Primary School

Today was awesome! We got the chance to visit a local primary school. While there we painted the interior and exterior of their library to commemorate a fellow Drake student whose mother passed form breast cancer. It was hard work but it was for a good cause. The kids there were simply amazing. They all ranged from the ages of 5 to 18. Some children are far older than others in their same class. I met a 18 year old who was a P7 which is equivalent to a maybe a 6th grader. It is many children like this whose families couldn’t afford to send them to school until a lot later or they were orphans. The students were very shy and soft spoken at first but as the day went along they became more outspoken.
The school was a small property with a few buildings which were all in bad condition. They all had holes in the sheathing ceilings and water damage. Inside the roofs were bats and rat nests. It was unimaginable that a place so run down is where these kids enjoy coming to learn. They don’t know of anything better.
When we arrived we had an assembly with all the students. They sung their national anthem to us and we sung ours to them. We then had question and answer period with the children. These kids touched me in a way today that they will never know. One day I would love to come back to Uganda and help less fortunate kids in some way. This experience today made me more appreciative. There were many kids there who were orphans and didn’t have shoes to wear. I have never seen a child walk barefoot because they can’t afford a single pair of shoes. I have a few pair of shoes in my closet that I refuse to walk to class in scared to get them dirty yet these kids have no shoes.

The small things we take for granted in the United States these children would cherish. A fourteen year old boy pulled out a prized possession of his which was a single American dollar bill. The bill has been weathered and looks very dirty and old but he cherished it. It was his motivation to come to one day come to the United States. He said if God willing he would definitely make it to the States. This was very touching. If I had the resources, I would quickly sponsor this kid. He was a dynamic person and would benefit from the American Schooling system.

Overall this experience was definitely life changing. I think I have grown into a more appreciative person after this.

Talk to you guys later
Matthew