I am teaching the children that famous traditional rhyme,
‘Christmas is a-coming and the geese are getting fat’. This is partly to improve their halting
English diction by using rhyme and partly to be ready for our Christmas celebration.
The rhyme couldn’t be more appropriate. It is from the point of view of a ‘poor old man’,
who is begging with his hat out. He
describes the expectant atmosphere of those looking forward to feasting on
fattened goose. This is then contrasted
when he asks for a penny. When that is
not possible, a ha’penny. When that is
not forthcoming, he blesses his fellow pauper.
If people had been able to put money in his hat I am sure he would have
blessed them too.
As you may know from previous posts, we are giving the children
much needed shoes. I have been told that
the shoes are now on their way from America.
Thank you so much, those donors who I know about and those who gave
anonymously. The shoes are still a
closely guarded secret. I can’t wait to see the children’s faces when they
receive them.
Our teachers and cooks are very generously giving of
themselves for a small amount of money, much less than local salaries. This is because they also want to be able to
help the school. The amount they receive
varies each month according to the exchange rate and also according to the need
for other school necessities, so they live with uncertainty very patiently. The majority of these staff have HIV, adding
to their difficulties.
I visited the home of one teacher a few weeks ago when she
was sick. She lives in a small mud-built
round hut which she shares with her husband and young children. They all live in a space of no more than 8
foot diameter. There are two beds for
the whole family. There is no
electricity. Water must be fetched from
a borehole some way off. Firewood for cooking
must also be bought and carried home.
The market is miles away with no transport. This is all ‘women’s work’ with the help of
their children. Culturally, men do no
domestic duties. Rose’s children are too
young to help. Living in this way is usual
for the vast majority of people in Nimule, but in Rose’s case it is made worse
by HIV. The drugs used to treat HIV
patients require good feeding. Without
food, the drugs have terrible side effects, making the patient terribly ill.
As you can imagine, when a mother is ill, things are
desperate. Fortunately in this case neighbours
pitched in to fetch water and cook for the family, but there was no money for
medicine until I paid for it myself.
I have plans! As well
as the shoes for the children, I want to do something for the teachers and
cooks. I don’t want to give them
something unnecessary when they have desperate, unaddressed needs and families
to care for. Instead, I want to give a
Christmas bonus which they can spend as they want, whether on new clothes for
Christmas, food, something essential or something special. I am hoping some of you can give a one-off
December donation for this purpose.
There are now four teachers and two cooks.
That is one thing.
The second is that we have a new teacher called Alex. The reason for taking him on, is that from
the next academic year, we will be ready to start a Primary 2 class. Up till now all the children have been at the
same basic Primary 1 level, but clearly we must not hold back those who are
ready to move to the next level. There
is an unused room in the building. All
that remained was to find another teacher and make a blackboard for the new
classroom.
Alex asked to join us. He has excellent teaching
qualifications and experience. He has
been with us for a week on a trial basis and he really is good! Definitely a ‘roll up your sleeves’
type. He spotted a wasp nest in the
rafters and burnt it down the next morning.
We explained to him the poor salary situation, but he still wants to help
us. He is a married man, although his
family are currently all in a refugee camp in Uganda due to the situation in
South Sudan. He must support them
somehow. Is anyone willing to join our
donors in making a monthly donation?
School exams take place shortly before Christmas. All other schools here dismiss the children
immediately afterwards, without any ceremony.
At Cece I am planning to do things a bit differently.
The children will recite ‘Christmas is a-coming’. Then we will have a Nativity drama. One of the cooks has a small baby, who will
be Jesus. We will choose the other
characters from among the children and have a living re-enactment of the
Nativity story.
Afterwards, the children’s shoes will be distributed and I
will give the Christmas bonus to all our staff.
If your donations suffice, there will be something special to eat too. Then the school will close until the new
academic year which starts in late January.
If you are able to help with either a one-off Christmas
bonus donation or a standing order to boost our income from January to pay for
the new teacher we will all be deeply grateful.
Please send donations to Santander, account name: Ms R
Mallinson, account number: 48996636, sort code 09-01-28. Mark with reference ‘CECE School’ to avoid
confusion.
People here are embarrassingly grateful for all I have been
able to provide with your help. I am
stopped in the street by people who grab my hand and shake it and shake
it. Without your assistance, I would not
have been able to start the school.
Sixty children would be without education and the hope for the future
that education brings.
If you are not able to help, remember that the poor man
still blesses, with a loud ‘If you haven’t got a ha’penny then God bless
you’!
