Monday 15th March 2010

Hi, this is William, and I am on my way to Brazil, to help support the Amigos Charity by talking to other businesses, churches and organisations about the work the charity is doing. We are being met at Sao Paulo airport in around 12 hours and taken to Pouso Alegre, where we will start from.

Travelling with Amigos Director Phil Pugsley, who is sitting right opposite me in the lounge telling me all about the latest developments in Uganda.

We will keep you updated we we go - next communication from the Southern Hemisphere!

Tuesday 16th March, 2010

Finally landed in the teeming city of Sao Paulo, at 6am after an 11 hour flight. Here’s a tip, when on a bigger plane, try to get over the wings or towards the front if you possibly can - at the back you get thrown around a lot more - that’s why first class is at the front!

Well, we had lots of Argentinian soldiers in uniform on the plane, which made me slightly nervous, given the current status of the Falklands, although seeing the Cyprus and UN badges made be feel slightly better.

Sao Paulo reminded me of Mexico - hot humid and crammed full of people, even at 6:00 am.

So Phil and I were very glad when Amaury Braga, our host for the 10 days I am here, arrived to take us out to the relatively calm and pleasant surroundings of Pouso Alegre. This city is around 100,000 people and we have really been blessed already. Amaury’s family have given us a great welcome, and have arranged a tour for us to different places around this southern part of Brazil to visit different organizations.

You can view a video of Pouso Alegre here:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g6v-UP57XXM

The drive here and the scenery we passed through was spectacular - including miles and miles of strawberry fields, sloping down from the verdant countryside. Everyone on the road seems to think that they are Ayrton Senna, but the speed of the driving contrasts dramatically with the slower pace of life here in this small city.

You can see Phil and Amaury enjoying a coffee here in downtown Pouso Alegre.

We begin tomorrow by heading to Campos do Jordao. But today it is rest - chatting with the family and thinking about how we will speak about Amigos and the work that is going on there to help young Ugandans get educated at Kira Farm.

Wednesday 17th March, Campos do Jordao

Now the work part of our trip starts. But not before a 6.30 am run up into the countryside with Amaury, who took me up on the trails out of the city for 14K. By the time we returned, the temperature was in the 70’s with 80% humidity, but the scenery was certainly worth it! Breakfast consisted of a range of exotic fruits, which included Guava, sharon fruit, passion fruit, mango and local cheeses.

So now we are off to Campos do Jordao, for our first meeting with business people who are interested in hearing about what Amigos are doing. Phil will be speaking, me supporting and Amaury translating.

Campos do Jordao is like little Switzerland, set 1500 metres up in the mountains with the houses build in a chalet style. It is reached by some tortuous turns through potholed roads and lumps of concrete disguised as sleeping policemen randomly inserted along the way. 120km takes in excess of 2 hours as we jockeyed through the mountains with lorries and buses. The spectacular scenery was disguised by low hanging cloud, mist and rain, and as the temperature plummeted I wondered about the advice I had received on not needing anything else other than shorts. The one day I could have done with the sweater Louisa made me pack! But what a fantastic place! The entrance only gives a flavour of the place, with beautifully decorated squares, ornate houses, banks built in a chalet style etc.

Local bank in Campos do Jordao

We arrived at a beautiful restaurant called Nonna Mimi, owned by Sergio and his family, to a table with enough food for eight of us. One thing to mention here about the hospitality is that it is second to none - and the food is great, so no chance of losing any kilos here, even if I managed to run every day!

Sergio (in the grey top below) explained about his life, a little of the history of this place and how it is becoming a playground for the rich and famous of Sao Paulo, who come up here in Winter to experience the clean air and good food! Watch out for the great rice puddings (bottom left) if you come here!

Brazilian hospitality

Later we went to the church, where Phil was speaking about the work of Amigos in Uganda. However, nothing is quite as straightforward and Phil was invited to demonstrate his guitar skills first. So not only was this a speaking engagement but also it began by jamming with the band (and Sergio, who had done a quick change to become Pastor Sergio, one of the leaders of this new church which was planted only 3 years ago). Phil, if these talents you have ever get out, Joss may come a calling for some backing!

Phil Pugsley from the Amigos Charity jams with the band in Campos do Jordao

The presentation of a slide show, with Amaury translating for Phil, went really well and it was great to see the reception he received and the warmth there is for Africa from ordinary people here in Brazil.

The meeting broke up around 10 pm and following Pizza we travelled back to Pouso Alegre, through fog, rain and finally a brilliantly clear sky, glimpsing the Southern Cross amid a sea of brilliant stars in the sky. Tomorrow a local day in Pouso Alegre.

Thursday 18th March, Pouso Alegre

After arriving back late last night, a relaxing day in the city today, meeting with a graphic designer who is interested in following Phil’s example with greeting cards.

Amigos started with Phil doing what he was good at - printing. Professionally trained as a printer, he tells the story of how he asked his boss one day if he could use the printing presses after work to print some cards to help raise money for the orphans he had met in Uganda. His boss said yes. Then he asked a card company if they could donate some card for him to print on. Again they said yes. He went to an envelope company to see if they would donate envelopes. ‘How many would you like?’  came the reply. Phil felt this was a sign that he was moving in the right direction and that God was telling him - ‘do what you are good at, I’ll take care of the rest’. Before long, he was printing and selling greetings cards through friends, his church, his contacts, and the initial funding to help in Uganda was started.

