New School Year!
The new school year has begun at the project. As expected, the enrolment numbers are above the 400 mark. All the S3 children have now become S4’s and there are many from P7 who now make up the S1. So the 400 record has been broken. Children are still coming from P7 primary schools, as the results of the exams are being assessed. According to the school headmaster, Richard, the total number of kids will soon reach 500. There’s also an increase in boarders, which is expected to give rise to some problems: there aren’t enough beds. A welder is being employed full-time, assembling bunk beds to accommodate them.
We also made the promised trip to the Bunyoni Lake. Apollo’s parents live on the lake, so it was an easy decision to combine the two. We arrived after a four-hour journey and Apollo made some animated calls, whereupon we found his father already waiting for him at the end of the road. Instead of a big hug (Western custom!), a simple “hi” and clap on the shoulder were enough (Ugandan). But special nonetheless. We had to leave the car at an altitude of over 2200 m, and continued by foot. Wow. That was very steep going down.
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At last, after greeting the usual number of family members on the way, we made it to Pa and Ma Apollo’s house. Even though we’d already eaten, we had to have another Ugandan meal. Oh well, just a little bit then…. Only after the meal (during which everyone who wasn’t eating left the room) were we introduced, as is the custom, prayed, and took our leave.