Report from the school and daycare in Uganda

The pearl of Africa

What comes to mind when most people think of Africa? Of course, we would spontaneously think of endless savannahs, exotic fruits and imposing herds of animals. What else? The Lion King starring Timon and Pumbaa is also high on the list. That all changed for us on January 5, 2016 early in the morning.

After about 12 hours we arrived at Entebbe Airport and then continued to Kampala where we have now spent four months and five days.

How it all began

Marie and I have known each other for about three years from university - our sympathy quickly turned into a close friendship. So close that one fine day we were sitting in our favorite café and I told Marie about my plan to fly back to Uganda to work with children after my Bachelor's degree. Six years ago I spent six weeks in Uganda through a children's charity and supported projects in hospitals, schools and other institutions. Even then it was clear to me – THIS is my country! I have to come back Absolutely.

And that's exactly what I did. It took about 15 minutes, during which Marie found the stories I told her about Africa so fascinating and decided to fly with me right away. Simply that way! But this quick and perhaps hasty decision paid off (people, be spontaneous!) and we quickly decided to organize the Rainbow Garden Village.

Arrival in Uganda

Everything works perfectly at the airport, our team leader on site - Lubanga - is already waiting for us and takes us to the hotel for one night, from where we set off in the morning for a city tour, to buy SIM cards and much more. We then take a minibus taxi to Kasangati, a small town about 30 minutes from Kampala – with the heavy traffic on the busy roads, it was probably more of an hour. Here in Kasangati we walk about ten minutes until we reach our accommodation - in a side street of the main street Kira Road is the house of our host family.

Our accommodation in the host family

Joseph and Irene and their three small children (Vianney, Wencey, Benah) give us a warm welcome and show us our new home. Marie and I have our own house with three rooms. Everyone would have had their own room, but with the help of Lubanga and Joseph, we put one bed from the second bedroom in the first so we could sleep together in one room.

We now use the other room as a storage room for our suitcases and the numerous toys and donations for the children that our great friends and families gave us. The living room has a great rocking chair and enough storage space for our gifts and clothes. The bathroom actually has a toilet IN THE HOUSE (outlet toilet, but you don't have to go out at night!!!).

Since we are in the middle of an African village, so to speak (the road is also full of dust, as it is not paved) there is no running water - that means fetching water in canisters every third or fourth day, but the family has a large water tank, so that we don't have to go to the well, but can tap right around the corner.

To greet us, we find two handkerchiefs on which our host family has written sweet welcome messages.

Volunteering at elementary school and daycare

I find it amazing how quickly the children and teachers at the primary school and day care center took a liking to us. As soon as we walk in the door to our class on Monday morning, the kids all yell "Teacher, Teacher!" and jump up from their small, colorful plastic chairs to hug us in greeting.

Working with Sarah, our supervising teacher, is incredibly easy because she obviously thinks highly of us and trusts us completely to get the children under control and to be able to teach them something. Then it can happen that she disappears for an hour to do her chores in the office. You can take on many tasks yourself, but you also get help at any time if you don't understand something and are unsure.

The children listen to us and complete the tasks we give them (although sometimes it takes a long time). You can see and almost feel how much respect and love they show us. I learned so much from them: to appreciate the little things, but also the important things in life, to have excitement and enthusiasm for almost everything, no matter how mundane it seems, to love life and be calm.

There is a lot of singing and we quickly learn a few songs in Luganda. Our favorite is a nursery rhyme about ducklings (who can't count so have to repeat it over and over). For those planning to travel to Uganda: memorize the lyrics now - you will be the heroes of the school!!!

The Ugandan nursery rhyme

"Fe tuli embat entotetumanyi kubala - tubalanga tudamu - emu, bbiri, ssatu, nya - tano, mukaaga, musana munana - mwenda, ne kumi - AGAIN !!!"

We spend the majority of our four months in kindergarten, primary school and mother-child daycare and teach all grades up to the second grade!

Adventure tours and travel in Uganda

When my sister Nicole comes to visit us, we travel through Tanzania and take a beach holiday in Zanzibar with scuba diving, turtle island, dolphin swim and jungle spice tour (booked through RGV - super worth it!). If you are very adventurous you can take the bus to Dar es Salaam but the 40 hour journey is very bumpy and fast and depending on luck the bus may not have windows which can then get quite cold (we speak from experience). The plane is the much more relaxed alternative.

Conclusion about my volunteer work in Uganda

In summary, I can say that our time in Uganda was one of the best times of my life. Our host family has become our own family, numerous tears have shed when we had to say goodbye.

At school, too, we were considered permanent members and friends for a whole semester, and we were told 100 times that we were always welcome back (whether as visitors or permanent workers). There was nothing we would have wanted to change.

The food in the host family in the evening is always plentiful and sufficient. As long as you're open to a new culture and don't settle for the luxuries we have in Europe or our rigid standards, you'll love it!

There is plenty of time to travel around at the weekend or explore the city. Another little tip from us: ask your host family or friends about their "personal" Boda-Boda drivers (motorcycle taxis). As long as you have drivers that the locals trust, it's pretty safe, but don't drive them at all after dark.

I know that we will be booking flights to Uganda again very soon... once in Africa, always in Africa. A big thank you to the RGV team for the great advice and implementation, with you again at any time! With this in mind: Hakuna Matata and lots of fun on your trip - it's worth it!

Elementary School and Daycare Uganda, Report by Sanna A., 13.05.16