Uganda Day Four - Buchunya Primary School

Today was the big day - I finally get to visit our partner school, Buchunya Primary, in the small mountain town of Bududa. We left our accommodation bright and early and set off on the extremely bumpy, dusty roads into the mountain districts. The further into our journey we went, the worse the roads became until we were literally just traveling on dirt tracks. The townsfolk of Mbale are obviously fairly used to occasional white visitors but this wasn't the case at all in these villages. Every village we drove through had locals waving and shouting 'Muzungos' (white people) while children attempted to chase the car to get a better view. Everywhere we stopped we would be inundated with villagers wanting to shake our hands. It was very strange but really highlighted how remote and different their lives are to our own.

Our first stop was Bukalasi Secondary School (linked to Cardinal Newman Comprehensive). We were given an extremely warm welcome by the Headteacher, staff and children. After speaking to the children in an assembly we were then shown around each class (including the neighbouring primary school) and given a lunch of Chapatis and soft drinks. What hit me straight away was the class sizes - over 100 in each class. The second big difference was that children only move up into the next 'year group' when they pass an exam. Unlike in Wales, each group (Senior 1 - 6 in secondary schools) are based on ability rather than age, meaning that each class was of mixed ages. Some children could stay in the lowest class for years if they can't pass the exam at the end of it.

Finally, we set of for Buchunya Primary, only a short distance away, and what a welcome we got! We were engulfed with children when we got out of the car and the staff seemed equally excited to have us there. We were treated to another meal (this time local nuts, chapatis and bananas) before the children performed a welcome assembly for us outside. The children had written a special 'Welcome Ffynnon Taf' song which they performed along with a poem, traditional dance and speech. To see nearly 900 children singing and dancing to celebrate the link with our school is a moment I will never forget! I have asked if they can perform it again before I leave so I can video it as it was truly amazing!

After the assembly, we were asked to talk to each class (again up to 140 in each room) and given a tour by the Headteacher, Ben Kolubi (although he writes it as Kalobi Ben as all Ugandans use their surname first!). The rooms are so bare, crowded and hot and the school have no resources but the children are so happy to be there and the behaviour of all the pupils is exceptional. After a look around the grounds it was time to leave. Today was all about formalities, introductions and welcomes, from tomorrow the work begins on our joint projects...