You can view some of the designs and purchase greetings cards directly from the Amigos website here:

This is the message that he is bringing to Brazil on this trip - you can start serving by doing what you are good at - but you have to start - no one else can do this for you. So here in our meeting this morning there was some enthusiasm for his idea of printing and selling greetings cards here in Brazil.

This evening Phil spoke at the Agua Viva church in Pouso Alegre. The great thing about churches here is that the doors are open, so people outside can hear what is going on inside. Why is it in the UK that we close the church doors? Maybe we feel safer inside. Or maybe it is just that it is 20 degrees warmer here than in England!

Phil speaking at Agua Viva church, Pouso Alegre

Friday 19th March, Monte Verde

The day starts bright with sunshine and it is going to be warm again, as we head for the mountains and Monte Verde. This is a great place, population around 7000, which again looks like a mini Switzerland. Some of the images are out of this world, and not what we expected at all!

Monte Verde, Brazil

house in Monte Verde

The 2 Phils

We visited a missionary training base where we were able to share in their vision of equipping young people to bring hope to our hurting world.  The centre is set in a beautiful green valley, and Phil spoke to these guys about Uganda and how inspired we are by their dedication and desire to make a difference. You can see a great video of them singing an Afrikaans song  on you tube here:

Group of young trainee missionaries in Monte Verde - these guys are going to be great!

Drove back to a beautiful sunset towards a weekend, where we head for our first Brazilian barbecue tomorrow.

Saturday 20th March, Pouso Alegre, then Campinas

Next couple of days are going to be busy. But got to see a little of the real Brazil this Saturday morning as my painful toe (I know, I sound like a wimp) was not much better. So the host family here arranged for me to go to a clinic and to give a blood sample. Now anyone who knows me knows that needles and I are not best friends, so spent much of the night in turmoil dreaming of nasty things that could happen.

Pleasantly surprised to see a really clean clinic with loads of nurses and doctors - who were really friendly. Sat in the chair waiting for the nurse to say a Brazilian version of

‘Now just a little prick with the needle sir’

to which I would reply - no I’d better not write it… but Amaury kept telling me jokes and it was over in no time. No fainting, no feeling dizzy and really easy. No waiting around for the results, as Amaury had smiled sweetly at the nurse and managed to get the results sped up. They were available within an hour by internet. Cost £4. Fortunately they told me there was nothing major wrong and the docs advice was to keep taking the anti-inflammatory tablets. Hopefully I will be back running by the end of the week. But overall impression is that the health system is really clean, ordered and structured, providing you can pay or have a good insurance policy.  But many people here don’t have private health insurance. Unless you company pays for it, it is too expensive. So if you are coming here to teach, try to find a school with some benefits to help!

Spent some time in Pouso Alegre this morning, where there is a Saturday artisan craft fair (girls I really hope you like the presents I will bring back) and the temperature started climbing towards 80 degrees plus.

bustling square in downtown Pouso Alegre

We headed off to a family barbecue, which in Brazil is quite a thing. Starting around 1pm, it will go on until 10pm officially, with the whole extended Braga family (around 30 or so) joining together at a country club outside Pouso Alegre. They had got toether to celebrate a birthday and family members had come from as far as Sao Paulo and Recife (in the NE). And the meat just keeps on coming. Been here a week and not a sign of a fish anywhere on a menu. Different cuts of cow, pork, sausage, chicken, chicken hearts (strangely tasty) were delivered up for us to nibble on, accompanied by cold beer and soft drinks. Lots of talking, laughing and eating - a true Brazilian experience. Won’t need to eat again for a week.

Braga family Barbecue

Tony’s Story

Here is a little story of someone in Brazil who is already making a difference. Tony is a hairdresser here in downtown Pouso Alegre. He came to the church where Phil was speaking on Thursday evening. So impressed was he by the vision of Amigos, he decided to go home and make a difference straightaway. He downloaded images from the Amigos website, then made a poster for his barber shop. Then he put up a sign that he was adding 1 Real (about 40 pence) to the price of each haircut, which would go directly to Amigos. Customers have the option to take it off if they want to, but he is hoping that most won’t and that they will see he is trying to do something good for others. WAY TO GO TONY! Thanks for your support. If you are reading this and think you’d like to make a difference, Amigos have some ideas for how you can do this here. Alternatively you can come and teach in Uganda with Global English - for more info click here.

Now starts a run of a lot of meetings and presentations. We head off this evening to present Uganda to a group of 50-60 young people in Campinas this evening, around 2 hours away. Then back to Pouso Alegre tonight, in for a church service tomorrow, followed by a 150 minute drive to Sao Paulo. So lets go.

Campinas, Saturday night

Another road trip begins as we head south and then west this time towards Campinas, a small city towards the interior of Minas Gerais. The thunder and lightning that have been threatening all day are a spectacular backdrop to a setting sun and begin to light up the night sky as we journey. This time Filipe, Amuary’s 23 year old son, will translate for Phil as he gets ready to speak to the group at Campinas.

Church in Campinas

Phil laid out some facts and figures about Uganda:

• The youngest average age of any country in the world - 15 years old
• has 2.5 million of the 15 million orphans in Africa due to Aids
• the second fastest growing population in the world
• but a great opportunity for us to help

Youngsters in Campinas

He spoke about the chance that each individual has to make a difference and how they could help in Africa.

