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During the February half-term, Mr. Lackey and I had the pleasure of visiting and teaching in our link school, Ladybird School, in Matugga, Uganda.

It was Mr. Lackey's third visit to the village, but for me, it was the first time in Africa, so I was very struck by the huge differences between our villages, schools and the way of life. Although Matugga is only 12 miles from the bustling capital, Kampala, with its modern skyscrapers and appalling slums, there is no piped water in the village, no proper sanitation, no telephone lines and frequent power-cuts. Even the school water supply has to be carried in large jerry-cans and school meals are cooked over wood fires.

Ladybird has class sizes of up to 80 pupils; many of them are boarders, particularly in the top two years. They arrive at school at the start of term with their own mattress, plate and cup, and plastic bowls in which to wash their own plates, clothes and to wash themselves, no showers there! Parents have to bring the money to pay the school fees, or children will not be admitted. Because many people live by subsistence farming, they often have to find or make something to sell in order to pay the school fees £150; a small amount of money to us, but a lot for them.

The children really appreciate the sacrifices parents have to make to send them to school and they are all very grateful to be there. They work extremely hard because they see education as the way into a decent job and out of poverty. There is another incentive to hard work, however: they have to repeat the year if they do not reach the required standard. It is possible to see some quite large children still in primary school!

We really enjoyed working with such appreciative children and they made us feel very welcome. We took colourful reading books with pictures and encouraged them to write and illustrate their own stories using our coloured pencils. Mr Lackey taught them to use scissors and card in technology and I enjoyed teaching them to sing rounds, do some English country dancing and show them some playground clapping games following instructions sent over by our Y7. We also worked on data and graphs for a joint water- usage project.

Out of school, we were very well looked after by our hostess, Jane. We really enjoyed sampling fruits and vegetables which are not readily available in this country. One evening, we were taken into the bush to pick our own mangoes and avocados, and I had no idea there were so many different types of bananas! Fruit and vegetables are plentiful, relatively cheap and organically grown and the diet is very healthy: no sweets and crisps for Ugandan children, just fresh fruit. Each evening the school had arranged guided walks around the village, which provided an opportunity to observe the local shops and businesses.

Many new houses were being built and it was interesting to see how the locals made and fired their own bricks. Everything was done by hand using local materials and with the minimum use of power tools.

Brick making. Hand made bricks fired using local charcoal. The trip was a really positive experience (despite my longing for a lovely deep bath).

The Ugandans lived up to their reputation as 'the friendliest nation in Africa' and it was a humbling experience to witness the good humour with which they face the problems of daily life.

by: Jan Harrison