Another PCV Story

An addition to the previous post. This one is from PCV Haley White, who joined this project last month.

Community Volunteer Initiative for Development (COVOID)

COVOID is a Non-Governmental Organization (NGO) in Rubirizi (formerly Bushenyi) District of south-western Uganda. Uganda is the “pearl of Africa”, then this specific region, called Bunyaruguru, is a paradise within a paradise. Bunyaruguru is often overlooked by government projects and civil society organizations because everyone knows the area is rich in fertile soils, diverse foods, natural water sources, plentiful rainfall, and Queen Elizabeth National Park. What other people overlook, however, is that the economic culture of intensive agriculture and fishing contributes to a high rate of large families, forced school-leaving and child labor. Faced with the option of earning immediate, though meager, income by working in the fields and lakes, many short-sighted students lose interest in school and remove themselves in search of an easy shilling
(or 0.00043 pennies).

As one of very few NGOs serving the region, COVOID opened the Bunyaruguru Community Library in September 2007 with a starter collection from the National Library of Uganda. Presently the books are few and include many repetitious copies of high school math and
science textbooks. While valuable and in use, these books don’t really scream the messages of “books for all ages!”, “explore new worlds with your kids!” or “reading can be FUN!” Unless you have a very special perspective on the world, there was nothing very FUN about 10th grade trigonometry. While we do boast a few rather mind-blowing Sesame Street toddler puzzles that challenge kids, adults, and Peace Corps Volunteers alike, the so-called “children’s section” of our library is lacking substance.

This new donation of nearly 500 school age-appropriate books, primarily for leisure reading and English skills, will help COVOID to fulfil its goal of creating community access to the wide world of reading from a young age. Through National Book Week 2010, COVOID strengthened partnerships with local nursery, primary and secondary schools, all of which will be able to borrow books for the students to read and take home to share with their families. It is a source of pride for a parent to be able to witness her or his child learn to read, or enjoy a book even just for the pictures—to see the child achieve levels of education that may never have been available to them. These parents might just support their children through higher

levels of schooling. I can safely say that I learned more from “Snuggle Piggy and the Magic Blanket” than “Algebra II”, or maybe the memories are just more pleasant. But I hope that these kids can experience the same kind of joy that I always experience upon turning the pages of a new book. COVOID and I are very grateful for this opportunity to expand young minds in Bunyaruguru.

As we wait for books.....

Excitement is building in several communities and schools around Uganda for the arrival of 30,000 donated books from an American organization. The books have reached the continent, and are now making a slow treacherous crawl around congested ports, across poor roads, and through stiff borders. As we wait for the arrival of the books to Kyenjojo, and then out to the various communities, I want to offer stories of the various schools and communities involved in this project. This falls well short of a proper 'thank you' to all of you that have donated to the project, but I hope it brings some smiles...and maybe a few tears. We are planning to put together follow-up stories and pictures from each community once the books arrive. This will form a clear picture of the enormous impact we have all made. In the meantime, I'll give you these as they come to me from the volunteers...

Masaka School for Children with Special Needs (MSCSN)

This school is located just outside of Masaka town and caters for children with partial and full hearing impairments. The school has a current enrolment of about 100 students. A majority of the students at the school begin their educations much later compared to their hearing peers. The average age of a child at MSCSN in Primary One (Kindergarten) is 10-12 years, compared with the average of 6 years for a child in a standard school. This late start for the children at MSCSN means that most of them will finish their final year of primary schooling (6^th Grade) at 17-20 years of age.

The children of MSCSN experience daily challenges well beyond the scope of a typical student. One major challenge they face is in the language of instruction. According to Ministry of Education standards, the students are taught in (written) English. However, they are supplemented by communication in sign language with their teachers and peers, which conforms to the Uganda Sign Language (USL) standard. This mixing of languages causes some confusion in the students as they approach their end of school examinations, which are in English, leading to many failures.

“It’s not because they don't know the answers, but simply because the exams are in English. This is why it is such a blessing that there will be books on hand. They need more exposure to the English language and this will make it possible.” (Commer)

These students have never had the opportunity to read books. None of the students has ever owned even a single book. The school and its Peace Corps Volunteer Amber Commer, have fought extremely hard to turn this situation around for the students. They have constructed a library on the school campus, complete with shelves, tables, reading areas, and posters. In addition, they have been able to pull together enough money to make a significant local contribution towards the Libraries for Life project. Through these efforts the school has secured an order of 2500 books for their new library.

“We are so excited to finally get our books and fill up the empty shelves and our minds.”

- Amber Commer (PCV)

Kisiki College, Namutumba

Kisiki College is a secondary school in the Busoga region of eastern Uganda. The school has both Ordinary Level (7-10^th grades) and Advanced Level (11-12^th grades) and consists of boarding and day students. Currently the school has over 1,200 students, and is under the Ugandan Government’s Universal Secondary Education (USE) program.

The school has a library, but the conditions – ventilation, poor lighting, lack of space – are not ideal and many of the books are too old and out-dated to be beneficial to the students. This is especially true for those in 'A' level, who are the largest users of the library. In addition to having an outdated collection, the school, like many others in Uganda, suffers from a serious lack of reading culture. By getting interesting and relative books for the students, the school, along with its Peace Corps Volunteer Becky Poore, are hoping for a shift in this reading culture. They have recently opened a new reading room to adjacent to the library to allow more space for the students, and are hoping for more renovations in the future. The school has secured an order of 750 books through this project.

- Becky Poore (PCV)

YY Okot Memorial College, Kitgum, Uganda

An Open Letter:

I am Heather Pasley, a Peace Corps volunteer teaching at YY Okot Memorial College, an all-girls school in Kitgum, Uganda. Currently, we have a small selection of textbooks available from the library, but few girls actually take advantage of the collection. Besides reading a few bits of the Bible, the girls’ reading is limited to their school notes. They simply find no joy in reading.

Like the rest of the country, the Northern Ugandan culture is not a reading culture. However, these girls are faced with a competitive education system that requires a strong handle on English and reading. Right now, most girls are failing English class and struggling to speak English in the academic setting. Therefore, our interest is in novels at 5th-11th grade reading levels.

Our idea is to allow the girls in the lowest three classes (7^th – 9^th grade) to experience the fun of picking out a book at the beginning of each term and keeping it as their personal item for the entire term. At the end of each term, they will be asked to turn in a book report to their English teachers for extra credit along with their book. These girls have very few personal items, so we feel that getting to pick out their own book and keep it for a term will be a special thing to them and inspire them to read for joy.

Additionally, encouraging the girls at the school to read novels gives them an outlet from the troubles they face. Being in northern Uganda, these are children of war. Most of them were born into communities amidst brutal attacks from the Lord’s Resistance Army during the 1990’s. The lasting effects of what they have seen are immeasurable and escapes from that world are few - even in the peaceful climate which they now live.

This project was inspired by a similar program that my elementary school did which encouraged me to be the avid reader that I am now. I greatly appreciate all the help you all have given me in implementing this program here.

-Heather Pasley

*This school is receiving over 900 books through the project