"One who sees something good must narrate it" - Ugandan Proverb
It is said that globalization continues to make the world smaller. It is said that faster and more efficient forms of communication continue to connect the world in a million ways that it could not be connected before. And it is said that international relations and a network of diverse countries is bringing points on complete opposite ends of the globe together. But there also exists “this concept of the Third World: thus, we…have three worlds. Undoubtedly, however, the number is even greater; we are just too far away to see”[12] on this one planet that we are supposed to inhabit together as a united race of humanity.
With a per capita income of under $170,[14] Uganda is one of the poorest nations in the world. Many of the issues that it faces stem from its inability to escape this poverty due to government corruption and tribal conflict that has plagued its history even before independence in 1962. Particularly in rural Uganda, and in my experience Kyarusozi, there is a pervasive mentality of being stuck in one place forever. Many individuals living in rural Uganda do not know how to escape the everlasting cycle of poverty, whether it be from lack of education or from the cultural influence of community and familial construct. In many cases, fathers pass down land onto their sons as a gift, giving youth incentive to stay to farm their own land. After all, agriculture is the backbone of Uganda, with 26.7% (2014 est.)[13] of the GDP stemming from that particular industry. However, the inherent infrastructure that combines the tribal system with the kingdom alliances of old (the Torro Kingdom in the case of Kyarusozi) and the government creates a culture of lack of change and local loyalty that is ingrained in the minds of the youth.
That is where education comes into play. Through my International Summer Service Learning Project, I taught for two months at St. Joseph’s Hill Secondary School. It is true that I taught English and Computer classes, but I think that my students learned much more from me and I learned much more from my students outside of the classroom when I answered their questions about the great democratic power that is America and they shared their beliefs and their culture with me. The reason that I was only able to provide this for them is because I am no trained professional in the teaching arena. However, St. Joseph’s has a slogan: “Education is Light.” Every week in mass, the priests of the Holy Cross proclaim perseverance in learning as much as possible and reaching as high as possible. The whole goal of the Holy Cross Missions, particularly with regards to education, in Uganda, is to not let the youth settle. There is a great wide world out there that they will never reach if they fall into the traditional cycle in rural areas of Uganda that so many before them have, and as St. Joseph’s Hill and its administrators preach, education is the avenue to a better life out of not only Kyarusozi, but poverty. It is the way to encourage the young to fight for Uganda.
With a per capita income of under $170,[14] Uganda is one of the poorest nations in the world. Many of the issues that it faces stem from its inability to escape this poverty due to government corruption and tribal conflict that has plagued its history even before independence in 1962. Particularly in rural Uganda, and in my experience Kyarusozi, there is a pervasive mentality of being stuck in one place forever. Many individuals living in rural Uganda do not know how to escape the everlasting cycle of poverty, whether it be from lack of education or from the cultural influence of community and familial construct. In many cases, fathers pass down land onto their sons as a gift, giving youth incentive to stay to farm their own land. After all, agriculture is the backbone of Uganda, with 26.7% (2014 est.)[13] of the GDP stemming from that particular industry. However, the inherent infrastructure that combines the tribal system with the kingdom alliances of old (the Torro Kingdom in the case of Kyarusozi) and the government creates a culture of lack of change and local loyalty that is ingrained in the minds of the youth.
That is where education comes into play. Through my International Summer Service Learning Project, I taught for two months at St. Joseph’s Hill Secondary School. It is true that I taught English and Computer classes, but I think that my students learned much more from me and I learned much more from my students outside of the classroom when I answered their questions about the great democratic power that is America and they shared their beliefs and their culture with me. The reason that I was only able to provide this for them is because I am no trained professional in the teaching arena. However, St. Joseph’s has a slogan: “Education is Light.” Every week in mass, the priests of the Holy Cross proclaim perseverance in learning as much as possible and reaching as high as possible. The whole goal of the Holy Cross Missions, particularly with regards to education, in Uganda, is to not let the youth settle. There is a great wide world out there that they will never reach if they fall into the traditional cycle in rural areas of Uganda that so many before them have, and as St. Joseph’s Hill and its administrators preach, education is the avenue to a better life out of not only Kyarusozi, but poverty. It is the way to encourage the young to fight for Uganda.
That is the whole point of the International Summer Service Learning Program. Sure, my focus was in Western Rural Uganda, and I was mainly looking at the educational system and the cultural structure of the community that I was living in. But when these two, surface-level descriptions of the binary aspects of my site placement are woven together, the truth of the world that is that little piece of Western Uganda comes to life. The truth of the single story exists in the preparation for a trip like this. The books are read, reflections are written, research is done, but the supposed self-evident differences create a perceived opposition between Uganda and the Western world that are seemingly reduced at a surface level glance to “development and underdevelopment, wealth and poverty, power and weakness, domination and dependence.”[10] But all of these labels generalize both the Western world and Uganda to the point where the only way to truly break the stereotypes is to live it and learn it through immersion. Every county has its own issues that it must face in order to grow and thrive as a unified nation. Where the United States has big government and wealth disparity, Uganda has corruption and poverty. But these structural issues are more important in how they affect the citizens, because they are all theoretical until they apply to the lives of real, tangible people. And I think that was the point of my summer abroad. Yes, I was aware of these issues, but more so, I was given the chance to experience the education system as well to see the promise of passion and learning and teaching. Maybe Uganda does not have the resources yet to promote widespread high quality education. But is that not the point? If education is the solution, the next step is to answer the question; how do we get there? The International Summer Service Learning Program gave me the tools this summer to see various pieces of life in Uganda. Putting them together provides a way forward. And this does not just apply to Uganda or other African countries or the Third World. It applies everywhere, which is why I want to keep teaching and learning and teaching some more. It is a never-ending cycle that has so much potential. So that is what I challenge future students and travelers to that region to think about.
How does education fit into the bigger puzzle? Or rather, how can it be the glue that helps to hold the puzzle together?