Uganda Immersion ______________________________Page

Oscar Hammerstein, the great American lyricist, once wrote, “By your pupils will you be taught.” When 6 Joey’s teachers headed to Mannya, Uganda, in the June school holidays we had no idea how much the experience would change our lives. Challenging. Invigorating. Inspiring. These are just some of the words that encapsulate what we experienced during our two weeks of working overseas.

We were invited to participate in a joint program with Cotton

On Australia and Northern Bay College to provide Professional

Development opportunities for teachers in these communities. We thought we were going to share our teaching expertise by working with students and teachers in various schools in the Mannya and

Busibo regions; instead, we came back with something far greater.

We were touched by the lives of the people that we worked with and found inspiration in all that we experienced and felt. We were awed by teachers who completely and fully dedicate themselves to providing the best education that they can, in sometimes difficult and trying conditions. On a personal level I was struck by the professionalism and dedication of these teachers. As I stood facing a class of 93 Prep students or when I worked with adults from the community who were keen to learn to read and write or when I visited classes that were conducted in mud huts or underneath trees, I was witness to a universal truth: teachers play an important role in the lives of their students. Our work matters because it makes a difference to people. Of the students I can only say this: what a joy it was to work with each of them. They taught me about hard work; about overcoming challenges; about working together; about knowing the importance of love and laughter; about the importance of family and friendship and about the ways in which education is a liberating life force. On behalf of Jack Jurica, Chris Lynch, Ric Brodrick, Erin Norman and Michelle Brodrick, I hope that the relationships between our two communities continues to grow as we have so much to learn from each other.

Mark Stracey