Lake Bunyonyi

After the excitement of gorilla trekking, we had the luxury of two full days chilling out next to Uganda's deepest lake, Lake Bunyonyi. Being on an overland trip doesn't give you much time to stay still in one place so this was a real treat. The campsite, Bunyoni Overland Camp, is very attractive and we were able to pitch our tent right on the waterfront. The lake is also one of the few in the region not to be riddled with Bilharzia, so it is safe to swim in. We therefore spent our first free day enjoying doing very little indeed.














With our batteries somewhat recharged, it was time to venture out of the tranquility of our campsite and find out a little more about the area we were staying in. We passed on the opportunity to visit a nearby pygmy village, and instead opted to visit a nursery school run by the Mwendo Needy Children and Orphans Project. The project's aim is to help needy children in the community and in particular the increasing large number of orphans as a result of high rate of HIV infection. One of the schemes that the project runs is a nursery school for children, largely orphans, aged between 4 and 6 years old. It is funded by charitable donations.

After a slightly hair raising ride up the hill to the village in the back of a pick up truck, we arrived at the school. There are two classrooms, which are basically outside, separated by a bamboo screen. With 110 children in total, split into a class one class of 23 and another of 87, it is pretty noisy. Facilities consist of wooden benches for the kids to sit on and a blackboard. We observed a vocabulary lesson, which was mostly conducted in English and was helping them learn words for school activities, interestingly one of which was sweeping.














Much to our embarrassment, we were asked to help teach. Richard started gamely with some basic arithmetic, which the kids dealt with pretty well. The other two observers (Tim and Natalie) and myself followed this up with basic vocabulary such as household objects and animals. In general, the kids seem to deal with the lessons very well, although you couldn't help feeling that this was largely to do with the lessons been repeated frequently. When Richard tried to introduce a new word to them, 'spelling', they struggled. There were certainly no disciple problems evident, and most of the kids appeared very keen to be involved, with plenty of hands shooting up as soon as a question was asked.














After the lesson was finished, the kids performed a number of songs for us, and in return, we tried to lead them in a rather poor rendition of 'Heads, Shoulders, Knees and Toes'. They certainly had us beat when it came to tunefulness and rhythm.














It was then time for playtime, and we all piled into a field behind the school. Within seconds, each of us Mzungu had several children dangling from each arm desperate to play. It is incredible how much energy they have, and wasn't long before they had exhausted us. They are desperate for physical contact and it wasn't long before I had one little girl clinging around my neck refusing to let go. At the end of play time, the headteacher asked the children to help clear the play area of sticks and twigs. Most of them don't have shoes so this helps prevent nasty injuries.














With playtime over it was time for lunch. The school doesn't have enough money to provide lunch, so the children have to bring their own, which is mostly left overs from the day before, mostly either maize, potatoes or a type of local porridge. Some aren't able to bring any lunch at all so either they share with other children or eat nothing. It was at this point, that it all got a bit too much for Rich and I, and we had to take a few moments out to have a quick cry.














Natalie and Tim had brought sweets, so after lunch we handed out one per child. They all sat very patiently as we passed them around, and by their rather puzzled reaction, I think most of them had never had sweets before.














Obviously, one of the main reasons for showing tourists around the school is to help raise funds. Rich and I did what we could at the time, but nothing feels like enough. Also after just one morning it is had to know how much of a difference a particular charity is making. The teachers (who are local volunteers and are not paid), seemed dedicated and the children are clearly very needy, but it is hard to know how well the donations are being used. Visiting was a very moving experience, and Rich and I both left committed to finding out more and thinking about what we could do to help. If you are interested the project does have a website, although it is still under construction: www.needychildrenproject.org.