"So if a person is caught cheating in England do they get executed or put in prison?"
"Why do you people have such low opinions of Africans?"...
"Dearest son-in-law, you know here you will have to pay a dowry for my daughter yes?".. this was consquently followed by "have you told your mother/girlfriend that there is a woman harassing you to marry her daughter"
Sooo, starting at the backend of last week I had a very interesting Thursday and pretty standard Friday before heading off to Uganda..
Thursday - Some very interesting school visits
First up on the agenda was the visit to a special unit affixed to a fairly new mainstream school (open around 5 years). The person in charge of the unit was the deputy head, which is awesome as it allows for a lot of change/meetings/training to happen potentially quickly, however on the flipside he doesn’t have any training in special needs whatsoever and is the sole person responsible for anything and everything within the unit. On arrival, the effect of this was immediately clear with the children on the whole being left to their own devices for a good hour or so, after which the deputy head came to spend a bit of individual time with each student whilst the others just got on with… well nothing on the whole L Apart from the lack of staff (the school has 23 staff for 1600 pupils) and special educational needs knowledge the biggest problem I saw within the unit which I couldn’t help but voice straight away was why approximately half of the 15 pupils were there. It was explained that when they started the unit, all teachers were informed if there were any kids that did not understand/listen or had behavioural of physical problems to be referred to the unit. Many of the children I saw were perfectly capable of being within a mainstream class (with extra support in the areas that they struggle in) with some purely being placed there as the teacher did not want to deal with/handle a cheeky/talkative etc.. child. After bringing this up and having a quick discussion, it was decided there and then that a number of those children would return to their mainstream classes :) with me supplying training for the teachers to use strategies to aid and support any difficulties they have. I will also be speaking to the EARC to try and get them to speak to the Department of Education to provide a teacher who knows about special educational needs and has experience in it!
Second up was a school where a child I saw for assessment a few weeks ago attends. He is a stammerer and is having huge difficulties in one particular teacher who was not being especially helpful/supportive (as reported by a very concerned mother). I briefly visited the school earlier in the week for an intro with the head to explain what I do and what I was hoping to do come Thursday (observe the child in class and give the teacher and parents information relevant to their roles in intervention) and asked if there were any other pupils that they would like me to see please send them over my way when I come in… So I wasn’t exactly expecting the 14 kids lined up waiting for me when I arrived! I managed to have a chat and deliver information to the intital client but couldn’t observe as he finished at midday, however the teacher in question came to see me in the afternoon which was really helpful as I think she really needed someone talking her through some of the strategies and why it is so important to use these to be supportive of the child. The other 14 kids were ALL stammerers and I was told these were the only ones they could round up that day! Alongside a staff member who interpreted when necessary I briefly explained stammering, how it can present and that as there is no known cause there is no known direct “cure” but some strategies working with parents, staff and some therapy techniques may be of help. I tried to explain as simply as possible and did a lot of hands up so the children were comfortable expressing there feelings about their stammer (e.g: hands up if your stammer makes things in the classroom difficult). I then individually spoke to each of them for a few minutes about their stammer, including their feelings and if different emotions/situations make it worse before giving them some information to share with their parents. I hope, and have already confirmed with the head that this would be possible, to have a huge meeting of all students, their parents and as many of the teachers and staff involved to have a training session on stammering and for all to discuss their difficulties and things that can help all parties within the classroom environment! Off the back of this I intend to create a monthly stammering group for anyone in Kisumu (I already have a 20 yr old stammered pegged to take on a lead type role and be a role model for others as he is very confident and sociable even though he has a fairly severe stammer) which would be the first of it’s kind in Western Kenya I believe! Fingers crossed!
Sunday - Tuesday - to Uganda and some creature comforts
After an 8 hourish coach ride which wasn’t too horrific we arrived in Kampala, dropped off our things and went straight out for a sterling southern Indian curry - A sign of things to come in more ways than one; We ended up eating a tremendous amount of worldwide food and western comforts (decent coffee!) but 2 out of the 3 of us were pretty ill for the following days possibly cos of the curry (garbage guts here had no problems whatsoever!). Most of Monday was spent enjoying the creature comforts mentioned above, swanning around town and the arts/crafts market and living/sleeping in luxury (Hot showers! No mozzie net required! A fan!). Tuesday was Rachael’s birthday and we had a lovely day out including going to our nearest working cinema (8 hours away in another country!) and having a p-retty authentic and tasty Chinese for dinner where the folks sang Happy birthday and presented her with the oddest cake I’ve ever seen. Pineapple and watermelon slices with a candle in. Oh yeh, before I forget - I’ve never been the biggest fan of birds as an animal but the maribou stork, of which there are hundreds perched around the city, moving around like a cross between an evil superhero villain and an old hunchbacked miser, are the ugliest and biggest birds I have ever seen out in the open. Freaky.
