary class room block

Each day my first two weeks, I arrived at the school at 8am. My first class was Kindergarten. This was their classroom....

It took a lot of creativity to teach in that! Talking over the teacher on the other side of the wall really boosted my volume! Trying to write on the broken chalkboard was a fun challenge. Sometimes the wind would even blow it away, and then I would have to chase after it while my students laughed.

Kindergarten however, was one of my favourite classes! I taught them the alphabet, new songs, numbers, read them stories, and played games such as Hot Potato and What Time is it Mr Wolf? By first break at 10:30am, they would be begging me to stay! However, I only had a half hour window to eat breakfast.

Kindergartens eating porridge for breakfast

Breakfast was usually bread with eggs and tea. Then I'd run back to the school at 11am for the next class. The two other volunteers, Ian and Sheri, would arrive around that time. They usually made the lesson plans for the students we would be teaching each day. I would help them, and suggest my own ideas as well. We taught them English using activities such as....

- What words Rhyme with CAN?
- What does this TOO mean?
- What is the opposite of HAPPY?

We also taught geography, and they asked us questions about Canada. Some of their questions were....

- What are schools like in Canada?
- How does marriage work?
- Are there farms in Canada?
- How many children do people have?
- What is the weather like?

Through their questions, we learned a little bit about Uganda as well!

- In Uganda, to marry a woman, you need a dowry. A dowry is usually a few cows, and goats given to the woman's family.

- You are not allowed to work in Uganda until you are eighteen

- People usually have an average of eight to twenty children

- Uganda only has two seasons: Wet and Dry

Lunch was at 1pm. I was fed a large plate of rice and beans, which I usually couldn't finish, no matter how hard I tried. Then I helped teach from 2pm-4pm. After, I would play soccer with the children, then say goodbye to Ian and Sheri as they headed back to the city of Mbale

Playing cards with the children after school

I did that everyday for the two weeks that Ian and Sheri were there! It was slightly scary at first, teaching in front of a large class of students. However, they were all pretty exceptional pupils! They listened, participated, and were very respectful! Having Ian and Sheri there was also great! They had many great teaching ideas, so that when they left, I had a lot to work with!