2003 Post Trip Reflections:

The North Carolina Zoo began working in Uganda over five years ago helping local communities develop environmentally and economically sound sources of income. As a result of early training workshops, a group of our Ugandan partners formed the Ugandan Community Tourism Association (UCOTA) in July 1998. The North Carolina Zoo is a principle funder and strong supporter of this non-governmental organization, which is providing hope for improving the lives of rural Ugandans and preserving Uganda's wildlife habitats and natural resources.

UCOTA has quickly expanded to 39 communities and over 2000 members from all parts of the country. UCOTA training workshops offer an excellent opportunity to establish grass roots conservation and education programs that go to the heart of the underlying causes of environmental destruction”. Joy Hamlin – Curator of Education North Carolina Zoo.

With this foundation laid, our group of eight North Carolina teachers and NC Zoo educators embarked on our trip. We flew from Charlotte to London and from London to Entebbe, Uganda. The total time was about forty-eight hours. As we approached the airstrip in Entebbe, I was in awe of the landscape that lay before me. Palm trees, savannah grasslands, and many eucalyptus trees grew everywhere. We stayed one night in Kampala before making the drive west to the Kibale region in western Uganda. We stayed at the Crater Valley Kibale Lodge where we conducted our workshop for the teachers. We had two days of planning and relaxation prior to the teacher’s arrival. I needed this time to become acquainted with the area and regroup from the travel. Uganda is eight hours ahead of North Carolina.

The teachers were to arrive around 2:00 PM, but we quickly found out that in Africa, time becomes irrelevant due to lack of transportation and understanding due to the difficulties with communication. The teachers came from nine area schools. Most teachers were Primary (grades P1 – P8) while three were Secondary (S1 – S4). We met them and got acquainted with an activity where we took their picture with a Polaroid camera and had them tell us their names, where they taught, and if they could be any animal, what would they be and why? All of the teachers spoke English as well as their local language. In their classrooms they speak the local language except when teaching English. The workshop topics were Food, Land, and People and AlphaSmart technology. We worked through the day doing all sorts of experiments: journal writing as well as a drama or music performance on a topic related to seeds. I participated with my group of Ugandan teachers and performed a song we made up called: “Millet Song”. Millet is a grain used in Uganda as well as in North Carolina. We danced and sang the song explaining the virtues and uses of millet. Prossy had written the words in English so I figured I could sing them as they sang in their local language. It worked fine until she held the paper so I could not see it; at which point I simply had to follow the dance moves they were making. I had a blast and the other teachers all broke out in laughter watching the “Mzungu” dance and sing. “Mzungu” is the term used for white people. It is not derogatory; it is just what we were called.

After the performances, I introduced the AlphaSmarts to them. Their eyes were wide open and smiles all around as they turned them on. It was the first time any of them had ever used any sort of keyboard. After a few minutes, they were off and running and helping each other learn. This was amazing given the teachers had never used a keyboard or computer. Being teachers, they immediately started coming up with how they could use them in their classes with their students. Their expressions were beyond description when we had them type on the Apple iBook donated by Apple Computer. We were able to get it connected to the Internet on our last day in the area. We expect to have the Ugandan teachers and students email their writings to North Carolina teachers and students in the future with this Internet connection.

The teachers in Uganda are incredibly professional, gracious, sharing, and caring people who are working under very hard conditions to teach students so they can better themselves. Education in Uganda is highly revered and hard to get after Primary 8 due to testing and lack of space in the Secondary schools. Most teachers in the Primary area teach anywhere from 75 students to 120 students in a single classroom. I was in a P1 classroom with 120 students. The teacher, Silivia was fortunate because her room was in the new area, which meant it had cement floors and good sturdy benches for the students. Most of the classrooms are dirt floors and have a few benches for students. If there are no benches, the students sit on the floors. This is a major problem as there are also chiggers on the floor, which cause the students to become ill and miss school. One remedy for the chiggers is too spread cow dung on the floor to create a seal so the chiggers cannot get to the students. Obviously, this is one of the areas where the Uganda/North Carolina Schools Project is trying to help. Teachers also have no books, and very few pencils, paper or other basic supplies to conduct class with on a daily basis. We have acquired a list of supplies they would like and hope to raise funds so we can go back and do another round of workshops as well as send money to help them purchase supplies. The Ugandan teachers appreciate any books that have been donated but also noted that often the textbooks are old and not aligned to the Ugandan curriculum. This is why we have a list of textbooks needed to support their curriculum instead of sending them books that are not helpful. We can also purchase more materials by sending money instead of paying for shipping as well as purchasing the materials in the United States.

Of course, you cannot go to Africa without mentioning the countless animals we saw on the safaris we went on. At Queen Elizabeth National Park we saw hippopotamuses, elephants, cape buffaloes, kobs, water bucks, hyenas, warthogs, storks, fish eagles, herons and a female lion. In Kibale National Forest we were lucky enough to see red-tail monkeys, and chimpanzees. Our guide, Astone was with us in our workshop so we got a deluxe tour. We were closer then he has ever been and the pictures and movies I shot are beyond belief. At Crater Valley Kibale, vervet monkeys, black cobra snakes and lizards were part of the daily routine. The birds and animals are unbelievable!

I have been changed by my trip to Africa and will always remember the roads filled with people riding in overflowing taxis or trucks, bicycles pilled high with goods being bought and sold, people walking along the roads for great distances, young children waving and shouting “Mzungu” as we passed by, the local food being tasty and not tasty, and mostly the kindness and friendliness showed me by everyone I met no matter where I was in the country.

If you would like to support this worthy cause, you can make tax-deductible contributions to Uganda/North Carolina Schools Project and send them to me. I will forward them to Joy Hamlin at the North Carolina Zoo who oversees the fund. The money raised goes directly to support the schools and pay for North Carolina Teachers to travel to Uganda to conduct workshops. There are plans to bring three or four Ugandan teachers to North Carolina in October of 2003 for a three-week visit. One major goal is to find a source to fund a satellite Internet connection at the Crater Valley Kibale Lodge’s Community Center where we can have students, teachers, community members have access to a fast and somewhat stable connection for telecommunication. There are hopes to have this in place by next year so if anyone has expertise in getting things done in a foreign country, please feel free to contact me.

PS. The first draft of this was written on Thursday, February 6, 2003 while we were broken down on the road between Fort Portal and Kampala. Our driver hitched a ride to the next town to find a mechanic. What an adventure this has been and continues to be!

Karl