A very unscientific study of the main differences between Kenya and Uganda‘s capitals:
1. Kampala feels far more westernised than Nairobi both in terms of the shopping centres/restaurants but also the sheer number of expats living there.
2. Matatus (minibus taxis) are not deathtraps in Kampala. Strict rules/respect for the government/coppers means only one person per seat (madness!) compared to an all out bundle as many people as you can into any space going in Kenya.
3. Kampala is safer at nights, with no-one warning us of being out come nightfall and the following hours (up until 10 or 11pm is generally thought/said to be safe) and many people swanning around carefree. Nairobi is nicknamed nairobbery with many Kenyans and westerners alike not walking around after dark (this applies to Kisumu and other areas too).
4. Ugandans do not hassle you nearly as much for taxis/motorbikes or in the art/craft markets. Which was nice :)
5. Seemed to be hardly any mozzies in Kampala which meant I got to actually jump into a bed and fall asleep without a care in the world instead of faffing with mozzie nets for an age.
Wednesday - ASaLTEA (Association of Speech and Language Therapists in East Africa) meeting
The main reason for the trip to Kampala was for this little beauty. A meeting of some of the main SLT players in Uganda (Including the SLT course co-ordinator at the only university in Western Kenya delivering SLT training, current students and recent graduates) alongside all 4 yellow house volunteers took part in discussions and voting to further the progress of establishing an association of speech therapists in East Africa. Although it may sound pretty boring it was actually pretty interesting to see what hoops, monetary requirements one has to go through to become a professional, official body and ideas regarding membership fees/aims for setting-up the association and website and election of roles were some of the key issues at the meeting. I felt very honoured to be part of the process and also felt like I actually contributed a little towards the meeiting aswell rather than just create problems with any silly thoughts/comments!
Thursday - travel and a lovely home visit
On the travel back (5.30am start was not the most relaxing end to our little trip!) I discovered one important skill I still have in my ever enlarging age - I’ve still got the aim. 6 years since living in China and I can still nail a hole in the ground no problems. That was probably a little bit too much information… I decided to book a home visit of a child who lives just round the corner from me as it would be the earliest and easiest time to see this client even though was a bit shattered! I assessed the client (7) last week and amongst a myriad of difficulties she has, the two most prominent difficulties were dysphagia (swallowing difficulties) and both understanding and production of language is far below where it should be. During the assessment I gave as much information as I could with examples but really needed to see her eating/drinking rather than just giving general advice which may reduced risk of choking/aspiration/infection. On arrival, I was led into a tiny one room house without electricity or any running water where the family including there 6 children live. The father informed me (although how true this is I’m not sure!) that the child has improved lots since I gave them advice and even teachers at school have asked what has happened as she is more receptive and vocal in the classroom! I was invited to eat dinner with the family alongside observation of the child eating of which the major issue was that the child was putting spoonful of food in her mouth and immediately washing it straight down with water. Moving the water away, the child although looking a little unsure proceeded to show the ability to use her tongue effectively and chew and swallow her food well and for the duration of dinner there were no signs of choking, heavy breathing or coughing. The family, as many are in Kenya, are religious and the father prayed before and after the meal - less for the food itself but for myself, my safe stay here and the work I am doing to which he was very grateful. It was all very humbling and I was genuinely touched by his exceptionally powerful and heartfelt words directed towards his personal god.
And that’s another week down! Already 6 weeks in and although I am loving everything I’m already feeling a little rundown as am trying to do as much as I can in the shortish time I’m here.. As advised by not only my supervisor but my body and brain too, I may start to try to focus on certain schools, hospitals and clients rather than attempting to go and see as many people in as many locations as possible but we will see what pans out over the next few weeks!
For more information on the teeny charity I’m working under please check out: http://www.yellowhousechildrens.org/
PS: If anyone is considering visiting whilst I’m here the end of Nov/beginning of Dec or the end of my trip around February would be best! Just email me if you fancy it! - Jonathanmlfagan@gmail.com
Top 3 Itunes songs on shuffle whilst writing this:
1. Burn for you - John Farnham
2. You make my dreams - Hall & Oates
3. Life on mars - David Bowie
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