BUILDING NETWORKS - vocational education

On the 19th, of May 2010 :fk coordinators (Ingrid and Tom) and participants (Mark and Daniel) from Rjukan vgs visited Akershus University College, Norway. They held a meeting with (Johan Houge–Thiis, Dr. Liv Mjelde, Roger Bakken and others) coordinators of NOMA Masters program in Vocational Pedagogy project at Akerhus University College.
Since NOMA is project which sponsor students from Kyambogo University in Uganda to pursue a Masters degree in Vocational Pedagogy in Akerhus University College, Norway and :fk partnership between Telemark County Norway and Ministry of Education Uganda exchange Teachers from Vocational / Technical and Academic schools in Uganda, members who attended this meeting stressed the need for the two projects to form a cooperation in order to join efforts and work together to improve Vocational Education in Uganda.

Laila Larsen (HiAk), Roger Bakken (HiAk), Fatin Osman H. Ahmed (Upper Nile University), Liv Mjelde (Kyambogo Un Ug/HiAk). Daniel Kasozi and Mark Kajubi, Friendship Telemark Uganda

In order to cement this cooperation, :fk coordinators from Rjukan vgs promised to visit Kyambogo )University, Uganda in June and have a meeting with teachers and former students of Masters in Vocational Pedagogy (MVP) at the University.

The two teams also agreed to organize seminars about Vocational Pedagogy both in Norway and Uganda to emphasis the need for a field of knowledge oriented towards trades, occupations and professions in both countries.
They stressed the need of holding workshops and giving short courses to grass root Vocational Teachers in order to speed up the dissemination of Vocational Pedagogy in Uganda.
We’re optimistic that this cooperation shall bring a fundamental changes in Vocational Education in both Norway and Uganda.

Rjukan barneskole: Working hard for children in Uganda

Last week pupils of Rjukan barneskole (primary school) had a week of social entrepreneurship. They worked for children in Uganda: Rjukan barneskole jobba hardt i Uganda-uke
FK- participant Mark Kajubi's reflecting on this work:
Last week pupils at Rjukan elementary (primary) school Norway, were involved in raising money to help re-settle fellow Ugandan children who live on streets of the country’s towns and cities.

They have been able to achieve this by making waffles at school and selling them to Rimi- one of the big supermarkets in Rjukan town.
Fellow Ugandans, there is a price to pay for anything good in this world. Norwegian pupils in the above mentioned school are raising the money by providing a service and so, the recipient s of this money should not perceive it as surplus money that these pupils have got from their own pockets – or pockets of their parents . Therefore it must be used responsibly to serve its intended purpose.

Foto: For Radio Rjukan Tarjei Solvang Stensrud (7.trinn)

Visit to Sund folkehøyskole - a tradition of FK exchange teachers

The last two years Ugandan participents visited Sund Folkehøyskole to teach students in UN-class.

Daniel and Mark :fk exchange Teachers from Uganda visited Sund folkehogskole nearTrondheim in April  2010.
From Daniels report:
Sund folkehøyskole is a wonderful place, special and far different from the other schools we have visited. Teachers and student are socially different from many Norwegians in the society. They are very lively, charming, happy and social to one another. We’re involved in many activities both on Saturday and Sunday they were all full of fun, we rely enjoyed their company.

On Monday 27th we had a lesson with : fk class, UN class and the Development class, all the three classes combined made approximately 40 students. We presented about political trends in Uganda since independence and about culture (the differences and similarities between Norway and Uganda) we had a very interesting discussion, students asked a lot about Ugandan politics and culture and contributed the same about Norwegian Culture.

Climbing a three....Saturday activity

Ugandan FKers visiting other schools in Telemark

Ugandan FKers from Rjukan visit Kvitsund vgs

One of the teachers in Kvitsund vgs requested the Ugandan FKers to share their experience in Norwegian culture compared to Ugandan culture with classes of sociology and anthropology. On 13th and 19th of March Mark and Daniel had lessons with three different classes. In all these classes students and fk-ers discussed the differences between Norwegian and Ugandan culture. Another theme was about poverty in Africa.