The last two days in Mbale have been more of the same in terms of teaching different classes in Buchunya and spending much time discussing and planning partnership projects with the headteacher and staff. I had the opportunity once again to teach the oldest class in the school. This time it was English, and letter writing. I did this in the style of Big Writing (Kung Fu punctuation included) which the children enjoyed and they produced some really good quality pen pal letters for you to read when I get back.
On the way to school yesterday we also had the chance to stop off at Kingdom Nursery, partnered with Glantaf Infants school, to drop off some mail. Once again we received a very warm welcome even though they had no idea we were coming! They sang us two songs and we left them with some new footballs and a Welsh flag.
Today in Buchunya, it was time to say goodbye to the staff and children. I presented the Headteacher with a Welsh rugby shirt which he promised to wear on Saturday so that, "God will bless the game in Wales' favour!" (UPDATE: Thank you Ben!) I also gave the school a big Welsh flag to fly next to their Ugandan one outside and some new footballs which they were extremely grateful for. In return they gave us some footballs and skipping ropes that they had made themselves in DT lessons (see pictures below). If children here want to play with something, they have to use their own skills and natural products to make it themselves. It is extremely inspiring and humbling!
While I was waiting for the car to arrive (the head had left for a meeting) a group of children took me on a wider tour of the school grounds. They showed me the school garden and it was good to see the trees Ffynnon Taf donated a few years back growing so well. They also showed me the local water source (there is no running water in the village and everyone, including the school, has to carry their water from the well in containers - this is a sight you see everywhere in Uganda!). Children are on a daily rota to collect water three times a day for school usage - once again, nobody complains, it's just a fact of their life. They also took me into the village catholic church and explained the routines and traditions (Buchunya is a Catholic School).
My final task was to introduce the four youngest classes to our infant mascots (tiger, elephant, kangaroo and koala). They were quite amazed at the fact we had animal mascots and enjoyed posing for photographs for their counterpart classes to see. I also gave them the class books prepared by our classes and the friendship blanket made by Kangaroos and Koalas. They are all set to prepare the same to return to us in which they will answer all the children's questions.
Just as I was leaving, the Headteacher returned and he brought the governors with him to meet me. Following a quick chat, a few handshakes and a couple of photographs we were off. It was very sad to leave the school and four days just didn't seem enough but I'm sure staff from Ffynnon Taf will be returning in the near future.
A final stop on the way back to the hotel gave us opportunity to visit the Fairtrade factory in Mbale town (Mrs Howells, you would have loved it!). We were met by the manager who explained how the cooperative works with 30 different farmers in and around the Mount Elgon area (smack bang where our partner school is!). These farmers provide organic coffee parchment to the factory who mill and process the beans until they are ready to be sent to coffee manufacturers all over Europe. In return, the farmers receive a fair price for the work and product (a lot higher than non fair trade manufacturers pay) enabling them to expand their farms and employ more local people. The UK company that buy this particular coffee is Cafedirect and they have a brand called 'Mount Elgon'. If you see this in a supermarket, you may have to pay a few more pence for it, but you know exactly where the coffee came from and you know you are helping local communities. It's also supposed to be really good coffee so get mums and dads to try it!
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