Rjukan community commemorates United Nations day

On Sunday 24th October, 2010, was United Nations day and the Rjukan community was not left out in the celebrations. The day started with volunteers moving around the town door to door soliciting for funds to help the refugees who reside in the area. Later in the evening we converged in the town hall, where a couple of locals mixed with the numerous refugees, who were the main target of the day. Several refugees testified about the different problems they were facing in their different countries, the major problem being civil wars, which was also the main reason why they had left their respective countries. Among the refugees present were those from Pakistan, Afghanistan, Liberia and the majority from Somalia.

Illustration photo by Ingrid

The day was not all doom and gloom, some good music was played and a lot eats and drinks were served. The most important message of the day was through a song sung by a guest artist from Germany who called upon leaders in their different capacities to treat the people they lead with respect and dignity. The function ended at about nine o’clock in the night with a call on all people of good will to come out and help refugees wherever they are in the world.           by Fk-participant / Teacher in Rjukan videregående skole; Bernard Butare.

Celebrating Friendship North South in Oslo

Oslo, October 11th:

Friendship North South Celebration, Cosmopolite Oslo
Friendship North South / Vennskap Nord Sør

ELIMU school exchange programme

Fk exchanges gives Ugandan teachers a new lease of life….

by Bernard Butare Buteera: The woes of a practising classroom teacher in Uganda are innumerable, from the poor remuneration to inadequate accommodation and deplorable working conditions, surely to define your profession as a teacher in Uganda is like writing a litany of negative titles upon oneself. However, for some teachers who are in partnership with Fredskorpset (FK), teaching has become such an enjoyable profession than any other.

Peter Hormisdas Sssenyimba and Geoffrey Kizito together with Norwegian Colleagues

The FK is an exchange programme between the Telemark inNorway and that of Uganda, which gives an opportunity to Ugandan teachers to go and teach in Norway likewise those of Norway to come and teach in Uganda.

In Uganda the Programme is in three participating schools, that is to say, Mengo Senior School, King’s College Budo and St. Joseph’s Technical Institute Kisubi. In Norway it is in upper secondary school Rjukan.

The few teachers who have had the opportunity of benefiting from this programme had all the good words for it. Mr. Kasamba Godfrey from King’s college Budo who was one of the first people to benefit from the programme in 2005 had this to say…

“I was excited when I received the news that I had been selected to go and teach in Norway. I was excited because it was going to be the first good thing to happen to me ever since I joined the teaching profession.”

Mr. Kasamba continues to say that he was exposed to new methods of teaching and received international exposure in a number of other aspects.

Another Beneficiary Wasswa John from St. Joseph’s Technical Institute, who went in the third lot in 2007, didn’t defer from Mr. Kasamba, he also praised the programme, that it gave him an opportunity to compare the two systems of Education, the one of Uganda and that of Norway. He also pointed out that the programme gave him International exposure which made him a better teacher afterwards.

Jane Nansubuga from Mengo Senior School, another beneficiary who went in the second lot in 2006, has all the praises for the exchange programme. She said that ever since she went to Norway she will never be the same again. That she learnt new methods of teaching and got so many International friends and exposure.

However all the former participants I talked to cited the weather, that is the winter season and the fact that most books they were using were in Norsik as the major challenges they faced. They thanked the sponsors for the opportunity they had and wished that more teachers could get it.

They particularly thanked the administration at Rjukan upper secondary school, especially Ms. Ingrid Kjelsenes and Tom Nilsen for being such wonderful coordinators of the programme.

Fk.exchange teachers;Kajubi Mark William and Kasozi Daniel 2009-2010

Fk preparatory course

The three week long Fk preparatory course came to a close on Friday 1st October, 2010 at Hotell Hadeland.

Participants of Friendship Telemark Uganda

The course which attracted over 50 participants from different countries around the world was geared at preparing these Peace Corps, cope with living and working abroad. Among those present were participants from Uganda, Kenya, Tanzania, Namibia, Nepal, Ghana, Ethiopia, Norway and many others from different countries.

While addressing participants, the FK Course coordinator Mr. Nahuel Polesel urged the participants to be good ambassadors wherever they are going to work, and keep the FK flag flying higher.
During the three weeks, participants were taken through a number of issues such as Intercultural communication and how to handle personal challenges among others.
The participants on their part thanked the management of FK and all the partners involved for giving them the opportunity of living and working abroad.
The function ended with awarding certificates to the participants, and the coordinators wished them good luck wherever they going to work.