Each church we go to starts with what seems like a rock band bashing out the songs or hymns - singing is a big part of evangelical life in the church here and it isn’t the warbling we often get on a sunday morning. Apparently the music is loud so that if you do not sing like a nightingale the music will drown you out. Works too - we should consider it… Students singing in Campinas

We were invited to yet another meal after the presentation and as my stomach is expanding I will need to go on a crash diet when I get home. We flew back up the motorway to Pouso Alegre and crashed out at home around 1am, with the mileometer approaching around 1000 miles on this whistle stop journey. This must be what it feels like to be a roadie for a pop star - one venue to the next, leaving into the darkness to be whisked away to another venue.

Sunday 21st March, Pouso Alegre, then Sao Paulo

Something that I noticed most about Brazil is the way that drivers use all the road. In England we are quite conservative, we stick to our lane and usually only change lanes if we are overtaking. No here - oh no. We swing from the fast lane across to the hard shoulder to take corners at 120 km/h, dodge in between lorries who are trying to outgun each other up hills.It is as if they have taken the Interlagos racetrack and transplanted it onto the highways of Southern Brazil. You can have up to 20 points on your license here, although each speeding fine carries between 5 - 12 points. So be nice to the policeman.

Resting in Pouso Alegre after another presentation here this morning, before heading off to the city of Sao Paulo, 3 hours drive from here. Watching the rain lash down and the lightning as the thunder rolls across the sky. It is in the 90’s and humid. I look out over the rooftops, past the satalite dishes, past Angelis Moda Intima (I think that is a lingerie factory) towards the grey skyline, as we are about to make a video for Amigos which will go on the Portuguese version of the website. Very tired but one more gig today and then can rest up a little more tomorrow.

Good news, toe getting better. Many thanks to Sr Leo, the printer (see Wednesday above) who resolved to bring me some Devil’s claw, from which I have been making tea. It’s foul smelling, tastes like watered earth, but it might just be working.

Sao Paulo

Sunday afternoon say us take another long trip towards Sao Paulo, south and fast. Beginning to get the hang of travelling here. Just have no fear and go with it.

Sao Paulo is approached through the hills and looks almost picturesque from a distance - a really long distance - then when you start getting closer the traffic begins to snarl and you get tied up in lines. Here’s a tip, if you leave much more than a cigarette paper’s width between you and the car in front, someone will dive in.

We got into the Pinheiros part of the city and parked in a garage which opens on a sunday specially for the church where we were to be speaking.

Phil and Amaury in Sao Paulo

We were early, so we went across the road to a less than inviting looking cafe, which had a large stainless steel container on the counter. We saw that it contained coffee so Phil decided to order one. Amaury and I chose water and a juice from the fridge. Phil’s coffee resembled thick black sludge, and tasted somewhat similar, he said. We walked down the road which they are digging up to make a new underground station. Phil nearly stepped into the open sewer. This wasn’t proving to be his day.

But that all changed when the service started. 2 and a half hours later, with the audience filled with joy and tears, he walked off the stage with the sound of perhaps the most spontaneous reception we have received all week. Several people were interested in not only Amigos but also teaching English as a Foreign Language. The bit I managed about supporting Amigos went really well. I met a potential agent who wants to represent us in SP so that is really encouraging. ‘Good to meet you Richard and looking forward to working with you in the future!’

A late night drive back to Pouso Alegre was made more passable by the presence of Maria Jesus, Pastor Oswaldo’s mother-in-law. So spent some time shouting loudly in bad Portuguese about the rain, temperature, the road and not much else, while Phil and Amaury were up front talking about monkeys.

Monday 22nd March, 2010 - Pouso Alegre

After a frenetic few days, of over 1100 miles, 3 meetings and 6 presentations, a welcome wind down day. Phil visited the local square, I met with a couple of language schools also interested in Phone English and we chilled out with the family over a meal of steak, feijoao, rice and vegetables, following on from delicious pao quejio…

Pao quejio

which is bread made with cheese. A really relaxing day was turned upside down when Amaury invited me for a run. Thankfully the toe is better so off I went, with a water bottle, in the late afternoon at about 25 degrees. We picked up a friend of his (Ediao) who is training for an ultra marathon in Sao Paulo and had already run 22 Kms that morning. We headed for the hills around Pouso Alegre, only for it to start getting really dark and really warm. And then the light show started in the hills around 10 miles away. The dirt tracks turned into muddy pools from the previous days rain as we headed through the valley, the sky now black and the fireflies buzzing by, our only light coming from the ever nearing lightning. Picking our way slowly round this tortuous route, walking because you didn’t know where your feet were going, watching out for anything that moved (not that you could see anything although thanks for reminding me about the snakes guys), I wondered if I would ever see my wife and kids again. Thankfully up another hill, round a corner, across some barbed wire that I am really glad my running partners knew about, we saw a light and I shouted civilisation,  only to be looked at like a nutter from my colleagues and the people in the house. ‘It’s OK, he’e English’ was probably what they were too polite to say.

We returned to the city and never have I been so glad to run on concrete! We made it back 15 Km later just as the rain came and the lightning hit the streets. But a memorable way to end my last full day here. A final Brazilian beer in the kitchen and it was off to blog and then bed.

