Dian Fosse and the Rushubi Primary School
September 11, 2024
Dian Fosse and the Rushubi Primary School
Every evening I come back from dinner to find a fire in my fireplace and a hot water bottle between the sheets. The bed has a double layer of very heavy blankets, and it all is needed as the temperature drops into the 50s at night. There is a small electric heater in the room which keeps it around 60.
Last night we had a gorilla veterinarian give us a talk on the medical problems of gorillas and the veterinary teams who treat them. It is still unfortunately the case that gorilla limbs get caught by snares which are set for the four-legged animals by poachers (to be butchered for food). We saw videos of the sedative darts being used so that the snares can be surgically removed, and the damage repaired. All the work done on the gorilla patients is done in the field; none are brought to a veterinary hospital.
Today we went to the Ellen DeGeneris Campus of the Dian Fosse Gorilla Fund, where there are multiple buildings for research and for demonstration purposes.
I learned about the four types of gorillas, all of which are critically endangered:
Our final activity for the trip was a visit to a primary school which is supported by the Grand Circle Foundation, a part of Overseas Adventure Travel. The Rushubi Primary School is in a very rural area, and has 1200 students with 19 teachers and about 60 students to a classroom.
The teachers rotate from classroom to classroom to teach the subject in which they specialize. Here’s an empty classroom and the 5th grade blackboard:
We were welcomed into an English class:
The teacher taught the 60 extremely well-behaved children a lesson: the changing of a verb ending in consonant-y into past tense, changing the y to i and adding -ed. She used the example of marry and carry, changing to married and carried. She then asked if any of us would like to teach anything. No one responded. She asked again, so I said I would. I got up in front of the class and drew a stick figure with a circle where the heart is. I asked who knew what the word was for the part of the body inside the chest which thumped and pushed the blood around. One shy student said “heart” and then I asked the class to spell it. They got it!
It was truly revelatory to see what a good teacher and well-behaved students can accomplish with minimal materials and huge classes. We had gone shopping before arriving, and brought five soccer balls, two volleyballs, a volleyball net and a pump for the balls. It caused a sensation when we gave them to the principal—the whole school had two soccer balls and no volleyballs for 1200 kids. They were ecstatic!
The next day we drove back to Kigali and I got to the airport at 3:30 PM for my 5:40 flight to Addis Ababa where I connected to a flight to Toronto via a stop in Rome to refuel. I arrived in Toronto at 9:15 AM, got my bag and car, and drove home to Rochester, arriving at 1:00 PM.
So that’s it for a wonderful adventure and a truly unique experience with the mountain gorillas.
Those volleyballs made a perfect ending!
ReplyDeleteWhat a perfect ending Victor. Awaiting our get-together to hear more. Rest up. Hugs
ReplyDeleteHow wonderful that you (alone of those in your group) had the nerve--and kindness, I'd say--to accept the invitation to ask the schoolchildren a question. I suspect they'll remember that interchange and tell their family and friends. It astounds me how they can learn under such limited conditions, with math problems written in small letters on a blackboard across the room. Now we have fancy PowerPoint, with all kinds of "fun" images and jolly background music to hold their attention. Thanks for sharing your experiences with us!
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