kidsgear primary school

Kidsgear is the Primary School which was established before Hoy's College by the same family. This is a typical morning assembly, dancing led by head teacher Christine...

I decided to attend the Luganda (local language) lessons as a student with the Primary 1 (5year old)  class. Needless to say I was a complete dunce and did what all disaffected students do... start distracting others...

I did however excel as the lunchtime jumping teacher...

I would be completely useless as a primary school teacher...

Women's day - out on the toon

One day in March I was chatting with some of the female teachers from the  primary school of Hoys College. The headteacher informed me the following day was 'Women's day' when traditionally women have a day off and men are supposed to do all the work both domestically and in the workplace. Christine suggested that I should take her, Martha and Susan out on the town for a couple of hours. Of course I didn't hesitate...

I understood that I would be providing the cash for food and drink.

The group however gathered in number to about 14 female and male teachers !

Delicious pork for everyone and 3 rounds of drinks at the Dizz Motel came to about 100,000 Ugandan shillings... under £30... great value by mzungu standards...

Shake it, Headteacher!

Rubbish, recycling and the kids next door

As Mzungus (white people) we create far more 'rubbish' than Ugandans with our constant need of packages of this and plastications of that. Our waste management/ recycling system consists of this bin...

Which then gets taken outside and various attempts are made to burn it by Helen underneath the Jackfruit tree...

More often than not however, local children get to our  rubbish before burning and recycle as toys...

Scary mzungu...

Can be other worldly at times...

These twins have white marks on their heads which is a type of mould. they all also have distended bellies I think with a form of Kwashiorkor or protein deficiency. 

Twins can be viewed with suspicion and deemed unlucky in traditional circles in some rural areas...

Home from Home

This buiding is my home. They call it the Mzungu compound. 

Mzungu means white person. 

There is no electricity and for water we rely on a man they call...

 DEFENCE.

Defence fills the jerry cans from the muddy pool, trucks them to us and fills our tank when we run out. 

Inside the compound, on most days you will find Dutch people sitting in their Dutch way on comfortable furnishings.

This is my room which is commonly accepted to be the best. I do now use a mosquito net but often end up wrapped up in it by morning. Sparrow like birds nest outside. There is a bat in the store cupboard, recently joined by a rat, the cat has proved ineffectual.

Helen looks after us and is even brave and kind enough to wash my clothes on occasion...

Invaders are rare, but occasionally Nwaje and Colin like to push the boundaries...

Very rare moment of relaxation...

Our shower.

Mad dogs and Englishmen, out in the midday sun...

Bukomansimbi

Bukomansimbi Trading Centre is our local town where most things are available. Things I have been unable to do here include : withdrawing money, buying a fuse for a plug, finding fresh bread.

I have had my bicycle wonderfully repaired by Samuel and his team...

I didn't buy any of this meat..

But I have bought Matooke - unsweet bananas - the national dish - frequently transported by bicycle.

Council offices - seen better times...?

Rain,rain but where is the fresh water?

Europeans take clean, drinkable water ON TAP for granted but the reality here is very different.  Water is collected from this muddy pool which is a 15 minute walk from school. Each student has to fill two 10 litre jerry cans each day to suffice for cooking and washing purposes...

Paul Yigo talks me through it..

Emmanuel and I show off our muscles while Rose has seen this all before.

I can't balance anything on my head, least of all a good head of hair these days, but these girls are smooth operators...

Taking the strain when moving the rainwater tank...

School dinners...Posho and spice and everything nice...

Beans and Posho ( somewhere between mash and rice and made of maize ) is served every lunch and every supper every day. Students often save some of their evening rations to consume in the long morning between wake-up (4.30am) and breakfast (10.30am), this they call 'cold power'.

Tina is not only the matron at Hoy's college but she is also chief brewer...



While Tina is chief brewer, Herbert, who has other innumerable jobs, is chief 'mingler'. An 'umingled' posho is no posho at all...

Occasionally Matooke - unsweet bananas - and pretty much 'the' national dish will be prepared for staff and the perfect accompaniment is a groundnut sauce...

High days and holidays bring MEAT...

Happy recipients queue patiently...