Tuesday 23rd March - Thursday 24th March - Pouso Alegre - Sao Paulo Airport - London

This is my final blog entry, ahead of a long bus, plane, shuttle and then train journey. I leave Pouso Alegre with fond memories and would gladly come back here again. The people and the food both get rave reviews, while the driving makes you feel slightly less in control of your destiny (as if any of us are) but definitely a place to come back to - one day. For those of you who pray, please keep Phil in your thoughts as he goes on to speak at three more meetings this week, Machado on Wednesday, the at different locations in Pouso Alegre on Thursday and Friday. All the best Phil!

And a big thanks to Amaury, Celeste, Andre and Filipe, who made me so welcome and made me want to come back here again! Next time I will try to speak more in Portuguese, I promise!

gonna come back here again... Monte Verde, Brazil

Devon Soul Singer Joss Stone has formally opened the Kira Farm Training Centre in Uganda.  

Joss has been a supporter of Amigos ever since she made a visit to Uganda in 2006 to see the work that the Devon based charity is doing for young orphans there. So it was great that she could spare the time to go back and formally open the training centre 3 and a half years later.

The centre, based around 45 minutes from Kampala, has been up and running since March, with the help of generously donated funds from a wide range of individuals and organisations, local and national, including Global English.

On her website, Joss posted the following comment on 27th October:

‘Hey guys!  I’m in Uganda at the moment, its gorgeous!  And very very hot.

We opened Kira Farm a couple days ago, its really amazing there.  Amigos are doing a great job and so are the girls at the school and there is one boy.  Goes to show that it doesn’t matter where you are from or what your situation is, there is always hope and you can truly do anything you want in this life.  You just have to stop talking and start doing.

I’m impressed, there is a link on this site to Amigos, go check it out. Where would we be in this world with out the lovely people.’

Amigos Director Phil Pugsley has been one of the driving forces behind the north Devon based charity Amigos. He has seen it grow from a dream with humble beginnings to this exciting point.  He said:

‘It was great to see how much our students have achieved in just six months. It breaks your heart to hear of their backgrounds. We just pray these kids make it as they get this great second chance in life Kira Farm Training Centre has to offer, I have a very strong feeling they will!

 Joss Stone has this amazing ability to totally empathize with our Kira students, she encouraged them to use their talents, just like she has done with her voice. We’re all good at doing something!’ 

Students at Kira Farm are learning a range of skills, from agriculture, animal husbandry, home economics and tailoring to English, Maths and business skills. The aim is for them to take these skills back to their villages, where they can share them with their local communities, therefore improving the life for rural Ugandans.  

Representatives from Westcountry TV in the UK also travelled out to film the opening. Cordelia Lynch has put together a 3 part report, to be shown live starting this week (November 10th). You can catch Westcountry Live at 6pm in the Westcountry ITV region or via the website here>>.  

If you are interested in finding out more about Kira Farm, or the Amigos charity, visit their website at www.amigos.org.uk.

Katie Sheehy, Global English grad and new TEFL teacher, completes her report on her 3 week trip to Uganda, where she taught English at 2 primary schools. In this report she talks about teaching kids all about Arsenal FC, moving on to a small private school in Masindi, Northern Uganda and a final trip to Kira Farm outside Kampala.

During the course of the week, I used four more of my prepared plans, including one dedicated to the topic of Arsenal football club. This is my favourite team and I had written to the club’s charity department to ask for some resources. They sent me a lot of brochures on the club and pictures of the players. I used the brochures as a basis for a team quiz and gave the pictures out as prizes for the winning teams. This was certainly the quietest lesson as 60 heads were bent over the brochures trying to work out the answers to my most difficult questions!  

The funniest part of this lesson was the fact that nobody would take the picture of Emmanuel Adebayor as a prize.

 

I spent my free weekend visiting Murchison Falls national park (on a very long day trip that started at 4:30am!), visiting Masindi market & shops and then relaxing at the hotel. Masindi town is a friendly place and many of the locals are very glad to chat with you, find out where you are from and share experiences. During a brief torrential downpour I took shelter in a small shop and got chatting to the proprietor. It turned out that not only had he visited the UK on a teacher exchange a few years back but he had stayed in a number of small villages in Essex that I knew very well as that is the area I grew up in – it’s a small world!

For my second week, I travelled a few miles outside of Masindi to a small village called Kyema and taught at their local community school which is called Masindi Progressive Primary (MPP). This school was much smaller with only about 200 students in total but it still had the range of classes from nursery to P7 and about 6 full-time teachers. They gave me a lovely welcome, with the children lined up along the side of the road to greet me. Then all the school gathered to sing songs and I took this group picture.

The rural setting of the school is beautiful as it sits on top of a hill overlooking Masindi, but its facilities are very basic as there is just one large building and the classrooms are divided from each other by some grass partitions.

My co-ordinator at MPP was Teacher Harriet and she was very keen for me to meet some of the local community members as well as teach English.

In fact my week at MPP was far more flexible and wide-ranging as I never knew what or who I was going to teach on any one day, so I turned my hand to a variety of lessons and taught all classes at least once. I brushed up my singing skills and got P1 and P2 singing & miming to “ Old MacDonald” and got P3 running relay races and dancing the “Hokey Cokey”. The funniest part of this week (for them not me!) was me being easily beaten by a small boy in P3 class during a hopping & jumping relay race. Next time I will get hold of some sacks, cloth ties, spoons & eggs and do a full replication of an “ English sports day”.

