Africa visit brings hope to teacher

UGANDAN CLASS: Shelley Sullivan running through the alphabet with a class in Uganda.

Shelley Sullivan is back home in Kaitaia, and back in front of her class at Pamapuria School, but still bubbling with the excitement of her latest foray to Uganda, her first in five years.

She set off with a list of things to achieve, she said, including visiting Kaitaia House, built for orphans and/or former child soldiers with money raised in the Far North, and that was easily the emotional highlight.

The HOPE Global Team had assembled at Sydney airport, flying to Entebbe via Bangkok and Dubai. The first two days were spent preparing conference bags, copying lesson plans and buying resources and stationery, before embarking on the 10-hour drive to Kitgum, in northern Uganda, where the team was hosted by the Irene Gleeson Foundation (named for the "remarkable" Australian woman who founded it).

"IGF has a school approximately one hour north, in Palabek, which is only 65 kilometres from the border with Sudan," she said.

"We held a conference there, building the capacity of local teachers. Our team consisted of a paediatric nurse, who taught CPR and basic first aid, a bank officer, who taught ICT, Word, Excel and Powerpoint on six laptops that we delivered, and another primary teacher, who taught Jolly Phonics, the Literacy Hour and the thematic curriculum with me.

"Rote learning is the common teaching practice in Uganda, so being able to share some of our very practical lessons and activities was quite exciting, and very well received."

The second conference was in Kitgum, followed by a third at Laminadera School, the same school and village of which Kaitaia House is a part.

"You can imagine my joy at visiting one lunch hour and meeting the beautiful Mama Rosemary and meeting six of the eight children," Shelley said.

"Mama Rosemary has two of her own children with her; the other six are orphans. And I have to admit that when I wandered over to the house and saw our plaque hanging above the door I had a huge lump in my throat.

"Jimmy (10) and Paschal (7) are currently on tour with the Watoto Choir in the USA. Patricia is 12, and hopes to be a doctor, Eunice is 10, and hopes to be an accountant, seven-year-old Innocent wants to be a driver, Fiona (5) also hopes to be a doctor and Joseph (6) wants to be a driver. Three-year-old Jesse was real mischief!

"I am so thrilled and extremely proud of what our community has achieved," she added.

"These children have a real future filled with hope."

One of the team returned to Australia at that point but the others spent a weekend in Rwanda, where they saw the Kigali Genocide Memorial and other significant sites.

"We met some amazing people with some touching stories of forgiveness and resilience," Shelley said.

"The Walk of Hope was an 8.5-kilometre walk to remember the 1,000,000 people who lost their lives in 100 days in 1994. It was a powerful and humbling experience to walk from the place where the president's plane crashed (which sparked the slaughter) to the Amahoro Stadium, where many sought shelter and safety.

"HOPE Rwanda was birthed in 2004 by Mark and Darlene Zschech, who held 100 days of healing. They also support the Fruits of HOPE School and the Village of HOPE, which is similar to the Watoto model, where a widow and orphans live in community. These were amazing ministries led by local people who have a clear vision for a better tomorrow for Rwanda."

It had been great to be back in Uganda though. The final conference attracted a large turnout of teachers, even though they were officially on holidays, and once the teaching of Jolly Phonics was very well received, as was the use of local materials to make classroom resources.

"Rice sacks are made of a waxy plastic woven fabric, and last a very long time. The edges were taped with masking tape to prevent fraying, and we supplied permanent markers and pastels to make wall posters for the classrooms."

She was also thrilled to meet Peter, one of the Watoto Children's Choir members who performed in Kaitaia in 2012.

"He may not have remembered me personally, but he did remember staying at the Orana and having an electric blanket. The choir is usually billeted, so when they came to Kaitaia and stayed together as one unit it was a very memorable occasion," she said.

"I was also able to visit Living Hope, the amazing team of ladies who we taught to sew in 2008 and 2009, and see them still using the electric sewing machines that we had taken over from Australia.

"Another highlight was meeting the Watoto Choir, which will be coming to Kaitaia in July. We were able to watch them rehearse, and I must say I am extremely excited to be hosting them. Mark July 16 on your calendar today."