Mrs. Fatland's class

Thanks for all your great questions! Keep asking them, and let me know if there is a special photo you would like to see! I will try my best.

Lucy: "Are there a lot of trees there?"

There are lots and lots of trees here, Uganda is a very lush green place. It is rainy season right now, so there is enough rain to make everything grow.

Charlie: "Are there a lot of schools?"

There are lots and lots of schools, in the Mukono District there are about 3,000 schools. Some of the schools are private some are public. Often students will live in dorms at the school, some students will walk to school. Most students have to pay a small fee in order to attend.

 Hugo: How do they clean their water?"

That is a tough question, if they are on a water system they get filtered water like we do at home, if they do not have running water which is the case in most schools, they get water from a well or stream.  They do not filter or clean it on their own. I have not been drinking the water here, we have been buying bottled water so we don’t get sick.

Max: "Are there any people who don't have hair at all and have bald heads?

There must be some older people who have lost their hair, but most people choose to shave it or trim it very short.

Sophie: "I hope you come back soon."

I will be here in Uganda until next Friday and then I visit South Africa. I do miss home.

Annabelle: "What kind of paper do they have there?"

They use the same kinds of supplies we use, because sister schools has done a good job providing school materials, it is exactly the same.

Aleta: "How much grass do they have?"

Lots and lots of grass and flowers and green….

Jena: "What kinds of pens and markers did they get from the boxes?"

All the supplies were donated by students in Seattle. They are the same ones we have.

Eden: "Is there lots of farming there?"

There is a lot of rural area here. People grow a lot of their food. Most homes do not own a refrigerator so they stop and buy vegetables on the side of the road. I see things like pineapple, avocado, passion fruit, bananas

Evie: "How many animals are there?"

In the jungle parts of Uganda there are many different types, here in the city people keep cows, chickens, maybe rabbits…. People don’t keep pets, most can’t afford to eat much less feed a pet.

Luke: "Was there an earthquake there once?"

I bet there was, most of the earthquakes occur further south along the Rift Valley which is in Kenya.

Drew: "Why don't they have school buses like us?"

They can’t afford school buses like us. One of the cool things about travelling the world is that people do things differently, and it is always interesting to see how some one lives.

Hello Mrs. Fatland's class!

I will be answering your questions individually, some I will try and take photos for today! Here is my first response:

Hugo, Mason and Reed,

This is a photo of how they keep attendance in a school. As you can see it lists every grade level, how many boys and how many girls for each day, and then a grand total. If there are more than 150 students in a grade level they will often break them up into two “streams” of about 75 per class.

 Schools vary in size from 300-over a 1000 it just really depends on the school.

Kisowera school

One of my Favorite photos from today

This was taken at Mukono Town Muslim school...

Attention teachers!

This is the teacher housing at Kisowera School... how would you like to not only work all day at school, but live there as well?

Your classroom space, imagine 50 students packed inside.

kindergarten class--

They call this class the Babies, the kids range in age from 4-6 years old, it is like our kindergarten!

School Visits

He wore his navy blue shorts as if they were pants, much to large for his little body. The sun beat down from above; students had been lined up waiting, waiting for the arrival of the Mzungo. He stood front and center, using every ounce of strength to stand still. Hands in the pockets. Hands out of the pockets. Turn around and look behind. Pick up a stick. Roll eyes as the white people talk on and on.  I could tell by watching him that he was a handful!

I realize that there are some things that are common to all children no matter where you are. One can spot their growing personalities from far away. The shy ones who aren’t comfortable smiling; the older girls slightly embarrassed or unsure of themselves, the wild little boys, or the outspoken ones ready to volunteer at any moment.  Across culture and continent children are children, it occurs to me that we have more similarities than differences.  The children here laugh and are quick to smile. They can be shy and cautious. They love to be in school, to read, to write, to play games…. We are more alike than we think.