I was also able to meet all the children at MPP that are sponsored through Amigos. There are 28 children, mostly orphans, who benefit hugely from having a sponsor that pays for their school fees, their uniforms and school books. Without the sponsors their guardians would struggle to send these children to a school with such good results.

Paying fees to send children to a private school was actually one of the issues that I struggled the most with. There are free, government-run primary schools in Uganda but many people consider the educational levels to be poor (and indeed the class sizes are often over 100) and hence they scrape money together to send their children to the private schools. When I visited the homes of the guardians in Kyema, I was invited inside and I could see how little they had (just a mattress and a few pots & pans) in this rural community. This helped me to understand why they valued education highly and were prepared to pay fees so their children can get the best available and hopefully improve their future prospects. (You can find out more about sponsoring a child through Amigos here>> - Ed.)

At the end of my week at MPP, the school held a big fundraising day. Many of the students & teachers had spent the week visiting the local communities to ask for donations (which was why my teaching timetable was so fluid!) and they brought back various items of produce, including beans, bananas, groundnuts, maize and a few chickens & goats. I attended the fundraising day in the morning but unfortunately had to leave to catch my bus back to Kampala before it really got underway. But I hope they did very well from it and raised money for their planned building improvements.

I had many emotions during my journey back to Kampala. I had settled into Masindi, was pleased that the placements had gone so well and felt I had made friends with many people that I had met.  Once I was back in Kampala, I was able to squeeze in a couple more visits; one to Kira Farm where Phil (below right, pictured here with Amigos Volunteer Coordinator Joseph) showed me around and explained all the progress so far and one to Joseph’s local Pentecostal church where I was welcomed as a guest during a lively & interesting service.

Now I am back in the UK and planning my next adventure in my career-break. I intend to continue supporting Amigos work and would love to return to Uganda sometime soon. I am hoping those teaching English skills will come in handy once again!

To conclude, I would like to give many thanks to everyone who helped me before and during my placement – I had a fantastic experience and I send best wishes for Amigos’ continued success and good luck to future volunteers that come via Global English.

Katie Sheehy, Global English grad and new TEFL teacher, sent us this report on her 3 week trip to Uganda, where she taught English at 2 primary schools. All the words here are hers so thanks for the report Katie! 

My volunteer English teaching experience in Masinidi, Uganda, Part 1

by Katie Sheehy

If you give to charity, do you ever wonder where your money goes?

Well here’s where ours is being spent. Or more accurately, yours!

As you probably know at Global English we give 10% of all our profits to Amigos, a Christian based charity that works in Uganda to help alleviate poverty and educate the next generation of young Africans.

Global English started supporting Amigos this year and Amigos are using our donations, along with donations from other organisations such as British Airways, Brend Hotels and several other local South West businesses, to help develop the Kira Farm Training Centre, Uganda.

Lying around 14 miles to the North of the capital Kampala, Kira Farm started 5 years ago as a dream. A 22-acre site was purchased by 3 men with a mission to do something worthwhile for the people of Uganda. Gradually over time the project has grown and on 2nd May 2009, 16 female students were enrolled into the Kira Farm Training Centre. This first intake will stay for 12 months, learning vocational and business skills, English and Maths, Home Economics as well as agricultural and horticultural skills. The main thrust of teaching will be ‘in the field’ with sustainable, pioneering, crop growing methods always at the centre of the programme.  Chicken, fish, rabbit, pig and bee husbandry will be taught as small rural projects next to Home Economics, Health & Hygiene and First-Aid, alongside basic Maths and English. The teaching is conducted by trained Ugandan teachers who understand the ethos and support the aims of the programme.

But before the girls could start on their education, a lot of ground work had to be done. One of the first learning experiences was for them to sew their own pillow cases!

These youngsters (like so many Ugandans) are orphaned teenagers, and Amigos aims to help them build their confidence, honesty and faithfulness so that they will become valuable citizens in their communities. They come from different parts of Uganda, so there were some dialect, language and cultural barriers to overcome. The girls sleep 4 to a room in the newly built dormitories and have their indoor lessons in the brand new classroom below.

 The Amigos Charity believes that Kira Farm students can become a catalyst for change, as they demonstrate honesty, fidelity and integrity, coupled with a good work ethic. Once their training is complete, they will return to their villages from all over Uganda and take back the knowledge they have gathered, to share with their communities.  

Amigos Director Phil Pugsley (pictured below) says ‘Thank you to everyone who has faithfully supported Amigos and this project over the past 5 years, it seemed as if this day would never come! Because 35% of Ugandan primary aged children drop out of school, they never have the opportunity to reach higher education. Yet most Ugandan young people either own land or have access to land. Amigos believes this is a great starting point for their future existence.’ 

You can read a more in-depth feature on the current goings on at Kira Farm and a travel article on Uganda by Francesca Taffs, who travelled to Kira and other locations in February 2009.

So you can see that the donations you are providing by enroling on a course with Global English are really being put to good use. Keep em’ coming!

 William Bradridge, Director of Studies

Thursday Wednesday 19th February, MASINDI TO KAMPALA

A brief stop in Masindi after breakfast to say goodbye to the town. Then a long 5 hour journey back to Kampala, for a relaxing final night at Fields of Life.

