Schools - diaries

June 2008 - Viola

We have a new house member. She is called Viola and she is 12. She came to be with us in an interesting way.

We were visiting the island of Bunyama, which is the closest island to where we live, to discuss with them opening a nursery school. The community gathered round, mostly women with small children, a few men and one young girl.

Fred and I asked about her and we were told she was Viola and was working as a house girl. That’s a girl who works around the house doing laundry, cooking, cleaning and so on.

We asked to see her employer who said she was tired of her as she was always running off to the video hall. We then found out Viola had been brought to the house by her brother. We talked to him and he was delighted when we offered to take her and put her into school.

Viola told us that she had been in class P4 but when we took her to Kibanga Primary school, it was clear she had received very little schooling. We started her in P1 but she was soon promoted to P2.

She has never been shy and has plenty of arguments with our other children. However, in true African fashion there was no fuss about another child coming into the house. Everyone accepted it as quite normal.

Her life in Bunyama was without children of her own age and she is obviously now enjoying the company of other children.

Many children don’t have a childhood as we know it. They take on a lot of responsibility from an early age and there is not much idea of play. One of the boys we know is always beaten for going off to play football.

So HUG children know they are lucky.

Information between UK schools and HUG in Uganda will be monitored:

Education Officer
Michael O'Kane
email: islandsschools@yahoo.co.uk