When I arrived at school today the children were already sat on their benches waiting. Two of the boys started doing actions and saying ‘up down, up down’. They were telling me they wanted to play with the parachute again! We had work to do first though as I had received requests for desks to be named after loved ones who had passed away and also two children from Spain, wanted their names on a desk so the first job this morning was to paint the names on the desks.
Naming the sponsored desks
The children were fascinated and as usual gathered round me watching my every move. I don’t know whether it was the constant attention or just the arthritis in my right wrist playing up but my writing got gradually worse. Apologies to those concerned! Also my hands were covered in the black paints and there was not paraffin available but the children knew what to do. They led me to a pile of builders sand and showed me how to rub the paint with the sand them rinse it off using the borehole water. It took a lot of scrubbing but it worked!
After breakfast we all met in Hambridge Hall to write replies to those in Cheshire who had drawn pictures or wrote letters to their friends at St James. James guided them from the blackboard and they sat quietly doing their best. They liked drawing and colouring pictures at the end of their letters best. I shall take a photo of them later.
It was strange being in Hambridge Hall, the name of the block of four classrooms that opens up into a hall, with so few children but they are all happy, enthusiastic and hard working and might not have received an education if it wasn’t for St James taking them on. All but one of them are vulnerable children in some way.
My banana lady must have got the message that I was visiting as she turned up on her bicycle carrying lots of tiny sweet bananas and another baby! When I stay at the school she is my regular supplier of these delicious fruits and I am happy to help her by eating them!!
My banana lady
Gerry's Uganda Projects 