Laura and Sarah enjoying a final day of warm weather with Joseph

Tomorrow is our return to Entebbe (another 5.30 am start) and then another coach ride back to England. But this experience has been worth it for all of us.

Wednesday 18th February, RED CHILLI BASE CAMP AND BACK TO MASINDI

Up at 5.30 am to greet the day - they turn off the electricity here from Midnight to 9am, so decided against a late night trip to the toilets for fear of meeting the python.  The Game Drive today promised lots more driving in our bumpy bus with glimpses of distance objects that might or might not be animals. But we saw an elephant crossing the road (some joke there possibly?) and a herd of giraffes, unamused water buffalo and millions of antelope, waiting for a lion. It could be that the lion not only sleeps tonight but in the day also. The antelope like us will have a long wait. Apparently there are 350 lions in the game reserve, but none was available for comment while we were journeying through. As the bumps got bigger and George’s 30 year old (?) rifle bounced around on the floor of the bus, giving Dave up front the odd nervous moment, we resigned ourselves to missing out on the lions.

Fatigued, smelling faintly unpleasant (me at least) we commenced our journey back to Masindi. Sorry if a lot of this seems like journeys, but by the time we finish this 8 day trip we will have spent the best part of 2 days on this bus.

This time Masindi looked like an oasis in the desert. It is worth mentioning what a great place this is. The feeling of a small town (around 4000) with friendly people, familiar signs of an ATM at a Barclays bank, where above ther tellers there are 3 signs, no smoking (predicable) no mobile phones (understandable) and no guns. Hmmmm. The Wild West came to mind as Dave and I were ushered into a seat by a pretty young lady, around 5 foot in boots, brandishing a machine gun. But this aside, and the fact that you take your life in your hands when crossing the road, I really liked Masindi and would welcome a return visit soon. The food is good, the people are friendly, things are relaxed and life moves at a slower pace than in the capital.

Local motorbike taxi rank Masindi

Next came a mix of emotions, as some of us got to meet the children we had agreed to sponsor. Amigos has around 200 children currently awaiting sponsorship - some of their stories are really sad but for all of us who decided to become sponsors it was a special moment. Each of the sponsored youngsters will attend Masindi Progressive Primary school starting in April and some of us will definitely be back to see how they are doing!

Next a complete contrast in emotions, as we visited the home of one of Amigos sponsored children who recently passed away. Ibrahim was a youngster who developed cerebal malaria and was not strong enough to survive. We visited his parents at the request of the family and attended the grave. At the same time, the sky darkened and an amazing tropical thunderstorm broke, making this a truly surreal experience, one which I find impossible to do justice to here.

Tuesday 17th February, Masindi - Murchison Falls

ROAD TRIP part 2 - RED CHILLI BASE CAMP

Another day starts early in a bumpy bus, another set of white clothes discarded in the trash (there is no way we can this amount of mud and the grit out) and another puncture. PATRICK!

We hobble into the Red Chilli Rest Camp and are assigned our bandas - which for us chaps means a nice view of the communal toilets and shower block, which we share with the other travellers, warthogs and a not too friendly python. Meanwhile the girls get to enjoy the pleasures of idyllic, en-suite accommodation (including toilet seats), compact but well-appointed bedrooms overlooking stunning views of the majestic scenery. Huh.

A slight downside to their rooms were the bugs they claimed to have seen. However, there is no documentary evidence of this, as Fiona apparently failed to get the ‘money shot’ of the animal she claimed was a cockroach. She appears to have been too busy running screaming for the door.

Funny, as it is about the only thing she hasn’t photographed all trip.

R&R Red Chilli Style, and look girls, not a bug in sight (might James’s spray can have finished them off?).

RIVER SAFARI AND MURCHISON FALLS

This proved the tourist highlight of the trip so far, with sightings, of crocodiles, hippos and elephants all queueing up for us to take photos as we cruised along the Victoria Nile upstream towards the falls. The Honey Badgers were disappointingly absent and have been all the way through our trip, much to Simon’s chargrin.

After a leisurly 2 hours we disembarked and followed a trail our tour guide Benson had pointed out which would take us to the top of the falls. 30 minutes he said. Perhaps last trip he took Paula Radcliffe. About an hour and a half later we reached the summit, leaving behind several pints of fluid as the temperature steadied in the mid-eighties. But the views and sights were we well worth it. Another bumpy ride back to the base camp and we were ready for dinner under the stars and a cold beer.

Looking down the Victoria Nile from the top of Murchison Falls

Monday 16th February, Kampala - Masindi, Central Uganda

ROAD TRIP part 1 - INTO MASINDI

Road trip commenced today, on our first class although bumpy coach as we travelled North out of the bustling Kampala and onto the highway towards Masindi. A stop at a petrol station to buy cold cokes saw us looking at all kinds of Kampalan life, a woman in high heels and a business suit glided past the tall overalled man sweeping leaves of a lawn. Almost everywhere you go someone seems to be sweeping something with a short-handled broom made of grasses.

Kampala Rush hour. No way through here…

Patrick our genial, unflappable driver took the wheel as we finally broke free of the traffic to hit the open road, a long 5 hour journey ahead.

