Today was the first day of term for our day students. They were all excited to return to school for the new academic year! They registered in their class and a record of the school requirements was made. Each child has to take toilet paper, poster papers, a broom and a ream of paper for the school and their own exercise books, pens, pencils! They soon settled in and we headed off to Ruhija to the first day of term at Gorilla Village Kids School.
The journey was interesting! We hired a car and driver to take us there as we had a lot of resources to take with us. I enjoyed the beautiful, lush countryside as we travelled within the Bwindi National Park. However, due to the conditions of the roads we could not be driven all the way there and had to make the final part of the journey on foot! At this point we were greeted by the Director of the school and some of the staff and children who carried all our belongings for us - even the heavy suitcase!
As we approached the school we were greeted with singing, bunches of flowers and petal confetti! 💕 It was a beautiful welcome!! What a joy it was to be back with this small community. There was much singing and dancing as we spent time together.
Once the children were dismissed at the end of the school day we met with the staff to encourage and challenge them to continue investing their time and energy in the children to bring lasting change to the community. Many families do not see the importance of education and so remain poor as the children grow up without the skills and knowledge to have successful careers. This in turn brings conflict within families as these children grow and have families of their own but there is often not enough money to sustain their families as they do not have good jobs due to the lack of education.
The director of GVKS is keen to bring change to people’s attitudes towards education but this will take time so in the meantime we will continue to be an encouragement as he works this out with the community.
The school buildings are still under construction made from wood and clay. Since my visit last year new classrooms have been constructed, the kitchen building has been completed and a playground cut out of the hillside. The money that was raised from the sponsored bike ride will go towards the teachers' salaries.
Tonight we are staying at a local lodge where tour guides stay after they have dropped off their tourists at various locations in the park. I watched the sunset over the picturesque setting of the forest and took a moment to marvel at the beauty of God’s creation and all the blessings he has bestowed upon me. I am so blessed to be in this beautiful place serving the school and community alongside my BLI family and I am truly thankful! ☺️🙏
Tomorrow we will continue our work with the school and community.
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