Patrick and Joseph fix a puncture

We hobbled into Masindi to the Hotel Aribas, which looks like a series of Northern Mexican Haciendas, only to find that my roommate had already managed to break the shower. Cheers James. That’s 2 showers you have broken this week. Our hotel manager wore a worried frown as he showed us into another room with a shower that would stop running cold. So what seemed like an really nice place had a slight downside.

Partially showered, we all trundled off to our first visit, which was to a local school - the

Asaba Primary school which has over 1000 pupils. We met some of the 47 teachers who welcomed us - AMIGOS sponsors 20 children at the school, and then we were invited around the classes. One of the classes had 66 pupils (!) (4 were away that day as well) so I’m trying to get my head round teaching to so many.  One of our number, Simon, started a lesson on animals, and had the whole front row mooing, but I’m still trying to work out why. Asaba looks like a really well run school, despite the frighteningly large numbers, and I think it is a school our volunteers will enjoy.

Next and on to a completely different story, when we reached the Masindi Progressive Primary school, the children (all 194 of them) were lined up on the side of the road, in the boiling afternoon sunshine. We received the best welcome of the week as they cheered and ran after our bus down the dusty dirt track. Watch our welcome here (thanks for getting this Laura!):

http://www.facebook.com/ext/share.php?sid=54414525381&h=A3UJz&u=7PV4b

Patrick probably felt like Lewis Hamilton.

We parked up to be mobbed like conquering heroes, then welcomed into a hot brick room. Pastor Mike mentioned that they had moved the library out to fit all 13 of us in. An agenda was read out, where we started with prayers of thanks, general introductions, followed by a walk round the classrooms. If you could call them that. The walls were mudbrick and cement, unplastered, with classrooms separated by wicker partitions, so everything from the neighbouring classroom could be heard. Children sat on short benches but with no exercise books or pencils evident. But the joy of their faces, the songs they sang as we entered each classroom melted our hearts. Amid the incredible conditions we were astounded by the happiness they showed. Their teachers are devoted to them and the standards within the school are excellent, with several of the youngsters achieving top grades in the district. A really happy story.

(Above L to R) Fran, James and Laura join the students for one of Simon’s lessons at Masindi Progressive Primary School.

Sunday 15th February, Kampala

Where do you start talking about a day as fantastic as today?

Firstly, I apologise for Fiona and Phil for spelling ‘Mzungu’ incorrectly - it means ‘white person’ and we are hearing it a lot - but it is said with a smile and means no malace. All the children on the streets shout out ‘Hi Mzungu’ as we journey to and from destinations. And next, thanks to Fiona, who has uploaded a load of images to Facebook and allowed me to copy some onto the blog!

OK, back to today.

KAMPALA PENTECOSTAL CHURCH

Today started with a visit to KPC, Kampala Pentecostal Church. We joined around 2000 other congregation members at the second service (they do 4 services each sunday to a total of 8000 worshippers). The singing was great and the message powerfully delivered by a Canadian pastor with extra Energiser batteries - a great spiritual experience which was refreshing and overpowering, like pretty much every aspect of this trip.

KIRA FARM

Next came perhaps the most important aspect of this trip for me. At Kira Farm, about 20 miles outside Kampala, Amigos are building a self-sustaining project, designed to give some of the neediest Ugandans, young and old, an opportunity to learn farming and vocational skills. This is important to us because this is where a portion of the monies given by Global English trainees go. We came to see the project so far and to find out how cclose the school is to taking in the first group of new students.  The good news is that Grace, the headteacher, is developing the curriculum and the dormitories are build for the first 24 youngsters, aged from 14-18, who will begin the education programme in April 2009. The newly built classroom block is in place and awaiting the students:

Dave and Simon learn how to play ‘catch’ with a couple of budding Ugandan rugby players at Kira Farm.

We took a tour of the 22 acre site that will enable students to learn animal and fishing husbandry, farming skills and the more traditional English and Maths, as well as enterprise skills. The aim is to be able to send them back to the villages with these skills in place, so they are able to use and share them with their local communities. it is hoped that this form of self empowerment will enable them to grow and sell their own crops, meaning that they will not have to travel to Kampala to look for work, possibly ending up living in the slums like so many others. It’s a challenging project that is being built by donations from UK businesses and individuals who believe firmly in the Amigos ethos.

We willl look forward to coming back in 18 months and see how the first youngsters are sharing their skills in their own villages.

Tomorrow we head up north to Masindi, where we hope we have internet access. An early start as it is 5 hours on spine-popping roads.

Saturday 14th February, Kampala

Happy Valentine’s Day

An internet blackout over Kampala Saturday meant we were unable to upload but catching up now, and hard to detail the rollercoater of emotions. Experiences are varied - like  waves crashing over you on Fistral Beach in Newquay, they are coming many and fast.

OWINO MARKET

First of all. many thanks to Fiona, one of my colleagues on this adventure around Uganda, for pointing out the spelling mistakes on Thursday’s blog. Nice to know it’s being read! I am sure she won’t mind the award of the first of our number to fall into an open sewer in Owino Market. Peels of laughter rang out from the ladies selling everything you could imagine in the largest street market in Uganda. Closely followed by offers of help to wash off the brown stuff.

Never have I seen a woman buy a new pair of shoes as quickly in my life.

Owino Market - everybody’s here!

Addendum - a week after our visit the Market burned down - news report here -

http://globalvoicesonline.org/2009/02/27/uganda-fire-destroys-owino-market/

AMIGOS CHILD SPONSORSHIP

Standing out among the other experiences are the children we have visited, who are part of the Amigos Sponsor a Child programme.  Joseph Sabiiti, our genial giant, who is working for Amigos in Kampala, has fixed up some visits to youngsters who are on the programme.

So in the baking hot sun we got to visit some of the kids who without the work of Amigos would be still be without hope.

Here is a case study:

Visit 1, Irene

Irene is a nine year old whose story touched my heart. She lives at the bottom end of a street with no name in a poor slum, a dirty, infested, burning area where there is little relief from the hot Ugandan sun. She is shy, clutching a pencil as if it is a prized possession while other children run round, in and out of the sewer that runs outside her house.

But Irene has hope. She’s been sponsored by a generous person in Devon, UK, who donates 14 GBP a month for her education. For this she receives a place in a local primary school, a uniform, a small meal at lunchtime, a pair of shoes and scholastic materials (an exercvise book and the pencil she was clutching). I asked her to fetch her exercise book to show me what she was doing in school. She ran inside her house and when she emerged she showed me the book, which has a cover made of recycled newspaper. Her work is neat and deliberate, spaced on every other line. At the moment she is working on irregular plurals (she brushes the floor etc). Each exercise I looked at had 10/10 from her teacher.

Irene lives in a 2mt x 4 mt concrete and corrigated Iron shack with her mother, brother and sister. They pay rent of 30,000 shillings (around 10GBP). they are lucky as they have electricity which they also pay for. Irene’s mum is the only breadwinner, as her dad is in prison for drug offences. She takes in washing and can earn up to 25,000 shillings a month, which doesn’t even cover the rent. Life for the family is very hard.

It seems like education is the best chance Irene has of escaping the poverty which traps her family and those around her. Her ambition is to become a nurse and because she is bright, and her English and maths are good, she has a chance. if she can make it, perhaps she can realise her dream, and in so doing help her family as well.

She has this chance because of a generous donor who is making a difference in Irene’s life.

You can find out more about the Amigos Sponsorship scheme here: http://www.global-english.com/amigos/MakeaDifference.htm

Bubbles prove a hit with some of the slum children.

DOWNTOWN KAMPALA

Downtown Kampala and the cafe 1000 cups are definite places to check out - a bustling city bursting with with noise and vibrancy, while the cafe offers excellent coffee, juices and a place to chill, relax and meet other expats. Across the road is the African Village, where we found that Laura, another intrepid member of out team, has developed excellent bartering skills. A roof racks was almost considered necessary for the hundred weight of presents purchased, while the prices for various souvenirs were agreed with smiles all round. Dan, Rhiannon and Ben, you’ve got some cool pressies coming your way.

Friday 13th February, Kampala, Uganda

Arrived on the red-eye into Entebbe with a lot of enthusiasm to find out what Uganda and Africa is like. First impressions are a vibrant assault on the senses - vivid coloured clothes and brightly painted houses as we take the bumpy 30 minute ride from Entebbe to Kampala, the smells of woodsmoke and diesel as we neared the city of nearly 4 million inhabitants, of which I will be one for the next few days.

First stop and we were straight in to the harsh realities of life for so many here as we visited a school in a slum suburb. But the sensory jolt of poverty-stricken youngsters all around us was overcome with the amazing smiles and shouts as we moved into the mud playground. We met Pastor Paul, who runs the church and manages the school, along with Harriet, the school headmistress, who told us that the school takes in currently 272 children, in 10 classes, with 13 teachers managing the curriculum.  The dazzling pink uniforms of the youngsters shown nearly as brightly as the smiles!

We visited several classes, which in reality are just concete and wooden structures, where children sit on benches eagerly drinking in the learning which is taking place in spite of the lack of materials and basic facilities.

This was the first and perhaps one of the most important reasons for this visit - to guage whetehr the school would be willing to accept our TEFL volunteers come over and help. The eager answer was YES! YES! YES! - any help in any subject area will be warmly and gratefully received. So the next step is to plan how to make it happen.

We departed with more smiles and songs from the children, past the impoverished housing where they exist when they are not in school. It felt like a real case of the haves (us) meeting the have nots (them) and strengthen my belief that in working with Amigos we are starting to do something really valuable.

If you are a FACEBOOK user, click the following links to these and more of Fiona’s photos of the school:

Fiona with the some of the at Katwe schoolchildren:

Some of the younger ones in their classroom

(thanx 4 the photos Fiona)

Tonight we are staying at Shalom, Fields of Life in Tank Hill, Kampala. The hight is hot and humid - fitting as we are just above the equator. Kampala seems peaceful from here, clear of the day time traffic adventures, not which more tomorrow, no doubt.

Many individuals contribute to the Amigos sponsor a child programme, and tomorrow we have an  early start to visit some of the children in their homes.

Catch up with more tomorrow.

Thursday 12th February

Hi! I am off to Uganda today, flying Heathrow to Entebbe with BA. In Uganda I’ll be staying at the Fields of Life in Tank Hill in Kampala for the first few days, visiting local schools and meeting people in Kampala. Then I’ll be stopping in at the Kira Farm Project, before moving north to stay in Masindi for a couple of nights.

Looking forward to keeping you up to date as I go!

William